GF vs AKL vs POLY

[Nainolaf]

Hi,
Having just moved our travel dates from the UK from 2nd Jan to 16th Jan (14 nights) to avoid the higher crowds we were to confirm our stay at GF (garden view) today but have had another few options thrown into the mix, (all with dining plan) we can also get AKL Savannah view CL for £560 less or the POLY (standard view)for £270 more!!!
Nice option to have but never stayed at any of the resorts (GF & POLY always been a dream of ours).
Heard good things about the CL at AKL though as well....any advice appreciated as need to confirm by tomorrow evening.

 

[SG131]

If you have the dining plan, I don't think you will get much out of the club level access. That would be a LOT of food and drinks. If I were you I'd probably stick with the original plan. I wouldn't give up the monorail room/access. But we also aren't big animal kingdom fans. Especially for a long trip, having access to multiple resorts nearby is nice. It's a toss up between the poly and the GF. I think I might pick poly because of the ability to walk to the TTC to catch the epcot monorail quicker, but I enjoy both.

 

[Katy G.]

There is no wrong answer in your list in my opinion! I’ve only stayed at Poly and AKL, but visit GF often. AKL is my favorite Disney resort though. I love the atmosphere and home to 3 of the best restaurants! What about a split stay? One week GF and another AKL? I hope you have an amazing trip! 14 nights is dreamy

 

[J'aime Paris]

^^Same^^ as @SG131

 

[Nainolaf]

To do a split stay works out £460 more than the original 14 nights at GF but what with AKL working out £560 less we would be £100 in pocket! (Although the 14 nights GF would be a dream of ours)
Price wise the split would need to be 7 nights AKL then 7 at GF as GF-POLY adds too much onto the price. Basically the POLY does not have free dining but we would be paying for the plan.
Only spanner in the works was we were going to do a 2 night stay at Universal Portofino Bay for the express passes which we would not do if we booked a split Disney stay.
Another question I have is how easy is the move on a split stay? My DW is envisioning having to lose a day of our Holiday changing resorts.
Many thanks for the replies

 

[DisneyWishes14]

To do a split stay works out £460 more than the original 14 nights at GF but what with AKL working out £560 less we would be £100 in pocket! (Although the 14 nights GF would be a dream of ours)
Price wise the split would need to be 7 nights AKL then 7 at GF as GF-POLY adds too much onto the price. Basically the POLY does not have free dining but we would be paying for the plan.
Only spanner in the works was we were going to do a 2 night stay at Universal Portofino Bay for the express passes which we would not do if we booked a split Disney stay.
Another question I have is how easy is the move on a split stay? My DW is envisioning having to lose a day of our Holiday changing resorts.
Many thanks for the replies

I would take Poly out of the mix both with the split or a continuous stay. IMHO, it's not worth spending more to stay at Poly standard over GF garden.

My initial inclination was to say go AKL CL for all 14 nights - it's less and you get CL to boot! However, GF is really beautifully, so well-located and the rooms are bigger. I think I vote for the split stay. Personally, I wouldn't want to stay in one resort for 14 nights - I like to switch it up a bit. I would recommend doing AKL first though and then GF, if you can, as I wouldn't want to move from a larger room to a smaller one. Moving during split stays is quite easy. You can either have bell services come to your room and take your luggage for you to transfer to the next resort (you need to be in your room when you arrive) or get a cab/uber/lyft/Minnie Van and simply transport your luggage yourself. We've done both. If we have bell services take it, we pack up in the morning, hand over our luggage, go to a park for the day and then head to our next resort when we are done - voila! New resort, new room and luggage has arrived by late afternoon. On splits where we've taken our own luggage, we called a Minnie Van, transferred ourselves and our luggage, checked-in, given our luggage to bell services at the new resort and, again, then went to a park. It really doesn't take that much time to do the transfer.

If you would rather not do the split, I would probably opt for GF the whole time. Spending 14 days at AKL would be too much for me - the rooms are fairly small and the resort is a bit remote. You will have endless food options over in the MK area, plus the monorail, lots of recreation options, etc.

 

[Shellyred8]

We do split stays a lot. Moving is easy peasy. On move day, you pack up all of your stuff and drop it off with Bell Services. You ask them to move your luggage to to your new resort. We usually make move day a full park day, so we don't worry about not having a room for part of the day. After we are done at the park for the day, we just hop on the bus back to our new resort and pick up our luggage from bell services.
Our touring style is usually that we go to the parks in the morning and then come back to the resort in the afternoon to relax and then go back to the parks in the evening. On move day though, we usually do a late start. So, we grab breakfast and wander around the resort to check things out one last time. Then we leave around 10 - 11am and head to a park. We then spend the afternoon and evening in the park, with no break.

I like doing split stays because the resorts are so different from each other that it feels like a new vacation.

One other thing to keep in mind: If you have the dining plan, and do a split stay, I think you have to use up all of the credits from the first part of your stay by the time you move to the new resort. I don't think those carry over. I'm not a DDP expert though, so you will want to double check this. If you stay at one resort for the entire time, then you have the full 14 days to use up all of your credits.

Have a great trip!

 

[TJA]

I think the split stay would be fun for a trip like yours -- one week at GF with the dining plan and one week at AKL CL without dining plan. When you're on the AKL CL portion of your trip, what we do is have our breakfast in the CL, have an ADR scheduled during the afternoon as our "big" meal in whatever park we're at, and then the 5-7pm appetizers in the CL are usually enough food for us at night because we've just had our "big" meal during the afternoon. Desserts are fun later on in the CL too. We can't ever get a 2-week trip to fit in our schedule, but if we could, this is exactly how we'd plan a trip!

Edit to add: we do split stays quite often. You won't really lose that much time. Just pack up the night before and leave your luggage with bell services the next morning and have them move it to your next resort. Then just head to a park for the day! We actually love switching day because we think it's fun to anticipate heading to a different resort after our park day.

 

[cwestpvb]

Personally, I would not want to stay at AKL for that long of a time frame. Don't get me wrong, I really LOVE AKL, but its so isolated and is really only convenient to DAK. Maybe start off with a few nights there, then move to the GF for the rest of your stay if you'd be okay with a split stay. The GF is better located with more around it. I've never stayed at the poly, but I've visited many times. I wouldn't pay more for it than the GF.

 

[cvjw]

Stay at the GF. I hate split stays. You are basically homeless for a good chunk of the day. Plus you have to pack and unpack, which eats into your vacation.

We have stayed at all your choices. I would not want to be at AKL for 2 weeks, even though club level is nice. I love the poly, but if it is more than the GF, take it out of the mix.

The GF is very nice. Just stay there

 

[GoingSince1990]

Stay at the GF. I hate split stays. You are basically homeless for a good chunk of the day. Plus you have to pack and unpack, which eats into your vacation.

We have stayed at all your choices. I would not want to be at AKL for 2 weeks, even though club level is nice. I love the poly, but if it is more than the GF, take it out of the mix.

The GF is very nice. Just stay there

Yep. Stick with the GF for the entire time; you will love it. And why waste all that time packing and unpacking unnecessarily for a split stay? You can’t even walk to AK from AKL. One suggestion: to get to Epcot from GF, don’t take the two monorails; it’s much faster to Uber or Minnie Van to either Epcot or the Beach Club (if you want to enter at World Showcase).

 

[mickeynut1]

To do a split stay works out £460 more than the original 14 nights at GF but what with AKL working out £560 less we would be £100 in pocket! (Although the 14 nights GF would be a dream of ours)
Price wise the split would need to be 7 nights AKL then 7 at GF as GF-POLY adds too much onto the price.

I agree with doing a split if that's an option. We've stayed at all 3 resorts (although not CL at AKL) and you can't go wrong with any of them. With that said, I do agree with others that I would want to split it up and not stay at one resort for 14 nights. Doing a split would give you the opportunity to try 2 different resorts in one trip, as well as give you plenty of time to experience each resort. Hope you have a great trip .

 

[calismic]

Do you have young children? We just returned from the Grand Floridian and though my husband and I LOVE the resort my children (9 and 4) were absolutely devastated that we were not at the Poly. I prefer the decor and the quiet atmosphere of the Grand, BUT I did miss the walk to Ticket and Transportation. I also preferred the quick service area of the Poly more than the Grand; Captain Hooks feels a lot more accessible. My kids say that the Poly is more "Disney" and they felt like they had to be on their best behavior at the Grand, LOL!

 

[sndral]

I’ve stayed at all three. I love both AKL and the GF, however, they do feel like very different vacations.
If you are an animal geek then a week in a savanna view room at AKL is great. The CL set up at AKL is a little odd, the lounge is on the 6th floor along with the CL DVC villas. The CL rooms are generally on the 4th floor requiring a walk and elevator ride to get to the lounge. It’s buses to the parks, but the buses work well, the park buses stop at Kidani first then Jambo, AK is about 5 minutes away, MK is the longest ride at 20 minutes+.
The GF to me has a spacious, relaxed, vibe. You monorail or boat to/from MK and monorail hop to Epcot. You share a bus w/ the Poly to DHS and AK.
A split stay starting with AKL and ending with the GF would be a perfect 2 week trip for me. In fact I’ve done an AKL/GF split twice. Moving day is easy. I pack up and wheel my bags to Bell Services at AKL and then go to whichever park I want. Mid afternoon I head over to the GF. When I’m in my GF room I call Bell Services to deliver my bags to my room.
I’m not a fan of staying at the Poly, too many casual day visitors crowding the small lobby, wandering the grounds, crowding the beach to watch fireworks, too many rooms without usable balconies, the room buildings (long houses) have long dark hallways v. the central lobby that all the GF outer building rooms have, too many rooms at the Poly have parking lot through bushes views, etc.. You can always walk or monorail over to the Poly from the GF to visit.

 

[DadofChristaSonofRay]

I would stick with the GF but AKL and Poly are both nice. Even within standard views the way the Poly is laid out can be two different vacation experiences. One time we had a view of the main pool and a peek toward the Grand Floridian. The next visit it was strictly a grounds views. The AKL to me is too far from the action especially if you are going to the MK more than one day.

 

[Sue M]

Stick to GF! It’s a beautiful resort. We have stayed there several times and love it. Great location. Love watching MK fireworks and electric water parade from the resort. There’s something magical about staying across from MK, and being able to see the castle. And you’re walking distance from Poly, and 2 monorail stops away from CR. So many dining options.

we've stayed at Poly, and AKL CL and love them too, but GF is our fav. I also agree with poster who said CL with dining plan is a waste. I wouldn’t get the DDP withCL.
I don’t get the DDP anymore. I did an experiment a few years ago and put the value of the DDP on a gift card and used that for dining and at the end had over $100 left over. And we ate well, what we wanted. Imo the DDP isn’t the deal it used to be and doesn’t save any money, and could potentially cost you more than if you just paid oop.

 

[MissionMouse]

We have stayed at all three resorts and have done spilt stays. If you were 7 or less nights I would provide a cautionary cavet. In your case you are staying 14 nights, so being without a room for a number of hours one day is worth it unless you spreadout and fully unpack. We did not fully unpack. The plus of being in a new resort is it renews your vacation with a new feel and explore. If you don't want to fall into a resort routine, consider the spilt stay.

 

[Craig W]

I agree with many above. GF is incredible. Especially 4th floor CL. I agree if you FULLY unpack consider staying at GF the entire time. But if you don't fully unpack consider split stay with GF your second week. If you do it your first week, you will miss it!!
We did a GF/POly split and really missed the GF the second part. You won't lose a day if you sleep in a bit and spend the day at a park. Enjoy! I am jealous for your 2 weeks.

 

[Nainolaf]

Thank you all so much for your replies.
We bit the bullet and booked the GF Garden view for 14 nights, so excited, we have never stayed at a monorail resort before
There will be 3 of us DW, DD21 and myself.
Keeping our eyes open for a lagoon view room now (if they become available) as there were none with the free dining plan