Should I switch from POFQ to AKL?

[sarha]

My daughter's H.S. Marching Band will be performing at EPCOT in April and a friend and I going down to watch them. We are only staying 4 nights and we are currently booked at POFQ.

I 've been thinking of upgrading to a standard or pool view room at AKL but I've read some unhappy reviews lately. AKL is one of the few resorts I haven't stayed in before and I think it would be fun to try it but I am a little concerned with reports of people unhappy with their stays.

Has anyone stayed at both the AKL and POFQ who could tell me which they preferred?

We don't have unreasonable expectations, just want nice CM's, clean room and good transportation. Since we are splitting the room cost we don't mind spending a little extra for a nice resort.

Thanks,
Sarha

 

[Jamesbyr]

I say go for the new experience. I haven't stayed at ALK (we did tour the place and eat there), but I haven't read anything negative about it, except maybe people who didn't see precisely the animals they were hoping to see from their bedroom windows. But there are plenty of places to see animals at AKL.

 

[HopperFan]

What a wonderful experience ! Beautiful hotel with so much going on and so much to see and awesome food. When staying there we scheduled "hotel days" just to enjoy the hotel. No negatives from us !

The only drawback for us now is our kids are teens and they want access to water sports and older kid activities.

 

[racheltyler]

We love AKL and we also love POFQ. It's hard to compare the two because they are in different categories - deluxe and moderate. Depends on what you are looking for and what matters the most to you. In our experience, you get better transportation from AKL - no bus sharing and only one stop. But POFQ has nice boat ride to DTD. At AKL you have interior corridors so it's nice in hot or rainy weather not to have to leave bldg to get to food, shopping, lobby, etc. AKL has sit down restaurants, not POFQ. AKL has a zero entry pool. And if you have an interest in animals, it is an attraction in itself at AKL. Both have good food courts. And AKL rooms have balconies, not POFQ. You just have to decide what you are looking for in a trip. Sometimes for us if we're planning on parks the whole trip, we'll go for the moderate choice and have more $ for parks. In the end of a trip like that, we're glad we did it that way. Good luck!

 

[liznboys]

We did a split stay at POFQ and AKL last month. We were already big fans of POFQ, and it was just as wonderful as we expected. We had visited AKL and were WOWED by it, so we were excited to stay there. It didn't turn out to be as great as we expected. (And part of the reason was due to the rude CM's...) We were just glad we only paid $109/night for it. We didn't HATE it, it just didn't turn out to be a place we really thought we'd enjoy. Live and learn!

There are obviously many fans of AKL, so you may love it.

 

[eeyore45]

Have you checked room availability yet? I want to split our stay between POFQ and AKL, but there wasnt room available (yet, I'm going to keep checking!!)

 

[Got Quattro?]

I just stayed in AKL this past November. While it was a very nice resort and very unique, both my wife and I left with feeling of "been there, done that".

Nothing realley stood out for us. It was cool the 1st morning or day waking up to see the animals outside your window, but I now have 40 pictures of the same 3 giraffes. It just got old after a day or too.

Also, the extra transit time by bus did start to get to you after a few days. the trip out in the morning was fine. But the long trip home at night was hot, crowded, and not relaxing.

All said, for $209 a night at WL, or $168 a night at POFQ, I would choose POFQ again.

Though not a deluxe, it was nice, and very charming.

 

[Feralpeg]

I love them both. They are very different. Each has a totally different feel. You will always find some folks that didn't like their hotel regardless of where they stay.

 

[sarha]

Thanks to everyone for your input. I think we may switch to AKL just to try it out. Also, my family has no desire to stay there so this may be my only chance to experience AKL

Do you think staying in a standard room will ruin the experience, because upgrading to Savannah is out of our budget?

Thanks again,
Sarha

 

[padisneyfan]

We have stayed at both. At AKL we had a savannah room and would not spend the extra money again. We only stayed there because of a great AP rate. I agree with the previous poster been there done that and not again. Yes, you have inside corridors but you can still have miles to travel from your room to the bus stop. Also AKL is way out there so long busy rides to some of the parks especially MK. The return trip from MK is even longer with the route they take.

Since POFQ has reopened, the rooms have the feel of a deluxe. Plus it is such a short walk to everything no matter where you are staying. POFQ has turned into my favorite resort.

Enjoy your trip.

Nancy

 

[tink2]

We have stayed at both and I agree with above posts- it depends on what you are looking for. We much prefer POFQ. We kinda felt like been there, done that at AKL too. We had a savannah view and it was very nice- but the rooms are not much larger than POFQ and the extra space is taken up by the king sized bed. We did not like the food court at AKL- but that is just personal taste. Unless I was planning on spending a good deal of time at the resort- I would choose POFQ. We are park people and only sleep in the room- so for us it is not worth the extra money. Yep, the inside corridors are nice. The bus transportation at both are great- but AKL does not share a bus. We found the staff at AKL very 'cold' and not very knowledgable- but that could have been a fluke too. POFQ has a better 'feel' to us. Again, we love the parks and are there from opening till close- so spending the extra money is not worth it to us. If you plan to spend time at the resort- I might would choose AKL, but if not, don't spend the extra money.

 

[Cplofdisneynutz]

WE stayed at POFQ last year and even though you do share a bus with other resorts, (unless things have changed from may 2004) POFQ was the first stop, so we were the 1st to load. We loved the service!! We agree with you about the room it's not worth the extra cost when you only sleep there

have fun

M & K

 

[geetey]

Transportation was our issue at AKL.

However, to answer your question about regular view, versus savannah. We paid for a savannah view, my sisters did not, but requested close to the lobby. They ended up with an obstructed view of the animals and a much better location. I wish we had saved our $$ and had the room next to theirs!

I think AKL is great as a resort vacation, but not so good if you are on a Do the Parks vacation. JMO.

 

[Tiggerrox]

DW and I stayed at the AKL this past november and had a great time the entire stay. We arrived early due to a flight change and were in our room from the check in desk within 15 minutes. we had a savannah room and the view was incredible. There were no problems of any sort to speak of. No rude CM's or anything. it was just the opposite. Every one was very friendly and courteous and answered any question we had. I will agree it is a bit of a walk to the rooms if you aren't in the front area,but its built that way to make it quieter for the animal "residents" hence it being the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
As for the bus service. AKL doesnt share it's buses with any other resort. The only time we had a lengthy ride ( all of half hour) was the one night when we stayed MK .We "toured" POFQ and personally any time we visit WDW it will be either AKL or YC.