WL or AKL

[studog100]

We are having a terrible time trying to decide whether to book a woods view at WL or a standard view at AKL. The price for them are roughly the same so money isn't an issue. I want WL and my DW wants AKL. We are not firm on out choices but want the best experience overall for the family. Kids are 6 and 4. Can you offer your pros and cons to either resort please?

Thanks

 

[lasmickey]

We had that same decision to make back in October. We ended up choosing WL, woods view, and boy are we glad we did! I'm quite sure we would have been happy with AK too, but the WL was totally awesome!! We were on the 4th floor, overlooking the otter pond, and we could see the monorail, the CR and Cinderella's Castle from our balcony! I have never been more excited about a room (and it's location) in all our trips to WDW.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure it will be great. Let us know what you decide!

 

[Stiff]

we had this same decision

we chose WL, mostly due to location

now if we could just get this countdown clock moving along

 

[3Mousketeers]

We had the same decision to make about our upcoming Feb 2005 trip. We're going with AKL after alot of research on this board. I don't think you can go wrong with either. My DH wanted WL and the kids (6 & 5) wanted AKL. I think they will love the animals & from what I read there are alot of children's activities at AKL. My hesitation is the bus transport. from AKL as opposed to to the convenience of the boat to MK at WL. I don't know when you have to make your ressies but I'll post when we're back to let you know how our AKL trip goes (will be back 2/13). Good luck with your decision!

 

[DisneyKeith]

Wilderness Lodge because of location. It is so convenient to hop on the ferry to MK. Enjoy your trip.

 

[studog100]

Great! Thanks for the replies. So far WL leads 3-1. ANyone else care to chime in and help us decide.

 

[ead79]

It's a tough choice, but I lean toward AKL.

The same architect designed both resorts, so they are similar in terms of how wonderfully done their themes are. Both resorts are elaborate and beautiful. Both resorts have some rooms that have bunk beds (your kids might like this ).

AKL wins out for me for a few key reasons: it's just incredible to see animals in a savannah setting from your resort (and I'm not a big animal lover either). The buffet restaurant, Boma, is wonderful (especially for breakfast, yum!), and the counter service restaurant, Mara, is yummy as well. The resort really makes you feel like you're in Africa, and is very relaxing. The only con would be that its location is isolated. That being said, we have had good bus service on our stays here.

Good luck choosing--you really can't go wrong.

 

[TaurusSES_Sport]

Another vote for WL hands down! The CMs are so much more friendly there! And the lobby, so much better than the AKL.

 

[3Mousketeers]

Studog 100 - Just a little advice -
I haven't been to either (like I said we had to make the same choice as you) so I can't offer you personal opinion. I would just say that I did ALOT of research and you will find an equal amount of people telling you either one is the way to go. Don't make your decision just based on the poll. We looked at what was important for us. Obviously, if transportation to MK is huge for you, the WL with the boat would be the way to go. But, many have told me the bus transport from AKL is good. Sorry if this sounds like a lecture but I did alot of research on this & just wanted to pass along my humble opinion.

 

[Jekka's_Mom]

I'll throw in my 2 cents! Last year, our first disney visit, we stayed at AKL. It is fabulous! You could go there for a week and never leave the resort! My kids were 6 & 8 at the time and they loved it! The CMs are wonderful and made sure we were never just standing around. They even entertained us at the bus stops! The kids learn a lot and there are tons of activities to do when you want to slow the pace and just hang out or if its rainy. I absolutely loved this place. I almost didn't go because I read it was too far out. There was NEVER a problem with transportation and the great thing is you don't have to share a bus with another resort. We never waited more than 5-8 minutes for transportation (January 04). I also read many opinions that the resort is dark inside. It is a little dark because of its theme which is fabulous! We're not big into African culture, but this resort was really something. You won't be disappointed if you stay here. You can see the animals from anywhere, there are evening story-telling around the fire at the savannah, your kids will never forget the 11,000 square foot pool.

This year (in two days!) we are heading back and I decided to try the WL. I've heard so very much about it and friends of mine have gone and liked it. I only hope we made the right decision. AKL will be very hard to beat and I am a bit nervous that I won't be as impressed. We originally planned to go back to AKL because it was so awesome, but my DH wanted to try something new and thought it would be fun to take water transportation as well. Also my DD 7 is really into horses and I hear you can visit them next door at the campground.

I'll try to remember to let you know my comparison when we return. Feel free to "remind" me before you leave! I hope this helps!?!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

We stay at AKL everytime we go. My wife refuses to stay anywhere else. The vibe at AKL is a bit more upscale than the WL and the restaurants are better IMO. WL is great in it's own right, but it doesn't hold a candle to AKL. What do you want to see as you gaze off of your balcony, an otter pond or "Out of Africa"? Nuff said!

 

[asaj]

We (wife, 4 year old daughter, and I) stayed at AKL in 2003, and we liked it a lot. We had a savannah view room though, and I don't know if the experience would have been quite as cool with a standard view. We liked the hotel a lot, and my daughter loved the pool. We did not have any transportation complaints. On the negative, we are picky eaters, and the restaurants (aside from the fast food type one) catered to more exotic foods than we like. Not a big deal for us though, since we ate at the parks most of the time.

That said, we have only heard good things about WL also, and are going there in Oct (just booked today). Like the other posters said, they are both great, and I think the kids will be happy with either of them.

Andy

 

[justhat]

We had this dilemma for our trip in April. We initially went with WL since we've stayed at AKL 3 times and wanted to give WL a try. My husband wasn't excited at all. He used to hate AKL (in fact he'd call it Animal Dump) but he kept asking about switching our stay to AKL instead of WL. His reasoning was that for basically the same price you are getting a free zoo at AKL, which is hard to beat. We've been to WL many times to look around and eat dinner and I think it's beautiful and was looking forward to trying it out, but AKL is my favorite resort hands down so I'm happy to be going back. (We ended up switching the reservation to AKL cause we got a better rate there with an e-mail code, so we got savannah view for $166 (regular season) compared to woods view at $170 (peak season AP rate).) We will try WL sometime in the future, but my fear is that it won't live up to AKL and my husband will never want to go back.Even in a standard view I'd like AKL cause there are so many animal viewing areas, plus the pool is awesome and has animal viewing spots all around it. It's one resort that I really enjoy spending time at, not just going to sleep.

Oh, and the boat was one reason he didn't like WL. Whenever we went to WL we always had to wait forever for the boat to get back to MK. At AKL we've had mostly great experience with the buses. To get our MK fix in, we added 2 nights at the CR tower at the end of our stay. Now I'm just worried that after AKL we won't like the CR (haven't stayed there since I was 8!), but I think the convenience and view will make up for any 'lack of theming'.

 

[Kuzco]

If I had to choose between a standard view room at AKL and a woods view at WL, I'd go with WL. I love both, but I would probably only stay at AKL if I had a Savannah View room. We had a pool view room at AKL in 2003 (free surprise upgrade) and although it was just fine, I'd have rather stayed in a woods WL room. Just my two cents!

Both resorts have excellent themeing. I agree with the above poster. Decide which theme seems more fun and look at what amenities you are interested in. That is going to be the best way to decide in this situation! It's a tough one!

 

[wintergreen]

We've stayed at both, and really enjoyed both of them. Here are my pros and cons for each FWIW:

AKL

Pros--
The animals!!
The restaurants!! We love both Boma and Jiko.
The pool!! One of the kid's favorites.

Cons--
Size. The place is HUGE! If your room is located at the end of one of the wings, you will be walking A LOT. This was a huge pain one morning when we got down to the park busses, and I discovered that I had left our tickets in the room.

Location. I felt like we were a long way from the rest of the World.


WL

Pros--
The decor!! My absolute fave. I am a westerner transplanted on the east coast, and can't get enough of the woodsy feel.

The activities!! Rent a bike, and ride over to the FW campground. Rent water craft.

Location!! Love the boat ride to the MK.

Cons--
The restaurants. We like Artist Point, but not as much as Jiko. I'm not a fan of the Whispering Canyon (although some love it).

The busses. Seems like it takes forever (with stops at other resorts) to get to any of the parks other than the Magic Kingdom.


I don't think that you can go wrong with either of these resorts. Both are lovely, and really make me feel like I am in the middle of the magic.

 

[henrylovespooh]

I vote for WL. We stayed there and loved the boat to MK. Sometimes we even took the boat to MK and then hopped the monorail to EPCOT. It's a beautiful place and the kids liked the beach as well as the pool. Food court is nice too.

I haven't stayed at AKL - seemed to far away for me.

 

[mapmakerj]

Stayed at AKL in Dec and we absolutely loved it! Food was good at Boma and Mara. There was so much for our DS to do at the lodge. He decorated cookies at Boma, made giraffe ornaments out of ostrich egg pieces, listened to the storytelling by the fire and had alot of fun on the pool slide. The animal views were incredible. From the public viewing area in the lobby you could see every kind of animal on the savannah, so standard view would not be a problem. Every CM we encountered was extremely nice. We would go back in a heartbeat.
That being said, we did tour the WL during our trip. The decor was really nice, but I'd give the edge to AKL. My DH said he would like to try the WL on our next trip. It looks like a really nice place to stay, with a cool atmosphere. The only downside we found was the traffic getting into the lodge. If you plan on using a car, be aware that the entrance to the hotel uses the same road as the entrance to the MK, so it is a bit of a pain to fight traffic at busy times. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with either place. It is really up to your budget and preference. FYI: If it were me, I'd live at AKL all winter!

 

[HopperFan]

Not getting any easier is it ?

We have stayed at both and I love them both for different reasons. You just need to think about what are important amenities to you. Forget about the rooms. We have done queen/bunkbeds at both. Very similar. We had a WL woods view and never stepped foot on the balcony. But we did not have a view of Wishes. These hotels are so beautiful you will find yourself roaming about and enjoying them in your spare time. Unless you have a savanna room, you may never really use the balcony. I've left my gang sleeping, while I walked around both hotels rather than sit on the balcony.

Like ead79 said, same architect so very similar in style. Big differences to me:
SIZE - AKL is much bigger than WL, but don't fear the walk, if you end up in standard view, none of those rooms are far and if you are very lucky like we were to bump you up to a savanna, who cares about the walk.
POOL - AKL is much bigger because the hotel is and it is no where as pretty as the WL pool. But your kids will like either one, especially their age. Both have slides, hot tubs, games. I loved the WL pool, but it was a quiet time of year.
FOOD - AKL has BOMA, JIKO, and a good sized food court. We would only eat at the WL snack bar, the Whispering Canyon was of no interest to us and the Artists Point we ate once many years ago, and it was not a wow atmosphere. So WL food choices did not impress us. When we go back, we will just plan our meals away from hotel.
TRANSPORTATION - It is really nice to boat to MK, but we found the buses to all the rest was a long ride. Our AKL bus ride to MK was 10 minutes. It really is not that far out, just feels that way. So transportation would not factor in my decision.
EXTRA AMENITIES - WL has the watercraft, view of water parade and ability to run/walk etc. At the AKL you have the pool and the animals. So if you are a sports person this may not be for you. My DS who runs felt confined our second trip to AKL. He now requests only hotels where he can run.
ACTIVITIES - The AKL has so many you almost can't do them all. My kids loved doing them our first trip. Then a few years later and older, they aren't as interested in the activities or the animals. I highly suggest that anyone who thinks they want to stay there, do it while your kids are young or without them.

 

[studog100]

you all are just fabulous! I thank you all who took a little time to tell us what the good and bad of both. That's why I love this website.

Ken

 

[MinnieM3]

We've stayed at both (and both views of AKL). We LOVE WL and we like AKL very much.

The size of AKL was a drawback for us. Also, some of the CM's we encountered there just weren't that nice. It's also the only WDW resort that has made a big screw up with our stay. The animals are nice, but got a bit boring to tell you the truth. (Sorry if that offended anyone!). We love breakfast at Boma, though and loved the giftshop in the lobby and the African art and artifacts around the lobby. We've stayed there twice now and that was enough for us. We do go and visit the lobby and gift shop if we have time.

WL is just soooo beautiful inside and out. We found it peaceful and relaxing. The location iss super. The lobby is oustanding. The kidss little Tv viewing area is very nice. The CM;s there are the BEST we've encountered in all of our stays. The grounds, waterfalls, trees, etc. are soooo pretty. We love Whipsering Canyon. LOVE the music they play. WE've stayed there a fouple of times, too, and will go back as many times as we can!