Newbie Mousie deciding on a hotel...

[mega13]

Hi, gang! I've been lurking for a few weeks now ever since I found out that my b/f and I are going to WDW!! Whoo-hoo! We're going the second week of January, so I am eagerly keeping an eye out for when the new January '05 discount come out. This has been a fabulous board! We had a very hard time deciding on what hotel to book. I defintely wanted to pick a deluxe, and it was a hard choice. I finally (tentatively) decided on AKL. This awesome link helped me by providing fabulous photos (like 200 each!) of all different parts, including the rooms, of every hotel. If you are still in the planning stages, I recommend you check it out. http://allearsnet.com/acc/gallery.htm
I suppose that depending on the discounts that become available, I could always change my mind. We're looking for something exotic and romantic. So far AKL is the winner.
Also, I found that WDW's "layaway" program is fabulous! Each week (or each payday) I can pay down my balance. The CRO assured me that if discount came up, I could apply them to my reservation. Also, I was reassured that if I had to cancel for whatever reason, I'd get a full refund if I canceled at least a week before my arrival date. It's really nice not to have to pay one big lump sum at the end.
Well, I just wanted to thank you all for your helpful tips. We will be visiting all four parks. Does anyone have any other helpful suggestions or tips for our vacation?

Thanx!

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Have you considered the Polynesian. It's secluded and quiet and exotic.

 

[harlock_jds]

The AKL meats your requirements for secluded and romantic, I just got back from a stay and it was Amazing, I absolutely loved it and would go again in a heart beat. HOWEVER I noticed a few things that might bother other people (and kinda bugged me at times) so I'd look into other resorts if anything I mention below bothers you

1) Distance from resorts, long bus rides. You will be making use of the buses a lot while their and the buses are VERY crowded (usually the most crowded of any resort bus I saw). it is also a long bus ride to any park other than the AKL. this also means you will have a even longer ride to any resort you may want to eat at (I'll get back to this in a bit)

2) BLah pool. I'm not a big pool person but if I was I would not have liked the resort pool, it just wasn't very exciting.

3) Bad beer selection. This kinda bugged me... The only beers the resort has is lagers, no ales, no stouts nothing. I like a good lager every now and then (and they do have some good ones I liked Tusker) but some diversity would be nice.

4) adventurous food. I didn't mind the food selection at all (I thought jiko and boma were the best places I ate at WDW) but I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to food. However their was a vocal minority who were VERY unhappy with the lack of 'American' food at the resort and let anyone in earshot know about it. This is made worse by the fact that it's not convenient to go elsewhere to eat from the resort. They do have a counter service restaurant but it's kinda out of the way (at least I thought it was).

5) it's a big resort. some of the rooms are quite a hike from the main area, also in you are checking in at a busy time it can be hard to get help with your luggage because of the number of people.

again I'm not saying the resort is a bad one, I absolutely loved it and would stay again, but if I do I might split my time between 2 resorts (one of them being the AKL) instead of staying at the AKL the entire time like I did last week.