Resort confusion!

KarenWDWCP · 05-29-2008

Hi everyone!

So I posted a thread a while back asking people to vote for AKL or WL for my free dining trip with my mom, aunt and 2 cousins. They took a little too long to decide and now the only thing available at the WL are Bunk Bed Courtyard View Rooms. My mom and I thought it was goofy to pay so much more for a bunk bed room when we will not use the bunk beds and would prefer a regular room and can get one at AKL for a lot cheaper.

Our other option is to spend even more and go to the Beach Club which I am tempted to do over the Bunk Bed rooms.

My aunt is really concerned that her kids won't like where we stay (they were really excited about the WL) so we keep going back and forth. Her kids are 11 and 15 so I think they would like the Beach club.

What would you guys do?

**Dana** · 05-29-2008

Are you having two rooms? With 5 people, your only option is going to be BC..They will love BC anyway...it's awesome. You can walk to both Epcot and MGM and you have the best pool on property..what's not to love?

tonyksl · 05-29-2008

Beach Club over the other two anyway. The pool and easy access to Epcot for dining is just too good to pass over. Not to mention everything going on at the Boardwalk.

Soundgod · 05-29-2008

I love the location of Yacht/Beach, but if I want a deluxe and want to save a few bucks WL is the way to go followed by AKL. WL and AKL are a minimum of $100 less per night than Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk in all categories.
And WL wins over Yacht/Beach in one other important area. WL is on Bay Lake, which is a much better place to go boating than Crescent Lake and it's confined waterways and no wake zones.

Sorry, I'd probably stay with WL. Also, if you're going to spend that much more for the Beach, you might be able to get a club level room at WL with two real beds instead of bunk beds for the same money as a garden view room at Beach.
One last thing. WL has 32 inch widescreen LG LCD TVs. The only other hotels with these babies are the Poly and the Contemporary.

MickeyMcFizzle · 05-29-2008

Any of those are good choices.
AKL is very kid friendly and they would love it there.
BC has the best pool!!!

dznygrl · 05-29-2008

If the kids were really excited about WL, I would book a room at AKL. I know it's obviously not their first choice, but it's very similar in theme and "feel", and has a great pool too! I think kids 11 and 15 would love it.

Upgrading to BC would be a great choice too because of Stormalong Bay, but if it's a huge price difference between that and AKL, I would go with AKL in a heartbeat.

I think it's another one of those questions that also asks whether you'll be spending a lot of time at your resort or not? Is the pool important? If you plan on spending a TON of time at the pool, then definitely BC.

Okay I was no help at all.

You're right, it's a tough decision!

lisalovesmickey · 05-30-2008

I know its a tought decision but really, you can't go wrong with any WDW resort. Espically when your choices are WL, AKL and BC! At those ages all three of these resorts are perfect.

Happy planning!

Lisa

rlb · 05-30-2008

I think the kids would love the area around BC, and the pool is awesome. I can't imagine being unhappy with any of the choices and if they were looking forward to WL make adr's for Whispering Canyon!

Remy · 05-30-2008

We are staying at AKL in July-the kids decision, but we were back and forth with the Beach Club too. In the end, the animal view from our room won the boys over. The BC has such a great feel and location but (this may sound crazy) I lived in New England and spent a lot of time in Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard so the Eastern Shore feel wouldn't have been as magical as the African feel. I have been to all the Eastern shore beaches but I am not sure if we will ever experience Africa.

Good luck with your planning and whichever resort you choose will be spectacular-YOUR IN DISNEY:)

GO SOX!!!

**llama** · 05-30-2008

I think you've been more than patient - I would go where you get the best deal, make the decision and do it - your aunt's kids will love any of those resorts. What's not to love??

Cosmicwaves · 05-30-2008

I agree with llama, they'll love any of those resorts...stay where YOU want...you're planning it.

KarenWDWCP · 05-30-2008

So, after yet another phone call last night (this one a three way call with me, my mom and my aunt, oy!) a decision has been made. Drumroll please....

We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge!

In the end, the kids said they really didn't care all that much. Once the Beach Club became an option, my aunt was really intrigued by that, but we were swayed by a few things...

1. Price (in the end my aunt will save about $650 and my mom and I will save about $350 each by staying at AKL)
2. Breakfast options. My godson (one of my aunt's kids) is a super picky eater who eats a good breakfast and not much else throughout the day so we try to make sure he always has a really full breakfast. When we stayed at POR in 2006, the food court was perfect for us. We would use our counter service credit to get a full breakfast there (he mostly ate Mickey waffles) and then use our table service to eat an early dinner. Having just stayed at the Beach Club, my mom and I knew we would have to do a little more finagling to get him a good counter service breakfast there. He saw the Mara menu at the AKL and liked the looks of it.
3. My mom and I had just stayed at Beach Club and though we loved it, we were reluctant to pay so much to stay there again so soon.
4. Time spent at the resort. When we looked back at our 2006 trip, we realized that we didn't spend all that much time back at the resort. If we were staying for 7+ nights and had a more relaxing itininary, the Beach Club would be an awesome choice for the pool alone. But since we will probably be mostly in the parks, it seemed a little silly to spend so much more.

Thanks to everyone for all their input. In the end, I am just super psyched to be going back to WDW! And much thanks to Keith at Mouseketrips who has been very patient with my endless changes in plans!

**cinderbella** · 05-30-2008

I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVED AKL! So I am sure you crazy kids will really like it!

lovemysons · 05-30-2008

Oh you will love it, the kids will love it, and besides, look at all that money you saved! :)

Cindyrella · 05-30-2008

BC - Kids this age love their freedom and it is walking distance to Epcot, World Showcase, and the boardwalk. The kids can roam on their own and you won't need to worry they might get on a wrong bus. LOL!

05-29-2008	#1 (permalink)
KarenWDWCP Mouse Meister Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,492	Resort confusion! Hi everyone! So I posted a thread a while back asking people to vote for AKL or WL for my free dining trip with my mom, aunt and 2 cousins. They took a little too long to decide and now the only thing available at the WL are Bunk Bed Courtyard View Rooms. My mom and I thought it was goofy to pay so much more for a bunk bed room when we will not use the bunk beds and would prefer a regular room and can get one at AKL for a lot cheaper. Our other option is to spend even more and go to the Beach Club which I am tempted to do over the Bunk Bed rooms. My aunt is really concerned that her kids won't like where we stay (they were really excited about the WL) so we keep going back and forth. Her kids are 11 and 15 so I think they would like the Beach club. What would you guys do? __________________ Karen WDW College Program Alum Spring 2000 1984 - Contemporary ~ 1991 - Caribbean Beach ~ 1999 - Port Orleans French Quarter ~ 2000 - Vista Way (College Program) ~ 2001 - AllStar Music ~ 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 & 2007 - Port Orleans Riverside ~ 2008 Beach Club ~2008 Animal Kingdom Lodge~ 2009 Saratoga Springs(x2) Pop Century My Disney Countdown Counting down to: I'll be setting sail on the S.S. NKOTB in... 56 days 17 hours 4 minutes

05-29-2008	#2 (permalink)
Dana Super Mod/Packen' Kracken Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Joisey Posts: 24,072	Re: Resort confusion! Are you having two rooms? With 5 people, your only option is going to be BC..They will love BC anyway...it's awesome. You can walk to both Epcot and MGM and you have the best pool on property..what's not to love? __________________ ~82 off-site~91 off-site~97 ASMusic~ ~00 ASMovies~02 Wilderness Lodge~04 Animal Kingdom Lodge~ ~05 Animal Kingdom Lodge & Polynesian~ ~05 Port Orleans French Quarter~06 Old Key West~ ~07 Port Orleans French Quarter~08 Old Key West~ ~09 Saratoga Springs~10 Coronado Springs~ 10 Port Orleans Fench Quarter~ My Disney Countdown Counting down to: 10 day do all or die trying trip. 156 days 6 hours 4 minutes

05-29-2008	#3 (permalink)
tonyksl Big Cheese Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fl Posts: 628	Re: Resort confusion! Beach Club over the other two anyway. The pool and easy access to Epcot for dining is just too good to pass over. Not to mention everything going on at the Boardwalk. __________________ 1977 - Offsite 1980 - Summer Camp 1983 - Grad Nite 1990 - Offsite 2000 - OKW 2002 - Cont 2003 - AK (Jan.), Cont (May), AK (Oct.) 2004 - Cont (Jan.), AK (May), Poly (Sept.) 2005 - WL (Jan.), CBR(May), GF (Dec.) 2006 - Cont (Jan.), BW (May), Cont (Sept.) 2007 - FWC (Apr.), Dolphin (Nov.) 2008 - DTD Hilton (May), Hard Rock (Oct), Undecided (Dec) My Disney Countdown Counting down to: Was the Contemporary...Moved to the Hard Rock!

05-29-2008	#4 (permalink)
Soundgod Squirrel! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Laughing on the Laughing Floor Posts: 9,084	Re: Resort confusion! I love the location of Yacht/Beach, but if I want a deluxe and want to save a few bucks WL is the way to go followed by AKL. WL and AKL are a minimum of $100 less per night than Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk in all categories. And WL wins over Yacht/Beach in one other important area. WL is on Bay Lake, which is a much better place to go boating than Crescent Lake and it's confined waterways and no wake zones. Sorry, I'd probably stay with WL. Also, if you're going to spend that much more for the Beach, you might be able to get a club level room at WL with two real beds instead of bunk beds for the same money as a garden view room at Beach. One last thing. WL has 32 inch widescreen LG LCD TVs. The only other hotels with these babies are the Poly and the Contemporary. __________________ Do you live to eat or do you eat to live? My Disney Countdown Counting down to: Knee Surgery Now recovering and hoping to get to WDW soon Last edited by Soundgod; 05-29-2008 at 07:28 PM.

05-29-2008	#5 (permalink)
MickeyMcFizzle Almost a mommy! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,621	Re: Resort confusion! Any of those are good choices. AKL is very kid friendly and they would love it there. BC has the best pool!!!

		MouseBuzz.com > Walt Disney World > WDW Resorts
Resort confusion!

05-29-2008	#6 (permalink)
dznygrl aka dizzygirl Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: The breezy shore Posts: 9,332	Re: Resort confusion! If the kids were really excited about WL, I would book a room at AKL. I know it's obviously not their first choice, but it's very similar in theme and "feel", and has a great pool too! I think kids 11 and 15 would love it. Upgrading to BC would be a great choice too because of Stormalong Bay, but if it's a huge price difference between that and AKL, I would go with AKL in a heartbeat. I think it's another one of those questions that also asks whether you'll be spending a lot of time at your resort or not? Is the pool important? If you plan on spending a TON of time at the pool, then definitely BC. Okay I was no help at all. You're right, it's a tough decision! __________________ Proud former 2-time Disneyland CM Avatar: Moooom, make Alice stop hugging me! 2000 ~ off-site 2002 ~ Polynesian 2003 ~ All-Star Movies 2008 ~ All-Star Music

05-30-2008	#7 (permalink)
lisalovesmickey Chef Disney Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,823	Re: Resort confusion! I know its a tought decision but really, you can't go wrong with any WDW resort. Espically when your choices are WL, AKL and BC! At those ages all three of these resorts are perfect. Happy planning! Lisa __________________ I have a little Mickey in me! :) August 1996 - All Star Music Resort October 1999 - Port Orleans French Quarter September 2008 - Wilderness Lodge May 2010 - Pop Century!!!!! September 2010 - Polynesian!!!!!!!!!! Theres a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day.....just a dream away. My Disney Countdown Counting down to: Mothers Day Trip with Tyler 48 days 11 hours 4 minutes

05-30-2008	#8 (permalink)
rlb Big Cheese Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 909	Re: Resort confusion! I think the kids would love the area around BC, and the pool is awesome. I can't imagine being unhappy with any of the choices and if they were looking forward to WL make adr's for Whispering Canyon! __________________ "I have a great love of animals and laughter." --Walt Disney WDW Trips July 1981--off property January 1996--off property June 2000--off property December 2001--All Star Music April 2002--All Star Sports December 2002--All Star Movies December 2003--Caribbean Beach April 2004--All Star Sports July 2005-- Fort Wilderness Cabin January 2007-- Wilderness Lodge Villas Novemeber 2007-- Old Key West August 2008--Pop Century (free dining) January 2009-- Fort Wilderness Cabin My Disney Countdown Counting down to: HOSA National Convention at Disney World 95 days 5 hours 4 minutes

05-30-2008	#9 (permalink)
Remy Big Cheese Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: pennsylvania, too far from Disney Posts: 520	Re: Resort confusion! We are staying at AKL in July-the kids decision, but we were back and forth with the Beach Club too. In the end, the animal view from our room won the boys over. The BC has such a great feel and location but (this may sound crazy) I lived in New England and spent a lot of time in Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard so the Eastern Shore feel wouldn't have been as magical as the African feel. I have been to all the Eastern shore beaches but I am not sure if we will ever experience Africa. Good luck with your planning and whichever resort you choose will be spectacular-YOUR IN DISNEY:) GO SOX!!! __________________ Bordwalk 1998 AKL 2008 CBR 2008 WL 2009 My Disney Countdown Counting down to: 135 days 13 hours 34 minutes

05-30-2008	#10 (permalink)
llama Watching, Always Watching Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: At Home Posts: 7,702	Re: Resort confusion! I think you've been more than patient - I would go where you get the best deal, make the decision and do it - your aunt's kids will love any of those resorts. What's not to love?? __________________ Your Moderately Moderate Moderator A PROUD MEMBER OF THE BAD KITTY CLUB "Meowany Are Called, Mew Are Chosen" My Disney Countdown Counting down to: Spring! 2 days 17 hours 4 minutes

05-30-2008	#11 (permalink)
Cosmicwaves Mouse Meister Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: CT Posts: 1,389	Re: Resort confusion! I agree with llama, they'll love any of those resorts...stay where YOU want...you're planning it. __________________ 1985-Off site 1986-Off site 1988-DL-Off site August 1989-The Buena Vista Palace March 1997-All Star Music March 2000-All Star Movies January 2002-All Star Music October/Nov 2002-Off site January2005-Off site January2006-Off site September 2006-POR September/October 2007-Off site August 2008-DL-Off site: Alpine Inn My Disney Countdown Counting down to: Baby's Arrival! Baby is Here!

05-30-2008	#12 (permalink)
KarenWDWCP Mouse Meister Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,492	Re: Resort confusion! So, after yet another phone call last night (this one a three way call with me, my mom and my aunt, oy!) a decision has been made. Drumroll please.... We are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge! In the end, the kids said they really didn't care all that much. Once the Beach Club became an option, my aunt was really intrigued by that, but we were swayed by a few things... 1. Price (in the end my aunt will save about $650 and my mom and I will save about $350 each by staying at AKL) 2. Breakfast options. My godson (one of my aunt's kids) is a super picky eater who eats a good breakfast and not much else throughout the day so we try to make sure he always has a really full breakfast. When we stayed at POR in 2006, the food court was perfect for us. We would use our counter service credit to get a full breakfast there (he mostly ate Mickey waffles) and then use our table service to eat an early dinner. Having just stayed at the Beach Club, my mom and I knew we would have to do a little more finagling to get him a good counter service breakfast there. He saw the Mara menu at the AKL and liked the looks of it. 3. My mom and I had just stayed at Beach Club and though we loved it, we were reluctant to pay so much to stay there again so soon. 4. Time spent at the resort. When we looked back at our 2006 trip, we realized that we didn't spend all that much time back at the resort. If we were staying for 7+ nights and had a more relaxing itininary, the Beach Club would be an awesome choice for the pool alone. But since we will probably be mostly in the parks, it seemed a little silly to spend so much more. Thanks to everyone for all their input. In the end, I am just super psyched to be going back to WDW! And much thanks to Keith at Mouseketrips who has been very patient with my endless changes in plans! __________________ Karen WDW College Program Alum Spring 2000 1984 - Contemporary ~ 1991 - Caribbean Beach ~ 1999 - Port Orleans French Quarter ~ 2000 - Vista Way (College Program) ~ 2001 - AllStar Music ~ 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 & 2007 - Port Orleans Riverside ~ 2008 Beach Club ~2008 Animal Kingdom Lodge~ 2009 Saratoga Springs(x2) Pop Century My Disney Countdown Counting down to: I'll be setting sail on the S.S. NKOTB in... 56 days 17 hours 4 minutes

05-30-2008	#13 (permalink)
cinderbella Crackhead Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: south carolina Posts: 7,287	Re: Resort confusion! I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVED AKL! So I am sure you crazy kids will really like it! __________________ WDW Restaurants and Resorts Moderator Bella I Deltaco. My Disney Countdown Counting down to: A baby is coming!!!! The baby is here..or at least it should be soon.

05-30-2008	#14 (permalink)
lovemysons It's all good Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: In my house Posts: 7,881	Re: Resort confusion! Oh you will love it, the kids will love it, and besides, look at all that money you saved! :) __________________ Dopey is the boss of us. Missing the madness. Peppy is still my partner in crime. Is that you, Pu? Fabulous avatar, courtesy of the fabulous Mr. R2Go! ´¨) x¸.•´ ¸.•´¨)xxxx¸.•¨) (¸.•´xxxxxx(¸.•`xxx´¨)Make just one person happy. ´¨)

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05-30-2008	#15 (permalink)
Cindyrella Mouseketeer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NJ - Pinelands National Reserve Posts: 95	Re: Resort confusion! BC - Kids this age love their freedom and it is walking distance to Epcot, World Showcase, and the boardwalk. The kids can roam on their own and you won't need to worry they might get on a wrong bus. LOL!