Which would you prefer for a nine night stay: AKL or BC.
AKL is roughly £3,000 (inc DDP) and BC is £3,600.
BC seems so convenient for getting to the parks and for getting to food options.
I’d be solo with no car, relying totally on Disney transportation.
Also: the DDP is “free”. Would you upgrade to the Deluxe plan for another £261?
BC, nothing better than be able to walk to Epcot and HS. Personally I think the Deluxe plan is too much food.
Upgrade to the deluxe plan but have the mindset that you are getting great value if you only 'spend ’ the upgrade cost. The moment you focus on eating/drinking the entire value of the free package and the upgrade, your holiday is at risk of being ruined.
I have (so far) booked AKL, so maybe BC😉.
Agreed, except you can dine at signatures by spending two credits. So still two meals a day, but one is at a signature.
I have done both and only do AKL when I absolutely need to save money. We stayed at the Grand Floridian in September because I always wanted to try it but it really solidified for us that BC truly is Home for us! (That being said, I have a split stay AKL/BC coming up in December as they are my 2 favorites, but BC definitely has the edge for me)
I would say, if you don’t have a car the convenience of BC rules out for me. I like being able to walk to some of the parks. (That said we are trying WL for the first time this upcoming trip, mostly due to cost. Also, the atmosphere really appeals to us. But we will have a car.) The upgrade to deluxe seems nominal. I think or a solo or adults only trip it would be worth it.
No advice since I have not stayed at either. Just happily following along with your planning…again!
Yes if you do plan on one signature a day then it should be worth the upgrade.
Have done AKL and it has some of the best food options of all resorts. Have done Boardwalk (not BC) and love the convenience and very good food options. Tough choice, but both are good
Thanks to everyone for their input.
In a surprise to me, I’ve actually chosen Pop Century. Newly refurbished and much, much cheaper than either AKL or BC.
I hear lots of good about Pop!
Kind of depends on what you are looking for. BC is a very nice hotel, walking distance to 2 parks. AKL is arguably the most beautiful and unique resort in WDW. Granted you cannot walk to any parks, but don’t let the “distance from everything” weigh too heavily on you; in the big picture of thing an extra 5 or even 10 minutes on a bust doesn’t really make that much of a difference - and none of the buses are shared with other resorts.
All of that being said, if your resort is just going to be a place to shower and sleep, the convenience of BC is hard to beat - especially if you plan on spending a lot of time in EP. it’s kind of nice after a long day of touring to be able to go back to your room, clean up a bit and be a short walk into WS for dinner (assuming you have hoppers).
I have never done the DXDP, but if your preference is for mostly TS meals and you have your eye on a lot of signature dining, then it might be a worthwhile upgrade for you - just remember that you will still have to leave tips for all of those meals, so that’s a “hidden cost” of any DDP (and a tips on $75-80 3 course signature dinners can start to add up…
Also, have you considered renting DVC points? Granted, I get a slightly better deal than most because I rent from a friend, but several years ago I stayed at AKL for 7 nights for under 1000 USD, and for my next trip I’ll be staying at WL, again for a week, for slightly over 1000 USD. I could barely stay “rack rate” at POP for that…