Saratoga Springs or AKL?

[Minniemoo15]

Myself, Dh, Dd4 and Dd2 are staying at BCV for 8 nights, but need somewhere to stay 2 nights before we check in at Beach Club. We won't be doing any parks during those 2 days, just hanging around the resort, Pool time and going to Disney Springs. I initially was thinking Saratoga for the proximity to Disney Springs, but now I am second guessing myself and thinking my girls might love 2 days at AKL.

Which would you choose?

 

[mickeynut1]

Myself, Dh, Dd4 and Dd2 are staying at BCV for 8 nights, but need somewhere to stay 2 nights before we check in at Beach Club. We won't be doing any parks during those 2 days, just hanging around the resort, Pool time and going to Disney Springs. I initially was thinking Saratoga for the proximity to Disney Springs, but now I am second guessing myself and thinking my girls might love 2 days at AKL.

Which would you choose?

My choice would be AKL. We've never stayed at SSR, but we love AKL! AKL is a beautiful resort with a nice pool, great dining options, and a relaxing atmosphere. Since it's sort of isolated, I find it very peaceful/quiet and is a great place (IMO) for a couple of resort only days .

 

[Shanti]

Myself, Dh, Dd4 and Dd2 are staying at BCV for 8 nights, but need somewhere to stay 2 nights before we check in at Beach Club. We won't be doing any parks during those 2 days, just hanging around the resort, Pool time and going to Disney Springs. I initially was thinking Saratoga for the proximity to Disney Springs, but now I am second guessing myself and thinking my girls might love 2 days at AKL.

Which would you choose?

AKL hands down. All guests are allowed to use both feature pools (the one at Jambo & the one at Kidani), adding variety to your pool time. It's a beautiful resort, peaceful, with good restaurants. And even with a standard room, you might be lucky enough to be placed on the Kudu Trail and get great animal views like we did. Nothing quite like seeing giraffes and ostriches off your balcony.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Definitely AKL. It's a destination unto itself and is a perfect non-park resort, IMHO.

 

[MrsDuck]

AKL. It's so wonderful. IMO - Disney Springs gets old.

 

[CinderellaDream]

Another vote for AKL. There will be plenty of things to interest your kids during the day and the pools are great. Disney Springs is just not my favorite place and I would much rather soak up AKL and maybe eat at a few of their restaurants than shop at a what amounts to a Disney-fied mall. YMMV.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

We love both resorts, I would switch to Animal Kingdom only if your girls really love animals. My son could care less about animals, so being at Animal Kingdom and being able to see animals was not a big draw to for him.

We love SSR because it is so easy to walk to two great feature pools. They both have great water slides, and your girls would probably love the kids play area at the Paddock Pool, they are just the right size. Animal Kingdom has equivalent pools, but they are not nearly as convenient to one another as at SSR. Getting to Disney Springs is also a breeze from SSR, it's an easy walk, especially if you have your kids in a stroller. We also love all the games they have available to play at the community hall, but I think your girls might be a bit too young for our favorites (shuffle board, shuffle puck, corn hole, fuse ball).

At any rate, SSR is a lovely relaxing place with great pools. Unless your girls are obsessed with animals I think it would be just as good as animal kingdom if not better.

 

[christianweecare]

We own at both resorts and love them both. We go every December and will stay at one resort one year and the other resort the next year. We love AKV for the secluded area and quietness. We love SSR because it's so close to all the action at Disney Springs.

 

[PlainJane]

I prefer SSR, but I am so in the minority on that one. I've stayed at AKL twice, once with a pool view and once on the Savannah. I'm not sure how many times I've stayed at SSR, somewhere upwards of 5 times.

The main negative with SSR is that it is a big resort. You can also see hotel row from some areas of the resort. These things is do not bother me in the least. I've stayed in the Paddock, Grandstand, Springs, and Congress Park. I wasn't a fan of the Grandstand section. Congress Park and the Springs are my favorites. The Paddock section was fine too, and we were right next to where they were building the Carousel section at the time, and I was able to walk to the main building within about 5 minutes. Both the Paddock pool and the main pool are very nice. Congress Park is a bit further from those pools, but it does have a quiet pool with great views of Disney Springs, it also provides the shortest walk to Disney Springs. I like the theme of the resort and find it very relaxing and enjoy strolling around it. I also have had good experiences at the Turf Club and Artist Palette.

AKL is a nice hotel. My biggest issue with it, is the hallways are crazy long. If I have to take a long walk, I'd rather be outside instead of a dark hallway. Housekeeping also left a lot to be desired. The main pool at Jambo was pretty busy, and just isn't that interesting to me. I do like the Mara and Jiko. We were not impressed by Boma. It's not ideal that you have to bus everywhere, especially since you plan to visit Disney Springs. We didn't swim at Kindani, but we did walk over one night. The water feature area does look like a lot of fun. I can understand why people love it there, I'm just not one of them, and AK is my favorite park.

 

[Minniemoo15]

Thank you everyone ! I put in our request with Davids for AKL first choice, Saratoga second. It was really a coin toss, but I have stayed at Saratoga before (many years ago) so figure we might as well try something new. Though if we wind up at Saratoga we will be more than happy to be there, too.

 

[disneyvoice]

AKL - no competition with SSR as far as we are concerned.

While we enjoyed having a one bedroom suite at SSR, we found the resort to be incredibly boring. We went to the pool and I went to the spa but there wasn't anything that I thought was spectacular. Parts of it are pretty but in general it's just a total "blah" resort for us.

AKL has so much to do and see and it has amazing restuarants. We were there a few weeks ago and didn't find the pool to be crowded at all, in fact we were shocked by how "uncrowded" the entire resort felt since it is so big. It was our first stay and we were able to relax when we wanted do but had lots of do and see when we didn't just want to hand out. We ate at AKL more than any other resort we have every stayed at.

You're obviously not as close to Disney Springs as you are at SSR, but that is a sacrifice I would be willing to make (and I love Disney Springs).

 

[Anthony1971]

Pool wise --while I love AKL Kidani slide, the one at Jambo is not so good-- SSR has a great slide at the Paddock section. The walk and boat ride to DS is fast and nice. There is plenty to do at SSR just like any other DVC resort they have a marsh mellow roasts and a lot of activities through out the day. We also love AKL for the animals and have stayed there 8 times so far... but if DS is on your list SSR is far better.... I can say it almost feels like part of the resort. Out of the 2 SSR is also far more relaxing, AKL gets very busy around diner time. SSR also has the Turf Club which if you have not tried yet you should.....