AKL or Poly - Updated in post

[pandora89]

We are booked at AKL (non savannah facing room) and a room just opened up at Poly for our stay but it is $1,500 more. We can afford the difference but would love to save the money if we could. I have heard not so great things about the commute from AKL to any of the parks, especially Magic Kingdom, where we will be for 2 days. We have a 2.5 and 4.5 so being able to go back and forth from the park to the resort would be a great plus. We will have our car with us though so driving to the parks is an option.

Should we make the change?

[quesyrah]

AKL is pretty far out. If you’re planning to go back to the room during the day I would switch to Poly. I also think resorts that have options other than just the bus (like skyliner or monorail) are great in terms of travel times.

But I also just love the poly!

[quesyrah]

AKL is pretty far out. If you’re planning to go back to the room during the day I would switch to Poly. I also think resorts that have options other than just the bus (like skyliner or monorail) are great in terms of travel times.

But I also just love the poly!

[Scout'sHonor]

Poly is amazing transportation wise, short walk to the transportation center for MK and Epcot. But check where the room is since there is construction on the new tower currently.

[mccallister84]

Poly hands down. Not having to get kids out of the stroller is AMAZING.

[mrsslocombe]

I haven't stayed at Poly but I have stayed at AKL. I wasn't really a fan of AKL. The commute times were so long, even longer than the value resorts I've stayed at. We didn't have a Savannah room but we did still have animals out the window all day (just not as many as Savannah view). Also the walk to our room was soooooooooooo long, again even longer than the value resorts which just made me wonder why we were paying $200+ more per night.

But $1500 is a lot of money to me, so I don't know that I would be willing to spend it. I'd look into Boardwalk, Beach Club, and the other Epcot/HS resorts and compare pricing and see if it's closer to the AKL price. Or one of the Skyliner Resorts, the Skyliner is SO NICE to get to Epcot & HS.

[nmosrob]

Having the monorail is a total game changer, especially if you plan on going to MK 2 days of your trip. However, the construction may be an issue. Do you know where the room is?

[Patsy Baloney]

AKL bus ride SUCKS. We went out there for lunch one day after spending the morning in Animal Kingdom. We were going to hop over to Magic Kingdom and oh my god. The time wasted.

I’ve not stayed at a monorail resort, but do appreciate the ease of travel when we go to those resorts for meals. We’ve stayed on the Skyliner and I’ll never stay anywhere that doesn’t have that capability if I have my druthers.

[redheadk]

Take a look at Wilderness Lodge (boat to MK, right next to the monorail station at MK) or one of the Skyliner resorts in addition to the Poly. Or Beach Club if you are going to have a resort day.

AKL is so far away from pretty much everything.

We normally stay at Beach Club but stayed at Fort Wilderness in a cabin on our last trip. We loved the boat to MK. We also took the boat to the monorail to resort hop one evening, which was great and easy.

Driving to MK isn't particularly helpful because you can't park at MK. You have to park at the Ticketing & Transportation Center and catch the monorail from there to MK.

MK is always our longest park day, even when we do multiple days at MK, so good transportation to/from is important to us.

[midwestmama]

I haven't stayed at AKL, but I have stayed at Poly. My vote is for Poly. The location is much more convenient, especially if you want to leave the parks for a break midday and then go back later. We also like that the resort isn't huge, so you can quickly get from the main building to the building where you're staying. There is a night parade on the water that is fun to watch and also you can easily see the MK fireworks.

[meganew]

My answer for every hotel question is Poly. You can’t beat the ease of the monorail, plus with your kids ages the hotel ground themselves can’t be beat.

[pandora89]

Thanks everyone! So we go Jan 8-14th but literally only booked this on December 28th, super last minute. When we booked there were not many resorts available and the ones that did only had the super expensive suites.

I have been just checking the website for any availabilities that come up and we were able to find something at the Beach Club resort for $600 more so changed to that resort! Also managed to snag dinner reservations at beaches n cream for the night we arrive so all worked out!

[Scout'sHonor]

Glad to hear, I was actually going to suggest Beach, Yacht or Boardwalk too. We just stayed at Boardwalk a month ago and it's tied with Poly for our favorite.

[quesyrah]

Beach Club is one of my favorites! Good choice. Have a great trip!!

[redheadk]

You'll love Beach Club! You can walk into Epcot at the International Gateway and take the boat to Hollywood Studios. Do you have park hoppers? You should consider them; we love popping over to Epcot for dinner after going to the parks until early afternoon then back to BC for pool/downtime.

[midwestmama]

Enjoy, pandora89! We've always wanted to stay at Beach Club, and it's right next to Epcot, so easy walk to at least one park!

[pandora89]

Jan 4, 2023 21:43:33 GMT -5 redheadk said:

You'll love Beach Club! You can walk into Epcot at the International Gateway and take the boat to Hollywood Studios. Do you have park hoppers? You should consider them; we love popping over to Epcot for dinner after going to the parks until early afternoon then back to BC for pool/downtime.

No we do not but I was considering getting one now that we are at the Beach club! I think I am going to do it.

Man, this trip is definitely working out to be a lot more than we had originally thought LOL. 

[mrsslocombe]

Jan 5, 2023 10:01:52 GMT -5 pandora89 said:

Jan 4, 2023 21:43:33 GMT -5 redheadk said:

You'll love Beach Club! You can walk into Epcot at the International Gateway and take the boat to Hollywood Studios. Do you have park hoppers? You should consider them; we love popping over to Epcot for dinner after going to the parks until early afternoon then back to BC for pool/downtime.

No we do not but I was considering getting one now that we are at the Beach club! I think I am going to do it.

Man, this trip is definitely working out to be a lot more than we had originally thought LOL. 

Honestly, unless you have childcare and anticipate going out on your own in the evenings, I don't know that I would bother with park hopping. Your kids are so young they are just going to be DONE at some point, and theres so much for them to do in each park. 

[mccallister84]

Jan 5, 2023 14:45:27 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

Jan 5, 2023 10:01:52 GMT -5 pandora89 said:

No we do not but I was considering getting one now that we are at the Beach club! I think I am going to do it.

Man, this trip is definitely working out to be a lot more than we had originally thought LOL. 

Honestly, unless you have childcare and anticipate going out on your own in the evenings, I don't know that I would bother with park hopping. Your kids are so young they are just going to be DONE at some point, and theres so much for them to do in each park. 

Yea I would agree with this. When we went we stayed at the Grand Floridian. We figured we would hop over to Magic Kingdom basically every night. The only night we did was the night H’s friend from his hometown across the country from us was at MK.

It was never worth the hassle. Plus there was stuff at the resort that they enjoyed doing in the evening.

[quesyrah]

Jan 5, 2023 10:01:52 GMT -5 pandora89 said:

Jan 4, 2023 21:43:33 GMT -5 redheadk said:

You'll love Beach Club! You can walk into Epcot at the International Gateway and take the boat to Hollywood Studios. Do you have park hoppers? You should consider them; we love popping over to Epcot for dinner after going to the parks until early afternoon then back to BC for pool/downtime.

No we do not but I was considering getting one now that we are at the Beach club! I think I am going to do it.

Man, this trip is definitely working out to be a lot more than we had originally thought LOL. 

Welcome to Disney lol.

We just spent Christmas at Disneyland and DH asked how we did on the budget and I said we came in $150 under. He was so impressed until I told him that the trick is to budget a shitload of money.