Villas at Wilderness Lodge vs Animal Kingdom Villas

Shelliemay

Shelliemay

Member
Original Poster
So we're planning to go WDW/USO around late Jan-early Feb next year for 6 dayfor 6 of us (4 Adults and 2 teens). We were thinking to rent DVC points, and we can't decide between 2 bedroom villa at Wilderness Lodge or 2 bedroom savanna view at Kidani Village. At first we were planning for 2 bedroom villa at Beach/Boardwalk but there are no double beds in the second bedroom :( What are the pros/cons between these two resorts and what would you choose ? By the way, how many days should we be in Universal? Thanks!
 
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jeffk410

jeffk410

Well-Known Member
I have stayed at WL and AKL and rented DVC points for each scenario. Both hotels have similar theming. However, I would say that a perk of Wilderness lodge is its proximity to MK and the monorail hotels. (lots of food). You should keep in mind that AKL is far from a lot of the activity. With that being said, AKL is my favorite resort and is the deluxe I stay at the most often. I love the food options at AKL, the theming, the Savannah. If you plan to spend more time at the hotel, AKL would be my vote; however, if parks and MK is your most important aspect, I'd vote WL. Its a toss up, but you won't go wrong with either hotel.

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask.
 
ParentsOf4

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
jeffk410 said:
I have stayed at WL and AKL and rented DVC points for each scenario. Both hotels have similar theming. However, I would say that a perk of Wilderness lodge is its proximity to MK and the monorail hotels. (lots of food). You should keep in mind that AKL is far from a lot of the activity. With that being said, AKL is my favorite resort and is the deluxe I stay at the most often. I love the food options at AKL, the theming, the Savannah. If you plan to spend more time at the hotel, AKL would be my vote; however, if parks and MK is your most important aspect, I'd vote WL. Its a toss up, but you won't go wrong with either hotel.

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask.
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Wow, I'm trying to think if there's anything to add but you seem to have summed it up pretty well. :)

AKL has 2 separate buildings, "Jambo House" and "Kidani Village".

Jambo House is where most of the action is. It has the hotel's food court, a larger pool, and a larger store.

Kidani Village is quieter. It's pool is better for smaller children. It's parking is underground, making it more convenient, especially with the Florida sun.

If you want to be in the middle of it all, go with Jambo. If you want to get away from it all, go with Kidani.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
Also, Wilderness Lodge Villas are currently undergoing a full refurb with new bedding, appliances, flooring, couches, and an updated color scheme, so they'll look much lighter and fresher than they do now.

I give the edge to Animal Kingdom Lodge in the decor and dining department thanks to its lush theming and great table-service restaurants, but we'd likely never stay there due to its far-flung location away from the parks we visit most. We spend almost half of our WDW time at the Magic Kingdom (with Epcot a close second -- HS and AK are both less-than-full-day parks for us if we visit them at all), and we rely on Disney transportation, so the closer to the MK we can get, the happier we are. (We also like that Wilderness Lodge has the Electric Water Pageant and walking trail to Fort Wilderness.) It all comes down to your personal touring strategies.
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
Just to give one additional "pro" to Kidani Village - if you're planning on renting a 2BR unit, you'll have 3 bathrooms in Kidani Village, versus 2 bathrooms in Wilderness Lodge. 6 Adults, having that extra bathroom could save you a lot of time getting out in the morning, whether you'll lose that extra time traveling to and from the parks because of VAK's remote location is another story...
 
Shelliemay

Shelliemay

Member
Original Poster
slappy magoo said:
Just to give one additional "pro" to Kidani Village - if you're planning on renting a 2BR unit, you'll have 3 bathrooms in Kidani Village, versus 2 bathrooms in Wilderness Lodge. 6 Adults, having that extra bathroom could save you a lot of time getting out in the morning, whether you'll lose that extra time traveling to and from the parks because of VAK's remote location is another story...
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Wow.. Having an extra bathroom is also worth noting. Any ideas how bad are the buses from AKL? Does it take really much time to the parks?
 
Gomer

Gomer

Well-Known Member
I've stayed at AKL three times and WL twice over the last 5 years. You get used to the long bus rides after a few days. It's to the point where I just naturally account for the extra time now. I find that it's worth it for the benefits that AKL has, but it's really dependent on your preferences.

Do you have any experience riding the bus from a MK hotel to DAK? That is pretty much the same as riding AKL to MK. Bus ride is about 20 minutes to MK. Not too bad as long as you catch the bus quickly. Because of the long cycle times i've waited up to 30 minutes for a MK bus at the AKL bus stop. So, in that worst case scenario you are talking about an hour travel time from hotel room to turnstiles. But that is not the norm, and I have noticed AKL bus wait times improving over my last few trips. When I was there last month, I don't think I ever waited more than 10 minutes. Maybe it was luck, or maybe they are getting better now that some of the Value hotels are running the articulated busses freeing up the regular busses to the other hotels more frequently?

Either way, if speed of travel to MK is your ultimate concern then AKL probably isn't for you. I love WL, but I personally still find AKL to be worth the hassle due to dining options, room layout, theming, and cleanliness.
 
slappy magoo

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
I've only stayed at AKL once, and that was 10 years ago, before it developed into a part of the DVC. No Kidani Village. No Sanaa, just Boma Jiko and Mara.

I for one, loved it. As did my then-GF-now-wife.

We haven't stayed there again, in part because we became DVC members. When it wasn't DVC, we stayed at Saratoga (home resort) as well as Wilderness Lodge and Boardwalk, and liked them all for different reasons. Because we now have two small children (5 and 2) I at least try to always book BLT because I know it's MK where we'll be spending most of our time, and we don't even want to wait for transportation, just hop in the stroller kids, we'll be there in about 10 minutes.

We also always have a car; no matter where we stay we tend to drive to each park EXCEPT for MK, in order to avoid the extra step of a boat or monorail. Of course, staying at BLT alleviates that problem anyway because of the walking path. But once the kids are a little older, I definitely intend to get a few trips to AKL/VAK in there. We always visit at least once - Boma is one of our favorite "must-dine" restaurants, and it's fun to just check out the animals without being elbowed by various strangers in the AK walk-through attractions.

But getting back to your question about the bus line, as always YMMV, but out of the 3 days we visited MK that trip, I only remember it being a noticeable wait for a bus once. And we used it multiple times to go to DtD (back when it had Pleasure Island so we didn't want to drive) and never experienced crazy wait times there, either.

Since you're also planning to visit Universal, is it safe to assume you'll have your own car?
 
jeffk410

jeffk410

Well-Known Member
The bus system really has many factors. I have never had to wait long for a bus at AKL. Additionally, I believe people tend to overestimate/ exaggerate the long bus rides. 20 minutes each way is not too bad.
 
Iwannabeindisney89

Iwannabeindisney89

Member
Just to throw my two cents in... I've stayed at kidani with 6 adults and the extra bathroom/massive size of kidani's rooms was amazing. The bus rides didn't really bother us...I feel like so many of the other resorts have to share buses that it probably works out to be roughly the same give or take 10 minutes. Also stayed in beach club, boardwalk, and Saratoga 2 bedroom villas which were of course gorgeous but Kidani is still raved about when we reminisce. Never stayed at wilderness lodge sorry can't help there. Either way I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!
 
Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
FYI, if you're looking to get a two-bedroom with two beds in the 2nd bedroom, make sure to book a Dedicated Two-Bedroom unit. It should be a bookable category, and in almost all cases will mean two beds in the second bedroom. If you book a Lock-Off Two-Bedroom it'll be a connected One-Bedroom and a Studio and the studio will have a bed and a sofabed.

-Rob
 
Shelliemay

Shelliemay

Member
Original Poster
Rob562 said:
FYI, if you're looking to get a two-bedroom with two beds in the 2nd bedroom, make sure to book a Dedicated Two-Bedroom unit. It should be a bookable category, and in almost all cases will mean two beds in the second bedroom. If you book a Lock-Off Two-Bedroom it'll be a connected One-Bedroom and a Studio and the studio will have a bed and a sofabed.

-Rob
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Are there dedicated two-bedroom units in Jambo House? Thanks.
 
W

willtravel

Well-Known Member
Weather_Lady said:
Also, Wilderness Lodge Villas are currently undergoing a full refurb with new bedding, appliances, flooring, couches, and an updated color scheme, so they'll look much lighter and fresher than they do now.

I give the edge to Animal Kingdom Lodge in the decor and dining department thanks to its lush theming and great table-service restaurants, but we'd likely never stay there due to its far-flung location away from the parks we visit most. We spend almost half of our WDW time at the Magic Kingdom (with Epcot a close second -- HS and AK are both less-than-full-day parks for us if we visit them at all), and we rely on Disney transportation, so the closer to the MK we can get, the happier we are. (We also like that Wilderness Lodge has the Electric Water Pageant and walking trail to Fort Wilderness.) It all comes down to your personal touring strategies.
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Has the AKL Villas rooms gone under any refurbs since opening?
 
W

willtravel

Well-Known Member
HouCuseChickie said:
Tough choice...while we've never stayed in the villas, we've stayed at WL and AKL. WL was definitely more convenient to the MK area. While I preferred AKL as far as resorts go, we didn't like the longer transportation times.
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I thought the boat ride to MK was great from WL. And then when we got off at Contemporary Resort and then got on monorail to Epcot. Enjoyed that also.
 
wedenterprises

wedenterprises

Well-Known Member
We own at WL, and LOOOVE it. However. we've been staying at beach club villas our last few visits because we love that area and being close to epcot...

As far as bus times go, I find staying at WL and BCV can be a pain because the bus will stop at numerous other hotels first, but I'm under the impression that the AK has dedicated bus service? I know it's taken us an hour to get from AK to the BCV a few times so I'm hoping the AK bus service is better.

We're staying at AKL villas in a few months for the first time. Not sure what to expect. My big question is getting from your villa room to the AKL pool (not the villas pool). Is it a hassle? It's hard to tell how easy it is to walk over there from Kidani. The one reason I don't the boardwalk villas is the distance from lobby/elevators/bus to your room. It can be far, and we always seem to get placed farrrr away. I am assuming the worst room placement at AKL so I wonder what it's like getting over to the AKL's amazing pool.
 

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