Meals at AKL or WL

[kimberlyp02]

Is it just me or are the meal prices/menus less expensive at WL compared to AKL. My dh decided this morning that we will go for either one of those resorts. We are leaning more toward WL, but the extra $$ for the woodsview is the only thing hindering us...it's only about $100 and after looking at menus, I'm thinking we would save that in meals there than at AKL. Especially breakfast. I noticed at WL their buffet style breakfast is only $9.69 pp where AKL is $14.99 pp. For those that have been there or to both, will we save money at WL? Also, I noticed the sandwiches, etc seem to come with fries and are a little cheaper than sandwich only at AKL.

 

[kimberlyp02]

Oh, and what about meal quality at each? Most likely we will grab lunch at the parks, but breakfast I'm sure 90% of the time will be at our resort, dinner a few times too most likely. thanks!

 

[Kimberle]

Kim (b/t/w -LOVE your name!! ) Let me tell you about the best meal "deal" at all of WDW!!

At FW (Fort Wilderness), there is a lovely little resturant called Trails End. It's all buffet, and takes no PS. (Very foolish us waited until our last night to have dinner there.) The food was wonderful, we had chicken, cold shrimp, chili, salads, ribs, the most wonderful cobbler I've ever had, soda's, mac & cheese, pizza, mac & red sauce (my 4yo dd was in heaven!!), etc. The price for the 3 of us, including tip was $41!! I've heard their b/fast buffet is wonderful also!! Take the WL/CR/FW boat or the bus to FW.

Other very easily accessable food options from WL are Chef Mickeys and Concourse Steakhouse (one of our fav's) at CR. Just take the small boat that goes WL/FW/CR.

WL has a direct bus to TTC (the location of the Poly), so you can access all those resturants easily.

Because of the Villa's next door, the gift shop at WL has quite a variety of foods, milk, eggs, bacon, bags of bagels, etc. You might get your b/fast there instead of RF's. You can certainly use the toasters or microwave to heat your food.

Lots of great options from WL! I can't comment on AKL as I've never stayed there.

 

[kimberlyp02]

You're going about 1-2 weeks before me to Disney...I need to just go the same time as you and follow you around...lol

Let me ask you a question. We were thinking of going in the middle of Sept also until we heard that it rains about 14 days out of Sept, so we moved our vacation to the last week of value season just to be sure. What is your opinion on that?

 

[Kimberle]

*LOL* Just stick to these brds! You can glean an incrediable amount of information! I didn't know about this site before our first stay. I realise now how much better I could have made our trip!

We have always gone the end of August, or middle of Sept. We've never had a problem with rain, just the expected quick evening shower around dinner time. We barely had any rain last Sept.

I would send a PM to either Disneydmbnut or Magicinmyheart. They both live not to far from WDW and could better answer your question. Both ladies are extremly nice!!

Happy planning! Drives you *nuts* doesn't it?!

 

[pumpkinboy]

I don't think cost of meals at the food court should be the deciding factor over where you are going to stay at WDW. We have stayed at AKL, and absolutely adore it (now out Fav' hotel ever; 3 yr old DD composed a little song about it, which we sometimes hum). Have not yet experienced WL, but look forward to doing so at some point. The food at Mara (the quite excellent food court at AKL) is of very high quality, tho not the cheapest in the World; we thought it was a good value for money given that we were at WDW. The other restaurants at ALK are extraordinary, and likely have something to appeal to everyone in your party. Kimberle has filled you in on good spots at WL, so you should be in good shape to decide. All I have to say by way of an opinion is "Savannah view" (what could be cooler than giraffes and zebras that you see form your porch window)

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

kimberlyp02,

I have stayed in Both AKL & WL love them both, yes the prices are a little higher at AKL but you can't compare the food at Boma to WCC the food at AKL is very different then anything this southern girl had tried before...while I did enjoy it, I didn't enjoy it enough to eat there more then once. All I can remember is the tast of Curry. Also Mara the counter service at AKL is much larger then Roaring Fork and has a larger menu.
Staying at Wilderness Lodge you do have more options available to you with restaurants.

Traveling in September
Two things to keep in mind, last September only Florida Residence where offered a good discount code. No AP codes where offered.

The other item is the weather...September is one of our busiest months for Tropical Storms aka Hurricans while you said you had your trip planned for later in the month this is a good thing, but keep in mind there is always that possibility. We do have alot of rain during this time of year, usualy earlier in the month.

Hope this helped.

 

[kimberlyp02]

Thanks SO much.....I think I'm forming and ulcer from planning this trip..lol

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

You'll be fine, take a deep breath and relax it's suppose to be fun.

Have a Great Trip.

 

[n2mm]

We have done both and if the meals are a deciding factor, I would say take WL. While at AKL we were forced to eat a mara's every mornng. Boma's is a breakfast buffet and we are not big breakfast eaters to justify that price. But at WL you have both roaring forks quickie place or WCC. WCC has regular menu items and you do not have to do buffet. I find that the regular breakfasts on the WCC menu average about $6.99 a meal (not including drinks). PLUS, you have quick access to the CR for the Concourse steakhouse (good breakfast option) and easy to get to by watercraft (starts at 7:00 AM), plus Trails End (one of our favorites) has a $9.99 buffet (includes drinks). I found while staying at AKL we would zip over to the All Stars food courts for a change because after several days mara's got boring and Jikos was too fancy for us and Boma, while good, was only a one night option for us. Dining is always a big factor on where we stay and is one of the reasons why we still find ourselves going back to the values several times a year. This year we are going/gone 4 times and twice staying at WL and twice staying at Pop.

 

[kimberlyp02]

Thanks....eating is a big thing for us too. I have to eat/snack every 2hrs so I don't get hypoglycemic, so I need something affordable and something that I'm not going to get tired of quickly. And also, it's important to me that I can have quick access to other restaurants too for more options. Eating so much too can get really expensive, so dining is definitely a factor in where we stay.

 

[karlad61]

Hi

What is WCC?

Thanks.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Whispering Canyon Cafe a great place to eat at Wilderness Lodge

 

[kda]

We truly love both resorts, so I won't try to influence you --- it's a matter of taste.
There's a big, big difference in the breakfasts you're describing. WCC bkfst is an all-you-can eat skillet bkfst (small waffle, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, bkfst potato patty or tater tots, biscuit and gravy ---- I think that's all). I enjoy it a lot and it's quick. Boma's bkfst is a big bkfst buffet with carved meat, wonderful juices and fruit, etc, etc, etc.
Both have a quick-bkfst option.