One night: AKL vs Poly?

[dawnhaze]

So I'm an idiot and booked my flight for the wrong date after my cruise this summer. I have no idea how I managed that. I'm coming back to WDW on the morning of September 1 and need a place to stay until my (late evening) flight on September 2.

I have an annual pass so another couple of park days isn't an issue. I've decided to take the opportunity to stay one night in a deluxe resort, since I'm usually strictly a value kind of girl. My top choices are AKL and Poly, and I love the same things about them - the scenery and the theming are top-notch.

For a single night, which of these do you folks suggest? Is there a significant difference in cost? I'd be booking through my AAA agent since she's managing that whole trip for me (maybe I should have let her buy the airfare!), but I'm not expecting discounts over Labor Day weekend.

 

[bcrook]

I have no idea on cost (I use my DVC), but I think the AKL is amazingly beautiful. The savanna view is peaceful. I enjoy going down by be fire pits and hanging out in the lobby.

 

[Megsie1000]

Do you want to just hang and relax or go commando to the parks? Commando = I would stay Poly. If you're looking to chill after your cruise and hang around the resort more I would choose AKL.

 

[Sue M]

Both are great resorts. There is a sig. price dif between Poly & AKL, yes. If price is a concern, go with AKL. It would also depend on what park you plan on going to, if its MK or Epcot, Poly is more convenient.

 

[shaynar]

I say Poly for a short stay (if money was no object!)

AKL I enjoy for longer trips, more relaxed. (not that you can't relax at poly though...)

 

[OKW Lover]

Both are great choices. If you are planning on doing the MK/Epcot during your stay then the Poly would be a good choice with easy monorail access to either.

 

[vdub322]

We had this same choice to make when we decided to turn our one week stay at Boardwalk Villas into a split stay and add two nights. My first instinct was Poly because I have always wanted to stay there, and as a DVC member I don't get many opportunities, but we ended up going with Animal Kingdom Villas because we felt we would probably be ready to relax and enjoy the resort more at that point.

At the Poly we would be getting a standard room for the price we would get a Savannah View one bedroom villa at Animal Kingdom. I think it comes down, for us at least, what our plans were going to be for the days in question. The Poly is a beautiful resort, and I would love to stay there some day (or better yet, I would love for them to build DVC there!) but the ambiance and views at Animal Kingdom won out for us!

 

[MJMcBride]

my 2 favorite resorts but i would pick AKL narrowly over the Poly

Jambo!

 

[dawnhaze]

I'll probably be mostly relaxing - I have 3 park days before the cruise, so I won't really want or need to tour the parks too hardcore.

I'm leaning towards AKL... Thanks for all the info, folks

 

[mickeynut1]

Having stayed at both, both are awesome resorts and would be great for relaxing, IMO. The Poly, however, is our favorite of the two and one of the (many) things we love about it is the beach as it's great relaxing in a hammock watching the fireworks. Staying at the Poly would also be convenient if you wanted to visit the GF and/or CR to just walk the grounds or do a little shopping. With that said, you really can't go wrong with either one as they are both great places to stay; however, as Sue M mentioned, there is a significant price difference between the two, so if you are looking to save a little, AKL would be the cheapest. Good luck deciding and have a great trip.

 

[cjsm&d]

Do you want to just hang and relax or go commando to the parks? Commando = I would stay Poly. If you're looking to chill after your cruise and hang around the resort more I would choose AKL.

^^ This +1

 

[B-Ride]

Definitely Poly if you want to visit a park. AKL if you plan to just stay at the resort.

 

[Funky Chicken]

FWIW I think flying back the day after the cruise is a great idea!
We are doing the same thing after our January Fantasy cruise, staying at WL for one night.
We picked WL because the objective of the post cruise stay is to explore New Fantasyland. I think I would have picked AKL had we not planned a visit to MK. I find AKL to be a real escape and post cruise I think it would be nice to ease back into reality-as much as I like Poly it always feels a bit frantic to me.

 

[Funky Chicken]

One more thing-
make sure you book your hotel stay as a completely separate entity-do NOT add it to the cruise booking.
When you add a room to a cruise booking you have to do it at full rack rate-no discounts/pin codes apply. Also, you are limited to standard rooms only. Our TA took care of our cruise but I booked the room at the WDW website using the room only discount.

 

[dawnhaze]

One more thing-
make sure you book your hotel stay as a completely separate entity-do NOT add it to the cruise booking.
When you add a room to a cruise booking you have to do it at full rack rate-no discounts/pin codes apply. Also, you are limited to standard rooms only. Our TA took care of our cruise but I booked the room at the WDW website using the room only discount.

Thank you for this info, I didn't know that. I may just book the room on my own, then. If there is a discount at that time, I definitely want to get it!