Do I need a car at AKL?

[Allensfan]

I feel like the resort is so far away...we will be eating at Disney boardwalk, California Grill, Chef Mickey's and Victoria and Albert's.

Thanks

 

[happymommy]

I've stayed there twice, and didn't have a car either time. I enjoyed the carefree feeling of not waiting in line to rent a car and parking etc. I used a towncar service the first time, and the second time we were in a concierge room and they arranged a Disney towncar - about the same price $50 or so each way. So it was very carefree.
I liked the bus system from there, as the busses don't visit other resorts typically. So you can take a bus to the TTC, then monorail to GF. Boardwalk is a nice stroll from Epcot. Plus it's really easy if you don't want to mess with busses late after dinner to take a cab back from one resort to another. Then if you've had a drink it's much wiser than driving.
When I go to WDW, I don't like to leave and get out into the "real world". Did it when we didn't have money to stay onsite or eat onsite, but now no way.
BTW, the AKL is so beautiful and themed so cool! And I like that they have a snackbar, plus you can get good food at it. You'll have a blast!

 

[estnh]

With your particular dinner reservations, I think you might consider a rental car. We have stayed at the AKL, and the bus service was fine. But, like you, many of our dinner reservations were on the other end of "the world", and we used the car in the evening. If you have plenty of time the bus connections are fine, but for the small cost of a rental car, it gives you a lot more flexibility.

We always get a rental, and in some resorts, we leave it parked all week. But at AKL we did use it. (Nothing against AKL--we love it).

 

[sheri236]

we stayed at akl last year and used our rental for dinners at artist point and citricos. we also used it for two trips to dd as we never seem to have luck with buses from ANY resort to dd. other than that, we used buses to all the parks--very dependable.

 

[allaboard]

We were just at AKL with three elementary aged children who love the Disney bus system and can ride it well. We parked our van in the lot and didn't drive it again until we left. We were organized enough to plan on the bus system for all our plans. We never waited very long for one either! Maybe good luck!!
Enjoy your trip whatever you choose!

 

[jimmiej]

I thought the bus service at AKL was fine. I don't remember feeling isolated. Like another poster said, I like not having to worry about driving around. I let Disney do the driving.

 

[MICKEEP]

The bus service at AKL is probably the best of any resort. All buses are Direct and Non-stop to the parks.

But like all other resorts getting from resort to resort is always a problem. We never rent a car and we always try to arrange our ADR's so that we can travel from a park to the resort destination. A little planning goes a long way. I noticed that you have chosen restaurants that are easy to get to via the monorail from MK or is a short walk from Epcot.

 

[chipper10]

We just returned not too long ago. I don't think the bus service was bad by any means, but it did seem to take a while. I think this is because it is so far away from the other parks, besides Animal Kingdom. I wish we would have gotten a car, but we would only use it to get to Downtown Disney. I don't like to drive to the parks. I felt rushed some mornings trying to make our reservations, but we always did make it on time, not as early as I would have liked, but on time at least.