Just Back from AKL and WL

[tnminnie]

We have just returned from our split stay with 3 nights at WL and 4 nights at AKL Sept 29-Oct 6. We had a great time and won Dream Fast Passes in AK! WL was fun, well located. Not the greatest Mousekeeping (lots of dust, crackers in the floor when we arrived.) We stayed in room 4098 which is Standard View, but should be listed as No View. It literally was a view of a giant dormer. We could not even see a tree. We weren't in the the room much, so it didn't matter, but if you want a view, definitely do not get this room!
MNSSHP on 9/29 was great! No rain.
AKL was very nice, staff was eager to please, very polite. My kids loved the animals. We were upgraded to a bunk bed, pool view room. (We had booked a Standard View room with AAA discount.) Our room # was 3432 and was a fantastic view.
Both resorts were fun and had their pros and cons. Would stay at both resorts again in the future.

 

[J and R's mom]

Did you prefer one resort over the other (not taking into account the views)?

Congrats on the dream Fast Passes. Where in AK were you when you won them? How long did you get to keep them?

Glad to hear you had such a good trip!

 

[tnminnie]

I think that WL is great for location (the boat to the Magic Kingdom was very convenient) and it has great theming. The lobby was quite noisy from the Whispering Canyon Cafe, but it is a beautiful place.
The AKL is more quiet, and has fantastic restaurants. The staff always went out of their way to be helpful, and seeing the wildlife every day was so fantastic. My children (ages 6 and 9) loved both places, but could not choose one over the other.
We received the Fast Passes on an animal trail in Asia. We were stopped and asked to wait for a minute, then were allowed to go to the next spot on the trail. The CM's with the black duffel bags were waiting for us and gave out the AK fast passes to everyone in the group (about 15 people). The passes were good only for the day and at 6 different locations in the AK. (They came in very handy at the Kilamanjaro Safaris)

 

[Jaime]

Did you notice much work going on at the AKL? We are considering staying there in DEC...we want a savanah view room but all is left are standard view rooms.

 

[bigmoonmullen]

Hi:

How much time did it take you to get to and from the various Parks?

Mark

 

[munchie22]

OP - can I ask which Savannah and/or Trail your room was located in?

We visit next week.

Thank you!

 

[tnminnie]

I believe we were on the Zebra Trail facing the pool. We could not see any construction going on. If you have a pool view, you will not see any construction. It is taking place on the Savannah side opposite where we stayed. We went over to that side of the hotel to see the animals and you could see big cranes and lots of construction. I think it would be disappointing to have a savannah view on that side of the hotel. Stick with the standard view and ask to be upgraded to a pool view. We were charged a fee of $100 total for the 4 nights we were there and it was worth it! I believe with the AAA discount, the price of the room was $210/night for a pool view, bunk bed room.
As far as getting to the parks, we had rented a car and drove to the AK. It took about 3 minutes. That afternoon, we rode a bus to MGM, boat to Epcot and bus back to AKL one day and it was not a problem at all. We did 3 parks that day in the rain!