WWYD -- POP or AKL????

[SleepingUgly]

It's the four of us at WDW in May: my hubby, our 5-year-old and our 2-year-old. And myself, of course. Five nights at WDW. (Three nights prior to this, we are staying offsite and doing offsite stuff.) Not sure if we should "go for it" and stay at AKL (standard-view room), or save some money and stay at POP?

I've heard nothing but good things about POP. Everyone seems to be very enthusiastic about the place. Great for kids, fun place, yada yada yada. But, we are going the week before Memorial Day Weekend. Will this be a time for a lot of school groups? If so, POP may not be the best choice then, correct?

So we're considering AKL. Except that for the five nights, it will cost about $550-$600 more than if we were to stay at POP. That's a big difference. That money could be spent on lots of other things at WDW. But, I've heard lots of great things about AKL as well. And honestly, this will be the first vacation for us in a looong time, so it will be nice to be in a more deluxe location, kwim? And also, the fact that POP and other value and moderate resorts have outdoor corridors is killing me, as that just reminds me of the Motel 6's we stayed at when we were poor college kids on road trips.

So, what would you do? The money is not really an issue, although it would be nice to have an extra $550-$600 in our pockets. But not sure if POP is worth saving that money? And is AKL worth spending that extra money?

Any thoughts???

Linda

 

[Iansmom]

We're doing BOTH!!
It'll be a while before we're going to be back to WDW and I wanted to experience as many resorts as I could. Since we'll be there 6 nights total, we're doing 3 at Pop and 3 at AKL.
I cannot wait.

Is it May yet???

 

[johnsonet]

If you're considering - then do it!!
AKL is entertainment in and of itself! It is absolutely beautiful and the Deluxe resorts have many nice amenities. You would never regret spending those extra $500-600!! I cannot tell you how impressed I've been by the AKL's children's programs and the animals! You'll be in Heaven!
Read some trip reports, study the disneyworld.com site re. the resorts and make your decision.
Good Luck!

 

[MrsJ Henry]

I would say AKL -two vacations in one!!!!!

 

[racheltyler]

What I was wondering, how much of your time would you be spending at the parks? If you're planning on spending most of your time at the parks, maybe it would be worth staying at POP & having that extra $ for spending vs. room cost. We found that when we've stayed at AKL, our 5 yr old begged us to spend time there vs. parks. Our kids absolutely loved AKL for the animals, pool, activities, playground, etc.! Everything about that place is wonderful! We ended up at only 1 park during a 4 night stay! So overall, we saved $ by staying there over a value resort where we wouldn't of been entertained for as long. We even ate most of our meals there at Boma & Mara! The AKL is up there as our favorite & before staying there I had mixed feelings for always liking more of a "beach" theme resort, like YC/BC. No mixed feelings anymore! Hope this helps and good luck whatever you decide! Sharon

 

[F1Julie]

DD4 and I have stayed at both. Pop was okay, but we really loved AKL. I agree with the last poster about making your decision based on how much time you plan on spending at the parks. When we stayed at AKL, we didn't even go to the parks (that was the plan). When we stayed at Pop, it was basically a place to sleep at night. If you plan on being at the parks all day, stay at Pop and save some money. If you think you'll spend a decent amount of time at your resort doing things like swimming and enjoying all that AKL has to offer, then it would be worth it.

 

[SleepingUgly]

Honestly, I don't think my kids will really notice the difference. And they probably will be more impressed with POP because of all the colors and funky decor. However, I'm sure they will love the pool at AKL (and at POP too) and they will also love to see the animals.

What's more important is the comfort for dh and me, I guess. Not to sound selfish, but it would be nice if we could have a nice relaxing bed and room to return to each night. And if we were too tired to take the kids to the park one afternoon, we would still be in a place where the kids could be entertained and we would also not be too bored. If that were the case, then AKL looks like it is the winner, correct?

Also, I'm hoping we can get a room with bunkbeds at AKL. The girls would have a blast with that thing!

Linda

 

[racheltyler]

AKL feels like a wonderful retreat! And I found the rooms to be the nicest of most we've stayed - the whole decor is so beautiful and having the balconies (which are quite large actually) is so relaxing also. We had a pool view which was gorgeous and not noisy at all. Make sure you put the bunk bed request on your reservation - I'm sure you won't have a problem getting one then. Enjoy!