Cindybell2
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 13, 2022
This was my first time at WDW for at least 15 years, so a lot has changed. I went with my husband, son, daughter in law and 2-year-old granddaughter. We had a pretty good time but honestly instead of calling it the most happiest place on earth they should call it the most expensive place on earth! We stayed 4 nights at Pop starting May 6th and then 2 nights at AKL at the Kidani resort in a two bedroom villa with savannah view. To do things a little differently I thought I would list some highlights of the parks, resorts and food and state whither I loved it or didn't love it . Then you can read below why I loved it or not so much.
Pop Century resort - Loved it!
AKL Kidani - Didn't love it
Biergarten - Loved it!
Hollywood and Vines - Loved it!
Tutto Italia - Didn't love it
Cinderella's Castle - Didn't love it
Be Our Guest - Didn't love it
Tusker House - Didn't love it
Bomas - Loved it!
Pop Century quick serve - Loved it!
D-Lux Burger Disney springs - Loved it!
Dole whip - Didn't love it - tasted like sorbet and melted within seconds of being in the sun
Gideons Cookies - Loved it! - very unique cookie that tasted wonderful
Cinnamon buns at Gaston - Didn't love it - I like ooey gooey and this bun was dry - Cinnabon is better
Refillable popcorn - Loved it! - best value and it was only $2.25 to refill and I like popcorn
Desserts in the French bakery Epcot - Loved it! - We had the parfait and chocolate chip cookie both were great
Mickey Ice-cream bars - Loved it! - taste like a dove bar
Hot fudge sundaes Ciardelli at Disney Springs - Loved it!!!! - best chocolate fudge Sunday I have ever had and I'm not joking
Epcot - Loved it!
Magic Kingdom - Loved it!
Hollywood Studios - Loved it!
Animal Kingdom - Loved it!
Pop Century - I know people say you can't compare a value resort with a deluxe resort but I thought Pop was better than AKL. Pop is bright and vibrant and just wonderful for kids. My 2 year old granddaughter loved it. The pool was great with a small kiddie pool that was warmer than the large pool. There was no hot tub but I didn't use them anyway even at AKL that did have one. I loved having the quick food service and the food wasn't that bad. We mostly ate breakfast there and I had no complaints except for the expense but that is a common problem at WDW. Expect to spend around 30 dollars for 2 people for breakfast. The rooms were small but had everything you needed and I found them cozy. I loved the bathroom set up with a door for the toilet and bathtub area and another door separating the sinks from the main room. You can have someone taking a shower and another using the vanity area while someone else is still sleeping. Now let's talk about the skyliner.....WOW! I thought the skyliner was a game changer for WDW transportation. It is just wonderful! There is hardly ever a line and when there is it goes very quickly. The skyline is like a ride in itself and I loved seeing all the scenery. What was really great is that we could push the stroller right on without having to take our granddaughter out (you had to fold up double wide strollers). The ride was quick to Epcot and Hollywood studios. When we had to use a bus to the Magic Kingdom it was just so deflating. One gets spoiled using the skyliner. Our room number was 356 in the 70's section and it was a short walk to the food court but a little longer to the skyliner. If I could have chose any room it would be at the Hippy Dippy pool area but looking out over the woods instead of the pool so it would be quieter. I would definitely stay at Pop again.
AKL Kidani - All I can say is DON'T DO IT! AKL has two areas the Kidani area and Jambo house. I have read reviews where people argue over which area is better and I can't believe there is even a question about it. Jambo house has the larger lobby and gift store. It also has Boma's which is a great buffet restaurant and has the only quick serve restaurant Mara. Kidani has the better pool but that is the only thing going for it. Hands down if I had to stay there again I would choose Jambo house and use the Kidani pool. Seriously every time we turned around it seemed we were going to Jambo house. Its no easy walk either as you are already exhausted from just waking from your room to the lobby because unless you have a room near the lobby you are a country mile away. They do have internal transportation between the two areas but that seemed inconvenient as well. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa courtesy of David's DVC rentals. Our room number was 7652 and was about in the middle of the very long hallway. When I say long I mean it took about a 5 minute walk to get our room. I looked it up and from the lobby to the end of the hallway is 1/3 mile. SO if you get an end room you will walk at the very least 1.3 miles each day just leaving your room twice to go to the lobby/pool or park. I will say the savannah was beautiful but didn't really make up for all the other problems. The only way I would stay at this resort again is if they built a skyliner to animal Kingdom and I would stay at Jambo House and it would be a split stay with another resort. I couldn't imagine staying at AKL for a whole week.
Pop Century resort - Loved it!
AKL Kidani - Didn't love it
Biergarten - Loved it!
Hollywood and Vines - Loved it!
Tutto Italia - Didn't love it
Cinderella's Castle - Didn't love it
Be Our Guest - Didn't love it
Tusker House - Didn't love it
Bomas - Loved it!
Pop Century quick serve - Loved it!
D-Lux Burger Disney springs - Loved it!
Dole whip - Didn't love it - tasted like sorbet and melted within seconds of being in the sun
Gideons Cookies - Loved it! - very unique cookie that tasted wonderful
Cinnamon buns at Gaston - Didn't love it - I like ooey gooey and this bun was dry - Cinnabon is better
Refillable popcorn - Loved it! - best value and it was only $2.25 to refill and I like popcorn
Desserts in the French bakery Epcot - Loved it! - We had the parfait and chocolate chip cookie both were great
Mickey Ice-cream bars - Loved it! - taste like a dove bar
Hot fudge sundaes Ciardelli at Disney Springs - Loved it!!!! - best chocolate fudge Sunday I have ever had and I'm not joking
Epcot - Loved it!
Magic Kingdom - Loved it!
Hollywood Studios - Loved it!
Animal Kingdom - Loved it!
Pop Century - I know people say you can't compare a value resort with a deluxe resort but I thought Pop was better than AKL. Pop is bright and vibrant and just wonderful for kids. My 2 year old granddaughter loved it. The pool was great with a small kiddie pool that was warmer than the large pool. There was no hot tub but I didn't use them anyway even at AKL that did have one. I loved having the quick food service and the food wasn't that bad. We mostly ate breakfast there and I had no complaints except for the expense but that is a common problem at WDW. Expect to spend around 30 dollars for 2 people for breakfast. The rooms were small but had everything you needed and I found them cozy. I loved the bathroom set up with a door for the toilet and bathtub area and another door separating the sinks from the main room. You can have someone taking a shower and another using the vanity area while someone else is still sleeping. Now let's talk about the skyliner.....WOW! I thought the skyliner was a game changer for WDW transportation. It is just wonderful! There is hardly ever a line and when there is it goes very quickly. The skyline is like a ride in itself and I loved seeing all the scenery. What was really great is that we could push the stroller right on without having to take our granddaughter out (you had to fold up double wide strollers). The ride was quick to Epcot and Hollywood studios. When we had to use a bus to the Magic Kingdom it was just so deflating. One gets spoiled using the skyliner. Our room number was 356 in the 70's section and it was a short walk to the food court but a little longer to the skyliner. If I could have chose any room it would be at the Hippy Dippy pool area but looking out over the woods instead of the pool so it would be quieter. I would definitely stay at Pop again.
AKL Kidani - All I can say is DON'T DO IT! AKL has two areas the Kidani area and Jambo house. I have read reviews where people argue over which area is better and I can't believe there is even a question about it. Jambo house has the larger lobby and gift store. It also has Boma's which is a great buffet restaurant and has the only quick serve restaurant Mara. Kidani has the better pool but that is the only thing going for it. Hands down if I had to stay there again I would choose Jambo house and use the Kidani pool. Seriously every time we turned around it seemed we were going to Jambo house. Its no easy walk either as you are already exhausted from just waking from your room to the lobby because unless you have a room near the lobby you are a country mile away. They do have internal transportation between the two areas but that seemed inconvenient as well. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa courtesy of David's DVC rentals. Our room number was 7652 and was about in the middle of the very long hallway. When I say long I mean it took about a 5 minute walk to get our room. I looked it up and from the lobby to the end of the hallway is 1/3 mile. SO if you get an end room you will walk at the very least 1.3 miles each day just leaving your room twice to go to the lobby/pool or park. I will say the savannah was beautiful but didn't really make up for all the other problems. The only way I would stay at this resort again is if they built a skyliner to animal Kingdom and I would stay at Jambo House and it would be a split stay with another resort. I couldn't imagine staying at AKL for a whole week.
