Where to stay: Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge

[Reuben Varzea]

I used DisBoards one other time to help decide a resort, and it was a phenomenal success, so hoping it will work again!

Planning a trip to WDW in October of this year. Will be traveling with my wife and my two small daughters (one is 5 and the other will be 2 at the time of the trip). We're considering either the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Wilderness Lodge, and would love the opinion of veteran Disney fans.

- AKL perks for us is obviously having the animals nearby (and we WOULD likely splurge for savannah view). Also, like the food at the restaurants VERY much.
- WL perks for us is the proximity to MK. Not a fan of TTC by ANY stretch. "Rumor" is that the renovations will be mostly done by the time we travel, so new amenities there seem cool.

Have at it!!

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

In case it aids your decision, you wouldn't need to use the TTC in either case. From AKL you'd take a bus directly to the MK bus depot adjacent to the main gate.

 

[ryukage]

As appealing as the animals are at AKL, I'd have to choose Wilderness Lodge for the lodge ambiance, transportation and family dining at Whispering Canyon. The rowdy fun at Whispering Canyon is always fun for my family, especially when we have children in our party. You also have access to boat transportation directly to the MK. Coming back from a day at the parks by boat is much more relaxing in my mind compared to the bus. You'll have to use the buses for everywhere else. AKL has some of the longest bus rides to any other part of the resort because it's on the outskirts.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

As appealing as the animals are at AKL, I'd have to choose Wilderness Lodge for the lodge ambiance, transportation and family dining at Whispering Canyon. The rowdy fun at Whispering Canyon is always fun for my family, especially when we have children in our party. You also have access to boat transportation directly to the MK. Coming back from a day at the parks by boat is much more relaxing in my mind compared to the bus. You'll have to use the buses for everywhere else. AKL has some of the longest bus rides to any other part of the resort because it's on the outskirts.

You can only come home to WL from a day at the park by boat, not parks. Only MK is accessible by watercraft. Epcot, DHS, and AK are all bus rides from WL--and shared bus rides, at that.

 

[mickeynut1]

I used DisBoards one other time to help decide a resort, and it was a phenomenal success, so hoping it will work again!

Planning a trip to WDW in October of this year. Will be traveling with my wife and my two small daughters (one is 5 and the other will be 2 at the time of the trip). We're considering either the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Wilderness Lodge, and would love the opinion of veteran Disney fans.

- AKL perks for us is obviously having the animals nearby (and we WOULD likely splurge for savannah view). Also, like the food at the restaurants VERY much.
- WL perks for us is the proximity to MK. Not a fan of TTC by ANY stretch. "Rumor" is that the renovations will be mostly done by the time we travel, so new amenities there seem cool.

Have at it!!

We've stayed at both and love both for different reasons. The WL is great if you will be spending a lot of time at MK as it's a quick bus or boat ride away (the bus is direct with no stops), with all other parks being by bus. However, AKL transportation is not bad (at least not in our experience). AKL is out away from everything and although you don't have alternative options as everything from AKL is by bus, it never took us more than maybe 5 extra minutes to get to any theme park, water park, or DTD. Since the buses only service AKL and Kidani, there's no sharing with any other resort(s). As far as atmospheres, dining, etc, we find both resorts to be comparable. The theme/decor of both are gorgeous (IMO) and we love both Roaring Forks (WL) and Mara (AKL) for CS, as well as Artist Point/Whispering Canyon (WL) and Boma (AKL) for TS. With all of that said, you really can't go wrong with either one as they are both awesome resorts. Good luck deciding .

 

[danikoski]

You can only come home to WL from a day at the park by boat, not parks. Only MK is accessible by watercraft. Epcot, DHS, and AK are all bus rides from WL--and shared bus rides, at that.

This completely depends on the user. With a park hopper, we went from DHS by boat to Epcot, stopped in France for ice cream, cut through Epcot to the monorail, took the monorail to TTC, took the boat to MK, and then took the boat from MK to WL. Granted, it may not have been fast, but since crowds were light, and we had time, it was great fun.
Now, with Express Transportation, if you have a park hopper, you can take a scheduled bus from any of the parks to MK to take the boat to WL (which I plan to do in the near future). And this may, at times, be faster than the normal busses.

 

[danikoski]

I've stayed at both. Loved AKL and the animals. The decor and the lodge are beautiful. The cultural CMs are great. And the restaurants offer a wide selection. So it is my second choice. I would stay there again if WL wasn't available.

I absolutely feel like WL is home, and I very much enjoy the boat transportation. I don't know what it is exactly, but it has a relaxed feel that I wish I could bottle and bring homr. I also like that I have options to get from point A to point B. Right now, upper level std rooms at WL also have fireworks and MK views.

If I was planning to have a car at the resort, it may be more of a toss up, especially if cost of Savannah view rooms were on par with WL courtyard view rooms.

 

[DeanDoug]

wow... tough decision! Like many here, we have stayed at both. For the ages of your children, I suspect that they will both enjoy the theming of AKL more. There is also a great (phenomenal?) splash area in Kidani which you will have access to. Transportation is simple with designated routes. OK, I've talked myself into AKL

 

[Gary M]

We have stayed in savannah view rooms at the AKL a couple of times and many times in courtyard and woods view rooms at the WL. We like the WL best. A 3rd. or 4th. floor courtyard room is our favorite. Overlooking the lake is very pleasant. We like the AKL but WL is our choice.

 

[westie55]

I have stayed at both and enjoyed both. However, I prefer AKL. I don't find the transportation that bad and to me, AKL has more wow factor. I liked the decor much better at AKL, but that's just personal preference.

 

[CynBeth]

I vote for WL.

 

[TsLoveMickey]

I've done both with my kids who are almost the same ages as yours (6 and 2) and we've loved both. I would probably give the edge to AKL because it feels like a vacation in itself and the dining is fantastic, but we also had excellent bus service. It also concerns me about having kids that age and the playground at WL being closed. I don't think you could choose wrong, though!

 

[chicagoshannon]

AKL beats WL slightly for me. There is so much more to explore at AKL. The pool area didn't feel as crowded as WL either. I thought the Mara was slightly better, and had more choices than the WL. But with the 2nd counter service going in that might change.

But, the fact that you can take a boat over to Fort Wilderness from WL is appealing (we never did when we stayed because the weather was bad). It's fun to take the kids to see the horses and the evening movie.

 

[Reuben Varzea]

I've done both with my kids who are almost the same ages as yours (6 and 2) and we've loved both. I would probably give the edge to AKL because it feels like a vacation in itself and the dining is fantastic, but we also had excellent bus service. It also concerns me about having kids that age and the playground at WL being closed. I don't think you could choose wrong, though!

While obviously there is no guarantee, the rumor is that the majority of the renovation and construction should be done by summer, so if that's the way we go, I'm hoping its true.

 

[tcufrog]

We like WL because we can get to MK by boat and because we can do activities at FW. When we stayed there my dh took the boys there on the last day to have fun while I packed and checked us out of the hotel. It was nice to pack without distractions and the kids had a blast. I will say that Roaring Fork is lame but maybe the renovations will bring better QS options. I've never done QS though at AKL so I don't know if it's any better.

 

[jlnten17]

Another vote for WL. Having stayed at both, We were not impressed with the food or service at AKL but the resort lobby was spectacular. WL is equally as beautiful ( with better service and better food imo) with the added bonus of the boat to MK, contemporary and Ft Wilderness. Plus after a quick boat ride you can also access the monorail to The Poly and GF. There is so much to do it can't be beat. WL is my 2nd favorite Disney resort behind The Poly.

 

[ryukage]

You can only come home to WL from a day at the park by boat, not parks. Only MK is accessible by watercraft. Epcot, DHS, and AK are all bus rides from WL--and shared bus rides, at that.

I was speaking generally about travel by boats at Disney. It's similarly relaxing leaving EPCOT. I also said:

You'll have to use the buses for everywhere else.

 

[Megsmachine]

I used DisBoards one other time to help decide a resort, and it was a phenomenal success, so hoping it will work again!

Planning a trip to WDW in October of this year. Will be traveling with my wife and my two small daughters (one is 5 and the other will be 2 at the time of the trip). We're considering either the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Wilderness Lodge, and would love the opinion of veteran Disney fans.

- AKL perks for us is obviously having the animals nearby (and we WOULD likely splurge for savannah view). Also, like the food at the restaurants VERY much.
- WL perks for us is the proximity to MK. Not a fan of TTC by ANY stretch. "Rumor" is that the renovations will be mostly done by the time we travel, so new amenities there seem cool.

Have at it!!

When are the renovations "rumored" to be done??

 

[ParksPixar&Pizza]

Are you spending time at each park or primarily MK? WL is one of my favorites, but I fell in love with AKL last time. Problem is, it's just so out of the way, but some people love that. I'm with you though, the food there is so good. I don't think you can go wrong with either!

 

[Uncranky Donald]

Im going to stay at both in late June! I consider VWL my home so I'll always be biased about this choice, but I am VERY excited to finally get to AKL as I've heard such wonderful things. I have full faith that the renovations will be mostly complete by the time I arrive at WL so I wouldn't really factor that in as I'll have a 4 and 6 year old with me myself and the boat trip to MK wins above all. As well its just such a chill atmosphere and so close to Fort Wilderness for kid time fun as well. I hear amazing things about AKL, buuuuut, I dunno I can't ever leave the good old reliable WL, maybe I'll be blown away the 1st half of my trip Until then, I vote WL