POFQ or AKL

[woody5]

Currently have POFQ booked for February. With a Priceline deal, I can change to AKL for the same price. POFQ has newly refurbished rooms and a much better location. AKL would get us access to deluxe extra hours. If we stay at POFQ we will not get park hoppers but buy tickets to the MK after hours event. If we switch to AKL, we would get park hoppers and go to the free deluxe after hours. Price is about the same with either option. We have never stayed at either resort. AK is my least favorite park. Which would you choose?

Final question, will the crowds at the paid MK after hours event less than MCMCP? We attended a party this fall and were disappointed in the crowds.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Currently have POFQ booked for February. With a Priceline deal, I can change to AKL for the same price. POFQ has newly refurbished rooms and a much better location. AKL would get us access to deluxe extra hours. If we stay at POFQ we will not get park hoppers but buy tickets to the MK after hours event. If we switch to AKL, we would get park hoppers and go to the free deluxe after hours. Price is about the same with either option. We have never stayed at either resort. AK is my least favorite park. Which would you choose?

Final question, will the crowds at the paid MK after hours event less than MCMCP? We attended a party this fall and were disappointed in the crowds.

The after hours crowds are much lower than the holiday party crowds and the extended evening hour crowds (although the extended hours are still generally awesome and uncrowded). As for the resorts, that’s really a personal thing. I’d personally pick AKL because it’s a deluxe, has the extended evening hours, the animals, good food and is a beautiful resort. But…it’s huge-much more walking than POFQ and it’s far from everything. If you’re driving to the parks that’s not a huge deal though. POFQ is also a beautiful resort, close to Disney springs and fairly small. I think the pool there is being worked on and there may be some renovations on the rooms while you’re there too. So you may have to use POR pool if you want to swim. Again, I’d pick whichever resort you’d prefer but waking up to animals every morning would be awesome (you can request partial Savannah views even if you’re booked in a standard view-of course not guaranteed but it’s frequently granted). Either way, have fun!

 

[mort1331]

If you can get AKL for the same price,,its a no brainer for us. Now we are DVC so have stayed there a bit,,but before we used to stay at POFQ. As for transportation,,,we never have an issue with busses to and from,,,yes you might be no 5-10 longer,,but again for us no issue. We love the animals,,the front lobby,,,remember you can use both AKL pools and amenities. The only downside is it does not have boat transport to the Springs.

 

[Hubalorian]

AKL without hesitation

 

[Mle8308]

POFQ. I just don't like the feel of AKL (way too dark and in need of a refurb) plus it is far from everything. And if you book on Priceline, chances are you won't have a Savanna view room (unless it specifically states that in the deal, Priceline is usually run of the house, which means whatever is available). Disney would most likely upgrade a cash reservation before one booked through Priceline. You can be in a room that is FAR away from anything, plus it's only bus transportation and more than one bus stop. So if you aren't going to see animals, I would not stay there. I wouldn't even if you would see animals, but that is just me. POFQ is much more compact and only one bus stop, plus the boat to Disney Springs. AKL is loved by many, however I'd rather stay in a moderate and forgo the EMH. After Hours are great, much less crowded than the holiday parties.

 

[Miffy]

AKL and POFQ are my two favorite resorts.

Question: Is the AKL room a savanna or "water" (i.e., pool) view? Or is it "resort" (i.e., possibly a view of the parking lot) view? That would make a difference to me. Of course, one can get lucky and get a partial savanna view with the resort view.

But, if you don't care about seeing the animals at your resort or the convenience of being a very short bus ride from DAK, then maybe this isn't the right place for you.

An advantage of POFQ is that it's a 10-12 minute bus ride from Epcot and DHS. FQ usually doesn't share buses and they never do at peak travel times. There's a nice boat ride to DS and bus ride to DS is very short. You will probably get a renovated room, although I'm not sure if all the buildings will be finished by February. We were just there and got a renovated room and it was beautiful.

More questions: Will you have a car and be using it for resort-to-park transportation? Are you going during the February holiday? Which parks do you plan on spending most of your time in? Are you going to purchase LLMPs and LLSPs?

Everything will factor into your decision . . . or it won't! You'll just look at room pictures and make an emotional decision. After all, it's a trip to WDW, and since the price of the two resorts is similar, let your gut be your guide.

 

[woody5]

We will be at WDW over President’s Weekend, so I expect it to be busy. We will be purchasing LLMP and LLSP each day. The room through Priceline is a standard view room.

I am leaning towards keeping our reservation at POFQ and buying tickets to the After Hours at MK.

 

[eandt]

Currently have POFQ booked for February. With a Priceline deal, I can change to AKL for the same price. POFQ has newly refurbished rooms and a much better location. AKL would get us access to deluxe extra hours. If we stay at POFQ we will not get park hoppers but buy tickets to the MK after hours event. If we switch to AKL, we would get park hoppers and go to the free deluxe after hours. Price is about the same with either option. We have never stayed at either resort. AK is my least favorite park. Which would you choose?

Final question, will the crowds at the paid MK after hours event less than MCMCP? We attended a party this fall and were disappointed in the crowds.

Same price? WOW … no brainer AKL

 

[Hubalorian]

There is nothing like AKL, favorite resort on property. Plus the hotel side has been renovated much more recently then the DVC side

 

[Nabas]

Currently have POFQ booked for February. With a Priceline deal, I can change to AKL for the same price. POFQ has newly refurbished rooms and a much better location. AKL would get us access to deluxe extra hours. If we stay at POFQ we will not get park hoppers but buy tickets to the MK after hours event. If we switch to AKL, we would get park hoppers and go to the free deluxe after hours. Price is about the same with either option. We have never stayed at either resort. AK is my least favorite park. Which would you choose?

We have stayed at POFQ and AKL several times.

AKL actually consists of two building: Jambo House and Kidani Village. The vast majority of AKL cash rooms are at Jambo House. Kidani is DVC but cash rooms there are sometimes available.

Hands down, Jambo House is Disney's best stand-alone hotel experience. Fantastic lobby, great pool, two hot tubes, a pool bar, two good table service restaurants plus a food court, a nice bar, a varied store, and animals!

POFQ is WDW's smallest Moderate Resort. The Beignets are fantastic and the New Orleans theming is a lot of fun. Everything else about the resort is middle-of-the-road, including the pool and food court.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I would have said AKL but I’m concerned because AK is your least favorite park. To enjoy AKL you want to be interested in Animals and the theming because it’s a haul to the theme parks so you really want to enjoy the resort.

Fwiw After Hours get excellent reviews for low crowds. And not just on DIS, I was at Swolphin in Sept and various groups at the pool were raving about DHS AH and even EP AH. They were almost all returning guests to the events from the pervious year.

 

[maryj11]

Definitely AKL! I’ve stayed at both. AKL is definitely my choice over POFQ. People say it’s such a long ride on buses but I really didn’t notice much of a difference than other resorts.The buses were no problem to any park.