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EPCOT; Mother and Son; Spaceship Earth
  • On Oct 19, 2008
    Allison from LA Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    Trying to decide between WL and AKL resorts. Any advice on pros/cons of each resort. We are considering renting a car to make transportation to/from AKL resort easier. I have enjoyed reading your tips daily.

    I have stayed at both the Wilderness Lodge and the Animal Kingdom Lodge. They are both great hotels and are both similar in many respects.

    - They both have an outstanding signature restaurant, a second table-service restaurant, a counter-service restaurant, and a lounge
    - They both have soaring lobbies with beautiful themeing
    - They both have slides at the pool
    - Deluxe services and amenities
    - Disney Vacation Club accommodations

    Here are some differences:

    - There are animals at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you have a savannah view room, you can see African animals grazing a few dozen yards from your window. If you don't have the savannah view, you can walk around the grounds to see the animals from public viewing spots.
    - From the WL, transportation is easy to the Magic Kingdom and MK area hotel
    - From the AKL, transportation is easy to the Animal Kingdom
    - Water recreation/boating is only at the WL
    - The Wilderness Lodge has more pools

    As you have evidently surmised, one of the biggest drawbacks of the Animal Kingdom Lodge (really the only significant drawback I can think of) is the distance to theme parks other than the AK. A decent solution to this would be to rent your own car and drive to the theme parks. I personally am NOT a big fan of car rental at WDW, but in this case it could cut down on your transportation time.

    For me, the deciding factors would be: will we have an animal-view room at the AKL and how important is this to us? And will we be spending most of our time at the Magic Kingdom? If you'll be mostly at the MK, stay at the WL. If you have huge animal lovers in your family stay at the AKL. Whichever you choose, you should plan to have a meal at the other so that you can check it out for future visits.
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Meet the Panelist: Erin, New York

I have three teenage daughters. We're DVC members obsessed with Disney travel. We've been to Walt Disney World countless times and have visited Disneyland & Disneyland Paris. We've taken several Adventures by Disney and Disney Cruise trips. Learn More About Erin

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