Hi all! We (DH, DS13, and myself) originally had plans to stay at POFQ the first week of August. We found out that we are going to be first time grandparents, and DD is due that week. 
So, in light of yesterday’s released discount, I booked us at AKL the third week of June in a standard room. In the past we have stayed at Contemporary twice, POR twice, and GDT. We have never been to AKL or POFQ. Anyone have thoughts - pros or cons - for either resort? Thanks!
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FQ is a smaller resort and easier to navigate, no room is a far walk to food or transportation you can boat to DS or PORS too. The serpent slide in the pool is a big hit w/ the kids, plus they have beignets.
AKL standard room will not have any view of animals and the hallways can be horribly long! There are more food choices at AKL.
I would pick FQ for theming and atmosphere. It’s a personal preference. I’ve stayed both places. FQ many times, AKL once and wont’ go back to AKL b/c of hallway walks and only bus transportation.
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DS13 and I stayed at POFQ for the first time in early December and absolutely loved it! The theming was so fun and he loved the “nearly 24 hour availability of beignets!!” Although we actually only had them twice for breakfast - they were so good! We took the boat to DS which we rarely go to, but the boat made it much easier. We didn’t use the pool but it looked fun. Bus service was good and we were able to use the quick service food court to fill our water bottles every day on the way to the bus, so we didn’t need to buy water. I completely get why people love FQ and I would be happy to stay there anytime.
At the end of the month DH and I are taking my DD5 and DD8-turning-9-on-the-trip and staying at AKL Jambo for the first time so we will see how that goes. We are in a standard room but using room finder are requesting a room with a little bit of view. DH and I stayed alone at Kidani standard view once and got lucky with room request. Hopefully the girls will like it! I’ll try to update after we see how it is!
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POFQ I’ve been to both. Felt like it was a two mile walk from the uphill bus stop to my room. I did have a standard Room with partial view of giraffes. Love POFQ staying Again at the end of January. Everything is close it’s quiet never felt it was to crowded.
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Another important distinction right now (unfortunately) is the expanded evening park hours available with AKL but not POFQ, if you would use them.
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Yes, we have considered this. We are all night owls and would definitely use them, especially DS and me.
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POFQ for all the reasons already stated.
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FQ without a doubt. The only thing I don’t like about the resort is their bus stop. (I feel it should be on the left of the porte-cochere and not the right (so you can see what bus is for what, but no way that’ll ever change so meh.) and i don’t like that it’s so narrow, I would love to see it expanded a bit so there’s more room.
So that’s a super small thing and beyond that…it’s a deluxe resort masquerading(
) as a moderate.
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I haven’t stayed at POFQ, but the extra evening hours would probably be enough to sway me to stay at AKL instead. (And I love AKL.) The blog posts TP put up about how much you can get done at MK in those two hours was very convincing.
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This is a very interesting match-up! The two resorts are about on par for me as far as overall experience. I loved POFQ’s theming and atmosphere. It was also nice that it was compact and easily walkable, even if you have a room that is far from food and transportation. Having boat transport to DS was also nice. The pool was large and fun for our kids. The beignets are a definite plus.
However, I would go with AKL. Considerations:
- Since you are staying in a standard room, you will most likely be close to the lobby. Try to request a pool-view room if you can. You can try to request a partial savannah room but those are tough to score and it might end up being a hike. While it’s nice to sit on your balcony and see animals, the views from the lookout points are great and you’ll have plenty of animal time.
- The theming and decor in the resort is beautiful and really immersive - moreso than POFQ, IMO. It’s the scope of it that makes it better.
- Extra evening hours. This alone might be enough to make the decision.
- It’s kinda far from everything, which can be a blessing and a curse. But the situation is similar at POFQ.
- The rooms at AKL are a tad larger (344 vs 315 sq ft) so you might feel a little more relaxed there.
- The Uzima pool is more fun for adults and older kids than the POFQ, IMO.
- More food options, including walking / shuttle over to Kidani for must-have bread service at Sanaa.
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You have AKL Jambo booked? Standard room?
Solid QS, great pool, Boma, public viewing areas, shuttle to Kidani, did you see the standard views above?
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We have stayed at both AKL and POFQ. We are staying at POFQ this April, I wasn’t even tempted to switch to AKL yesterday with the special offer.
The only thing that I love at AKL is the food. We had such a long walk from our room to the lobby and transportation. When we checked in, the CM (probably considering our age) commented that our room was pretty far out, but he couldn’t get us a closer room. Bus transportation from AKL to anywhere but AK seemed to take forever.
POFQ is so compact, easy walk to everything. When we were there in 2019, our bus was for FQ only except for afternoons going to AK when we had to go to all 4 bus stops in POR. Boat to DS was convenient, quick service was good.
I would probably never stay at AKL again.
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Thank you all for your replies so far! This is tough! DS would totally love the animal views even if not from our room (AK is his favorite park), but I know DH would love to be able to boat to DS and the smaller resort. I’m up for anything but would probably like the smaller vibe of POFQ. But, yeah, those evening hours at EPCOT and MK…
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We loved AKL and disliked FQ. The FQ room doors open onto outside corridors, which run alongside the windows, so you basically have to keep the curtains drawn and live like a mushroom in the dark. Also, smokers cluster around the benches near the river and the sun loungers are lined up like sardines in a tin. There are beautiful places to sit and enjoy the views at AKL and the resort has a certain dignity and elegance. If you are RD to close people choose FQ, or save some money and book an A/S, which is much the same standard, but if you plan to relax at the resort then chose AKL.
Me: sees people complaining that you have to ride the bus at AKL
Also Me: sees POFQ’s only non-bus option is to… DS. Ok. wow.
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It’s very centrally located though. 10 mins to EP and HS, 15 to MK. And one bus stop.
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Okay, well an update… DH is not sure he can get vacation time switched. So, now I have TWO reservations for June - one including DH for POFQ and one for just me and DS at ASMo. In the end I can’t justify the cost increase for AKL especially if just DS and me; we are definitely “spend our time in the park” people! DH loves to relax and meet us at the park, and I think he will prefer POFQ over AKL. So, two plans for now it is, and we will see how this plays out. Either way, I should be “home” sometime in June!
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Even though I voted for AKL, I like your plan and am sure you’ll have a wonderful time at either POFQ or ASMo!
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The response I always give to this question is “How long do you plan on spending at the resort”? As an animal lover (AK is my favorite park) AKL is hands-down my favorite resort, but if you’re using it mostly as a place to “shower and sleep”, it’s hard to justify the Deluxe price.
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Yes, this is what led me to choose POFQ/ASMo. Last summer we had an 8 night trip at GDT and spent a lot of relaxing resort time there which was fantastic. This coming summer will be just 5 nights with plans to hit the parks for the 50th, so AKL will still be there for a future trip with more resort time.