where to stay?? AKL or Poly??

[miss1180]

ok... i'm a little nuts :-) right now, i have 2 reservations booked for the same week in August! :-0  Its for me, DH, and DS (5)

OPTION 1: 6 nights at the poly, including 5 day park hoppers AND a "bonus" water park day ticket... $2500 ( its an AMAZING agency deal i found!) BUT we can't add a dining plan to that deal, so all meals would be out of pocket.  This could add up quickly bc we do 3-4 characters meals. DS likes seeing the characters, but doesn't like waiting in lines at the park to meet them ( he's a ride kid! LOL)  plus, i have reservations at ohana for dinner, 50s prime time, liberty tree tavern...


OPTION 2:  Animal Kingdom Lodge- same dates. this would be through Disney, not the agency deal. it would be $3300- BUT we get the "free" dining plan-- so for the extra $800, all of our meals would be covered. running the numbers, paying out of pocket for the meals we have booked it would be close to $1100--- so, we would be saving at least $200 or more....  BUT do i give up being on the monorail??

First world problems, i know!!! :-) 

[ilikedonuts]

Monorail is absolutely worth it for extra $200 or 300 (the difference in your food) its 100% worth it IMO.

I love AKL (we've stayed there 3 times!), but being so close to MK is soooooo convenient and the Poly is awesome.

Will you have a car?

[lala]

Absolutely the poly, hands down. I highly doubt you'll spend $1100 on meals unless you're doing a lot of sit downs? Also keep in mind you still have to tip on the dining plan meals.

Even if you did spend that much, it's worth a few hundred dollars for sure. Not even a question for me.

[miss1180]

May 3, 2016 7:45:47 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Monorail is absolutely worth it for extra $200 or 300 (the difference in your food) its 100% worth it IMO.

I love AKL (we've stayed there 3 times!), but being so close to MK is soooooo convenient and the Poly is awesome.

Will you have a car?

thanks! yeah... we eat at the poly every trip and its so pretty there! was so excited to find this deal to stay there!! never been to AKL-- but the pics look amazing!!  maybe if we stay at poly, i'll try to get a reservation at Boma one night so we can go check it out :-) 

no- we won't have a car, so the good transportation is definitely a big thing!! 

[miss1180]

May 3, 2016 7:55:23 GMT -5 lala said:

Absolutely the poly, hands down. I highly doubt you'll spend $1100 on meals unless you're doing a lot of sit downs? Also keep in mind you still have to tip on the dining plan meals.

Even if you did spend that much, it's worth a few hundred dollars for sure. Not even a question for me.

yeah... we like our Disney food! LOL right now theres a couple days we have 2 sit downs a day. like Crystal palace for breakfast, then Liberty Tree tavern for dinner.  and Tusker house for breakfast with Rainforest Cafe for dinner.  and kona cafe for breakfast and Boma for dinner.... so i'm sure it'll add up.  but you're right- it probably won't be THAT much more to pay out of pocket... and i can get some discounted Disney gift cards at Target to save some more, too...

[countthestars]

POLY!

[ilikedonuts]

Do you live near a Giant Eagle or Kroger? They usually have gift card deals where you get extra discounted gas for buying a certain amount of gift cards

[miss1180]

May 3, 2016 8:14:46 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Do you live near a Giant Eagle or Kroger? They usually have gift card deals where you get extra discounted gas for buying a certain amount of gift cards

no.... but i do have a Target red card that gets me 5% off disney gift cards. doesn't sound like much, but adds up when you're buying that many...

[Deleted]

Poly. Seriously. I loooovvee AKL, but if you want to do a lot of character meals, it's just easier to be closer to things at the Poly rather than hauling butt all over.

I would whittle your ADRs down. Like Ohana for Breakfast or Dinner and the 2-3 character meals and one other sit down. Get easy breakfasts for the room and some snacks too.

[ribollita]

Poly!

[curbsideprophet]

I would go with the Poly.

One thing to keep in mind, do you eat how the dining plan wants you to eat? Does everyone always get drinks and a dessert?

[lala]

May 3, 2016 9:29:37 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

I would go with the Poly.

One thing to keep in mind, do you eat how the dining plan wants you to eat? Does everyone always get drinks and a dessert?

Exactly. We don't really drink soda and I'd rather have one app & one dessert to split. 

Plus I have 3 kids, 2 sit downs a day aren't going to happen - if I just had 1 5 year old I might feel differently. Too much time sitting for them! 

[Amy]

Poly, no question

[Wines Not Whines]

Poly without a doubt, but AK is my least favorite park, so I can't imagine ever staying at AKL!

[erbear]

I liked AKL a lot better than Poly and would have loved to stay there...but being on the monorail line is not something I would give up.

[turkletsmom]

I loved loved the AKL but it is FAR. It seemed like we were on the bus forever to get anywhere. Time is money for me in wdw so I'd pick Poly just for the location alone.

[miss1180]

May 3, 2016 10:37:21 GMT -5 lala said:

May 3, 2016 9:29:37 GMT -5 curbsideprophet said:

I would go with the Poly.

One thing to keep in mind, do you eat how the dining plan wants you to eat? Does everyone always get drinks and a dessert?

Exactly. We don't really drink soda and I'd rather have one app & one dessert to split. 

Plus I have 3 kids, 2 sit downs a day aren't going to happen - if I just had 1 5 year old I might feel differently. Too much time sitting for them! 

Yeah... We go in August so the sit down lunch or early dinner are a nice break from the heat, etc. plus with the buffets it's faster than a normal sit down bc you can just go up and get your food right away.... DS is hood with that! Lol
Plus the "sit down" meals we want to do are the character buffets or "family style" places like Ohana or Liberty Tree Tavern- so they're all the same price no matter how much/ what you eat... Makes it harder to decide I think.

[trizzie]

Love the Poly!! We are booked for AKL in Dec right now with free dining. I am hoping for a room discount to open up and switch to Poly and pay OOP for meals. We loved the Poly (a year ago today!)