AKL or Beach Club

[Jacq7414]

We have 1 daughter who will be 5 at the time. It will just be the 3 of us. Going April 2022.

I currently have BC booked but now with AKL opened I’m debating about it and would probably go for a savannah view room. We are already doing a split stay with the Poly so I’m not interested in a split stay between the two and want to keep our Poly reservation.

We stayed at WL the other times we went and enjoyed it there.

 

[Rick195275]

That’s a tough choice! Both are great! Beach club has an amazing location being right next to both Epcot and Hollywood studios and the best pool on property. AKL has the animals, great food options and tons of fun activities for a 5 year old. It would come down to a personal preference in my opinion. When given the option I usually opt for beach club but AKL is on of my favorites!

 

[Jacq7414]

That’s a tough choice! Both are great! Beach club has an amazing location being right next to both Epcot and Hollywood studios and the best pool on property. AKL has the animals, great food options and tons of fun activities for a 5 year old. It would come down to a personal preference in my opinion. When given the option I usually opt for beach club but AKL is on of my favorites!

I pretty much booked BC for the pool . But my daughter still talks about the “water park” at WL (the kids splash pad area) and I’m not sure BC has that. although I’m sure the pool will be enough for her

 

[Meglen]

I mean a split stay between poly and bc makes it if you plan right you just walk or boat to each park which would be great with a 5 yr old. Once you go akl it's all busses unless you rent a car.

 

[Jacq7414]

I mean a split stay between poly and bc makes it if you plan right you just walk or boat to each park which would be great with a 5 yr old. Once you go akl it's all busses unless you rent a car.

Yea that’s true. The only park we’d have to bus to with Poly and BC would be Animal Kingdom

 

[disny_luvr]

Keep the BC! Being able to walk to two parks is priceless! We’d love to stay at AKL, but can’t get over the fact that it’s only busses to/from that resort.

 

[sdk1231]

I'd go with BC for several reasons: easy walk/boat/skyliner to Epcot and DHS. BC lobby and grounds are beautiful. The entire Crescent Lake and Boardwalk area is beautiful, especially at night. Arguably the best pool at WDW. View of the Skyliner, which would probably be very cool to a 5 year old. Great food choices, especially when you factor in Epcot. Ice cream at both BC and at the Boardwalk. BC is extremely "stroller friendly" if your 5 year old has times where a stroller is needed. My entire family loves BC.

I stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge one time, Savannah View Club Level. I didn't like it and would not stay there again. It just wasn't to my taste. It's very brown. Brown, brown, brown. The hotel, lobby, room and grounds seemed dark. Everything in the resort seemed to be a long walk. My teens would jokingly say "well, we're hiking to the pool now, see you tomorrow"... and they don't usually complain about walking. The animals were interesting, but I live near a couple of great zoos, so zebras/giraffes and such didn't really rock my world. As noted, park transportation is limited to the bus. A big negative. I did not like the food choices at AKL (I am not an adventurous eater). On that stay, we had split between Wilderness Lodge, which the whole family loved, and AKL. What a mistake. Everyone unanimously wished we'd just stayed at WL. I do realize that many people love AKL. My family did not like it at all.

A Poly / BC split stay sounds like a great trip. Also, on your check out / check in day, when you move resorts - if you're moving to BC, you have tons of stuff to do in the period of time that you're "homeless". You could go to the BC pool, wander around Crescent Lake, walk over to Epcot, or Skyliner over to DHS, then easily and quickly return to the resort when your new room is ready. Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[Jacq7414]

On that stay, we had split between Wilderness Lodge, which the whole family loved, and AKL. What a mistake. Everyone unanimously wished we'd just stayed at WL. I do realize that many people love AKL. My family did not like it at all.

That’s interesting thanks. I was thinking AKL because we liked WL so much and I thought they were similar. I think I am just going to keep the BC reservation then. My daughter would really like SAB I feel like

 

[sdk1231]

That’s interesting thanks. I was thinking AKL because we liked WL so much and I thought they were similar. I think I am just going to keep the BC reservation then. My daughter would really like SAB I feel like

Exactly my reason for splitting that stay between the WL and AKL! I believe the resorts were designed by the same architect/design team, and I thought it would be an interesting split. At the time, I told my husband that I wished I'd resort-hopped to AKL to check it out on a prior trip, before booking a stay there. Had I done that, I never would have booked AKL. The exterior of the resort was unimpressive and the interior, while impressive in its way, was not to my taste. I can't really explain it... I'd describe the AKL lobby as dark and cavernous, while to me, the Wilderness Lodge is warm and cozy. If you do stay at BC, maybe one day you could go over to AKL and see what you think? There is a nice animal observation deck off the lobby that might make it worth a little side trip.

 

[Jacq7414]

If you do stay at BC, maybe one day you could go over to AKL and see what you think? There is a nice animal observation deck off the lobby that might make it worth a little side trip.

Maybe. I always wanted to try Sanaa out

 

[Cheburashka]

We have 1 daughter who will be 5 at the time. It will just be the 3 of us. Going April 2022.

I currently have BC booked but now with AKL opened I’m debating about it and would probably go for a savannah view room. We are already doing a split stay with the Poly so I’m not interested in a split stay between the two and want to keep our Poly reservation.

We stayed at WL the other times we went and enjoyed it there.

Part of it depends on your park plans. If you're going to be spending a lot of time at Epcot & HS during the time you'll be at Beach Club, then I recommend keeping that reservation. If your park plans are not closely tied to your resort, though, then its a toss-up that's more about your own preferences.

Both resorts have advantages for young kids: Beach Club has the young kids' shallow sandy pool area where your daughter can build sand castles. It does have a deep water area (the lazy river), but since there are two adults & only one small child, that should be easy to manage. Both resorts have nice kids' water play areas. AKL actually has two, because you can use the feature pools at both Jambo and Kidani.

Getting to see animals is a big bonus at AKL. Do you and/or your daughter really enjoy animals? If so, I recommend AKL. I'm personally leaning a little toward AKL for you just because it's such a relaxing resort, and it could be magical for your child to get to see those animals each day. I also think the quick service is better at AKL than at Beach Club. But you can't go wrong at either resort.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I'd keep the BC. AK is a beautiful resort but it's far out there with only bus transportation.

 

[CinderellaDream]

A split stay with Poly/BC is my idea of a perfect vacation! Those are my two favorite resorts and I would plan my park days around those resorts to take advantage of their location.

While AKL was beautiful when we stayed, and I’m glad we stayed there once, we probably will not return.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I pretty much booked BC for the pool . But my daughter still talks about the “water park” at WL (the kids splash pad area) and I’m not sure BC has that. although I’m sure the pool will be enough for her

BC doesn't have a splash pad area for kids, but AKL does at the Kidani pool!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

You have picked our 2 favorite resorts here, so it's really a matter of your preferences - and probably which parks you are planning to do. You just cannot beat the BC location if you're going to spend some days at EP and/or HS - you can walk, boat, or even Skyliner from BC to HS. But if you're spreading our the parks you're doing, I would not hesitate to enjoy the atmosphere (and animals) at AKL. The only long bus ride from AKL would be to MK. EP/HS are an easy trip on the bus, and AK is a 5-minute trip. Of course, I'm also talking about an AKL that is OPEN - rooms, restaurants, and shops. Right now, most restaurants there are still closed, but I hope that's changing in the next 2 months before they open up the cash rooms. Either way, you'll have an outstanding resort to stay - you don't have a bad choice!

 

[Kae]

We just stayed at YC and loved the location. We have stayed at AKL with a savannah view room which we loved. Now we made sure we had resort time to enjoy all the activities they had and just enjoying the resort. For the age of your kiddo I would so pick AKL . Breakfast, coffee, and drinks on the balcony were hilghts of our trip.

 

[disny_luvr]

I pretty much booked BC for the pool . But my daughter still talks about the “water park” at WL (the kids splash pad area) and I’m not sure BC has that. although I’m sure the pool will be enough for her

Something that I should’ve added up-thread - Poly has a really nice splash pad so maybe your daughter will be okay with that as her “water park”. While the BC doesn’t have a splash pad, I’m sure she’ll love SAB.

A BC/Poly split is my favorite. We have one coming up in August and cannot wait!

 

[Jacq7414]

Something that I should’ve added up-thread - Poly has a really nice splash pad so maybe your daughter will be okay with that as her “water park”. While the BC doesn’t have a splash pad, I’m sure she’ll love SAB.

A BC/Poly split is my favorite. We have one coming up in August and cannot wait!

That’s true. She does love the beach so I am sure she’d like the sand

 

[thanxfornoticin]

SAB also has the best slide on property, if she might like that, too!