AKL too far?

[S_Grise]

Does anyone know how the concierge at the AKL compares to that at the Polynesian? If you stay at AKL, do you have to take a bus to MK, MGM, and Epcot? Does the bus still get you there before or at opening? First time poster, thanks for the advice.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

That's gorgeous! We get up early, around sunrise. Would we be likely to see animals then? :lookaroun

Yes, you may. The animals are free roaming in each savanna. There are three savannas. Each has some specific types of animals, all have Giraffe though.

The animals feeders are positioned near the resort, so if they eating, you should eaisily see them.

The animals only return to the barns during the day for care and special needs, and only one savanna at a time, so two always have animals out. The animals are out on the savannas for the rest of the entire day and night. Some do move off to the back of the savanna to sleep of get out of the days heat and sun, so sometimes it can look empty. But you should see something every morning, and they are all out when in the evenings when you get back from the parks.

I would ask a CM what the feeding schedules are when you are there. They all come out and follow the trucks arround when they are getting feed.

I'll look for some other pics we have and put them up tonight. I know my wife got a nice sunrise picture one morning. And I've spent many mornings drinking my juice and having a snack in the morning watching the animals. And my wife was up earlier than me with coffe watching them. So they are out.

The first year we were on the 2nd floor and had about six of the small antilope sleep outside our room every night.

I'll get some pics up tonight for ya'!

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Here are two more pictures...

http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/showphoto.php?photo=14417&cat=500&page=1

http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/showphoto.php?photo=14416&cat=500&page=1

 

[TheSuperTom]

I stayed @ AKL two years ago, and the bus service is, as everyone else has said, excellent. I think the longest transit time was about 15mins.
AKL is by far my favorite resort and here's why, it's very peaceful. Being able to go outside and see all the animals in a quite setting, amazing. Even better is in the evening, when it's feeding time for animals, they seem to come out from nowhere, it's amazing.

 

[ralz28]

I would stay at the poly, that is the best hotel period. Fast boat ride or monorail ride to where you want to go.

Aloha!

 

[AkiraRaptor]

I would stay at the poly, that is the best hotel period. Fast boat ride or monorail ride to where you want to go.

Except for MGM or AK or Downtown Disney or Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon...

Just poking fun. Each resort has it's pros and cons. Ultimatly, it comes down to an opinion and preference. I prefer AKL, others Poly. Some want to be very close to the monorail. I don't mind the bus system, it suits me fine.

But at the end of the day, your at Disneyworld, so have fun!

 

[S_Grise]

But at the end of the day, your at Disneyworld, so have fun!

If you're at the end of a day that started at Disney World, how can it NOT have been an awesome day no matter WHERE you stayed???
Thanks everyone. Our family debate rages on. Probably the one with the $$$ will get the final say. LOL

 

[clarkstallings]

AKL is not too far away from everything. The commute by bus has been just fine. I however, usually drive to the parks, that in all honestly is the quickest option of all if you and everyone in your party knows what you are doing. I've stayed at nearly all Disney resorts and AKL in my opinion is the best of all of them. I believe this stems from the fact its theming and design are unique from nearly all luxury hotels in the United States. Whereas with Grand Flordian, Beach Club, Boardwalk, and the others, their respective theming isn't too far removed from some luxury hotels found elswhere. You'll have a blast a AKL.

 

[disneysailor]

The room rates for AKL seem much lower than the other Deluxe Resorts. AKL always shows up as the cheapest on both the UK and US Disney sites. Does anyone know why this is?

 

[AkiraRaptor]

The room rates for AKL seem much lower than the other Deluxe Resorts. AKL always shows up as the cheapest on both the UK and US Disney sites. Does anyone know why this is?

Because IT IS the lowest costing of the deluxe resorts. Some say it's because of the room size (AKL has the smallest of the deluxes as well), others say because it only has bus, no monorail, boat or alternate form of transportation available.

It also could be it doesn't have as many of the ammenities that other deluxes have like boat recreations, walking and biking trails, etc.

But in my book, lower cost means less money cost for me, since it's the only place I stay at.

 

[S_Grise]

Because IT IS the lowest costing of the deluxe resorts. Some say it's because of the room size (AKL has the smallest of the deluxes as well), others say because it only has bus, no monorail, boat or alternate form of transportation available.

Whoooooa. The rooms are smaller? How much smaller? I'm going to to have three teenagers in the room with my husband and I.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Whoooooa. The rooms are smaller? How much smaller? I'm going to to have three teenagers in the room with my husband and I.

The standard room size is 344 sq feet, deluxe rooms are 381 sq feet. For compairison, the Contemporary is 422 square feet, the Poly average guest room is 409 square feet, the GF average guest room is 400 square feet, and the Wilderness Lodge average guest rooms are 340 square feet with Junior suites coming in at 500 square feet.

So I guess WL has the "smallest", but the deluxe rooms are definatly the smallest of the upgrade rooms in the deluxe resorts. WL and AKL are very similar in architecture and layout.

I read that the standard rooms have a maximum 4 persons and the deluxe are 4-5 pepole.

Most rooms are available with your choice of king-size bed (available with daybed), two queen-size beds or one queen-size bed and bunk beds (available with daybed).

Hope that helps.

 

[disneysailor]

Thanks for the info. Are the AKL and WL Resort standard rooms perhaps smaller as they all have balconies? (correct me if I'm wrong)

 

[S_Grise]

Uh-oh. This could be the deal breaker. At the Poly we got 2 queen-sized AND a day bed. If this isn't available at AKL, then it won't work for us.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Uh-oh. This could be the deal breaker. At the Poly we got 2 queen-sized AND a day bed. If this isn't available at AKL, then it won't work for us.

Call Disney or better yet, call AKL and ask. The deluxes do fit 5, so I'm sure they would have a sleeping combo that would work out for you.

Disney - (407) WDW-MAGIC
AKL Front Desk - (407) 938-3000

 

[S_Grise]

The deluxes do fit 5, so I'm sure they would have a sleeping combo that would work out for you.

Thank you. That's a relief. We're still really undecided about where to stay. I'm getting nervous because I like to have my trips nailed down at least 6 mo. in advance (at least in my head if not on paper).

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Thank you. That's a relief. We're still really undecided about where to stay. I'm getting nervous because I like to have my trips nailed down at least 6 mo. in advance (at least in my head if not on paper).

This is the fun part! :lol: Once you've "nailed" it all down, and made the reservations, then it's just a waiting game. I much prefer doing this part of a trip to just waiting.

Have fun!

 

[lawyergirl77]

While this thread has TOTALLY convinced me to stay at the AKL next year, if the room sizes are comparable to the WL, then you may want to go to the Poly...

Put it this way: 5 lawyers in their mid-to-late-twenties were able to stay in a concierge room at the Poly last year without wanting to kill each other every other second. We can't even do that when we have separate offices, let alone having everyone staying in the same room!!!!!

While I think that the AKL's theming is the most awe-inspiring of all the deluxes, I can't imagine cramming three teenagers into a smaller Deluxe room (unless these teenagers are the pocket-sized, non-bathroom-hogging kinds... whaddya mean they don't come in that variety??)

 

[polynesiangirl]

This actually has nothing to do with the fact that I just flat out prefer the decor of the Poly to the AKL (though I agree both are beautiful!) but I actually do consider the room size kind of a "big deal" that I don't know if so many people are aware of.

Granted, of course, that AKL is cheaper than the Poly by a not-insignificant-amount, so that does help make up for it, but when we would travel with my sister and I when we were both tween/teens and another time when I traveled in a party of all adults, having that extra space was a BIG help and worth the extra cost.

With that, if you have three teenagers, you are FOR SURE going to want a room that comfortably sleeps 5 adult sized people. The room we had at AKL was definitely smaller, and I would not have wanted an extra person in there with our family of four.

Just my opinion, I know this kind of stuff can be tough to decide on when they all sound so fun! :wave:

 

[disneymania10]

I agree that it is a misconception that AKL bus rides are long thinking the resort if far away from the action. I looked up bus ride times in the unofficial guide book and it showed that the AKL bus rides to all the parks were less than POR/pfq which are centrally located. The ride to the mk was about 2 minutes longer than those too. This was good news to me since we are staying there 7/16 to 7/26/05.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

I agree that it is a misconception that AKL bus rides are long thinking the resort if far away from the action. I looked up bus ride times in the unofficial guide book and it showed that the AKL bus rides to all the parks were less than POR/pfq which are centrally located. The ride to the mk was about 2 minutes longer than those too. This was good news to me since we are staying there 7/16 to 7/26/05.

Plus you will never share your bus with other resorts. The busses are direct to and back from your locations. The only one that breaks that rule is the one that stops ar DD and the water parks all on one bus.