AKL vs. Poly with a 2 yr. Old

[JessP81]

We are currently planning a trip and having difficulty deciding whether to stay at AKL or the Poly. My son will be turning two at the time of this trip. Our dilemma is whether the increased cost of the poly (over akl) is worth it. Our main concern is how the transportation to and from parks will be with our son and a stroller, as we do plan on taking mid day breaks each day. Has anyone had experience with this at those resortSame? Your knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

 

[oceanmarina]

Having stayed in both, you really can't go wrong with either.

Poly gets the slight edge as you have a character breakfast (Ohanas) right in the lobby, the monorail also right in the lobby (you don't have to fold your stroller up on the monorail like you do when you are on a bus).

My DD was 2 when we stayed at the Poly, she and my son really loved it. We stayed when they were a little older at Animal Kingdom, I feel like they were better able to appreciate the animals being older (since we used to go to our local zoo at home)

But honestly it was not that bad when we stayed at Kidani, we never waited more than 10 minutes or so for a bus. If you son is really into seeing animals, he will love it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Poly. I've only stayed AKL and if I had a 2yo I'd pay the extra to stay Poly in a heartbeat. Transportation is miserable busing everywhere & I spent so much time in transit that afternoon breaks were a pain. MK? 25 mins, packed in like a sardine & that's only if you don't have to wait for the bus because the actual drive is 25 mins! Never mind your room could be a 10-15 min walk away after arriving at the resort. AKL was awesome, but I'd save it till your kid is older in order to preserve your sanity.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I have not stayed at AKL but have Poly many times, so take what I say with that caveat.

Generally speaking, there's a reason Poly is more expensive than AKL - you get what you pay for in terms of convenience and multiple transportation options. For us with a little one, places like Poly are such a blessing because of the convenience of moving around without having to rely solely on a bus. When we've travelled with DS at that age and now DD, we tend to be back/forth to the parks a lot... naps, rests, half-days, etc. We also spend 2x more time at MK than any other park, followed by Epcot.

It is really hard to beat the convenience of a location like Poly given our touring style. AKL is on our wish list, but when the kids are older.

Good luck deciding, and happy planning!

 

[FSU Girl]

I love Animal Kingdom Lodge and Poly isn't one of my favorites, but for you I would definitely go with Poly. You'll probably be spending the majority of your time at Magic Kingdom and the monorail makes it so easy to go back to your room midday for a nap. AKL is isolated and only transportation option is a bus, which could be a hassle with a stroller.

 

[mickeynut1]

We are currently planning a trip and having difficulty deciding whether to stay at AKL or the Poly. My son will be turning two at the time of this trip. Our dilemma is whether the increased cost of the poly (over akl) is worth it. Our main concern is how the transportation to and from parks will be with our son and a stroller, as we do plan on taking mid day breaks each day. Has anyone had experience with this at those resortSame? Your knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

We've stayed at both and love both for different reasons. With that said, I agree with oceanmarina that both resorts are great and you really can't go wrong either way. The Poly is more convenient to MK and Epcot via the monorail, but we found the buses at AKL to be fine. In our experiences, the bus rides from AKL aren't bad at all and are maybe 5 extra minutes compared to other resorts. Since the buses only service AKL and Kidani, there's no sharing with any other resort(s). The Poly is our favorite resort overall, but we also love AKL as we've had 2 great stays there. Good luck deciding, but I think you'll have a great time at either resort .

 

[blessedby3]

They are both beautiful resorts, but I go with convenience every time When you are at the Poly you can take the monorail to MK or Epcot which only leaves the bus for AK and DHS. Busses are a pain with a stroller. Doable, but still a pain. When you use the monorail you dont have to fold the stroller. We are doing a split stay in May at the CR and the Grand. We spend most of our time in the MK so I am so happy to be able to walk to the MK from the CR and jump on the monorail from the Grand. It will be so nice for those mid day breaks. AKL is one of the resorts that is a bit farther out so longer bus rides to get places (except for going to the AK). I would book the Poly over the AKL for sure…and just do a meal at AKL. We love to go to the AKL for a meal at Boma, and enjoy walking around the resort.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

With a 2-year old and a stroller, I would take any MK resort over AKL. AKL is beautiful, but if you are planning on afternoon breaks, that bus trip back and forth is going to get tiring really fast.

 

[TJA]

Our main concern is how the transportation to and from parks will be with our son and a stroller, as we do plan on taking mid day breaks each day. Has anyone had experience with this at those resortSame? Your knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

I have had experience with this! We stayed at AKL with a stroller and little ones, and we have not been back there since (lol). Don't get me wrong, AKL was gorgeous and very unique, but we did not fare well with lugging the stroller and little ones back and forth on the buses all the time. Any monorail resort is like a dream compared to that experience we had at AKL. I can laugh about it now remembering back, but DH still doesn't think it's very funny....

Having said that, we are headed back to AKL next month and can't wait! My kids are age 13 now, so no worries about strollers, little ones, and buses!

 

[Belle83]

I have stayed at AKL but not Poly. I have, however, stayed at Grand Californian with a 1 year old in Disneyland so I can sort of compare to the location issue I guess. When we stayed at GC, about as close as you could get to the park, we only took 1 break. DS napped in the stroller before his regular nap time so it didn't make sense to go back. It was pretty awesome to not have to take DS (or all of our stuff) out of our stroller at the end of the day, though.

I am curious what the price difference is? I'm sure it's a lot. Poly would be great but Disney is so expensive as it is I would have a hard time spending extra $. I guess for me it would depend on how much more you're really talking.

Have you looked at Wilderness Lodge? It's similar pricing to AKL and very close to MK. I am not positive but I think the boat that they use (depending on which one you get) is sometimes one that strollers can roll on to.

 

[Surgie]

Poly for sure. Before deciding for our 2018 family trip we visited AKL, CR, Poly, WL and GF a couple months ago. We didn't stay at any, just had drinks or a meal and a tour or just our own walk-around.

For us, with 6 adults and 4 preschoolers, Poly was the only choice that makes sense for our family. Love the transportation options, love on-site character breakfast, love the pools for the ages of our kids and love the size of the resort. All resorts are beautiful and I could see future trips at all of them. But for this trip with ages of our kids, Poly wins hands down.

 

[AspenLL]

We stayed at AKL with our one year old a few years ago and had a fantastic time. Resort was perfect for him and transportation worked perfectly.

 

[Hettie]

Yeah, I have to agree with many of the previous posters and vote for Poly. I own DVC points at AKV and it is my favorite resort, however we will be spending the next two trips with my almost 2 year old at Poly and BCV. I'll reasses after that, but at this age, being able to get to MK or Epcot without a bus is very valuable. I don't even really mind the stroller on the bus, but the potential time suck of waiting for buses, combined with a longer trip (to MK) is a deal-breaker when trying to go back to the room for midday breaks.