Stuck between hotels

[stormflm595]

Hello all

We have pretty much decided on AKL for August 2020, booking tomorrow on release day. The last I checked, the standard rooms were just over 5000 with the free ddp. They're currently not available on the WDTC site, but I understand that Disney tend to mess with availability just before free dining, so I am sure the standards will be back on site tomorrow!

However my conundrum is this. I've just been nosing around on ATD and have seen that they are selling Saratoga Springs preferred villas for the exact same dates with free dining for over 1000 less - that's a huge saving!

Now we don't know whether to stick with our hearts desire and book AKL or save the money and book SS.

Is there a catch to SS which makes it so much cheaper than AKL? Such as if that price is per person rather than per room etc.? It says to call to get more info which I'm a little dubious over. Will not be booking until tomorrow anyway so the price might shoot up anyway but now we're confused on what to do.

We can afford both so money is not an issue, however would also be nice to save some penny's for a rainy day... But animal kingdom lodge!

Any advice appreciated!

[minnie29]

I’d recommend AKL. Totally fell in love with the place. I couldn’t shake the feeling of excitement for about a week! And I couldn’t believe how beautiful the lobby and the whole hotel is. The feeling of staying there is to me just something out of this world x

[BevS97]

SSR is a dvc property so you get a studio apartment rather than a hotel room. One double bed and a sofa bed.

It’s also apartment block style rather than hotel style.

And there are no animals outside.


However. It’s still a very nice place and the location is good near Disney Springs.

[stormflm595]

Yeahhhh we've been talking about sitting by the savannah on some evenings with a few cocktails if we went for akl... dreamy!

Over 1000 is such a huge saving though!

[minnie29]

Originally Posted by stormflm595

Yeahhhh we've been talking about sitting by the savannah on some evenings with a few cocktails if we went for akl... dreamy!

Over 1000 is such a huge saving though!

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DH and I done exactly that with the cocktails! The extra cash is worth it - I never tired of watching the animals from our room (standard but asked for partial savannah view). There are also loads of larger public viewing spots that we used too

[stormflm595]

Originally Posted by minnie29

DH and I done exactly that with the cocktails! The extra cash is worth it - I never tired of watching the animals from our room (standard but asked for partial savannah view). There are also loads of larger public viewing spots that we used too

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Oh wow I didn't know you could ask for a partial savannah view! Did you have to pay any extra for that? When did you pop that request in?

[minnie29]

Originally Posted by stormflm595

Oh wow I didn't know you could ask for a partial savannah view! Did you have to pay any extra for that? When did you pop that request in?

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I just emailed the hotel direct and asked if possible could we have a partial savannah view - they are actually classed as standard rooms because you don’t get a direct view of the savannah. I’ll have a look for the email address now and post it

[minnie29]

WDW.GM.AnimalKingdomLodge@disney.com

Just email your request a few weeks before you go. They responded to me quite quickly, basically saying we’ll do what we can (very friendly response)

And no extra cost. A lot of the standard rooms have partial savannah rooms anyway

[Shani]

Although ATD are having SSR show up in searches, you cannot book it outside of 330 days and they won't offer an official quote or allow you to pre-reg for it. The same goes for Old Key West. OKW is our first choice and I've spoken to ATD today about this.

This might help you make your mind up!

[stormflm595]

Originally Posted by minnie29

WDW.GM.AnimalKingdomLodge@disney.com

Just email your request a few weeks before you go. They responded to me quite quickly, basically saying we’ll do what we can (very friendly response)

And no extra cost. A lot of the standard rooms have partial savannah rooms anyway

See more...

You're a star, thank you so much! X