How inconvenient is Animal Kingdom Lodge's location?

[Mogie]

Hey everyone,

I am being very indecisive about where to book our next stay this December. I REALLY want to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the prices are great right now. But I am so used to staying at the Dolphin/Swan and enjoying the convenience of the location for transportation, walking distance to Epcot and a wide selection of grown-up entertainment on the Boardwalk. It would just be my GF and I.

Do you feel isolated at AKL?

So far I booked the Beach Club but have never stayed and I'm nervous.

[mydisneygirls]

I've never stayed there but people I know that have said it quite far away from everything. I believe it is the furthest resort away from the parks. For me, I'd rather be closer than spending time on the buses getting to and from everywhere. Try the WL (my new favorite). I found their prices comparable to AK and the transportation to parks, etc. is very easy.

[Dave H]

I didn't find it terribly inconvenient when I stayed there. Of course you are closest to AK, but since you are in the corner of the World at AKL you do have longer times to the other parks and such. If you have your own car it's barely noticeable though.

So on the whole - slightly longer times to get to the non-AK parks, but not isolated. I think it's worth it, AKL is a great property.

[AvaNellMouse]

Not an issue.
The bus service is awesome. I can't count the number of times we walked up to the bus stop, both going to and returning from the parks, and a bus pulled up right away. Especially in the evenings at the parks, it seemed like the lines at the other resort stops were really long and the AKL group got picked up and line completely emptied first.
Enjoy. It is paradise.

[Aurora]

If you really want to stay at AKL and nightlife is a big thing for you, I would make sure I had a car. It's hard to get from the Boardwalk or any other resort to AKL relying on the bus system. If you have a car, the AKL location is a non-issue. We stayed at BLT last time and drove to the Boardwalk for a couple of hours; it took us 15 minutes to get there.

Beach Club is fantastic and is the closest resort to the International Gateway entrance at Epcot. You also get a great view of the Boardwalk from there. If you like a lot of things within walking distance, you can't go wrong with the Beach Club.

Good luck on your decision!

[AgentC]

I have stayed at both AKL and Beach Club. I like them both, but they are very different.

We always have a car. I am not sure if I would want to the stay at AKL without one. The travel time is a little longer, but not horrible. I love the theming at AKL and the animals. We always have a good time there. I think everyone should try it at least once.

I love the whole Beach Club area and can't imagine you would be disappointed.

I think it comes down to if you want to try something different. If you love the Boardwalk area and will feel like your vacation is missing something if you are not there, I would do Beach Club.

If you want to experience something different and a bit more relaxing atmosphere, I would try AKL.

You really can't go wrong with either.

[c&d]

One of the reasons we like AKL is because it's away from the hustle and bustle. When we walk into the lobby after a day at the parks it's very relaxing. It just seems quieter than the other resorts we've stayed at.

That being said I don't feel isolated. We've always had really good bus service, but if you are into the nightlife it may not be for you.

Maybe you could just stay for 2 nights and then move to the other hotel. That way you'll get to stay there and see if you like it.

[cajunprincess]

I didn't even notice! It is such an amazing place to stay. I can't waite to get back there! I didn't notice any longer than usual lines for buses at the parks or at the hotel itself. Everything was fast and convient!

[BugeyedMuggy]

Our favorite resort is AKL. Depending on what our needs are is which resort we choose. The F&WF is a definate Epcot resort. But any other time is best deal and we do try to get AKL. If you don't mind bussing there is no better resort. If you plan to spend time at the resort and even in the winter months (35 deg at nite) we love AKL. The hot tubs are amazing at Jambo , like no other resort. We hope to book early 2012.

[Stickey]

It's not.


The Boardwalk resorts are great for Epcot and DHS. Walking to 2 parks is a huge advantage.

The MK resorts are the farthest away from the other parks, other than MK.

Transportation time between AKL and Epcot and DHS is short.

The longest bus ride seems to be from WL to AK. Part of the delay is the shared bus with the GF.

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

We love AKL! You will be hard pressed to find theming like it elsewhere in the world IMO....

We have found that the buses are actually quicker to arrive and depart to AKL. It felt like we never waited more than a few minutes... just enough to breakdown the stroller and get situated on a bench.. then the bus is magically there!

We have stayed at others and it has taken much longer... especially when we stayed at WL. That was by far the resort with the longest wait for us.

We love AKL because it is away from it all but, still in the world. Hope that makes sense! Even though I'm having an affair with Mickey, sometimes, you just want to "get away".

We love Kidani and it always seems like a ghost town at the pool and hot tub. Love it!

[buddie]

AKL is not that far away from everything. People are exagerating when they say that. It takes just about as long to get to MK from Pop Century as it does from AKL to MK. Pop is only 2 minutes closer to MK than AKL is.
And AKL is less than 15 minutes to the other 3 parks. All resorts have good and not so good points when it comes to transportation options.
I wouldn't rule out AKL, it's a great place to stay.

[Disney4us2]

We stayed at AKL Kidani in August. Loved it. I would not hesitate to stay there again. I didn't feel that far out compared to the other resorts. AKL is just incredible. The pool was so nice at Kidani and I loved the water play area... yeah, I am a big kid.

[TinkerbellsMom]

That's a tough one, especially since you're going during the holiday season. If you're into enjoying the holiday spirit and decorations that Disney offers, I would recommend staying at the Beach Club as it is in the middle of the Holiday beauty. All the deluxe reults in the area are decked out, plus you're so close to going to Osbourne Lights and Epcot's Christmas Around the World, etc.

With all that said, AKL is our favorite WDW resort, simply for it's unique theming, and the fact that you don't feel like you're at WDW when you're at the resort. Like other posters stated, WDW lovers should stay there at least once to experience its uniqueness. We find that on our AKL trips, we end up spending more time at the resort than we would on non-AKL trips. We find the resort invites you to relax, if you let yourself. Last year, we stayed at AKL in Dec. and the resort was beautifully, uniquely decorated for the holidays. It was special, but not that convient to enjoying the Epcot Resort beauty as we had to plan it into one of our Epcot or HS days.

[mrsgaribaldi]

I stayed there once and would love to stay there again. We had a car though. If you do stay, make sure you check out the night vision goggles, that was great.

[snowflakegirl]

AKL is not that far away from everything. People are exagerating when they say that. It takes just about as long to get to MK from Pop Century as it does from AKL to MK. Pop is only 2 minutes closer to MK than AKL is.
And AKL is less than 15 minutes to the other 3 parks. All resorts have good and not so good points when it comes to transportation options.
I wouldn't rule out AKL, it's a great place to stay.

I agree. We stayed there two summers ago and didn't find it to be too inconvenient as far as travel. Our buses were rarely crowded (with the exception of a few evening trips back from Epcot), and they seemed to come quickly.

I loved my stay at AKL. The theming was incredible and I felt totally comfortable there. It was very nice to walk through those doors at the end of a long day.

[Melanie]

We didn't find it too far out of the way either. No more so than Caribbean Beach or POP. Actually, it's kinda nice feeling a bit spread out and open.

We always have our car as well, but for whatever reason, when we stayed there we utilized the busses a lot and found them convenient.

[Mousemates]

When it comes to visiting the theme parks the AKl seems to us to be no more inconvenient than OKW, SSR, the mods, or values. A ride on a bus is a ride on a bus...plus or minus ten to fifteen minutes going and coming makes very little difference over the course of a whole day.

Sometimes in planning for a WDW vacation we can get so caught up in the minute details of the pros and cons that we overlook big picture things...like the fact that the AKL is a completely unique experience unlike anything else that Disney (or anyone else) offers.

[Mousemates]

If you really want to stay at AKL and nightlife is a big thing for you, I would make sure I had a car.

just a thought...but one of the great things about doing night life at Disney is you don't have to worry about driving the car when the night is over

[luvdiznee]

If you really want to stay at AKL, you should. We were just there last week and had been there before and still loved it. It is so beautifully unique and has a nice polished look to it. Seeing the animals from the resort are a treat. Never ever felt isolated at AKL, as it is as much about Disney as the other resorts. The bus rides were not an issue. What was nice though, was when you come out of MK, theirs is the first stop. LOL. We did both DTD and BW area and for us the ride was not an issue. And I also like the fact that they have great restaurants right at the Lodge.