A long overdue thank you for helping me to pick the two resorts we stayed at on our first and truly wonderful WDW family vacation.
To anyone who may recognize my screen name - you will probably remember me for asking lots of questions. I was so fixated on choosing a resort since I figured this would have a huge impact on our enjoyment of the trip. Well I was right about that part, but I owe a huge amount of gratitude to the posters here who helped with nearly everything I asked.
I never had time to post a trip report as we came home from vacation Dec. 7 and had a million and one things to do to get ready for the holidays - so this will be very brief.
We stayed at the Polynesian for the first 3 nights of our trip - in a newly remodeled room of Rapa Nui, 3rd floor facing Tahiti. It was fantastic. The room was beautiful and huge, was in a quiet area, extremely convenient to the TTC for the monorail, and a short, serene walk to and from the GCH. Thanks a million to all you Poly fans out there and a special shout out to Steve for convincing me that this is THE place to stay. I can't say enough good things about the Poly and it will definately be the resort we will stay at whenever we can afford it.
Then, being that we had an unbelievable deal to stay concierge at AKL, moved over to there for the last four nights of our trip. The lodge is spectacular and I loved the ambiance, the music, oh the music, and the smell of the fire pit, the nightly storytelling, the view of Arusha Savanna, the towel animals (2), the cappucino / espresso machine in the lounge, the African punch, and the faboulous breakfast offerings, and the Sunrise Safari. The staff was extremely helpful, especially the concierge staff, including the white haired gentleman who kept my kids amused with his Donald Duck impressions. Can't remember his name but my dd, only 2, still talks about the "daddy" who talked like Donald. ( She thinks every man is a daddy. ) The room was nice, very clean, but coming from the Poly, was noticeably smaller, especially with a crib set up. My husband didn't like that the TV was in an amoir where if you wanted to watch TV the doors had to stay open (drastically reducing the running lane my kids used to go back and forth to the balcony) . Coming from the larger flat panel TV at the Poly, this was an issue for him only. We barely watched any TV with the exception of first thing in the morning anyway. Overall, we really enjoyed the AKL but I don't feel like we took full advantage of all that they have to offer. It was our first trip with our two kids, 6 and 2, and they really wanted to see and do everything in the parks, so we didn't have a lot of relaxing time at either resort. I think the AKL is one to savor. I would stay there in a heartbeat. But I would make sure it was at the end of the vacation and all the running around so you could take full advantage of just sitting back and feeling like you are truly someplace far, far away from your everyday life.
So to sum it up - both resorts will be ones that we will return to in the future. I loved them both (although, I think the AKL was more fitting for my personal tastes ) you just can't beat the convenience of the Poly and the size of the rooms. My dh and kids, I think, preferred the Poly ( the kids just loved the monorail ). So for now, just wanted to give a quick update on our experience and to thank you all.
It was truly the most magical vacation I have ever had. Just watching the look of wonder in your kids eyes is absolutely priceless. We have so many wonderful memories that I can't wait to start planning the next vacation.
Jacqueline
To anyone who may recognize my screen name - you will probably remember me for asking lots of questions. I was so fixated on choosing a resort since I figured this would have a huge impact on our enjoyment of the trip. Well I was right about that part, but I owe a huge amount of gratitude to the posters here who helped with nearly everything I asked.
I never had time to post a trip report as we came home from vacation Dec. 7 and had a million and one things to do to get ready for the holidays - so this will be very brief.
We stayed at the Polynesian for the first 3 nights of our trip - in a newly remodeled room of Rapa Nui, 3rd floor facing Tahiti. It was fantastic. The room was beautiful and huge, was in a quiet area, extremely convenient to the TTC for the monorail, and a short, serene walk to and from the GCH. Thanks a million to all you Poly fans out there and a special shout out to Steve for convincing me that this is THE place to stay. I can't say enough good things about the Poly and it will definately be the resort we will stay at whenever we can afford it.
Then, being that we had an unbelievable deal to stay concierge at AKL, moved over to there for the last four nights of our trip. The lodge is spectacular and I loved the ambiance, the music, oh the music, and the smell of the fire pit, the nightly storytelling, the view of Arusha Savanna, the towel animals (2), the cappucino / espresso machine in the lounge, the African punch, and the faboulous breakfast offerings, and the Sunrise Safari. The staff was extremely helpful, especially the concierge staff, including the white haired gentleman who kept my kids amused with his Donald Duck impressions. Can't remember his name but my dd, only 2, still talks about the "daddy" who talked like Donald. ( She thinks every man is a daddy. ) The room was nice, very clean, but coming from the Poly, was noticeably smaller, especially with a crib set up. My husband didn't like that the TV was in an amoir where if you wanted to watch TV the doors had to stay open (drastically reducing the running lane my kids used to go back and forth to the balcony) . Coming from the larger flat panel TV at the Poly, this was an issue for him only. We barely watched any TV with the exception of first thing in the morning anyway. Overall, we really enjoyed the AKL but I don't feel like we took full advantage of all that they have to offer. It was our first trip with our two kids, 6 and 2, and they really wanted to see and do everything in the parks, so we didn't have a lot of relaxing time at either resort. I think the AKL is one to savor. I would stay there in a heartbeat. But I would make sure it was at the end of the vacation and all the running around so you could take full advantage of just sitting back and feeling like you are truly someplace far, far away from your everyday life.
So to sum it up - both resorts will be ones that we will return to in the future. I loved them both (although, I think the AKL was more fitting for my personal tastes ) you just can't beat the convenience of the Poly and the size of the rooms. My dh and kids, I think, preferred the Poly ( the kids just loved the monorail ). So for now, just wanted to give a quick update on our experience and to thank you all.
It was truly the most magical vacation I have ever had. Just watching the look of wonder in your kids eyes is absolutely priceless. We have so many wonderful memories that I can't wait to start planning the next vacation.
Jacqueline
