Grand Floridian or Animal Kingdom Lodge? Tell me your thoughts!

[amg35]

We will be heading back in late October/early November 2017. We only go to Disney every few years so we stay a while and like deluxe, we sock money away for it.

It's between GF or AKL. 8 days, 9 nights. I love all the parks, but favorites are MK and AK. Excited to go to Disney Springs a few nights. Will spend time relaxing also.


Other than that, no criteria! We have not stayed at either one, usually stay at Beach Club, but getting tired of it.

Soooo, which one? I'm not worried about cost, so that doesn't need to be a factor. And no split stays, I like one place the whole time.

This is just a bit of fun planning because our long weekend trip to the Smokey Mountains and Dollywood later this year isn't satisfying my trip planning needs.

 

[Sue M]

No bad choices. Love both. But my pref would be GF. You feel like you're in the middle of the magic staying there, being able to see the castle from resort, and watching Wishes and Electric Water Parade from spots around GF.
It's easy to get to the other MK resorts for dining. We love taking the monorail to MK, and the boat back.

I don't know how many are going, but GF rooms are much larger. Many dining options at GF, 2 pools, beautiful grounds, and lobby. Love sitting in the lobby listening to the piano or orchestra play.

We love AKL, but there's just something special about GF.

 

[amg35]

Thanks! Just the two of us going. You made some pretty convincing arguments!

Also, we do like a cocktail (or two) to end the night. We aren't super partiers, but we don't like to be in the room before 10 at the earliest...

This a fun decision to have to make.

 

[MrKnight]

I agree with Sue, both are nice but if I had to pick I would also go with GF, its on the monorail line which is tremendously convenient (one stop away from MK) and opens up access to tons of dining options at all the MK area resorts. Its also worthy to note that GF is one of Disney's most luxurious flagship resorts so you know you are in for a treat when you stay there!

 

[monkyby87]

AKL will generally be cheaper than GF, and is actually one of the cheaper Deluxe hotels. But the GF gives you the monorail, and is very majestic. If money weren't much of an issue I would chose the GF. But you really can't go wrong with both.

 

[clapton]

No choice, GF absolutely!! Have a great trip!

 

[ReluctantDisaholic]

I do want to do AKL one day, but of the 2 I would pick GF - I prefer the look of the rooms. And you can't beat the location. We loved being able to see MK from the Poly, I'm assuming GF will be the same.
(Although I love splits, so if it were us I would do both.)

 

[gzmtlock]

I'm going to differ here and say AKL. And with money not being a concern, AKL Club Level. We love the theming, the smell of the lobby, the indoor fireplace, all the artifacts. The animals, of course. We also really enjoy Jambo's bar. We also enjoy that it is a deluxe resort that feels "less Disney," for lack of a better phrase. After the energy of the parks, we like heading to the edge of property and immersing ourselves in a totally different environment.

As to location, if money is not a factor, simply take cabs to evening activities. Door-to-door, doesn't get much easier than that.

 

[Disneylover99]

I'm going to differ here and say AKL. And with money not being a concern, AKL Club Level. We love the theming, the smell of the lobby, the indoor fireplace, all the artifacts. The animals, of course. We also really enjoy Jambo's bar. We also enjoy that it is a deluxe resort that feels "less Disney," for lack of a better phrase. After the energy of the parks, we like heading to the edge of property and immersing ourselves in a totally different environment.

As to location, if money is not a factor, simply take cabs to evening activities. Door-to-door, doesn't get much easier than that.

Hmm. I was coming here to say GF, but after reading what you wrote, you've almost convinced me to stay at AKL.

 

[jacknsally19]

I have stayed at both.... And I would definitely chose AKL. I think the food options are fantastic at AKL and there are so many cool things to see at the resort. It's so lovely sitting on your balcony and watching the animals. And the extra money you'd save - spend on the Club level and the wayanama Safari.

Also, I actually think the transportation is better at AKL. GF is good for MK but that's really it - you need to share buses and the monorail switching to go to Epcot is a PIA in my opinion. It's suprisingly fast to get from AKL to Epcot.

The only thing I like about GF is the pools for young kids - other than that, it's probably my least favorite resort that I have stayed at (I have only stayed at deluxe resorts though)

 

[mickeynut1]

We will be heading back in late October/early November 2017. We only go to Disney every few years so we stay a while and like deluxe, we sock money away for it.

It's between GF or AKL. 8 days, 9 nights. I love all the parks, but favorites are MK and AK. Excited to go to Disney Springs a few nights. Will spend time relaxing also.


Other than that, no criteria! We have not stayed at either one, usually stay at Beach Club, but getting tired of it.

Soooo, which one? I'm not worried about cost, so that doesn't need to be a factor. And no split stays, I like one place the whole time.

This is just a bit of fun planning because our long weekend trip to the Smokey Mountains and Dollywood later this year isn't satisfying my trip planning needs.

We've stayed at both and love both for different reasons. The GF is in the middle of the magic next to MK, but AKL is very quiet and peaceful (IMO) as it's somewhat isolated from everything. Both resorts have beautiful surroundings, nice pools, and great dining options. I agree with the pp that suggested CL if you go with AKL. We haven't tried CL yet, but we have had 2 great stays at the lodge and I am always reading positive things about CL. I don't think you can go wrong with either one as both are great in their own way. Good luck!

 

[LSURyan]

We've stayed at both. These are my two favorite resorts. I'd give the nod to the Grand Floridian though. I just love the place and the grounds are awesome. Location is hard to beat, great food. The drawbacks are few but here goes, if it rains you'll getting to the main building for transportation and dining is wet. You can go through neighboring buildings but you're bound to at least get a little wet. That's really the only negative I came up with. depending on how you use it the monorail may be overhyped as the monorail is really only convenient to the Magic Kingdom and other monorail resorts.

I love Animal Kingdom Lodge for many of the same reasons, even location. Yes, location. It really feels removed from the hustle and bustle of the parks and therefore possibly more relaxing. It's one building with long hallways to the rooms. Did I mention the LOOOOOOONG hallways? they're long. The long hallways are the only negative i came up with. I love the mornings on the balcony with my coffee while looking out at the savannah.

Tough choice to be sure, but in my opinion neither is a bad option.

 

[amg35]

Thanks everyone! Luckily I have time to decide because I read one post and think it's GF and then I read another and want AKL!

Seeing the castle and the water parade at night is tempting. Also the option of bars on the monorail resorts. But the AkL lobby and the animals sway me the other way.....

Question, the sense of isolation feeling...One thing we don't like about Beach Club is it is dead after 9pm. No one around, maybe two people having a drink. Time of year we go probably plays a role in that, too cool for night swimming, but that is when we go. Does AKL feel like that at night?

 

[agie65]

In Oct, just adult, VGF will be my choice. If you had kids in tow would suggest AKL.

 

[amg35]

Thanks! If we choose GF it will be whatever their version of a standard view room is. We aren't using cost as a factor in our decision, but do know we won't go above standard view pricing at GF (unless some great discount comes along). I'm assuming the villas are more? Wouldn't they be booked anyways?

 

[lovin'fl]

Being that it's Food and Wine, I'd pick the GF to monorail to Epcot.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I loved AKL for a couple days but 9 nights I'd go GF. And all because of how far away AKL is from everything else. For a couple days of Epcot food festival it was fine but I was sick of buses after 2 days. 15 min there and back and there and back and there was 1 hour of my day gone. Also people are NOT exaggerating when they say it's a 25 min bus ride to MK. It was, I timed it on the way back one night with like no traffic. And one late afternoon I saw a bus head out to MK, people were sardine packed in that thing. Others on the return bus from Epcot were also like "oh my gosh, that looks miserable" as we passed it.

 

[MouseOfCards]

I loved AKL for a couple days but 9 nights I'd go GF. And all because of how far away AKL is from everything else. For a couple days of Epcot food festival it was fine but I was sick of buses after 2 days. 15 min there and back and there and back and there was 1 hour of my day gone. Also people are NOT exaggerating when they say it's a 25 min bus ride to MK. It was, I timed it on the way back one night with like no traffic. And one late afternoon I saw a bus head out to MK, people were sardine packed in that thing. Others on the return bus from Epcot were also like "oh my gosh, that looks miserable" as we passed it.

Very helpful. Thanks!