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Old 15 Jul 21, 11:12 AM  
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#11
kellsbells
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I've stayed at both and they're both great resorts. I wouldn't worry about AKL being far out, it's really not as far as people say and we always found the bus service to be good. The only thing I would say is that if you plan on spending a lot of time at DS the bus ride there is fairly long. The boat ride from POFQ is much nicer (and quicker!)

We are back to POFQ next year as the price increase for AKL was just too much but i'm very happy staying at either. We will plan to just pop over there for one evening to get some food and look at the animals to get our AKL fix and we're pretty happy with that!

We don't have young children with us and i'm sure that changes things but i'd say we rarely end up eating at the resort wherever we are staying.
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Old 15 Jul 21, 11:16 AM  
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#12
loldis
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Location: Sussex
Originally Posted by Kat11 View Post
Sorry to jump in on this thread but would you happen to know if the free nights incorporate Easter? I’ve had to move our Aug holiday to April so I’d miss the free dinning credits offer. I’m presuming that there’s no free night offers in April either but if there was a chance I’d wait until November to book our rooms.

Kat
Double checked the 2019 T&Cs and the two weeks around Easter were excluded. They add more exclusions every year as well.

It's a great offer when you can manage to find dates for it though.
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Old 15 Jul 21, 11:24 AM  
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#13
Andi
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Our first stay on Disney property was at All Star Movies and I can say the theming was terrific for children. When we went there was a good food court but on a number of occasions the bus was full and we had to wait for the next one, could have just been unfortunate or perhaps because it was July.

We then stayed at POFQ and absolutely loved this resort. We actually preferred returning from the parks to more greenery, lovely pool area and we found the resort quieter but then I think it is smaller than ASM. The food court was good or you could walk over to Riverside for a bit more choice. We always thought we would come back here as we loved this resort but then we bought DVC at AKL.

So AKL, what can I say other than IMO it is fabulous. Jambo House has a beautiful Lobby and the sound of African drums. The food court is Mara and again we found lots of choice, Boma is the buffet restaurant which is terrific. The rooms have a balcony with a couple of chairs and a little table. There are also viewing areas to see the animals. Although you think you won’t spend much time in the room, it would be extremely tiring to keep the children out all day every day. So as on another post it might be best on occasion to bring the children back for a rest in the afternoon, swim, relax or sleep before going out again in the evening.

Personally I would look again at the price difference between AKL and POFQ and if it was high then for a first trip I would go with POFQ.
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International Drive 2002, All Star Movies 2005, Renaissance at Seaworld 2008, Rosen Plaza & POFQ 2010, Saratoga Springs Resort 2012, Hotel New York DLP 2013, Rosen Plaza and Old Key West 2014, AKL, BLT & SSR July 2015, Crowne Plaza NYC, AKL, Cabana Bay, AKL Nov 2017, Crowne Plaza NYC April 2018, Rosen Plaza, AKL and GFV August 2018, Australia Nov 2018, RCI Cruise August 2019, Rosen Plaza, Pop Century August 2022
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Old 15 Jul 21, 12:16 PM  
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#14
deruisire
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Hi all,

We did POFQ in 2018 and AKL in 2019. We had originally planned to do POFQ in 2019 but I decided to surprise everyone (2 adults 2 kids aged 6&7 at the time) and upgrade to AKL. If I remember correctly the upgrade was about 2000 euro or so. I was happy with this as we we getting both the Table service dining plan (which we squeezed every last drop out of ) and also a deluxe resort with balcony. AKL is as amazing place.

We are hoping to go back in 2022 to POFQ as I just cant see the value in the extra cost for AKL. We loved AKL and would love to go back but I don't think its worth the current price and offer.

I can't wait to get back to POFQ as its such as lovely resort.
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Old 15 Jul 21, 01:26 PM  
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Wallefan
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This is our first time with the kids and we've gone with AKL for the wow factor. Yes it costs a fortune but we will only go to Florida 2/3 times so figured why not.

Make sure you can still get the garden view rooms at French Quarter as they are the only ones in the deal. They are a little more expensive than the standard rooms so closes the gap a bit.

For what it's worth it doesn't matter what holiday I go on or where to I always end up back in the room for a few hours in the middle of the day. The kids (and me) just need a bit of time out and chill out time either for a nap or just to watch the TV and zone out. Plus the pool is a huge draw for us, we will spend a lot of time in the pool
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Old 15 Jul 21, 01:27 PM  
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Rding
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Originally Posted by Bovril82 View Post
Thanks so much for your reponses! I think we have discounted Orleans.

One last question. This is probably a how long is a piece of string thing really. But, my husband wanted to book a value resort initially as he said we will never be at the hotel as it is our first time at Disney exploring the parks. Is he right? AKL is an extra £3500 to the value resort my husband picked out. Will we be at AKL on an average first timer's trip to make it worth it?
Your DH might be right! And it might also depend on when your going. Based on our first visit which was 14 nights at POFQ we did no other attractions just Disney and it was full on and we spent minimal time at the hotel. I do remember on the last day whilst waiting for the pick up thinking how little of the resort we had seen or used. However this was in late September early October and we had taken the kids out of school as they were younger. The weather was no way near as hot and humid as it is now when we go the back end of August and I would definatly had made more use of the facilities and pool if we had gone in this period.
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Old 15 Jul 21, 01:30 PM  
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#17
Rding
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Originally Posted by Wallefan View Post
This is our first time with the kids and we've gone with AKL for the wow factor. Yes it costs a fortune but we will only go to Florida 2/3 times so figured why not.

Make sure you can still get the garden view rooms at French Quarter as they are the only ones in the deal. They are a little more expensive than the standard rooms so closes the gap a bit.

For what it's worth it doesn't matter what holiday I go on or where to I always end up back in the room for a few hours in the middle of the day. The kids (and me) just need a bit of time out and chill out time either for a nap or just to watch the TV and zone out. Plus the pool is a huge draw for us, we will spend a lot of time in the pool
Thats what I said as well!
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Old 15 Jul 21, 01:51 PM  
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#18
sprocket
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We couldnt decide between AKL or POFQ for next August. Love both, but AKL is quiet a bit extra. So we booked both for 1 person at £50 deposit.
We then have until next year to decide which one to stay at and add extra guests and cancel the other. Deposit is refundable.
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Old 15 Jul 21, 01:56 PM  
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#19
sprocket
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I wish I had a penny for every time I heard this (i would have at least 73p).
Other common mistakes are saying 'Once in a life time' or 'Last trip' or 'it will be several years before we are back'

I remember thinking this several trip ago. I think its a worst habit than gambling or smoking at least you can get help with those addictions. Anyway Im off to WDW Annom for my group therapy meeting.


Originally Posted by Wallefan View Post
Yes it costs a fortune but we will only go to Florida 2/3 times so figured why not.
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Sept 2002 - Sheridan Vista, Sept 2007 - Polynesian
Aug 2008 - WL / GF Club, Sept 2014 - PO FQ
Aug 2015 - PO RS, Aug 2016 - PO RS
Aug 2017 - RPR & AKL, Oct 2019 - HRH & BC
Oct 2022 - RPR, Poly & AKL
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Old 15 Jul 21, 03:07 PM  
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#20
Bovril82
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The trip will be 14 nights, last two weeks of August if that makes a difference..

No availability coming up for the deal at all star movies, but music and sport available.

I think the choice is now between all star music and AKL 😬😬
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