Help! Switching Poly to AKL

[MeganS721]

Hi everyone! I need some advice. DH and I are staying at the Poly 4/20-4/24, kid free trip. We were hoping for a discount, but nothing was available for our dates. I was looking at other deluxe resorts and we can stay savanna view at AKL for $800 less. Staying at the Poly and staying savanna view are both on my bucket list so I just can't decide. Since we are only doing 3 park days, we will pretty much be out at the parks all day. This makes me think it's not worth the extra $800 to just sleep at the Poly. However, I am concerned because we have a California Gril reservation on our Magic Kingdom day and we were planning on going back to change in between. This would be significantly harder to do staying at AKL. Thoughts? Is it worth $800 to be on the monorail and closer to our resort to go back and change?

 

[Newsies]

IMO, being on the monorail is worth the $800 difference. You said that staying at the Poly was on your bucket list, and for such a short stay, I think it would be worth it this time. Not only will it make your MK/Cali Grill day easier, but it's vastly easier to get to Epcot from the Poly as well. And you can't beat having a Dole Whip stand right across from your hotel room I would take advantage of the cheaper savanna view at AKL on a longer trip!

 

[Anthony1971]

Truthfully if you are not going to be in either resort than why pay for a view at AKL? Maybe look into WL as it is close to MK has a boat to CR and should be similar in price to AKL. Part of paying of paying for a resort is spending time at it. We never go to Disney and spend all of our time at the parks gave that up years ago.. it is a vacation and part of that is finding time to relax for us.
If you were to get a savannah view at AKL you will need to spend time there to enjoy as the Animals are not out all the time... in fact they are not there a lot of time it depends on which savannah you are on and when they feed the Animals or better what savannah and time they put the food on.
However all 3 of the resorts above are themed very well and each offer a very immersive experience.

 

[buzznina]

No idea if it is worth it to you, but I know for us it would not be and we have stayed at both. I found that saving 10-15 minutes here and there is not worth that much more $$$$. Like Anthony1971 mentioned, the 3 full days your there you will be at the parks, why spend $$$ on a resort that you will not be at much.

 

[MeganS721]

Truthfully if you are not going to be in either resort than why pay for a view at AKL? Maybe look into WL as it is close to MK has a boat to CR and should be similar in price to AKL. Part of paying of paying for a resort is spending time at it. We never go to Disney and spend all of our time at the parks gave that up years ago.. it is a vacation and part of that is finding time to relax for us.
If you were to get a savannah view at AKL you will need to spend time there to enjoy as the Animals are not out all the time... in fact they are not there a lot of time it depends on which savannah you are on and when they feed the Animals or better what savannah and time they put the food on.
However all 3 of the resorts above are themed very well and each offer a very immersive experience.

I checked WL and it is the same price as AKL because there is no availability with the discounts. You make a good point about not enjoying the view at AKL. Do you know if they have buses to MK at WL or just the boat? And if so, are the buses shared?

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

I checked WL and it is the same price as AKL because there is no availability with the discounts. You make a good point about not enjoying the view at AKL. Do you know if they have buses to MK at WL or just the boat? And if so, are the buses shared?

There is a direct bus from WL to MK. It's very quick in the mornings, last time we stayed there(2 years ago) it went directly there, less than ten minutes. The boat ride is lovely too. Other buses were shared with Poly, GF, or Fort Wilderness, depending on the destination. We have never had issues with the buses there in over ten stays at WL.
WL is our favorite resort, but we are unfortunately out of one room there as a family of five. It would be great for a kid free trip. Food choices are great and you're very close to MK.

 

[MeganS721]

There is a direct bus from WL to MK. It's very quick in the mornings, last time we stayed there(2 years ago) it went directly there, less than ten minutes. The boat ride is lovely too. Other buses were shared with Poly, GF, or Fort Wilderness, depending on the destination. We have never had issues with the buses there in over ten stays at WL.
WL is our favorite resort, but we are unfortunately out of one room there as a family of five. It would be great for a kid free trip. Food choices are great and you're very close to MK.

Thank you for your help! We switched to WL and saved $697!! Now we will just have to go back again to stay at the Poly and AKL.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Thank you for your help! We switched to WL and saved $697!! Now we will just have to go back again to stay at the Poly and AKL.

Oh, that's great! I am very happy for you! Have a yummy Magic Bar for me
I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Oh, that's great! I am very happy for you! I have stayed at all three of those resorts and WL is still my most favorite resort. Have a yummy Magic Bar for me.
I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[tgarre06]

Oh, that's great! I am very happy for you! Have a yummy Magic Bar for me
I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Magic Bars are delish!!!

 

[mickeynut1]

We switched to WL and saved $697!! Now we will just have to go back again to stay at the Poly and AKL.

The WL is a beautiful resort, you're going to love it!

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

The WL is my favorite resort try to take some time to explore it, I love the theme.

 

[lisaviolet]

Megan, I hate to make your life complicated but are you aware that there is construction at WL and that they are estimating a "summer" finishing time for one of pools.

Just want to make sure you're aware.

 

[MeganS721]

Megan, I hate to make your life complicated but are you aware that there is construction at WL and that they are estimating a "summer" finishing time for one of pools.

Just want to make sure you're aware.

Yes, thank you for letting me know though! I figured since we won't be around much it shouldn't bother us. Since we won't have the kids with us we probably will skip the pool this time. More time to spend in the lounge!

 

[lisaviolet]

Yes, thank you for letting me know though!!

Have a great time. It is such a beautiful and relaxing resort.

 

[rcraw45425]

We stayed at WL last week, 1/2-1/5. I actually dropped down to a standard view room to save $50/night and don't regret it. We spent so much time out of the room it was not worth the higher cost of courtyard view. Yes there is construction going on, but that also means that the resort is only at half capacity even if it's full. Buses and boats were good even when all parks were at maximum capacity. Main pool stayed closed pretty much our entire stay even though temps were mild. Be aware that there are only two elevators working, but we didn't have a problem at all, we waited a lot longer in the past in the tower at Contemporary.

 

[MeganS721]

We stayed at WL last week, 1/2-1/5. I actually dropped down to a standard view room to save $50/night and don't regret it. We spent so much time out of the room it was not worth the higher cost of courtyard view. Yes there is construction going on, but that also means that the resort is only at half capacity even if it's full. Buses and boats were good even when all parks were at maximum capacity. Main pool stayed closed pretty much our entire stay even though temps were mild. Be aware that there are only two elevators working, but we didn't have a problem at all, we waited a lot longer in the past in the tower at Contemporary.

Thanks for the info! It sounds like the construction won't bother us too much. Getting excited!!