POR or AK?

[neville04]

I had originally booked at the beach club and after hearing about how hard it is to keep an eye on the little ones in the pool area- we changed hotels to POR.... i was very excited in hearing how great POR was and when we had some free time we sat down and i showed him pics from the resort ( since neither of us have ever been there before) ... lets just say he was less than impressed.... ( we stayed at POFQ in 2011) and he said that POR looked exactly to POFQ and that it seem borring to him... now he wants to look at changing ( yes changing again ) our reservation to AK..... our kids will be 8,6, adn 2 when we go... any thoughts on AK vs POR????


thanks!!

 

[mousefan73]

If money is no issue, then AKL pools offers more. Plus you get two pools, the Jambo and Kidani. Nice thing about Jambo is you are also next to some animal viewing sits, so you can walk over from the pool and check things out.

We did a split stay last year AKL and then POR. AKL has a bigger pool but I recall it being more open where you can watch kids from one spot. POR is small but has that island thing. I remember going from slide to that corner back and forth.


I havent been to Kidani, but I heard that is a better pool, a shuttle can bus you guys or its a short walk.

 

[mousefan73]

Forgot, does the 2 yr old count as a person?? AKL only does 4, I believe.. POR does 5.
Unless you get a villa at AKL,, but will cost aloooooot more. or dvc.

 

[neville04]

Forgot, does the 2 yr old count as a person?? AKL only does 4, I believe.. POR does 5.
Unless you get a villa at AKL,, but will cost aloooooot more. or dvc.

they dont count yet in the total - its under 3 that does not count

 

[iheartdisney123]

AKL - hands down! One of the most gorgeous resorts I've ever been to!

And the 2 yo does not count as a person for occupancy.

 

[disneyobessed]

Ive stayed at both pros to both. More pools at POR. Food court offers more and you can take a boat to downtown disney. AKL is beautiful. somewhat isolated though. either place is great! We love POR and we are DVC owners at AKV!

 

[happymommy]

I would choose the AKL, because the rooms have a balcony. I wouldn't stay anywhere that didn't.

That being said, the AKL club rooms are great. The food and drinks there are worth it (plus the planning offered by the club concierge staff). We ate dinner up there a few nights, as the offerings were so generous.

For location, our favorite is the Boardwalk villas. I like to be able to walk to Epcot, and there are other resorts to walk to as well. You can always look at rentals on redweek, or renting points (which I think tends to cost a bit more).

 

[ttcl516]

I would chose POR....we had a lovely stay there last year, and can't wait to go back in 2015. Of course I have never stayed at AKL, but I just can't see paying the difference between Mod and Del when we are barely in our room. I'm sure no matter where you choose it will be full of Disney Magic.
But POR gets my vote for sure

 

[HopperFan]

Stayed at both and love them both. Given your situation I would pick AKL.

- Your DH would like to stay there so he would be happy.
- Great resort while the kids are young: Animals, Zero entry pool in contained area, Great kids activities, did I say Animals.
- Balcony to sit on no matter the view while the kids are getting to sleep.
- Good bus service just outside the front of resort so you are not dragging everyone to potentially far bus stops.
- Rain doesn't dampen day or trap you in room since so much to do all from inside.

 

[wiigirl]

AKL - hands down! One of the most gorgeous resorts I've ever been to!

And the 2 yo does not count as a person for occupancy.

 

[mickeynut1]

I had originally booked at the beach club and after hearing about how hard it is to keep an eye on the little ones in the pool area- we changed hotels to POR.... i was very excited in hearing how great POR was and when we had some free time we sat down and i showed him pics from the resort ( since neither of us have ever been there before) ... lets just say he was less than impressed.... ( we stayed at POFQ in 2011) and he said that POR looked exactly to POFQ and that it seem borring to him... now he wants to look at changing ( yes changing again ) our reservation to AK..... our kids will be 8,6, adn 2 when we go... any thoughts on AK vs POR????


thanks!!

We've never stayed at POR, but we love AKL. The resort is beautiful, the pool is fun, there are a lot of animal viewing areas around the resort, and the dining options are great (IMO). If AKL is a resort you want to try, I'd do it now before your youngest turns 3 and you need 2 rooms. Good luck.

 

[scm200]

we are going in august and doing a split stay (cause we are crazy and staying 14 days) 3 nights at POR Riverside, 6 nights at OKW (DVC- Grand Villa) and 4 nights at AKL DVC Kidani - we LOVE AKL but have a sweet spot for POR- Riverside, it was our 1st Disney Resort when it was Dixie Landings - its a lovely resort and the boat to DTD is a good thing!

 

[ldo]

stay @ AKL, as you will probably be staying at POR in the future with 5 persons. Also, over at AKV-Kidani, there is a kids spray-play area that is not in the pool. As a AKL guest, you can use it. The pool at AKL is very nice, large zero entry area, little play ground near pool. Slide (it's sort of a "slow" slide, according to my pre-teen kids, so good for younger kids). Lots of other activities for kids. Very fun. We just stayed at POR at Christmas. It's a nice resort, very spread out, but cannot compare with AKL.

 

[cyberbox2]

AKL is just amazing. You'll never get another resort experience like that anywhere else in the states, maybe the world.

We stayed there for 3 nights a few summers ago and never even went to a Disney park, other than a few trips to DTD, we spent all of our time at the resort.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

AKL hands down. Just came back from AKV kidani and had a terrific time. Pools are great, splash area at kidani wonderful, saw lots if animals, good food, many kids activities, and so relaxing. I am seriously considering DVC at AKL after this last trip. Enjoy!