Wilderness Lodge vs. Animal Kingdom

[Haygar2]

We are getting ready to book our trip (for September 2014). We are trying to decide between Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom. Each has pros and not so many cons. Any suggestions/opinions would be great. If we stay at AK, we will stay with an animal view.

 

[clapton]

Stayed at both, they are both beautiful but I prefer WL because of its location.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are getting ready to book our trip (for September 2014). We are trying to decide between Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom. Each has pros and not so many cons. Any suggestions/opinions would be great. If we stay at AK, we will stay with an animal view.

We've stayed at both and love both for different reasons. Both resorts have beautiful atmospheres, great pools, great TS restaurants, and we've never had any problems with the buses at either resort. If you want to be convenient to MK, I'd go with the WL as the boat is great for going back and forth to MK (although the buses are just as efficient, IMO ). With that said, even though AKL is out away from everything, we didn't find the buses to be bad at all. Since the buses only go to Kidani and AKL, it didn't take more than about 5 extra minutes to get to the parks compared to other resorts. I would go with the resort that the theme appeals to you the most. I think they are both beautiful resorts with a lot to offer at each and you really can't go wrong with either one. Good luck.

 

[Disneytwinsmom]

I am very interested in the replies. We are thinking of upgrading our AOA suite to AKL instead.

 

[Pakey]

There are a lot of beautiful hotels around the globe but its not often you have giraffes to watch from your balcony.

 

[Missoutandabout]

There are a lot of beautiful hotels around the globe but its not often you have giraffes to watch from your balcony.

 

[Neesy228]

If you're going to do savannah view, then I would say AKL hands down. WL is cool, but the only time I might give it the edge is at Christmas when its decorated.

 

[Haygar2]

Like I said, I am torn between the two. My 10 year old son wants WL and my 14 year old daughter wants AK. I know we are eating at The Whispering Canyon, so it would be nice to already be at our resort. The wait for the busses is not an issue. My husband drives to all the parks, anyway. Parking is free since we are staying on property and we go straight there and straight back. No stopping to drop anyone off. Lol.

 

[Haygar2]

If only they could guarantee that the animals would be outside our room. Then again, we spend so little time in our room. Maybe I should just talk mu hubby into 2 trips so we can stay at both. Yeah right.

 

[justcruisin]

If you're planning a park intensive trip I'd go with WL. The pool, activities and animals at AKL would be best enjoyed during a more resort intensive trip.

 

[MYD714]

We've stayed at both, and we enjoyed both. You can't go wrong either way.

That being said, AKL is our favorite resort. We love the theming, the animals, the music, and the pool. Coming back to AKL after a long day at the parks always feels like a vacation in a vacation.

We've stayed at AKL for the last two years, and I was debating switching to WL for this summer, but AKL won again.

 

[Disneytwinsmom]

There are a lot of beautiful hotels around the globe but its not often you have giraffes to watch from your balcony.

Very good point!

 

[hgeisler]

Stayed at both, they are both beautiful but I prefer WL because of its location.

This!

 

[Kae]

If you're planning a park intensive trip I'd go with WL. The pool, activities and animals at AKL would be best enjoyed during a more resort intensive trip.

when we stayed at AKL we spend 3, 1/2 days at the resort and could have spent more. so much to see & do.

Kae

 

[Willows909]

Depending on the length of your trip...how about a split stay?? I'm doing this and so excited!

 

[wiigirl]

Stayed at both, they are both beautiful but I prefer WL because of its location.

 

[MichiganDVC]

Depending on the length of your trip...how about a split stay?? I'm doing this and so excited!

I enthusiastically second this. In a few weeks, I will be doing a split stay between AKL-Kidani and Bay Lake Tower. Reason? Really want to stay at AKL, but have a hard time rationalizing being so far from the parks. So, I am starting the trip at AKL and going to the places where I would have to take a bus regardless: Typhoon Lagoon, DTD, Animal Kingdom, etc... Then the last 3 days are at BLT and we will spend our time at MK, with a little Epcot thrown in..

If I stay longer than 4 nights, split stays are preferred. The only inconvenience is packing up the morning you leave resort 1. Otherwise, it is painless.

 

[Carlyzmom]

They are both amazing!! Nothing better than seeing the animals from your balcony at AKL, but the location isn't great in my opinion. I would pick WL to be closer to the MK.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Have stayed at WL. It is our favorite

Have only visited AKL.

Both are beautiful resorts. Having taken the bus from AKL to various parks over the years, I don't think the buses from there are bad at all, however, when paying the deluxe prices at Disney, you are primarily paying for location...so in that sense WL wins out being so close to MK and offering an alternate transportation option in the ferry ride.

I personally do not see the value in the savannah room at AKL as there are sooooo many viewing areas around the hotel, I wouldn't need it from my room. If we stayed there, I would book the less expensive pool view, which with a discount is closer to a moderate pricing and is IMHO appropriate.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[texasteacher35]

We are staying at AKV for the first time ever in December. No matter that we don't spend that much time at AK, we want to try it out and experience all the different Disney Villas.

I know lots of people that love this resort, so I wouldn't worry about every single person's personal preference. It's one of the newer resorts (out of all Disney - on property resorts) and we are looking for a different "feel" on each vacation because it makes it more fun for our family. We go too often to stay at the same resort over and over and over.

We were there 5x last year. We will be there 4x this year (we live in Chicagoland). So, we like to keep it fresh.