AKL is far out there, but we found the buses to be really good. The AKL bus stops at only Kiandi and Jambo and then off to your destination.
We found the buses at YC to be much, much worse. As the bus stops at all the EPCOT resorts and then off to the destination. We used a cab several times during our YC stay, never had to use one prior.
We just planned on taking about 45-60 min to get from AKL to anywhere but AK. We were always early, but I don't mind being early.