Split Stay NOT Allowed- Back To Square 1- AKL or Poly?

[eclectics]

Ok, TA got back to me and said Split Stay is out of the question for September trip because I would have to have a MYW package for each resort. Deadline for free dining is over plus having 2 packages would cost way more money. So, ok no big deal, I'll be fine at AKL. So I just get a email from her saying she spoke to Disney Agent about something similar and they say the same thing BUT it would be fine and dandy to switch resorts IF you stay the entire trip at one resort. So I can switch to Poly if I want to stay there the whole 10 nights. I'm now back to square one and have to make a decision ASAP! I can't for the life of me figure out why I'm having doubts about AKL. I think my main reason is I'm afraid the theme will get tired real soon and I'll be bored. I want to take it easy this trip and spend more time at the resort. Poly just seems to offer more things plus the monorail that I can hop on at the spur of the moment. MK and Epcot will get the majority of my park time. I think I would like both themes and atmospheres equally. One thing bothers me about Poly. I heard bus service is not as good as AKL. Is that true? I hate being this wishy washy I guess I need all you Poly fans to convince me! AKL Savannah or Poly Garden View????

 

[Darth Eisner]

I had the exact same reservations(as in doubts) about the AK. As a matter of fact I had a minor panic attack after the window to change reservations without penalty had passed. Let me just say that those doubts were completely unwarranted.

I was blown away by AK. I thought I would care less about the African exhibits; I was entranced. I thought the animals would be far and hidden due to the heat; they were close and active throughout the day. The pool was truly enjoyable. Like being lost in a lush oasis.(No I don't work for Disney) The food was delicious, but my wife and I decided it wasn't really our taste. We probably won't venture on the African side of cuisine again, but we were happy we tried it.

The only down side is distance. The Magic Kingdom is a ways away. Something to consider if that's your main target. We were less likely to return if we took an afternoon break.

Either choice I don't see how you can't enjoy your trip, but I would highly recommend the AK.

 

[#1hockeymom]

I really think you're going to love AKL! The bus system works very well from there. I have never ever had a problem. There is so much to do and see it is unbelievable! I, too, never thought I was into Africa and/or African art and I was totally entranced, to steal Darth's words, by the lodge. I am now going back for trip five to AKL in under two weeks!

 

[Punch]

If money is not an issue for you, then go with the Poly, especially since you mentioned that you like visiting MK and Epcot the most. You can see the fireworks from the Poly beach, maybe even from your balcony, you really can't beat that. There are more water craft rentals and you can lie in a hammock and watch the water parade. The bus service can't be that much worse compared to AK, so I wouldn't even consider that. Go with the Poly!

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Decide what you want to spend your time doing? Most time I pick the poly (shy away from akl, so far because of out by itself, no boating etc....) cause of mk acess / area. Love the poly.

You want to spend time at the resort > So what do you want to do? which pool appeals more? We really like the boats and find we spend a lot of time doing that when we spend a lot of resort time. Like the acess to the other resorts poly is near, too. GF for resturants / spa, and CR for game room and shops. We haven't even mentioned parks. AKL > we have not stayed there, (yet) I agree we plan to do a shorter split type stay and see what we think but so far I keep canceling it. We have walked around it alot. I'm probably the only one but not crazy about the resturants, and the pool area gets really crowded (poly does too, but we prefer the "quiet pool, fairly empty!). Bus everywhere which does not bother me, we rent a car and do drive to some parks, but I prefer not to drive to mk (that is the worst one to drive to).

Just decide if budget is not a factor, which one offers what you want, or where you want to be.

Mky

 

[mpbs]

I LOVED AKL. The resort is beautiful, and the view from your balcony is breathtaking. In my opinion you cannot go wrong with AKL- the food is great too.

 

[disgal1]

We stayed 4 nights at Swan, 2 nights at AKL
I LOVE animals, and all things Disney.. It was perfect for the last 3 days of our trip, and I did like it alot, but can't imagine staying there any longer than that. Unless you really just want to relax. I loved the ability at the Swan to just walk out the door and be so close to so much!

It really depends what you want out of your trip. Do you want to relax on the balcony and watch giraffes and zebras , read, relax by the pool, eat the same things most days,unless you get on a bus?

Or do you want to be physically active, going alot, trying different restaurants all by hopping on the monorail,...seeing fireworks from the beach at the Poly,

No one else can tell you what you would enjoy, everyone is different.

It's a simple answere for me, stay at the Poly, go to AKL one afternoon for dinner at Boma's and spend lots of time going all around the various observation stations, especially on the second floor.

The Poly pool for me is much nicer.

Good luck with your decision, remember, base it on what you actually want to DO on your vacation.

 

[tlev]

We are splitting our upcoming trip between the YC and the Poly. I bought a package of four nights at the YC with a 7 day plus pack ticket and then just paid for a room only 4 nights at the Poly. The tickets don't expire for 10 days so we can still use them on the second half of our stay. I'm not sure how the meal plan would work in this situation but it is something to think about.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I'm still planning our first trip, so I'm totally not speaking from experience, but we too wanted to stay close to the action (e.g. Epcot or monorail resort) but also to experience AKL.

The way we decided to do it was to spend most of our stay at the BC (or in your case Poly -- we picked BC because of the pool) and then end up with 2 relaxing nights at AKL.

If you do that you can get a package for the Poly part of the stay with extra days on the ticket. The MYW dining would be in effect through your first evening at AKL (so do Jiko that night?) and you'd only have to pay out of pocket for food for one day and the day you leave. The difference between paying for dining for one day and the extra day on the MYW dining plan shouldn't be too bad.

We also figured two nights was enough for us to try both the AKL restaurants, to spend a full day at AK, and to wake up twice to the view of the animals outside our window (which should be specatacular the first time, but isn't something we neccessarily need to do 10 times). Also, since AKL is "quieter" we figure we'll be ready to relax by the end of our trip.

Finally it takes care of most of the bus problems. Since you can ride the monorail to Epcot and MK from the Poly and you'll be able to take the bus to AK from AKL it's only your MGM days where you'll have to take the Poly bus.

Just a thought -- see if you TA can price it out.

 

[MECH8T7]

If you are on the dining plan, will being at AKL leave you running around WDW via bus to all the places where you will be dining? You've already indicated that you would be spending a lot of park time at MK and Epcot. So, my choice would be to stay at the Poly.

 

[eclectics]

I'm still planning our first trip, so I'm totally not speaking from experience, but we too wanted to stay close to the action (e.g. Epcot or monorail resort) but also to experience AKL.

The way we decided to do it was to spend most of our stay at the BC (or in your case Poly -- we picked BC because of the pool) and then end up with 2 relaxing nights at AKL.

If you do that you can get a package for the Poly part of the stay with extra days on the ticket. The MYW dining would be in effect through your first evening at AKL (so do Jiko that night?) and you'd only have to pay out of pocket for food for one day and the day you leave. The difference between paying for dining for one day and the extra day on the MYW dining plan shouldn't be too bad.

We also figured two nights was enough for us to try both the AKL restaurants, to spend a full day at AK, and to wake up twice to the view of the animals outside our window (which should be specatacular the first time, but isn't something we neccessarily need to do 10 times). Also, since AKL is "quieter" we figure we'll be ready to relax by the end of our trip.

Finally it takes care of most of the bus problems. Since you can ride the monorail to Epcot and MK from the Poly and you'll be able to take the bus to AK from AKL it's only your MGM days where you'll have to take the Poly bus.

Just a thought -- see if you TA can price it out.

Wish that would work, but no dice. I can't change the number of nights on the package, just the resort. Only way would be to get a couple of "room only" nights at AKL added on, but plane tickets are paid for and I really can't stay longer. Oh well, all things considered very carefully (thank you to everybody for all your input) I will switch to Poly. Just seems to make more sense with our dining at epcot most nights and it was my first gut choice anyway. I still have AR's for Boma so that will be AK day and then over to AKL to spend a few hours looking around before dinner. Next trip I will plan a little better before hand and do a split stay. Maybe WL and AKL. Better start saving now! Time to call TA. Thanks again!!!!!!!

 

[pugdog]

Ok your TA and the CM that they talked to are very misinformed!
Mickey'snewestfan plan sounds good to me. The food plan would be the same price how ever you stay.
All you would need to do is buy your park ticket for the first resort for the LOS. Then at the second resort buy just a 1 day ticket and save it for your next trip down.
You now have food and park tickets for your LOS, staying at the 2 resorts you want and the cost would be about the same.

 

[grimley1968]

Bus service from the Poly is fine. But if you're going to MK and EPCOT most of the time, why ride the bus? Just hop on the monorail.

The biggest drawback I see with the AKL is its distance from all the parks, and a bus ride everywhere you go. I'm sure it's a nice resort, but if I'm paying Deluxe prices, I need some sort of non-bus transport or walking ability to at least one park.

 

[MECH8T7]

Ok your TA and the CM that they talked to are very misinformed!
Mickey'snewestfan plan sounds good to me. The food plan would be the same price how ever you stay.
All you would need to do is buy your park ticket for the first resort for the LOS. Then at the second resort buy just a 1 day ticket and save it for your next trip down.
You now have food and park tickets for your LOS, staying at the 2 resorts you want and the cost would be about the same.

I think the OP's problem is that she would lose the benefit of the free dining promotion for the nights she switched to AKL (or at least one of the nights according to Mickey'snewestfan) because the AKL portion would be a new reservation as far as WDW's computers are concerned...but I would have thought that, if the TA spoke to a senior enough CM at WDW, they could accomodate her request.

 

[eclectics]

Ok your TA and the CM that they talked to are very misinformed!
Mickey'snewestfan plan sounds good to me. The food plan would be the same price how ever you stay.
All you would need to do is buy your park ticket for the first resort for the LOS. Then at the second resort buy just a 1 day ticket and save it for your next trip down.
You now have food and park tickets for your LOS, staying at the 2 resorts you want and the cost would be about the same.

I should have made myself more clear, I apologize. I'm using the Free dining package. They won't change the number of nights or split resorts because that would mean creating a new package with a new confirmation # and the deadline for changing was July 6. If I want to keep the free dining, the ONLY change I can make is switching resorts for the whole stay.

 

[Sammie]

I would go with the Polynesian for several reasons. Mainly the amount of time you are going to be there and the dining plan. You have a wider range of restaurants very close to the Polynesian by monorail. As to transportation I would not consider either location a disadvantage. The AKL is not that far from anything and their direct buses are very quick. Bus travel from any MK resort can and usually is much longer, so to me transportation would not be a consideration.

I know many love the AKL, but I would not want to stay longer than 3 or 4 days before I would be bored silly. I mean I love animals as much as anyone but I don't think I want to see them everyday for 10 days.

Also I much prefer a resort that has beautiful grounds to walk on, recreation such boating etc.

My vote is Polynesian.

 

[eclectics]

I think the OP's problem is that she would lose the benefit of the free dining promotion for the nights she switched to AKL (or at least one of the nights according to Mickey'snewestfan) because the AKL portion would be a new reservation as far as WDW's computers are concerned...but I would have thought that, if the TA spoke to a senior enough CM at WDW, they could accomodate her request.

TA did the math for me. Even if they accommodated me, the less days on your hopper pass, the less of a discount you get. I would have to buy 2 hopper passes (one for each resort stay) for both of us and she figured it would cost around $200.00 more for each of us that way. She added it all up and we both decided it wasn't a good deal, plus she wasn't sure Disney would even allow it because I was past the deadline. Even if TA and CM's are wrong, do I really want to swim upstream about this? I can always come back. OBTW, I'm a He not a She! Believe me, I would make one hell of an ugly girl!!!!!!!