help me help my parents

[melvin]

Okay, my fun loving parents, 77, have decided to go to Disney in October as they have never seen AK. They have stayed at the Contemporary (when that was all there was!), the poly and Beach Club. They are asking me where to stay this time. I am leaning towards either GF of AK. I would recommend AK since it is so themed and bus transportation is so easy, but I am worried about 2 things. One is that it is so dark in the rooms, lobby and hallways, and the walk to the rooms are so LONG! Any of you who may be seniors or have eyesight problems, did the lighting cause problems for you?

I have never had luck requesting and getting a room where I wanted at AKL. Would they take into consideration my parent's age? I would hate for them to have to walk the miles down the corridor.

Also, is it possible for me to surprise them and boost them up to concierge, and have it charged separately to me? Has anyone ever done this? Thanks for any input!

 

[disney queen]

hhhhhhmmmmmm....i have not been in your position, but i have a thought about the situation. i would agree w/you on the GF simply because of the situation you mentioned about the lighting. that can be a concerned for senior adults. however, the walking from the monorail or bus stop might be a challenged. we have never stayed at the AKL, but have dined there several times. it is dark in the interior areas. if i were considering a resort for my parents, i would have a tendency to go toward one that is "self-contained." the only ones i can think of are the contemp and the wilderness lodge; is AKL self-contained? you know your parents and their mobility. for my parents i would choose wilderness lodge simply because once they are inside the main building there is no going to another building. what about the beach club or yacht club? another consideration is will they just be going to AK or all parks,etc? i hope this makes sense and is helpful.

 

[eeyore0062]

I would choose either the GF or the Boardwalk due to proximity to parks, good restaurants, and ease of transportation. Also, the decor isn't as dark.

 

[Mouseteacher]

I'd go with the BWI - it's bright, self-contained, not too far to walk to transportation, pool and entertainment and restaurants on the Boardwalk. They can sit on the porch in the rocking chairs and watch the Boardwalk activity in the evening.

I visited the AKL when I was there last week and I found the lobby and restaurant area quite dark. I'm sure your parents wouldn't like the darkness. My parents are elderly and if we go to a restaurant that is even slight dim, I get complaints.

I was considering recommending the Swan, also. You could request a room close to the elevators since some of the wing rooms could be a little walk to the elevator. You could do the same at the Dolphin.

 

[wdwfan]

Having stayed at BWI I would suggest staying at BWI. The hallways are light. They should not have a problem there. Also, they could take the boat to Epcot and MGM.

 

[rjjr]

Melvin,

I was just at AKL with my family and my parents (both 75) in May. My mother loved it, however, the lighting was an issue at night when she usually likes to read in bed. But she thought it was otherwise great. The ability to go around to the savannahs make it a truly unique resort experience, which she really appreciated.

Also, we had a great room location. We had booked standard rooms, but were upgraded to pool view. Our rooms were on the 4th floor, only about 4 rooms down the hall from the main lobby overlook, therefore very close to the elevators.

I don't know anything about where the rooms are for concierge.

Good luck picking a place, you can't go too wrong with any of these suggestions!

 

[Aunt Jo]

Hi melvin,
DH and I spent a week at AKL Concierge in June. As a point of reference, I am 73 and DH will be 81 in 3 days. My eyesight has dimmed a bit with age and DH has glaucoma and can't see out of his left eye. I must tell you, we had no problems with either the lobby, the hallways, or our room. It's a lovely place to stay especially for us older folk. The bus service was great - no stops at other resorts. The only complaint DH had was that we did have a long walk to the Concierge Lounge but he admitted even that wasn't so bad. There are interesting displays in every nook and corner and huge windows to look out on the Savannahs. If we get to return to WDW (and who knows at our age) we will stay at AKL Concierge. I'm sure you can upgrade your parents to Concierge and I hope they enjoy it as much as we did if that's where they choose to stay.

 

[hightown]

My last four trips and the one coming up have been with my daughter and my now 70yr old mother. While it wasn't a consideration during the first trips, now room location is important. She just is not getting around well due to tendon problems and just generally weakening.

We tell the reservations and stress w/a fax just before arrival that we need to be near central elevator due to her age and mobility issues. I make sure at check in that the room will be convient. We've had great locations this last trip at BWI and WL

Key is telling reservationist that it's an age and mobility issue.

I haven't been to either AKL or GF but I'd go with AKL as a truly unique experience.

Sharon