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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
Name:
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help me decide AKL or WL
Okay so with 2013 packages being released soon we are trying to start planning for next year. We have narrowed it down to AKL and WL. We have stayed 2 prekids at AKL in a savannah view and savannahview CL room and loved it. We visited the WL before on prior trips when we rented a car. While we like it and think we would enjoy a trip it doesn't seem quite as magical as the AKL does.
After doing a lot of reading I am hoping someine here can help.
We will be going end of August so transportation is going to be important since it will be hot. We won't have a rental car.
While I would love to go to the AKL with the girl we will probably go with a standard view or maybe pool view room. But my big concern is the buses. The buses were great from there our last trip but that was 2004 before Kadini. Reading reviews I see a lot of people saying the bus is full by the time it gets to Jambo House. Also that they sometimes waited 30+ mins for the bus. We know it is the farthest from MK and are okay with that since we love the hotel. Do we have to get a pool view or can we save some money with a standard room. Anyone know if they plan to rehab the AKL in the near future. I understand the WL is being rehabbed now.
On the other hand WL looks like a fabulous place even though we prefer AKL I don't think we would be disappointed there. WCC looks like a fun meal and I love how close it is to the MK? I do have some concerns. I like the boat option - can you wheel a stroller onto the boat at night if the girls crash? I have read that the cancel the boats in rain or lightening. Does this mean it will be down a lot in late August? Do they always offer a bus option to the MK or only when the boat is not running? I am reading conflicting info some say the buses are shared others that it only stops at the WL? When we were at the poly they were shared and it made it a longer trip. Iam reading reports of very long waits or long rides because of multiple stops.
Also not sure we could swing the woods view do we have to go with that - are the standard rooms that horrible?
Any other pros and cons I should be aware of? Past 2 trips have been at the Poly. Strongly considered POR for the royal guest rooms but concerned about the large layout and the buses. We would do one night at either Boma or WCC depending on where we stay. Maybe one night at Ohana and the rest of the meals at MK or EPCOT so all should be easy to get to from either resort.
Both pools look fairly similar but AKL has zero entry and WL does not? Is one better than the other?
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Posted 7/7/12 12:12 PM  |
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Long Island Weddings
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MommaG
Yay Spring!
Member since 5/05 5133 total posts
Name:
Gloria
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Re: help me decide AKL or WL
We stayed at AKL in Feb 2010. The pool was closed for renovations but it didn't matter because it was so cold I was wearing my winter coat while I was there. But I guess that's a plus for you that it is fairly new. We had a savannah view room so I can't help with the rooms. The room we had still looked new and was in good shape. We took the buses to all the parks and we had no problem with it. Sometimes the bus stops at Jambo first and sometimes it stops at Kadini first. Always more people getting on at Jambo than Kadini. We always got a seat without a problem when leaving Jambo, but once while leaving MK after the fireworks we had to stand. We didn't feel like waiting for the next bus. Like most resorts, there really is no rhyme or reason to when the bus comes - they get there when they get there, no matter what the schedule actually is. HTH
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| Posted 7/7/12 1:59 PM |
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Mouse Tales Travel
LIFamilies Business
Member since 7/08 417 total posts
Name:
Melissa Salinas
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help me decide AKL or WL
Standard view rooms have a view of the parking lot, trash/laundry/loading dock, or roof - I don't book AKL unless they're getting savanna or Arusha savanna views and will not book a standard room at WL or AKL without a client signing a waiver. To me, it's that bad. Not every room is but 95% of them are! Both of those resorts are the only ones where we begin quotes at an upgraded view because I feel so strongly about avoiding a standard view room there.
Nothing like getting a call from a pissed off client whose "Disney expert" friend told her that only a few WL and AKL standard rooms had bad views so signed the waiver, took the gamble, and was livid she looked out her window at a Deluxe Resort to see a trash can and laundry trailers. After moving rooms 3x, the view never got better. oops. ;)
You don't have to fold the stroller on the boat for WL and they only stop the boats when it's pouring or lightning - neither time would you want to be on the water anyway, IMO.
Remember that most people writing reviews are planning to share negative information so take it with a grain of salt. Have we had craptastic waits for a bus? Absolutely. Has it been every day or every resort? Nope, but to read some of those reviews, you'd think the Bus Gods did it to penalize the author. ;)
I enjoy AKL but I have a soft spot in my heart for WL. Not sure why since I'm not a camper or country girl (WL is my idea of "camping" LOL) but I love WCC, I love the proximity to MK, and it just feels like home. Magic, maybe not... but full of pixie dust.
I'll never forget the way they cared for my client whose 2-year-old has an inoperable brain tumor and his tumor grew HUGELY during their vacation and he had to be air ambulance'd out of Orlando back to St. Jude. "Above and beyond" doesn't begin to cover it.
- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008
Message edited 7/7/2012 4:10:22 PM.
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| Posted 7/7/12 4:09 PM |
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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
Name:
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Re: help me decide AKL or WL
Posted by Mouse Tales Travel
Standard view rooms have a view of the parking lot, trash/laundry/loading dock, or roof - I don't book AKL unless they're getting savanna or Arusha savanna views and will not book a standard room at WL or AKL without a client signing a waiver. To me, it's that bad. Not every room is but 95% of them are! Both of those resorts are the only ones where we begin quotes at an upgraded view because I feel so strongly about avoiding a standard view room there.
Nothing like getting a call from a pissed off client whose "Disney expert" friend told her that only a few WL and AKL standard rooms had bad views so signed the waiver, took the gamble, and was livid she looked out her window at a Deluxe Resort to see a trash can and laundry trailers. After moving rooms 3x, the view never got better. oops. ;)
You don't have to fold the stroller on the boat for WL and they only stop the boats when it's pouring or lightning - neither time would you want to be on the water anyway, IMO.
Remember that most people writing reviews are planning to share negative information so take it with a grain of salt. Have we had craptastic waits for a bus? Absolutely. Has it been every day or every resort? Nope, but to read some of those reviews, you'd think the Bus Gods did it to penalize the author. ;)
I enjoy AKL but I have a soft spot in my heart for WL. Not sure why since I'm not a camper or country girl (WL is my idea of "camping" LOL) but I love WCC, I love the proximity to MK, and it just feels like home. Magic, maybe not... but full of pixie dust.
I'll never forget the way they cared for my client whose 2-year-old has an inoperable brain tumor and his tumor grew HUGELY during their vacation and he had to be air ambulance'd out of Orlando back to St. Jude. "Above and beyond" doesn't begin to cover it.
- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008
Okay we never spend any time on our balcony but I can certainly see why you would say that as I saw the "standard" view picture (garbage cans and maybe a smokehouse and vans/delivery trucks). We have no intention of spending time out there. So something to think about. Won't that bump the price up almost $800 to 1k more than POR garden royalguest room? So I guess will dump the WL then. Oh well it was tempting to have the boat and bus option but not sure that $40 a night is in the budget.
I have had friends stay in pool rooms at the AKL and enjoyed it. Are the pool rooms that bad? We found that when we did the CL we ended up mostly seeing the animals from the public viewing areas b/c back then we were high up before they put the villas in. What are the pool view rooms like there. The savannah area seems about 1k + difference now and I don't want to spend that much.
I understand that there are good and bad days but just wanted to check if it was just people complaining or if they really had issues because it seems like some resorts have smoother transportation than others. The buses from AKL were so good last trip we didn't use our rental car but I heard they went downhill when the villas were put in.
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| Posted 7/7/12 5:51 PM |
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Mouse Tales Travel
LIFamilies Business
Member since 7/08 417 total posts
Name:
Melissa Salinas
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Re: help me decide AKL or WL
Posted by Lillykat
<snip>
I have had friends stay in pool rooms at the AKL and enjoyed it. Are the pool rooms that bad? We found that when we did the CL we ended up mostly seeing the animals from the public viewing areas b/c back then we were high up before they put the villas in. What are the pool view rooms like there. The savannah area seems about 1k + difference now and I don't want to spend that much.
I understand that there are good and bad days but just wanted to check if it was just people complaining or if they really had issues because it seems like some resorts have smoother transportation than others. The buses from AKL were so good last trip we didn't use our rental car but I heard they went downhill when the villas were put in.
The pool view rooms aren't bad at all, just not what I go to AKL for, you know? The view can be pretty good where you see most of the pool and gardens or it can be eh where you're looking pretty hard to get a good look at the pool. Most are decent though.
They're constantly changing the bus systems and dispatch so it's going to be really tough to judge even from one stay to another. Just by virtue of adding Kidani, the buses got busier but they also send more of them. We've personally not had problems with AKL buses - and I think more people that stay there rent cars or drive their own out of fear of bad bus situations than other resorts - but we stay there during off season. No bad reports from clients either though.
- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008
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| Posted 7/7/12 10:03 PM |
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Lillykat
going along for the ride...
Member since 5/05 16253 total posts
Name:
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Re: help me decide AKL or WL
Posted by Mouse Tales Travel
Posted by Lillykat
<snip>
I have had friends stay in pool rooms at the AKL and enjoyed it. Are the pool rooms that bad? We found that when we did the CL we ended up mostly seeing the animals from the public viewing areas b/c back then we were high up before they put the villas in. What are the pool view rooms like there. The savannah area seems about 1k + difference now and I don't want to spend that much.
I understand that there are good and bad days but just wanted to check if it was just people complaining or if they really had issues because it seems like some resorts have smoother transportation than others. The buses from AKL were so good last trip we didn't use our rental car but I heard they went downhill when the villas were put in.
The pool view rooms aren't bad at all, just not what I go to AKL for, you know? The view can be pretty good where you see most of the pool and gardens or it can be eh where you're looking pretty hard to get a good look at the pool. Most are decent though.
They're constantly changing the bus systems and dispatch so it's going to be really tough to judge even from one stay to another. Just by virtue of adding Kidani, the buses got busier but they also send more of them. We've personally not had problems with AKL buses - and I think more people that stay there rent cars or drive their own out of fear of bad bus situations than other resorts - but we stay there during off season. No bad reports from clients either though.
- Kimberly Hill
Mouse Tales® Travel
LIFamilies Vendor
Creating Magical Vacations for LIFamilies since 2008
Thank you very much for your advice. As you can tell having a hard time deciding.  guess it is better to have trouble deciding between 2 nice resorts instead of being stuck with one. This is why I book myself I would drive someone crazy with all the questions and changes. So I guess I will price out woods view at WL and pool at AKL and see where we are budget wise. I'm figuring IF free dining comes out it will be about whatever full price package is before adding dining. Our last trip we lucked out with 40% off room rate at the poly and with 2 under 3 we got a good deal. This trip they will be 4 and 6 when we go so it really bumps up the end costs. I figure we will want to do CRT, Akershus (yes they ate princess obsessed), be our guest and either boma or WCC depending on where we stay and maybe tusker house instead of CM. So the dining plan would probably be worth getting rather than maybe room only discount and trying to eat on a budget. I have a hard time justfying CRT if we pay OOP to eat when the girls loved Akershus and don't know you can eat at the castle. But even if it is 2ts credits it doesn't phase me as much b/cit is credits I guess. Just wondering if it really is worth it just to eat in the castle. I'm guessing yes since everyone I know goes back every trip.
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| Posted 7/7/12 10:25 PM |
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