Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge?

[Beast_fanatic]

My husband seems to think he wants to stay at one of these 2 resorts when we go next year for his birthday. Which do you recommend and why?

[Simba's Mom]

I recommend Animal Kingdom Lodge. Both resorts are very similar (I called AKL "WL goes to Africa" the first time I stayed there). The only reason I'd recommend AKL is that, with WL, you have a chance of someday actually going to the "real thing"-Old Faithful Inn/Yellowstone Park. However, you're probably less likely to ever get to the AKL equivalent/"the real thing"-a safari lodge in Africa.

[AllDisney]

Having stayed at both the WL & AKL we like AKL better.

I can't put my finger on it, but the awesome smell when you walk into the lobby of the AKL is so welcoming, if that makes sense. We love sitting in the lobby, at the end of the day, and watch as people are returning from the parks. It's a cozy type of feeling. It feels "rich" with all the beautiful dark wooden floors and the colors of Africa all around you. We like the pool better at AKL too! We also LOVE Jiko's for a relaxing dinner.

You won't be disappointed with either choice, trust me. WL has a beautful stone fireplace in the lobby and nice rocking chairs to sit in and relax at the end of the day. Artist Point is also a great restaurant.

Hope this helps:thumbsup:

[faline]

That's a tough choice, Rhonda!

I've stayed at both and enjoy both but my favorite of the two is Wilderness Lodge and the reason is that we just enjoy being in the Magic Kingdom area more.

The savannah view rooms at Animal Kingdom are great. We enjoyed getting home to see "our animals". Wilderness Lodge has the lake views, the quick trip to the Magic Kingdom and the close proximity to dining at the Poly, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Fort Wilderness.

I'm sure you'll have a great time whichever you pick!

[Sinewiz]

My two favorite resorts and as mentioned they have many similarities. I think I slightly prefer the WL because of its close proximity to the Magic Kingdom which allows traveling to both the MK and EPCOT via boat and Monorail as opposed to taking the bus for everything. Also the AKL is the furthest from the parks making travel time longer. ;)

[dmosher]

We have stayed in both (once on the same trip but slit up halfway through) and to be honest we prefer WL. It is much more cozy, and romantic. Being able to hop a boat to Magic Kingdom is very nice and that puts you much closer to the TTC. ALso, considering distance; unless you are going to DD, WL has shorter bus routes to the parks. I know there will be a disagreement to that statement, based on time of day and season, but we go in Sept every year and comparatively, bus trips from the WL are almost always faster.

Both have fireplaces and large lobbies, etc, but WL feel much more like home and the decor is much more relaxed. AKL is gorgeous, but always seems just a little too big and imposing and dark to me. The savanna views are great, but so is waking up and openign your balcony doors to look on the lake or wonderfully smelling pine trees or even MK if your in the right spot.

Either way I am certain you will have a wonderful time. Feel free to ask any specific questions though.

:pipes:
D

[CaptSmee]

Either way you can't go wrong...having stayed at both, I just chose WL simply because of it's location our next trip. Can't beat being right in the heart of the MK!

[GrmGrninGost]

WL for us! Two reasons leap to mind! One is location and the other is atmosphere! When I walk into WL, it's like coming home. I can just go in and collapse in one of the chairs or couches in the lobby and feel perfectly content! I absolutely love the place! :mickey:

[traceyo1]

We stayed at both. We loved both. The set up of both resorts are very similiar in our opinion, lobby, gift shops, quick serve food, resort layout. The biggest difference for us was getting to the parks. We went during December both times. The wait time at AKL were a little longer than WL but the amount of time it took to get to the other parks was much longer at AKL, especially to get to MK. Having the options to use either bus or boat at WL was very nice. If you are planning on park hopping or if your stay will be short and you want to get the most out of your time, I would recommend WL only because the time you save during travel. If you are not worried about time or are planning to stay at one park from open to close, then AKL is just as wonderful.

[Tinkerbellfan]

We have stayed at both resorts and I recommend staying at the WL and visiting the AKL for sighting seeing and a meal.

The WL makes me feel like I am at my Disney home - the atmosphere is so relaxing and comfortable. I love the lobby and its location is great for getting to MK or any of the monorail resorts for a bite to eat. I also love to rent the mouseboats or a surrey bike to ride over to fort wilderness.

If I was going to Disney World and had no plans to go to the parks, I would stay at AKL. It is a resort that I could just stay at for 1 week and not get bored. But, I found it very secluded and very dark inside. I

[Darbylew]

We have stayed at the AK lodge and it is very
nice. The lobby is worth the trip just to see it.
I was not crazy about the food there but other
than that it was great. It would be a hard choice to chose between WL and AKL. I am
sure whatever you choose you will have a fun
time in the land of MICKEY :mickey:
FIRST TRIP 1972
LAST TRIP OCT. 2008 :cool:
NEXT TRIP MAR. 2009
AND MANY TRIPS IN BETWEEN :D

[Aggie97]

We stayed at the AKL for the first time in June, and we were at the WL for the first time until just last night. While we did enjoy AKL (the theming, dining, decor, and savannah were fabulous), we liked WL even more. We really love being in the MK area and having easy access to the monorail resorts for dining and shopping. We were very pleased with the WL transportation options, too. AKL was beautiful, but we felt a little too isolated -- almost like we were not at WDW at all. I don't believe we will return to AKL anytime soon, but we felt that WL was a wonderful lower-cost alternative to a monorail resort -- we definitely will be back! :mickey:

[Beast_fanatic]

Thanks for all the comments! He still hasn't decided, but I'm hoping these comments will help!

[A Big Kid]

I have never stayed at the AKL, but I love the WL. Like others said, the close proximity to the Conty- ez walking access to the MK from there and ez access to the monorail loop.

[TheMartellFamily]

If I had a choice between the two I would say the AKL.

[zebradome17]

I've never been to WL but AKL is AMAZING! The whole atmosphere there makes you feel really great and having all the animals to see is really wonderful:mickey:

[TikiGoddess]

We stayed at WL in 2007, and just loved it. For us with two small children, the boat to the MK was priceless. Also loved the pool slide, the theming, and Roaring Fork.

Here's an idea -- why not do a split stay? That's what we're doing next August... :)

Kathy

[PlutoPlanet]

We've stayed at both AKL and WL. Both are very enjoyable. If you are more oriented to the Magic Kingdom, WL may be the better choice. (Didn't the same archtect design both?) AKL has some unique attractions. WCC is an excellent restaurant for Bar B Q. Boma is our favorite resturant in all of Disney. We can't find excellent African inspired food in our home town.
You can't go wrong with either one.

[CU Tiger]

Our vote would be for WL. You cannot beat the location and the access to boats, the monorail, the contemporary, and FW. I love being able to see MK and the fireworks from your room. We love the theme décor and it also has one of our favorite restaurants to visit, The Whispering Canyon.:mickey:

[Tygger7]

AKL is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to stay there. Hands down, I'd choose WL....location, location, location. I know everyone raves about the dining at AKL but everything looks & smells disgusting to me, but then again I have absolutely no desire to ever go to Africa or eat African food. Artist Point is AMAZING, and I absolutely love the CS (Roaring Forks). Also, one of my favorite experiences is taking the boats to the monorail hotels, Ft. Wilderness, and MK. The ONLY resort I'd consider skipping WL for is Poly, and I just can afford it. :D

[tss22]

Can someone please explain the transportation options from the Wilderness Lodge resort. I keep seeing easy access to the monorail resorts and monorail / etc. However, the only transportation I know of other than bus is a boat ride to magic kingdom (where of course you could access the monorail). Is there another way to get to these places? Reasonably distanced walking trails? Or are we just referring to boating to MK and monorailing from there?

Thx!

[Aggie97]

Can someone please explain the transportation options from the Wilderness Lodge resort. I keep seeing easy access to the monorail resorts and monorail / etc. However, the only transportation I know of other than bus is a boat ride to magic kingdom (where of course you could access the monorail). Is there another way to get to these places? Reasonably distanced walking trails? Or are we just referring to boating to MK and monorailing from there?

Thx!

There is a boat to and from the Contemporary Resort, which makes it really easy to access the monorail resorts for dining and shopping! :mickey: