Help Decide: Boardwalk/Grand Floridian or AKL Kidani 1 Bedroom

[lsujoe]

We're headed to WDW in a couple of weeks. It will be 2 adults and 3 children. Original plan was to stay at a Standard room at Boardwalk for the first 3 nights and GF standard room for 3 additional nights. We would do HS/Epcot first 3 days and MK/AK next 3 days.
I checked yesterday to see if any other rooms opened up. There was a 1 Bedroom at AKL Kidani that was available (non-savanna view). Additionally, it was at the 25% discount, so only a little more expensive; 300 dollars more for the whole stay. I booked it and kept the other reservations knowing I would cancel one or the other. Would be really nice to have an extra room, small kitchen, extra bathroom, etc.
We have stayed at Boardwalk and GF before, so we're familiar with both. Really love both resorts and obviously great locations.
We have never stayed at AKL. From research, it sounds like a great place; a lot of peoples favorite resort. Not as convenient of a location however.

We plan on spending a lot of time at the parks. I know it will be hot, hot, hot when we go, so there's a good chance we'll go back to the hotel to swim and/or recharge most days. So, what would you do? Go with the better location hotels or go with the more room hotel? Could also split stay with AKL. Maybe swap GF with AKL.

Thanks for any and all responses!

 

[RememberWhen]

How old are the kids? And will they mind sharing sleeping space?
I think the 1 bedroom at Kidani has a king bed in the bedroom, a pull out couch and maybe a pull out chair. If that sleeping situation works for you, then I like to have the space of the 1 bedroom. There’s a kitchen, a washer and dryer (so convenient with little kids) plus I think Kidani has 2 bathrooms. If you want two proper beds, Boardwalk Inn has that. I assume GF is the same.

 

[lsujoe]

How old are the kids? And will they mind sharing sleeping space?
I think the 1 bedroom at Kidani has a king bed in the bedroom, a pull out couch and maybe a pull out chair. If that sleeping situation works for you, then I like to have the space of the 1 bedroom. There’s a kitchen, a washer and dryer (so convenient with little kids) plus I think Kidani has 2 bathrooms. If you want two proper beds, Boardwalk Inn has that. I assume GF is the same.

Kids are 14, 12 and 7.

 

[ladydi]

I’d stay at boardwalk and GF. We were there a month ago and buses took forever. We usually do afternoon breaks but didn’t because it would take so much time going back and forth on the bus. The convience of walking IMO is well work the smaller room space.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

We plan on spending a lot of time at the parks. I know it will be hot, hot, hot when we go, so there's a good chance we'll go back to the hotel to swim and/or recharge most days.

This is sorta the crux of the matter. How much time would you spend at each resort? Or we might say, how much does spending time at each resort appeal to you? An important criteria is how much you plan to eat at each resort, and how much you like each pool. A monorail hotel = easy access to any monorail eatery. A BWK area hotel= access to BWK eateries and World Showcase. If you have the suite = easier to eat in your room. It is nice in summer to have a full fridge with a freezer, even if you don't plan to cook. but if you really hate the idea of eating in the room, a table won't be useful.

I'm a big fan of split stays myself, but it helps to pack efficiently when we do them. Mostly, we just don't unpack much beyond our toiletries. Moving mostly just =putting our toiletries back in the bag, and zipping our suitcases.

Alas though, when I do a split stay, I almost always have my own car, or a rental car. If not, I'd use a taxi/car service to move between resorts. WDW will move your bags, but it takes a good chunk of the day to get them. You can drop your bags of with bell services.

AKL is a beautiful resort, a great pool, animals, and has some great eateries. If you stay late in the parks though, walking back is a nice option.

Last, how unique is this offer? Even if I'd normally choose one over the other, an exceptional offer = I try something new.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

That is tough - I'm leaning more toward BW/GF due to park location. I also really like the pool at GF. With 5 people the extra space/bathroom would be useful at AKL, but if you won't be in the room much, it might not matter. Food options are also slim right now by the AKL area, so that also makes me lean a little more toward BW/GF.

 

[ToInfinity]

I would definitely keep the BW/GF. AKL is very nice but is very far from everything.

 

[A.D.D. Boy]

Live a little…or large and go AKL. Great resort, great pools, and worth adding to ur list of resorts to check off. Must eat at Sanaa!

 

[LovePop]

Definitely stay at GF and BW. Being within walking distance of MK and Epcot/DHS is worth far more than bathrooms/washers, especially with kids. I don't care if AKL is more or less expensive, it's half an hour bus ride to MK. I expect you to take 2 trips a day, coming back mid day to relax and swim. All that waiting for the bus and the long bus rides can really add up. Furthermore, if you stay at AKL, you are basicallys stuck there. Food options are very limited, whereas if you stay at the MK loop or Epcot loop, you get so many more options. In fact, you can easily run to the parks to eat, if you have to. This is especially critical if you stay till park closing. No long lines to worry about during park closing. You get so much more out of your experience that no amount of laundry/bathroom convenience is going to make up.

I was at Kidani just last month. Lovely hotel; we got upgraded to Savannah view, and we enjoyed it. But the superior locations of GF/BW cannot be overstated, especially now that GF has a walking path. Imagine yourself waiting for the bus at park closing at MK while watching people walk back to their rooms in GF, and know that you gave that up on purpose.

 

[lsujoe]

Thanks all. Votes are in and bw/gf is the winner. That’s what I’m going with. If we went often or weren’t spending much time at the parks, I’d probably go akl since we’ve never stayed there. Maybe some time down the road we’ll give it a try.
thanks again for your advice and opinions.