POR or AKL? What do you think?

[cjsmom5]

This will be our tenth trip to WDW and we have stayed at both Dixie Landings (am I showing my age) and POFQ. This trip we were leaning towards AKL savannah view. The difference in price for 10 nights is $1000. Now, the question my DH keeps asking is ... is it worth $1000 or can we just stop by the resort and visit the animals. He keeps reminding me of all the things I could buy with that ... and the toys for my DS (5) -- his 7th trip to WDW -- the character meals I could eat at --- well you get the picture. And, I keep saying but the "ambiance"...the animals ... the theme ...

So, any opinions either way. Just curious.

I've been gone for about six months and it is good to be back! Only bad thing is I lost all my "post" total so I'm no longer a veteran. Guess I will start back up again! The challenge! By the way, for those of you who were around for awhile I was dcedwards before I had to resign in.....

 

[SnackyStacky]

I think it depends on a few factors, and consider which one works for you.

My first concern is ALWAYS the money. Is the ambiance and theme worth the $1000?

Then comes the transportation. Will you have a car, or are you relying on Disney Transportation? I've heard that the AKL transportation is shoddy. There's also no specialty transportation. If you stay at POR, you have a boat to downtown Disney.

There's also the dining options to consider. Is your son a picky eater? The food court at POR may be a better option for you. I think the choices at The Mara are pretty limited, and Jiko and Boma are your only other options at the resort. There's really not too much else there either. Getting from Animal Kingdom Lodge to another resort is a pain in the butt to eat. There's always the downtown bus though.

The pool. I haven't been to either resort, so I can't comment on the pool, but if your son is a big swimmer, that may be something you'll want to look into.

Room Size. Port Orleans Riverside has a room size of 314 square feet. Animal Kingdom Lodge checks in at 344 for Savannah and Standard View rooms. The deluxe savannah rooms are 380 square feet. Are those 30 square feet worth the $1000? (My opinion would be a resounding yes, but again, that's just my humble opinion!)

Bathrooms. Animal Kingdom Lodge offers you two sinks with a counter in a seperate, private area from the rest of the room. Port Orleans doesn't. The sinks are right out in the open. They're also pedestal sinks, and there's only a very narrow shelf to store anything.

Amenities. Do you and your husband plan on a night out? Animal Kingdom Lodge offers you childcare for $8/hour. Not so at POR.

Lots to consider I know, but those are the things that come to mind to consider when making your decision.

I assure though that whichever you choose, you'll have a GRAND time! Have fun!

 

[cart-mom]

I stayed at AKL in July and while I think the resort is beautiful and calming and there are lots of activities for your DS on top of having a great pool/slide - is it really worth $1000 more? Do you have to do the Savannah view? If you stay standard there are plenty of lookouts to see the animals and windows along the halls to see out to the savannahs. We had a standard view on the parking lot side. It was right off the lobby so we didn't have very far to walk after we got off the bus.

As for the food - we only ate at The Mara food court - DH wouldn't spend the $ for Boma or Jiko. The food there was awesome.

Only you can make this kind of decision because you know deep down what is right. I've never stayed at POR so I can't compare it to AKL.

 

[kathylovesdisneyworl]

AKL or PO

We have stayed at both. AKL is our favorite resort of all but that is because we all love animals. We only had 1 problem with the bus system in the 3 times we have stayed there. Food court has a nice selection and the food was good. Boma's is great, even for kids. We have stayed all three views. If $1000 seems a bit too much, we were happy with our standard view room. Nothing beats sitting on you own balcony to watch the animals, but there is still plenty of places to go to see them.

PO is really nice because of the boat to DD. Food court was good and it is a very nice hotel.

Have fun deciding.

 

[Goofyish]

We recently stayed at both POR and AKL.

We love POR, the food court is great and the quite pools are nice if you want to relax after a morning in the parks. The landscaping is also very nice - we prefer the alligator bayou section.
The staff are always very friendly too. Our maid always aranged my DDs soft toys when she made up the room - it was great to come back to and see what she had done that day

We also like AKL. Although a lot depends on the view from your room. If you get a good savannah view room then it's great to go out on the balcony and watch the animlas.
I would say the rooms are small than POR - although the beds are bigger. The wash basin/toilet/shower areas are about the same size although different decor.
The food courts wasn't as good as POR. They seem to have spent more on the fancy video menu boards than the facilities!
The pool is nice - but gets crowded.
The staff didn't seem as friendly as the staff at POR. Our maid never made much of an effort to arrange my DDs toys.

 

[susy]

If you are talking about a savannah view, yes!!! I have stayed at two mods (CBR and CSR) and there is NO comparison. I was there over Labor day weekend last year. The pool was never crowded, the buses were amazing and the resort was just breathtaking! How many toys does your son need? How many times can you dine with the characters? I think that a savannah room at AKL is DEFINITELY worth $100 more per night than a mod. If you aren't convinced, split you stay.

 

[faith]

Just my opinion, but $1,000 is a lot of money that could be spent on anything other than a special hotel room view. Hope you enjoy your vacation at whatever hotel you choose.

 

[sherry8253]

The ALK is my favorite resort. But a $1,000 is alot of money which is why we are staying at the Swan this trip instead of AKL. Maybe you could consider a standard room or split your stay and do 5 nights at each place. I just couldn't bring myself to pay $1,000 more for AKL over a moderate. But, if you have your heart set on staying there and you will not enjoy your vacation if you don't stat there then it is worth the money if you can afford it. When we plan, we always have several resorts in mind that are acceptable and then take the one that is the best price. PS The other thing to consider is food. It poured several days that we were there last year and we decided to have dinner in the resort several nights. We grew tired of the food selections very quickly and finally begged room service for an omlette one night. So if any of you are picky eaters, don't plan on eating at the resort often unless you just do the food court.

 

[firstmickey]

We have stayed at both. Here are some points I can think of:

1. Buses: they ran great at both places. Only one bus stop at AKL, several stops at POR. The trip to MK is longest at AKL. (takes about 20-25 mins to get there), trip to AK park is longer from POR. I thought both bus services were very efficient but I enjoyed the shorter trip to MK from POR.

2. View: we had a cheap upgrade to savannah view (due to CBR closing for rehab when we went), BUT our savannah view room was a room with a view of the hot tub and a tree. NEVER saw animals from our room. So, luck of the draw with that. We did not ask to change rooms because we were very close to pool, hot tub and food court. Also, you can see animals from all of the various lookouts at the resort. (saw giraffes munching on trees while sitting in hot tubs one day)

Maybe you could save money by staying standard view and still enjoy this wonderful resort!

3. Food court at POR is much better than Mara at AKL. Not a whole lot of selections at Mara. But BOMA breakfast is awesome. Especially the juice.

thought housekeeping and staff at AKL were better than POR.

I really enjoyed both resorts and so did my kids.
No matter which one you choose, you will be happy. If you decide to stay at POR, you could always visit AKL for breakfast and animal sightseeing!

 

[cjsmom5]

Thanks to everyone for the input. We are looking at a split stay but it is still a considerable difference. The difference in price between POR and even the standard view at AKL is considerable. We have a wonderful travel agent who got us a "screaming" rate at the POR with AP rate. So, that makes it even more difficult.

We are still weighing the options. My DH and DS are both HUGE animal lovers and I know they would enjoy the resort. But perhaps a meal at Bomas and some onsite animal viewing would suffice. Right now we spend a lot of time at MK so that is a good consideration, also. And, my DS(5) still likes McDonalds at DTD.

I am just glad that I have such a decision to make. Until this week my DH was job searching. And, since he just received an offer we can now seriously consider our options. But, it is very helpful to have all these opinions. Thank you so much!

Anymore out there? Would love to hear your thoughts. There have been some good points raised that we had not thought about. Thanks again.

 

[PaintedStuff]

Originally posted by cjsmom5
We have a wonderful travel agent who got us a "screaming" rate at the POR with AP rate. So, that makes it even more difficult.

Lucky you. I tried two travel agents - one is a corporate agency I use here in town - they could only book us rack rates Then we tried Small World Travel Adventures. They were of no help - as a matter of fact, I called the CR directly after Small World told me there were no rooms at all and got a AAA discount for the dates I wanted. Goes to show - you have to try every angle!