Opinions needed please

[kitkat4622]

I have a solo trip planned for April (my 5th solo). I always stay at POFQ but would love to stay at AK lodge. I can afford the difference in price but I am looking for feedback. Keep POFQ or splurge on AK

 

[OKW Lover]

Assuming you are planning on a savannah view room, I'd go with AKL just to give it a try. It's fascinating to spend time out on your balcony just watching the animals.

 

[kitkat4622]

Assuming you are planning on a savannah view room, I'd go with AKL just to give it a try. It's fascinating to spend time out on your balcony just watching the animals.

Not a Savannah room

 

[Earningmywings]

Our family has stayed at AKL a few times, but for us it is not our favorite. It is a beautiful resort, great food and the animals are amazing. That said we just don’t spend enough time at the resort. The hallways are very long making the walk to the busses long. It is far from all the parks, except DAK. We prefer resorts that have multiple modes of transportation to the park over only busses. If you value time at the resort over park time go for it, but if you spend most of the time in the parks you may want to reconsider. Without the Savanna view I am not it would be worth it either way. I do love AKL though, maybe if we did an adults only trip.

 

[Disnsyncey]

I won't stay at AKL without a savanna view, and got upgraded there for every time I booked a normal room, so I don't want to spoil my streak. Unless you have a full on resort day scheduled, and without a savanna view, I would stick with POFQ.

But I LOVE AKL!

 

[disneyseniors]

We've never stayed at AKL, but we always stayed at POFQ. It has several aspects that we love.
The smaller footprint is good for us because my husband has mobility issues. I love the brick cobbled streets and hearing the horses hoof sounds in our room We took full advantage of the boats to DS and visited several times. You can walk to POR easily and it is a beautiful walk. Their food court is nice too and has good food. I just love the ambience of that resort, so have never considered going to another. We did love POR and it was our go-to resort for several years but we moved to POFQ due to my husbands mobility issues. Though we loved POR, we have never regretted changing to POFQ.

 

[Mommb]

It really depends what you want to do during your trip.

If you intend to spend a lot of time at the resort, then even without a savanna view, there are opportunities to watch the animals during the day and in the evening. Boma and Jiko are among my favorite restaurants at Walt Disney World.

Bus transportation is probably comparable to POFQ, with buses stopping only at Jambo and Kidani before heading to the parks.

However, unlike Port Orleans, there is no way to get anywhere else except by bus (or car). You can still get to Disney Springs, but it will take a while. Getting to other resorts will require changing buses at a park or at Disney Springs.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I own DVC AKV so I stay at Jambo often…. will be there in December. Love the ambience and relaxed feel of the resort. Makes me happy just walking into that grand lobby, especially at Christmas. Personally I don’t do Savannah view… less points for standard room and lots of places to see animals. The restaurant options are terrific, as well. After the energy and chaos of the parks, I love the serene feeling that I get every time I get back to the resort.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Kidani is just starting a big refurbishment that wraps up in May, 2026, and then they’ll move to Jambo to start refurbishing. I would book Kidani since it’s going to be almost done by then and get a new room. If you have your heart set on Jambo, save it for next trip after this one.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Split it. I did a couple days at AKL in a non-savanna room years ago and while it was neat the hotel was simply too far from everything I wanted to do. Glad I didn’t spend a whole trip there, but no regrets that I got to try it for a couple nights. Now I know.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

We love POFQ but I ALWAYS tell someone who is thinking of staying at AKL to "DO IT. It is the most unique resort at WDW and you need to stay there at least once.

 

[brockash]

I have a solo trip planned for April (my 5th solo). I always stay at POFQ but would love to stay at AK lodge. I can afford the difference in price but I am looking for feedback. Keep POFQ or splurge on AK

I mean if it's a bucket list thing and you can do it, go for it. Personally we definitely would not. Stayed once and wasn't out thing. We'd much rather pofq.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I have a solo trip planned for April (my 5th solo). I always stay at POFQ but would love to stay at AK lodge. I can afford the difference in price but I am looking for feedback. Keep POFQ or splurge on AK

Do it! When you walk in to the lobby, you'll be so glad you did. Spend a little time hanging out in the Sunset Lounge (a usually quiet little area just past the registration desk). I'm a big fan of AKL and treated myself on a solo trip right after it opened. I've been several times since.

 

[David Gardner]

Not a Savannah room

I have stayed there, and in my opinin the svannah rooms are only worthwhile for very long trips. When you're watching the animals, they're great...for about 15 minutes. They don't move very quickly, so you're seeing that same thing for a long time. That's great if you plan to take a day off during a 10 day trip, have coffee and a leisurely breakfast or lunch on your patio. If it's taking time that you would otherwise spend in the parks, skip it.

 

[ktink]

We've stayed at AKL. DH & I took one of our daughters & a friend of hers. We went with a pool view category, at the time, so they could have their own room. We were there for 8 nights. Our room wasn't that far away from the lobby. I didn't miss having a savannah room because we saw the animals throughout the resort.

I loved the additional hours we got in Epcot & MK for deluxe guests. But 8 nights was too long at this resort just due to transportation. We spent most of our time in the parks though. It's a beautiful resort & I would stay there again.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It’s a tough call if you know you really love POFQ and have your routine there.
We enjoyed our stay at AKL but we had a Club Level Savannah room, so we didn’t mind just hanging out.
Even without that though I think it’s nice to sit in a comfy chair in the lobby, or by the fires inside and out, etc.
You’d have to bus it or drive, but that’s not so bad. It all just depends on what you’re looking for in a trip.
How did you like it before when you stayed other places besides POFQ (as seen in your signature)?

 

[kitkat4622]

It’s a tough call if you know you really love POFQ and have your routine there.
We enjoyed our stay at AKL but we had a Club Level Savannah room, so we didn’t mind just hanging out.
Even without that though I think it’s nice to sit in a comfy chair in the lobby, or by the fires inside and out, etc.
You’d have to bus it or drive, but that’s not so bad. It all just depends on what you’re looking for in a trip.
How did you like it before when you stayed other places besides POFQ (as seen in your signature)?

We liked the Boardwalk because we could walk to Epcot but only stayed there because our son was getting married at the Seabreeze Pointe gazebo.
Caribbean Beach was before they redid the resort (found it way too big)
All Star Movies was our first trip ever.
OKW was my first solo trip and I enjoyed it but also found it big.
I guess I am a POFQ girl at heart.

 

[loves to dive]

Like another poster said, it depends on what you are going to do on the trip and to some extent the number of days you are going to be there. You are going to have to bus to all the parks at either resort so take that out of the equation. Are you going to spend any time at DS? Are you going to spend more time in the parks then at the resort? Have you thought about a split stay?

I'd do a split stay if it were me. A couple of days at AKL then the rest at POFQ. I've stayed at AKL and PORS but not FQ. Both AKL and PORS were during a split stay by the way. At AKL we had a one bedroom and it wasn't considered a savannah view but it really was. It wasn't considered one because it was right above the people pens, which was your initial view. The people pens are where people are evacuated to if they are not inside the resort and say an animal gets loose. We enjoyed it but I wouldn't want to spend my entire trip there. We had no problems with the buses and it really didn't seem any longer to get to any of the parks then it does elsewhere. PORS was a couple nights then I moved over to YC. I don't do DS so the boat there wasn't even in play. I was on the 2nd to last bus stop at PORS so there was always room on the bus so I didn't have to stand and I would just get off on the first stop on the way back and walk to my room, it wasn't that far. I think it's worth a few nights at AKL just to experience it and I always visit it on just about every trip but I'm an Epcot resort kind of gal and usually stay at either one of WDW resorts there or the Swan/Dolphin. If I have to stay moderate, CSR is usually my go to.

 

[summerlvr]

Fellow solo traveler here. I used to love staying at AKL, but last time I stayed there I got quite bored. I think it was because if you don't have a car, you have to take a bus to go anywhere off the property and that can be time consuming. I've been staying at the Dolphin recently, but due to multiple reports of ants/bugs in the rooms, I'm hesitant to recommend it.
I would probably do a split stay, maybe two nights at AKL, then 3 nights somewhere else.
If you do decide to stay at AKL, if you're not booking savanna view, ask for a partial view room. As far as food, Jiko is excellent. I've never had trouble just walking in and getting a seat at the bar.

 

[CynBeth]

Our family has stayed at AKL a few times, but for us it is not our favorite. It is a beautiful resort, great food and the animals are amazing. That said we just don’t spend enough time at the resort. The hallways are very long making the walk to the busses long. It is far from all the parks, except DAK. We prefer resorts that have multiple modes of transportation to the park over only busses. If you value time at the resort over park time go for it, but if you spend most of the time in the parks you may want to reconsider. Without the Savanna view I am not it would be worth it either way. I do love AKL though, maybe if we did an adults only trip.

We stayed there once and did not care for it. If you are going to splurge on a deluxe would choose one of the others instead. We always have a dinner at Boma every trip and beforehand visit the different animal areas.