Should I change from Dolphin to AKL?

[RedE2Go]

Please help me with this. We are a family of 4 (kids 10 and 6). This is our second time to Disney. We did CBR last time and enjoyed it...no complaints.
Right now I have 4 nights at CBR and 4 nights at Dolphin (March 8-16...spring break arrggggg). CBR is costing about 160. plus tax and Dolphin is 129. plus tax. I probably will upgrade the Dolphin tho, so it would be closer to about 150 per night. I thought it would be great to be so close to MGM and Epcot and boardwalk. Plus it would be nice to be in a fancier hotel than I am used to.

However...I can get AKL for 189 plus tax standard room. Advantage would be that I wouldn't have to switch resorts halfway thru the trip like I would with Dolphin. Disadvantage would be that I couldn't walk to Epcot or MGM (how many times would I actually do that anyway?) It seems like it would be nice to stay in a deluxe, but would it be worth the money? We probably would take a break during the day back at the hotel. Is the pool great? Do standard rooms see anything besides a parking lot? Thanks for any help.

 

[vbfamily]

MAKE THE SWITCH TO AKL-YOU WON"T REGRET IT!

I would take a standard room at a deluxe over the Dolphin anyday. No offense to people who like the Dolphin.

The pool/slide is great.

Your kids will love it. Transportation doesn't seem to be an issue at AKL.

You can still take the bus to Epcot, etc.

I would switch if I were you-Are you going to stay at AKL the entire time or do CBR then AKL? That would be fun too.

 

[Taryn]

I would say make the switch also...

I just did 7 days at the Dolphin and then moved to AKL for my last three.... I was SOOOO happy to get there.

Transportation is great since you don't have stops at other reports. Unless you spend a lot of time on the Boardwalk I'd go with AKL.

Then again, maybe I just hit a really bad time at the Dolphin. All I can tell you is if I had to choose I would spend all my time at AKL.

 

[Disney Cape Codder]

Stay at AKL! We stayed at the Swan for our cruise/park trip last year and did not like it. We liked CBR much better than the Swan. There were few families at the Swan/Dolphin and many business people. It just didn't feel like Disney to us.

 

[padisneylover]

Another vote for the switch to AKL! The resort is great and where else can you see all the animals without leaving your hotel. There is so many viewing areas in the hotel and on the grounds that not having a savanaha room is not that big of a deal. The pool is huge and is zero entry. The breakfast buffett at BOMA is teriffic and dinner is fine if you are adventerous.
There is may activities to do in the resort and the whirlpools are very nice. All the CM's are very friendly and the education they offer on their county is fabolus.
We stayed there in April during the busy season and never had to wait for a bus more than 10 minutes at the resort or any parks and since the resort dosen't share there was always room to sit. The travel time is not bad between places and in fact we found it kind of relaxing after a busy day in the parks.

 

[RedE2Go]

Thank you all for your help. I can feel myself leaning toward AKL. Does being far away from "The World" bother you that much? Someone mentioned there were activities at AKL. I haven't done much research, but all I've come up with are the pool and animal watching. I read something about storytelling by the fire, and something about night goggles (?). Is this stuff included with us standard room people?
You all are a great help. Thanks.

 

[disnaholic]

AKL is AWESOME!!!!! My family loved this Resort.

My ds (9) and dd(7) enjoyed it so much there that there were certain days they did not want to leave the resort because there is so much to see. They also loved the bunkbeds. I did not request them, we just got lucky and got them.

We never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus to anywhere and it was really nice having a nice,quiet resort to return to at the end of a park day.

I would definitley make the switch!

 

[kathyclownfish]

We also stayed at the CBR in 2000 and then stayed at the AKL in 2002. And I thought CBR was nice. Wait until you go to AKL. I'm not really an animal person, but my children and mother are. We stayed there this past November. It is the most relaxing, beautiful resort I have ever stayed at. There are activities there, but you never seemed to have time to do them. The jacuzzi was wonderful. I kinda didn't mind when my daughter was sick for one day. I felt terrible for her......but I got to sun bathe by the pool and use the fitness center while she rested in the room. If you decide to stay at the Dolphin, I'm sure you will be happy. Do you ever hear about one really complain about any the WDW hotels?? They all seem to be magical!! Have a great trip!

 

[caskar]

We, family of 4, stayed at both last summer. I would switch to AKL for the Disney touch. Dolphin was nice and the location and walk to Boardwalk, Epcot, and MGM was nice. But, there was something so special about AKL to our family. I think it was the smell of food cooking at Boma's! yum

 

[Mainebound]

RedE2go,

I was in the very same predicament! I am travelling to WDW with my family at the same time in March, and I also have ressies at the Dolphin on the teacher rate. However, when the new rates came out for AKL, we all talked it over, and we made the switch. Who knows, I may change my mind again when the additional discounts on other resorts are posted, but for now we feel like we made the right decision. good luck to you!

Mainebound

 

[RedE2Go]

Mainehound...
I almost wish that I didn't have the good rate for the Dolphin, it would make my decision easier! I know that your family (and mine) will have a great time at either resort. What a problem to have, huh! The more I read about AKL, the more I want to switch.
Thanks for your input.

 

[susy]

Here's my opinon of AKL (never stayed at Dolphin):

It is my favorite all-time hotel!!

A more unique resort would be hard to find. Make time for dinner at Jiko and dinner (and breakfast) at Boma. My son loved Simba's amd it allowed my DH and I some alone time for dinner.

We stayed there over Labor Day Weekend and had NO complaints.

The resort was full, but never felt crowded-the buses were never crowded . We never waited long and you are not so far out as you think. The farthest point is to MK and we made it in 15 minutes flat. I had an 8am PS at Cindy's, so you know I was looking at my watch the whole time! If you have an 8am PS at MK ,I would suggest getting to the bus stop at 7am- I think our bus came at 7:05.

We always took breaks and never had a transportation issue. the bus to DTD takes longer, but we had the same route as from any other hotel- first typhoon lagoon, then around the disney Institute. Also, on our way to Epcot (late afternoon) we stopped at BB. I think these were because of the time of day- not the usual route. It still only added a few minutes to the whole trip.

 

[Michelemouse]

I've stayed at both and I would switch in an instant! I know the Dolphin has it's supporters, but aside from its location it did absolutely nothing for me. It felt like a big, convention hotel and had absolutely none of the Disney Magic. That Magic is a huge part of the on-site experience for me and you get it by the cartload at the AKL.

Even taking their respective locations into account, to me the Dolphin feels like an off-site hotel while the AKL feels like a Disney Resort.

Just my opinion.

 

[padisneylover]

RedE2Go,
In answer to your question about the activities being avaliable for the standard rooms. Yes, the activities are open to all guests. There is tours of the resort which includes the art history, baking cookies for the kids, games at the pool area for the kids and I saw some adults joining in, night viewing of the animals, cooking of African food for adults I beleive, and just visiting with CM's around the animals is an activity in its self.
The fact that the resort is sort of isolated to me is a plus. It is really nice to come back after a hectic day and just unwind away from everything, we never found being out a drawback to the resort at all.

 

[minniemmom]

I would agree with several of the posters as well. We recently stayed at the AKL and Dolphin, and would strongly recommend your staying at the AKL! We didn't like the Dolphin at all (no offense to Dolphin fans!). It didn't feel like we were on Disney property at all. I will be posting a trip report regarding this at a later date. The AKL was great! Felt very homey, comfortable, but most of all, felt very Disney! I wish we would have stayed longer. Hot tub was great! DS loved the pool. The only drawback we found was it is very close to the highway (192) and you could hear traffic noise from there, but not bad. There was something major going on one night on 192 and we heard sirens for about 1/2 hour. We thought they were at AKL, but a cast member walking around outside informed us it was on 192, not there. The staff at AKL is wonderful; again, very Disney. The staff at Dolphin are like any other hotel you may stay at. No hello's from the maids, etc. No Disney magic whatsoever! So, in this poster's opinion (and my family's as well!) go for the AKL! You won't regret it!

 

[Tinkbell]

I stayed at AKL this past July. I fell in love with the place. Prior to that trip I had only stayed at MK resorts (Contemp, WL, GF) and I was a bit apprehensive about the location. Location was not a problem at all. The bus transportation was fantastic.

I have never stayed at the Dolphin so I can't comment on it. The one plus I could see about staying there over the AKL is that you are able to walk to the Boardwalk and enjoy the entertainment there more easily. If the Boardwalk is important to you, then stay at the Dolphin. Otherwise, give AKL a try. You'll love it.

 

[*Flower*]

We've stayed at both the Dolphin and AKL, and can agree with most of you (don't flame me!)
AKL is our favorite for relaxing, and just de-stressing from everything- especially work! Transportation is fantastic, and the CMs (Don, Andrea, Damarys, Ronnie, Margie, Martha, Brian, Jack, Susan, Vicky and all the others who made our stay so wonderful) were over the top!!
We do enjoy the Dolphin though, and the employees there are very friendly when spoken to. We always greeted everyone who worked there that we crossed paths with, and they were most cheerful and friendly.
In fact, when we got rained out of the New Year's celebratory fireworks show, we snuck into the Coral Cafe (which was closed) which had a GREAT view and watched it from there. There was a set up crew doing the set up for New Year's day brunch buffet, and a gentleman shampooing the carpets, but they were so accommodating and cheerful!! They let us stay and watch the fireworks and didn't disturb us at all!!

JMHO of course...............

 

[RedE2Go]

Thank you to all who replied to this question. It has been a tremendous help. I was very uncertain about switching. I know that I would have been happy with the Dolphin and CBR. I will miss the convenience of being at the Epcot resort area. Since my kids are fairly young, we would have been taking the bus at least a couple of times to MK (based on last trip, we went every single day for at least a few hours!) However.....I don't get "out" much...I'm a stay-at-home mom and substitute teacher...so staying at a deluxe hotel is quite a treat for me. Husband travels a lot so "deluxe" isn't as much of a treat for him. But if I'm happy...so is DH and everyone else.
Thank you again. I hope this thread helped some others with similar situation.

 

[sm4987]

RedE2Go I am a stay at home mom too! I know what it is like to want to go on vacation (being at home with the kids sometimes means we NEED a vacation) and stay somewhere really nice. I love the CBR and decided to stay there again. I am saving the big one for next year our 10th anniversary. I think that you will like the S/D. Have a great vacation.

 

[RedE2Go]

sm4987
Thanks for the well wishes on our trip. I know that we would be happy at any of our choices. Either way....I'M ON VACATION AND SOMEONE ELSE IS CLEANING THE KITCHEN!!!!!!