Will we like the AKL over Poly? Please help!

[cheebiecat]

I would encourage you to seriously consider the WL as a good alternative to AKL. You mentioned that you enjoy spending about 1/3 of your time at the hotel: WL has a wonderful pool, a lovely little beach, and a bicycle and boat rental area. Another "plus" to WL is the quick boat ride, not just to MK, but also to Fort Wildnerness where there are even more great outdoorsy things to do. Your children especially might find the petting zoo a fun activity.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Once again take note that nearly all of those who like the Poly better or WL or only thought AKL was 'nice' have not said anything about the animals. They talk about things to do or see at other resorts but not the animals. This tells me they aren't 'animal people' which is fine (I'm not a gazing at the castle person), but illuminates the main reason you should stay at AKL...The animals. If you're a five minute view then look for something else to do type, then the Poly or WL is probably more right for you than AKL.

 

[BCV23]

Once again take note that nearly all of those who like the Poly better or WL or only thought AKL was 'nice' have not said anything about the animals. They talk about things to do or see at other resorts but not the animals. This tells me they aren't 'animal people' which is fine (I'm not a gazing at the castle person), but illuminates the main reason you should stay at AKL...The animals. If you're a five minute view then look for something else to do type, then the Poly or WL is probably more right for you than AKL.

Boy, I have to disagree with this. I am most certainly an animal person. And in fact to me that is the ONLY reason to stay there. I like both restaurants but find it easy to visit to dine. For my short stay, watching the animals, reading, dining and one trip to the DI spa is all I did. Seeing what the various critters are up to is certainly fun. I even got up several times a night to check them out. But I don't think my family would be content to do this for a week....but everyone's family is different. And unless you're in the room quite a bit of the time, you can miss a lot of what's going on outside.

Also disagree about proximity to the parks. The monorail resorts are ovbiously closer to MK but I believe they are to Epcot as well. MGM is probably pretty close to a draw although the Polynesian seems closer to me....perhaps because you don't hit a stoplight until you are on Beuna Vista Drive. I don't think that is as important as the fact that from AKL, the only option is buses. At the Polynesian, you can take the monorail, launches, and ferry to MK....more magical transportation for us.

But AKL is beautiful and unique.

 

[wdw1014]

There is nothing like having your morning coffee with the giraffes. As I said before the animals are the big reason to stay at AKL. I was told when booking my last room at the AKL that not all Concierge level rooms have a savana view and that this view chould not be guaranteed when booking a concierge level room. So if going out to your balcony and veiwing the animals is your reason for visiting the AKL, you might want to check into this.

 

[Tikiman]

Sorry if this was mentioned already but I did not read all the posts. Why not split the stay. We love the Polynesian but want to see other resorts so we go to a new resort each time at the beginning of the trip and than switch over to the Polynesian. We enjoyed our 3 days at the AKL concierge. The concierge is great but not quite the view you have from the Polynesian concierge. The food was great in the lounge and the resort has some of the best restaurants in WDW. I did like the atmosphere and the standard rooms were a little small. So small we upgraded to a one-bedroom suite. The pool was ok but seeing the animals was great. Having a car would be helpful with no monorail but I think if we were there much longer you do feel a little isolated when use to being around the lagoon and other resorts over in the MK area. I also suggest trying an Epcot resort.

Aloha

Steve

 

[groover]

There are those in this thread that are plugging the WL as an alternative. Someone said that the pool is nice/lovely....while it may be pretty too look at, it's awfully small. When we were there in early May 2003, which was not an overly crowded time, there was little room to move around in or out of the pool.

AKL's pool, from what I'm told, is the second largest in WDW. I don't know if that's true or not, but from the pics, it certainly does look big...even if the slide does blow.

We're looking forward to our October trip to AKL this year. From what I've read, there are quite a few activities for the kids at AKL throughout the day, which is another plus for us. WL probably has some, but I don't think as many.

Having said all of the above, the only reason we are not staying at Poly this year is b/c there are four families travelling in our group, and the the Poly prices out two of them. Never stayed there, but we will someday.