WL or AKL?

[MommySiobhan]

Another resort question if I may

If you had a choice to go back to WL or AKL which would you choose and why? (I have never been to either).
If you were selling someone or one of these which would it be?

Also, the WL is boat access only? How is the transportation as far as wait time etc?

 

[SharonLowe]

AKL hands down! Better food court, direct bus transportation without having to share with other resorts, the animals, the decor, the staff. I also love Boma and Jiko though I have to admit Whipering Canyon and Artist Point are very nice too. We also prefer the pool at AKL. (And, currently, the WL pool is closed for refurbishment.)

We found the bus service at WL to be very slow - all buses shared with another resort (FW or GF) and many times the buses had to take a longer route to the location to get to that resort. The bus to DTD took almost an hour! The boat was fine for MK but my daughter gets motion sickness very easily so was not keen on the boat - bus to MK took a very long time given the close location.

We had a 2BR villa when we stayed at WL. It was quite small compared to other DVC villas we have stayed in. At the AKL we have stayed in deluxe rooms (nice and roomy), a 2BR suite (wonderful!! larger than the 2BR villa at WL), and a 1 BR suite (not so wonderful - horrible view).

If you like animals, you will love AKL even if you don't choose a Savannah View room. Tons of places to see the animals and always very knowledgeable staff to tell you about them. Lots of fun activities for the kids too - they could spend a whole day there without going to a park and still have a blast.

 

[randyl]

I have stayed at both - and did have ressies at WL for next month until I found out the pool was closed. I switched to AKL. Both have strong points and weak points. The restaurants are fairly equal - both have very good table service (although I give a slight edge to Artist Point) but AKL has a better food court. The pool is bigger and better at AKL but I have enjoyed the pool bar at the WL better (the servers seemed more friendly). There is no water (lakes) at AKL but there is at WL. This means no boat or water sprite rentals at AKL. We immensely enjoy renting these at WL. The AKL is somewhat out of the way while you can access the monorail hotels simply by a short boat ride from WL to CR - this is great for dining at any of the great restaurants at the monorail hotels. All the rooms at WL have been refurbished within the past year (new plasma flat screen TV's , etc). The AKL hasn't enjoyed such a recent refurbishment (but the hotel is relatively new). And a vast majority of the rooms at WL are close to the lobby and all the activity and amenities there while there are many rooms at the AKL that are very far away from the lobby. I think the theming at both are similar (and excellent).

 

[ADisneygirl]

We've been to both and you can't go wrong with either choice. AKL has great food, a grand lobby, pretty rooms, and animals to see -- sometimes right from your balcony. The pool is a bit bigger there, and the pool is themed to look like a watering hole deep in the heart of Africa somewhere and the water has a muddy look to it. It only has bus transportation, but it does not share with any other resorts so it is relatively quick. Although it seems farther away, none of the resorts are really "far" away from the parks. Maybe a mile or two, which doesn't add much to the bus time.

WL was great too. Loved the theming, the northern woodsy feel, and the grand lobby. The pool is a bit smaller than AKL, but the water is the blue we all expect to see. Loved the boat transportation. It's not fast, but interesting and relaxing. Loved being able to hop over to the Contemporary on one of the boat launches.

For us, there is something great to love about each one!