Animal Kingdom Lodge / Grand Floridian ??

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

We are planning a 10 day Christmas Trip to WDW and we WILL be returning to stay on site again. I must point out that the only reason for this change is so that. as a Disney Resort Guest, we are guaranteed park admission.
Anyway, my question to you guys is this - 5 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Savannah View) and 5 nights Grand Floridian - What are your views / recommendations ?

 

[I-4Warrior]

I love the Animal Kingdom Lodge and will throw my recommendation behind it every single time... however this may be because I've never stayed at the Grand Floridian. All other things being equal, you can't beat the location of the Grand Floridian and that may be a huge factor in your decision. Plus the Christmas theming at the Grand Floridian is top notch, as well.

 

[durangojim]

I agree with the GF but realize you are going to pay an exorbitant rate because it's Christmas. I'd rather stay at WL but that's just me.

 

[jody31]

I'd highly recommend the Grand Floridian. I have stayed there before ,our room had a table and chairs outside where you get a really enchanting view of the surrounding lake and The Magic Kingdom. In my view It's the best WDW hotel , but it's also the most expensive

 

[harryk]

Grand Flo is my recommendation - however, Grand Flo will not guarantee a Lagoon View or Park View when you make reservations as the AK will provide the Savannah View. Grand Flo is on Monorail, AK relies on busses if that is a consideration.:xmas: :xmas: :xmas:

 

[RiversideBunny]

It looks like, with a 10-day trip, that you plan to stay 5 nights at AKL and 5 nights at the GF.
Sounds like a good plan which will give you a taste of both resorts.

Have fun.
:xmas:

 

[k.hunter30]

My ideal place to stay in WDW - if it wasn't the Poly - would be AKL. And I've never stayed at the GF - so plitting the time between the two would be a wonderful trip in my opinion. (But ideally, I would split that time between Poly and AK)

 

[isitingood]

I have stayed at both,if you enjoy watching the animals then go with the AKL. The service at the GF is much better then the Poly or AKL plus the GF is a lot closer to the MK.

 

[isitingood]

If you stay at the GF go with the lagoon view.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

If you stay at the GF go with the lagoon view.

Better than the Garden View !! - Are there any that you can see MK from ?

 

[KaliSplash]

Grand Floridian is the flagship property. I've stayed there. It is fantastic!

It is also very expensive, particularly at Christmas and if you're aiming for a lagoon view, which you should if money is no object.

I haven't stayed in Animal Kingdom Lodge, but it's out there on the edge of the world.

I'd rather be closer to MK

 

[Cole'sMom]

I've never stayed at GF, but AKL is my favorite resort by far. We thought about GF with our trip this year, but it seemed a bit stuffy for us. I'm sure it's wonderful to stay there, but maybe in the distant future for us. AKL is, in my opinion, the most relaxing resort on the property.

 

[swordsman_24]

Depends on what you value the most

I don't know the demographics of your party, but I would suggest this:

AKL is the way to go if:
1. You have animal lovers in your group.
2. You are looking for a quieter resort a little off the beaten path that gives you a taste for something a little exotic.
3. You don't mind using the buses (Note: the AKL does not typically share its bus route to the 4 parks with any other resort and it is also direct to DTD. This is not true for GF.)
4. You want a deluxe resort, but not the most expensive one.

GF is the way to go if:
1. You want to experience the most luxury that Disney has to offer.
2. You want easy access to the Magic Kingdom.
3. You want to be around some really great Christmas decorations.


If you are looking at traveling any time on the weeks leading up to Christmas there are often deals for Annual Pass holders that time of year. The week of Christmas is not normally so lucky. One other thing to consider is that with the introduction of the DVC to AKL the rooms may book faster this year than in years past. My wife and I have stayed at AKL for Christmas and loved it, but we're fans of the AKL any way so consider the source. :animwink:

 

[slappy magoo]

Just to further clarify...I don't think Captain Hook is asking whether his party should do 5 nights at AKL *OR* 5 nights at GF. He's doing a 10 day trip, 5 nights at each resort, and asking what we think.

Personally, I think we're all really effing jealous, but I'm petty and small. If you can swing all that at Xmas time, it sounds sweet. Never stayed at GF, and if I were to stay at a monorail resort (until/unless DVC ever opens at the Contemporary), I'd probably prefer Poly over GF, but that's where my tastes run. I certainly wouldn't hate 5 nights at GF. I Love AKL, it's my favorite resort thus far. I would assume it would be better to be in GF during Xmas Eve/Day, especially if you're going to try to get into WDW for the parade. I wouldn't want to wait for a bus or try to drive to MK on Xmas Day, so having the resort-only monorail is probably a big plus. I'm also figuring that, once you get fed up with the MK crowds, it'll be easier to go back to your room, OR hop on the Epcot monorail.

 

[Nicole220]

My family and I stayed at AKL this past November over Thanksgiving. We loved it! It's our favorite hotel by far. All of us are animal lovers, so we had to get the savannah view. It was amazing! There were always animals outside our window, especially the giraffes. Before we left, we requested the zebra trail on the 5th floor via fax. We were fortunate enough to get both.

The hotel is beautiful. It makes you feel like you are in another world! The pool is huge, the lobby is amazing, and it has Boma, one of the best restaurants in WDW. The rooms are rather small, but how much time to people usually spend in their rooms while they are in WDW? About the busses, I read about how bad they were before we left. They were not bad at all! We never had to wait more than 5 minutes, and this was during Thanksgiving week! Yes it is very isolated from everything else, but my family and I didn't care.

 

[Carolla5501]

I have stayed at both. The most disappointing stay in my Disney experience was the Grand Floridian. Service on par with the mods for an outragous price. (Compare the pricing, service, amenities to ANY other hotel in that price range in the US and the GF comes up LACKING!)

IMHO, Disney has really overpriced the deluxes and the only one I think is worth paying for is AKL. It's a unique experience

If it were me, I would book five days at the Ritz and five days at AKL. Pick the part of your trip you think is least crowded and go to the Ritz.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Thanks for sharing your views guys - here's the deal. We are planning 10 days which will most likely be split 5 days AKL and 5 days GF (if your reviews are good enough :lol: ).
I'm fortunate enough to have a career where my holidays are allocated in total number of days over a year - I can take them in any combination at any time (as long as they don't clash with colleagues). Last year I took over three weeks in August to accomodate our WDW trip.
Keep those reviews coming - you cannot beat the opinions of guests that have experienced the properties for themselves

 

[MPitzen]

One thing that you should consider is that Disney does not guarantee resort guests admission. At a certain point they stop letting in non resort guests and only resort guests.... but when the absolute max capacity is reached they also stop letting in resort guests. This is pretty much guaranteed to happen at Christmas time, particularly in MK & Epcot.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from my experiences in 2003 & 2005 Christmas time, when I was a Disney resort guest, that is how it was.

 

[unkadug]

One thing that you should consider is that Disney does not guarantee resort guests admission. At a certain point they stop letting in non resort guests and only resort guests.... but when the absolute max capacity is reached they also stop letting in resort guests. This is pretty much guaranteed to happen at Christmas time, particularly in MK & Epcot.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from my experiences in 2003 & 2005 Christmas time, when I was a Disney resort guest, that is how it was.

While what you are saying is correct, a resort guest being denied entry to a park even at Level 4 closure, would have to either:

• have over slept really late
• or have already been to the park and then left for some reason.

It's almost guaranteed that a resort guest will get in to their park of choice if they just "get up and go" in the morning. :wave:

 

[shmmrname]

We stayed at AKL for our Honeymoon last Thanksgiving. It was great. We didn't have a prime view, but nearly the whole experience was at or above what we expected. And, we expected alot.
We didn't like the counter-service restaurant at all. When compared to all of our other WDW on-site experiences it paled terribly. However, we were clearly able to avoid it after two bad experiences.
We did eat at GF, and spent some exploring. It looks beautiful, and it's definitely a place we want to stay in the future. I don't think you can make a bad choice with these two options. But, AKL is truly unique.