Beach Club or AK Lodge?

[SkratchyTheWolf]

Sooo Me and my girlfriend (both 18) just graduated High School and were looking to go on a trip to Disney. It will be my 5th (stayed at Swan,Saratoga,Yacht, and POR previously) her 2nd time going (shes only stayed at POR). Right now were between the Beach Club and AK Lodge. With the Beach Club we really like its location and the ability to walk to epcot and boardwalk at night, and AK Lodge we really like the Savannah view. However, we somewhat dislike the Beach Club's theme since we already live in New England and want something a bit more adventurous while at the same time we dislike the bus transportation at AK Lodge which is needed to get anywhere at all. Any opinions on which we might enjoy more or maybe another resort that might be a good fit for our age and what were looking for? Thanks

 

[PineapplePrincess]

We've stayed both places. While we really enjoyed the atmosphere of AK, it was just too far away from everything for us. After a long day, the bus ride back from MK was approx. 38 minutes. Way too long! BC is our absolute favorite resort, even after staying at the Poly.

 

[crashnuke]

I have stayed @ both and I would prefer to stay @ the beach club because of the proximity to DHS & Epcot, The sand bottom pool is awesome and you are really close to the boardwalk restaurant/sport bars.

 

[zurgandfriend]

I agree with previous poster in that I believe AKL is too far away.
I live in New England also and don’t think it’s that much like home. No one told me to Paaaak my caaar or have some chowda. The pool and proximity to world showcase is beach club great but if you’re still against it how about yacht club?

 

[SkratchyTheWolf]

Thanks for the quick replies I appreciate the input
Is there any other resorts you might recommend too?

 

[SkratchyTheWolf]

I don't think I'd like to do the yacht again just because I want to try something new and the resort seems a little to "formal" for my taste other than that though I honestly did like the resort

 

[zurgandfriend]

How about one of the magic Kingdom resorts? The Wilderness Lodge is the same price as the AKL and the Polynesian is comparable to the YC/BC.
Wilderness Lodge has a wonderful theme and the Polynesian is on the monorail always a plus.

 

[Ariel484]

We have the same dilemma as you do for next June (yes, I’m one of those planners :lookaroun) except that we were debating between the YC and AKL and I think we’ve come to our decision: AKL is going to win out for us this time. We just want to try it once (if we can’t stand the buses then lesson learned, we’ll know better for next time) and it’s significantly cheaper than BC/BW/YC, which makes it easier to justify our slightly longer-than-normal trip (8-9 nights instead of 7). Plus it has JIKO…our favorite restaurant on the planet.

Having said that, since you asked for resort recommendaions, our favorite resort so far is the Boardwalk. The location cannot be beat and we just love the atmosphere. I’m actually afraid I’ll miss it too much while staying at AKL in June 2011.

Have a great trip!

 

[pacochran]

We've been to both while I liked the theme of AKL and the Savahana view was really neat. I think BC has a little more (we are BCV owners). Like you said it is close to EPCOT and DHS so you can walk to both. If you plan to do any swimming the pool at BC (Stormalong bay) is really great and the slide is really fun even for adults.

 

[meganw1985]

WILDERNESS LODGE! It's pretty adventurous, not New England themed at all, and the proximity to the Magic Kingdom is fantastic! It's not on the monorail, but honestly, our experience with the boat service was better than the monorail, faster from boat dock to boat dock than the monorail to Magic Kingdom, and never crowded. Much more enjoyable too! The bus service was decent, although now that I think back, may have been easier to take the boat to the Contemporary and the monorail to TTC, as all the buses stop at Fort Wilderness first. It's also less expensive than the Beach Club. I've stayed there too, and yes, walking to Epcot was great (as was Stormalong Bay, and the wonderful smell of the lobby) and will stay there again someday. But if you havn't experienced the WL, you should give it a try! :wave:

 

[erinshaneb]

AKL..that is our favorite..That being said we haven't stayed at YC or any other deluxe resort..Hubby is kinda stuck on AKL...this trip will be our third stay in 6 trips..I would LOVE to try something else, but he is kinda stuck..we are takin our kids for the first time and they "HAVE" to wake up looking at the giraffes :shrug:..I pick my battles, but I definitely think next time we need to try somewhere new..It's the old catch 22..afraid we are missing something if we stay there again and afraid we are missing something if we don't stay there again..lol:veryconfu :hammer:

 

[DVCOwner]

Location, Location, Location - Beach Club

 

[rpk4444]

They are both great. I do agree strongly with the others. Location,location,location. Because of the ease of getting into Epcot, I go with the Beach Club. Also, because of your age the pool at Beach Club is far better than AK lodge.

 

[everest-dude]

BC or the YC if u can get a room there... AKL is amazing atmosphere and AK is my favorite park but its just not close to anything... hope this helps

 

[amykissangel]

Need some detailed Disney help...

Beach Club - much closer

 

[mickeysshoes]

I'm a vote for the Wilderness Lodge! This is our home away from home and cant wait to get home in 62 days. The boat to MK is a very nice cruise and that gives you access to the montorail. AK is very nice, we stayed there back in 2006 but like other posters stated its is so far away and long bus rides. You could always do a ADR there and check it out for your next trip!! Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[slappy magoo]

How are you getting around when you're there? If you have access to a car, I'd suggest AKL, and using it to get pretty much everywhere except maybe the MK. If you're relying solely on Disney transportation, then BC or perhaps a MK resort, depending on where you expect to spend more time.

 

[PhilharMagician]

AKL is all about atmosphere and animals. This is my absolute favorite resort on property. The bussing is not that bad. The bussing at YC/BC hits all of the resort around including BW, Swan and Dolphin. It can take quite a while to get where you are going when you are making all these stops.

The Beach Club is all about the pool. The lazy river and sand bottom are my favorite point about the resort. It is nice to have the back entrance into Epcot and the moderate walk over to DHS. I prefer to walk into Epcot throught the front gate. My day at Epcot always seems to be missing that grand entrance when I come in throught the International Gateway.

My first choice would be AKL, but I have been known to split stays with 1/2 at AKL and 1/2 at BC and get the best of both worlds.

 

[magiconmainstrt]

Well, I am an avid Poly guest (or shall I say cuz) but after staying there many many times, (and it is not available with the pin) we are staying at BC.
This decision was based on the following:

The many positive replies including from friends and this site on the BC (even with no monorail)

Close to Epcot

The Pool sounds wonderful

Nightlife on Boardwalk (never been):slurp:

And trying a NEW Magic Moment for us!

(As a side note, we stayed at WL once, and we spent most of our time at the Poly-short drive to TTC and then monorail over.-Do the Beach Club!)

Happy Planning! See you in December!:sohappy:

 

[lilclerk]

I totally get your thinking on the Beach Club. I was thinking about it for my October trip because you just can't beat the easy access to two parks plus the Boardwalk, but I'm from Rhode Island and we are pretty much a giant beach club :lol: Okay not really, but we kinda take the beach for granted around here.
Anyway, I opted to just stay at the Boardwalk instead. Have you thought about that?