HELP! AKL or Wilderness Lodge?

[latexscooter]

Need help! We have reservations for August at AKL (savanna view) but my husband wants Wilderness Lodge. He's admired this hotel since first stepping in and considers it an architectural marvel. I tried to explain the same architect did the AKL but having not seen it other than TV he's not satisfied. My first choice was the Poly but he doesn't want to stay there so AKL is already my second choice. I know I'll enjoy WL but I'm not sure if in my heart I'll think I'm settling.

Should I change my reservation?

Here's some other stats if it helps:
Traveling with DD3, DH, and I. All park veterans.
6 nights, 7 days
Will visit all four parks - but no water parks
Will take afternoon breaks
Will make use of activities at and around the resort
We plan on relying mostly on Disney transportation but will have a car for our ADRs that are in other resorts.

HELP!!!!!

 

[mom2of2]

Personally I like WL over AKL. AKL is just not us, it's dark and the hallways are so long. With having a 3yr old MK is just a boat ride away from WL plus you have WCC and IMO WCC is worth staying at WL alone!!!!
Enjoy whatever you decide.

 

[keishashadow]

Of course I'll vote for WL . Theming & amenities are wonderful. Most kids love to ride the ferry boat & get so excited over the geyser erupting while they swim. You could also walk the trail (or take the boat) to campground & enjoy their kid-friendly activities.

Haven't stayed @ AK yet. I wanted to but, DH talked me into the Contemporary for 1 night in June (@ rack rate no less!). He thinks the increased travel time to get to AK from most parks would "eat up" our afternoon break period.

 

[Muushka]

If you had said that you were going during a cooler month, I would have said it's a toss up. (Well I prefer WL, but AKL is a wonderful place also).

But you are going during one of the hottest times of the year! For that reason I would choose WL. The lake is so refreshing to look out at. You can take a boat to many destinations (now that's cool!). There are the pine trees all around cooling the area (at least mentally for me) and the lodge has that 'wintery' feel to it. Yup, I would choose WL. YMMV

 

[tinkerbeth]

We are having the same dilemma...ds wants akl b/c he loves it there but I think he might like WL too... What about doing a split stay? We might do that but I'm not sure I want to move.

Beth

 

[catbertdave99]

We like both WL and AKL. Just depends on what your family likes. I have to say, I think the lobby at WL is more stunning, not sure why. The food at WL was easier for my kids to appreciate, since it's more "American" -- they just weren't prepared for the African variety of foods at AKL, which are wonderful! We had a savannah-view at AKL, and that was great, but I think we'll be back at WL before AKL.

You can't go wrong with either, though!

 

[LovintheLodge]

I have only visited AKL (beautiful) and stayed at WL (loved it!). Based on your daughter's age, I would vote for WL for quicker access to MK and more transportation options.

 

[jennf]

I've stayed at both, and AKL is our favorite resort....we are hoping to stay there again in Aug....

 

[YesYourMajesty]

I've stayed at both and hands down prefer the WL. It is the most peaceful, wonderful, beautiful place. My husband and I both LOVE it there.

The AKL is nice. We will go back to visit the AKL to eat at Jiko and Boma and look at the art, but we probably wont stay there again.

So I am biased, but I vote for the WL.

 

[rockinken]

DW and I were staying at Poly during Sept. of 2005 and had allready made reservations for feb, 2006 at AKL. We stopped at AKL and were unhappy with darkness
and general setup. We then visited WL and loved it. We changed res. and stayed at WL in Feb. We loved it and had a great time although our week was very cold. We stayed in suite #5166 which overlooked the Lake and boat dock, but it was a long haul from the lobby at the end of a long day. This was just our opinion and I am sure many would love AKL.

 

[ScottNBecky]

Our vote is for AKL. Its worth it to stay there at least once, or stop over and visit its theming to see it is a place your family would like. There are plenty of places to view the animals whether you stay there or not, so my advice would be to first visit it.

 

[ibouncetoo]

I've stayed at both and loved both and recommend both. Some people discount AKL due to transportation issues. But I've never had a problem and at WL you do have stops at Ft. Wilderness when you use the bus. As you have a car for that evening resort-to-resort problem, location shouldn't really be an issue for you.

Pretty much comes down to what 'flavor' do you want? At AKL I felt like I was 'somewhere else', if you know what I mean (and it has my ALL TIME FAVORITE RESTAURANT) and I love the African theme. At WL I felt like I was a kid at summer camp and I enjoyed traveling by water (we'd take the boat to MK then the monorail to get over to Epcot). Both were great, just depends on what feel you want.

Now, there's always the advantage of going with his wishes in exchange for a little something 'extra' for you. Like, oh, opening an oyster at Japan in World Showcase and having the pearl set in a ring for you.....I'm sure you could think of something

 

[Rock'n'Roller Poster]

To add a wrinkle to this question because we have the same dilemma (party of 3, parents and a 3 y.o. girl; staying 8 nights):

Which would be more likely to offer a standard room AP discount in late October? Do you guys think that either will most likely have one if I jump on the phone when the codes come out?

Thanks in advance.

 

[wanna-b-Tink]

We wanted to try out AKL, but were concerned with the distance to practically everything from the resort. So we split our stay. The first three nights at AKL, and did everything we wanted to do in that area of the world during those days - AK, Jiko, Boma, animal viewing, everything the resort has to offer. Then moved to OKW for the remainder of the stay so we'd be closer to the other parks, shopping, restaurants.

 

[joanchris]

How about you take the virtual tour on teh WDW website:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...d=AnimalKingdomLodgeResortLandingPage&count=1


Having not been at either I can hardly speak to it, but we, like a previous poster, had wanted to stay at AKL but decided against it due to proximity issues, we ended up at Contemporary, as being near the Monorail was most helpful to us with DD10 using a wheelchair, it seemed most convenient. I do agree that both AKL and WL are BEAUTIFUL!

 

[Pats Dragon]

Both are favorites! In the summer, if you go back to your room and rest it is soooo cool to sit in your ac room and watch the animals. The room is definitely special and we never had issues with transportation. We also love Boma and Jiko. On the other hand WL has the boat ride, although my son was stung by a wasp on the dock on his lip!!! None of the CM's knew what to do or had tobacco or baking soda or anything. You can sit out at night and watch the light water pageant and it does seem cooler. I think you win very big no matter which you pick.

 

[lastminutemomma]

Could you do 3 nights at each?

 

[latexscooter]

Thanks everyone for the guidance. We finally made our decision which I will tell you about in a sec. I just thought I'd respond to a couple posts before doing so.

A split stay wouldn't really work this time around if we want to get the most bang for the buck. We have a 30% of consecutive hotel stay voucher that wouldn't be good at the second hotel.

Thanks for the info on the boats. I was really thinking that they wouldn't be that great but after hearing all your input I think my DD would love it.

All the tips for other discussions and tours were heeded before making my final call. Even though I'd visited the resorts before it's always different when you're a day-tripper than an actual guest.

As a result, I changed our reservation today and we are now staying at the WL. Next time around it's resort of my choice and if I'm not happy or want to try something different I will be going with the AKL.

Again, thanks for the counsel.

 

[Minnie]

I think that you have made a great choice

We have stayed at both and AKL is just not for us. My DS did enjoy the animals but when we went in the heat of the summer the pool was warm instead of refreshing, ect, ect. The only thing I did like was the Zebra domes in the Mara so we may take a trip over for those.

This trip we will be heading back to the WL

 

[kimmar067]

Need help! We have reservations for August at AKL (savanna view) but my husband wants Wilderness Lodge. He's admired this hotel since first stepping in and considers it an architectural marvel. I tried to explain the same architect did the AKL but having not seen it other than TV he's not satisfied. My first choice was the Poly but he doesn't want to stay there so AKL is already my second choice. I know I'll enjoy WL but I'm not sure if in my heart I'll think I'm settling.

Should I change my reservation?

Here's some other stats if it helps:
Traveling with DD3, DH, and I. All park veterans.
6 nights, 7 days
Will visit all four parks - but no water parks
Will take afternoon breaks
Will make use of activities at and around the resort
We plan on relying mostly on Disney transportation but will have a car for our ADRs that are in other resorts.

HELP!!!!!

MY TWO FAVORITE RESORTS!!!! What a dilemma.....
The AKL is the 'baby brother' of the WL, so they are almost EXACTLY the same (with differences in theming, of course). Would you consider a split stay? Since you plan on 'doing' afternoon breaks, the AKL pool is PERFECT (especially with the ZERO-ENTRY pool for your little one!0 Also, there are PLENTY of daily activities offered there. However, there are more water sport-type activities at WL. Both the Mara and Roaring Forks has a wide selection of "American" food - not so with Jiko or Boma; I LOVE Boma anyway! Also, the buses at AKL are more frequent and do not share with any other resort - WL boats go to an fro with Ft W.....good luck!