I need help on AKL

[maciemouse]

We are planning on going to disney May 6-11. We have two kids 3 and 4. We usually stay at the Poly, but this year we are not. We LOVE the poly. But no discount has been released for the general public to get a discount at the Poly. We just cannot justify paying over $400. a night to stay there. I mentioned to my DH that would could move to Wilderness Lodge. He does not like the options at roaring forks. We have stayed there before and he says that is his least favorite food court in Disney. So anyway, I have now moved our reservation to AKL. I am hesistant about this decision. We do stay at the resort during the peak hours of the day because we have two small children. We will enjoy this resort? Will our bus rides take forever? How does this resort compare to the Poly as far as amenities and food court? I thought about moving our reservation to a moderate resort, but DH wants to stay either deluxe or value. He does not feel that moderates are worth the money. Help- what would you do?

 

[buzz1fan]

I cant wait to hear your responses. We have a room booked for 2 nights at the poly in june, and it is over 400 a night. I want to stay 3 nights, and i am looking for something cheaper. We have a 1 and 4 yr old. I am starting to think now staying at the POP. They have a water fountain that the kids can play in like the poly. I stayed at the POP once before. We didnt like the rooms, and the pools where so crowded. Maybe okay though when i compare the price. Really the kids are going to enjoy the water, not the atmosphere of the poly. I am really stumped...

 

[buzz1fan]

I am wondering myself if the moderates are not worth the upgrade from a value. I am sure if i saw the poly, it may make my decision easier..

 

[Prissymouse]

I have stayed at AKL and we love it. I might be a little concerned about the ongoing construction though.

Many times I can get a much better rate @ Swan/Dolphin than WDW...

They are advertising spring/ summer rates begining at $149 night! It is a beautiful deluxe resort that you may be able to get for the price of a mod! It's on property and within walking distance of the Boardwalk and many great places to eat (husbands appreciate this!)Also, a great sandy beach area for the litttle one to play.

Give them a call

 

[maciemouse]

Can you get the dining plan at Swan? I am so torn. My husband says if you have to ride a bus everywhere it doesn't matter if it is AKL or a value. He doesn't feel that the moderates have that much more to offer than values for the money. A pool slide is not a big deal for my children. My husband likes POP's food court. We love Poly's proximity to the MK but will not pay $400. a night for it. I think we paid $300 a night when stayed at Poly in September, so it is hard to go up $100 more dollars. I know what ever decision we make it will be fine with my kids because after all we are at disney. Has anyone stayed at AKL recently? Was the construction loud? We currently have a pool view room. Can you hear the construction while you are at the pool?

 

[Prissymouse]

Can you get the dining plan at Swan? I am so torn. My husband says if you have to ride a bus everywhere it doesn't matter if it is AKL or a value. He doesn't feel that the moderates have that much more to offer than values for the money. A pool slide is not a big deal for my children. My husband likes POP's food court. We love Poly's proximity to the MK but will not pay $400. a night for it. I think we paid $300 a night when stayed at Poly in September, so it is hard to go up $100 more dollars. I know what ever decision we make it will be fine with my kids because after all we are at disney. Has anyone stayed at AKL recently? Was the construction loud? We currently have a pool view room. Can you hear the construction while you are at the pool?

No, you cannot get the dining plan at the Swan/Dolphin.

There is a huge difference between value and AKL. AKL is a beautiful resort that your husband may enjoy on its own. But I don't know about the location or noise level of the construction...

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

Can you get the dining plan at Swan? I am so torn. My husband says if you have to ride a bus everywhere it doesn't matter if it is AKL or a value. He doesn't feel that the moderates have that much more to offer than values for the money. A pool slide is not a big deal for my children. My husband likes POP's food court. We love Poly's proximity to the MK but will not pay $400. a night for it. I think we paid $300 a night when stayed at Poly in September, so it is hard to go up $100 more dollars. I know what ever decision we make it will be fine with my kids because after all we are at disney. Has anyone stayed at AKL recently? Was the construction loud? We currently have a pool view room. Can you hear the construction while you are at the pool?

I must say that I agree with your DH. If you have to take buses everywhere to me it's still the same. As for the diffrence from value to mod - we actually prefer the values over the mods. It's a tough decision. How about looking into a GW room at CR, usually a little cheaper that Poly and still on the monorail and being that you took a pool view room at AKL, probably not too much more of an increase to book CR if it's available.

Good Luck whatever you decide - it is a very tough decision.

 

[Sysyphus]

Construction was not a factor last week - if I hadn't read about it here/elsewhere I would not have known any was going on...

AKL is a long way away from MK the bus will take at least 25 minutes - for the most part buses worked OK for us, but we did have two very frustrating long waits for morning EMH buses

For transportation it is an improvement on the values since AKL has it's own buses that do not serve any other resorts.

Midday eating is very limited... Jiko does dinner only, Boma, the buffet, only does breakfast and dinner. The Mara, the quickserve food place, is not very big and whilst it does serve some interesting items the menu is rather small.

Pool was nice, and of course the animals add a unique touch

 

[knightje]

Might not be a popular opinion, but I have stayed at both Poly and AKL multiple times and I personally prefer AKL. Now bear in mind, I do make a trip to the Poly for dinner and fireworks on the beach sometimes, and if you're traveling with small kids, Poly can't be beat for it's proximity to MK.

However, as far as the rooms, layout and amenities are concerned, I prefer AKL. I love walking down the halls and discovering all the "hidden" animal viewing areas. They also have activities at various times during the day for kids, like playing African instruments, story telling @ fire at dusk, etc... And I love talking to the CMs about the animals and what Africa is like.

For me, stroller bound kids, short amount of time = Poly
More time to enjoy the resort, not in a hurry = AKL

BUT!!! I have not been since construction started, so find out if it changes things.

 

[nemofans]

Your kids will love AKL!!! The activities there during the day are fun & the pool is great! There are stations w/activities in the lobby & by the pool. Since you will be spending time back at the resort, AKL will have lots for you to do. The food at Mara was fine w/many choices & I wouldn't say Captain Cook's at Poly was better. DH said Mara was his fav food court & would rather go back to AKL for lunch than eat at any counter service at any park. Jiko is one of our fav restaurants & Boma was yummy for breakfast. The rooms are very quiet at AKL (a problem we have at Poly). AKL is very peaceful & beautiful. Make sure you take time to sit & watch the savannah animals! You feel like you're far away from the crowds. I did not hear any construction noise at all when we were there 3 wks ago. I totally forgot there was construction going on while there.
The buses were fine. We never waited long for a bus at AKL or at a park. The buses don't pick up at any other resort either. It took 5 min to AK, 8-11 to MGM or Epcot, & 15-18 to MK. MY DH was worried about the bus taking long to get to the parks when we booked, but after our trip, he said they ran well. The other resorts may be closer to some parks, but they have more than one stop that adds time anyway.
I stayed at both Poly & AKL & I would stay at AKL again for sure. I will never stay at Poly again. The only benefit to Poly is the monorail, IMO. Plus, we had a much better experience w/the CM's at AKL than at Poly.

 

[PilotWife]

We stayed at AKL this past Sept and absolutely fell in love with it, husband too. Kids loved it, pool was great for smaller children with the zero entry, and the smaller slide, and we have a hot tub at home, so the kids enjoyed the whirlpools and helps them relax(we only allow them in for about 10 after our evening pooling). The night time animal viewing was a great experience.
I have not stayed at the Poly so I cannot compare the two for you, however I have "visited" many times.
We also had no problem with the buses, but we also prefer to drive our own car quite a bit, with strollers and smaller children.

Have a great time, I think that you will love it.

Jennifer

 

[Knavey]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1712874

This is a review of our recent stay at AKL.

Hope this helps you make up your mind.

 

[nemofans]

BTW, we did have a pool view room & you will definitely not hear construction. I also forgot to mention they have a nice playground too, right by the flamingos!

 

[Princess Brittany]

We have stayed at the AKL two times!! The construction didn't bother us at all! The whole resort is wonderful and you are not making a bad choice!! It is very funny you are staying at the AKL and I'm staying at the Poly, we are both fil-flopping!!

 

[maciemouse]

Thank you guys for replying so quickly. I do feel better now. I have stayed at most resorts on site but never at AKL. My husband and I went to Disney alot before we had kids. Ever since they were born (now 3 and 4) we have for the most part stayed at Poly because of the monorail. I am excited about going some where new and I know my kids will like it. My DH was just concerned about the buses. We stayed at WL one time with the kids and the buses were horrible. And I mean HORRIBLE. We would just stay there because of the convenience to MK but my DH does not care for roaring forks. We do drive to Disney since we are only 3 hours away so we can drive our car to the park if we are short on time for some reason. I will say though that the reason my husband likes to stay on property is so that we do not have to drive. I am just glad that all of Disney's deluxe resorts aren't $400. a night. If they keep going up on their resort prices we will have to come up with a new game plan. Money is not always a huge issue but we did not pay that much a night on our honeymoon. We also like to visit other places during the year so I don't want to put all of our money on one vacation.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I think you will be fine. The buses are very efficient compared to WL. Your kids will love the animals and they have a zero entry pool. The playground and hot tubs are close together so that was a huge plus for us. AKL is our favorite deluxe so far and we have tried a few just not the Poly.

 

[KatiebugsMom]

I just stayed 9 nights at the AKL end of January and let me just tell you your family will have a very memorable time there, especially your children.

As for food options. Mara the quick service is limited on the menu but does have something for everyone at least in my opinion and the 2 TS places are wonderful. I personally believe Boma is the best buffett in all of WDW resort. We had dinner there for the umpteenth time and it was lovely as usual and breakfast, as good as dinner.

As for the rooms they were perfect and the amenities of the lodge, best pool, great playground, built in attraction of animals, and so many activities for children and adults, it is not possible to do them all even with as many nights as we stayed. Animal watching programs, crafts, and games/parades for the kids, and adults African storytelling by the firepit, 4PM everyday a tour of the 2 TS restaurants, and so many artifacts of African culture in each hallway to read about and learn.

This was a trip for DH and I to finally enjoy a place we love to visit and it did not disappoint. Also DDalmost 3 had a blast with her animals each day!

Enjoy!

 

[septbaby]

We have a trip planned to Disney this year with out 6yo and we chose AKL over WL for the same reason your hubby said NO: Mara suits us better than Roaring Forks will. Now a few other perks I see:

- Pool and pool area at AKL are bigger
- Pool has zero entry
- Evening story time
- Games and craft around the pool (just when you say you'll be there)
- Playground right near the pool...HAS NO SAND to clean off little ones
- All of the opportunities to see the animals and learn about various cultures
- Gift shop will carry some off the beaten path Disney items

We used the buses from AKL to Epcot after our Boma meal last summer. Mom got caught in the gift shop and we missed the first bus, it didn't take too long for the next one to arrive. The little one had plenty of space to play while we waited too. I slipped him a glow stick at the end of dinner and he was having a blast! The benches in the waiting area we really comfortable too...lol. (BTW I bought the glow stick at the Dollar Store at home, a tip I picked up on DIS).