My husband and I are going to Orlando next month. We don't have kids, but are traveling with family that does (although they are already staying at another close-to-disney hotel). I have a room book at the Portofino already...but WDW has a good price now for Animal Kingdom Lodge. We are planning on going to both WDW & Universal. We have never been before and now cannot decide which one to choose! Anyone recommend one over the other? Any recent experiences would be appreciated.

(Also the AKL price is even better for a standard room...is there any truth to this "just ask when you check-in for an upgrade to Savanna Room" rumor I'm hearing?)

AKL is beautiful- but I didn't like the location when I stayed there. All Disney properties have bus access to each other, but AKL is the one that is farthest and takes the longest. I have stayed at three different properities, and AKL is the only one that had the long commute times to everywhere else we wanted to go. I'm not sure where the Portofino is, but I would probably stick with that.

There are many good places to stay for access to the many parks, but tops in our consensus was at the back side of EPCOT where the Boardwalk type hotels are. If Portofino is over there, it would be the better for sure. If you look at a WDW property map, you'll see what I mean.

I stayed at the Portofino about 4-5 years ago. Room and bathroom were very nice (bathroom italian style). Very large hotel grounds, close to attractions, etc. I would recommend.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you stay at Portofino you get front of line priveleges at both US parks. I know Portofino was trying to become a 5-star hotel and is supposed to be very nice. As for AKL, the rooms are average, but the big draw is the animals. The hotel is also very nice but not 5-star service. The thing about getting upgraded to a Savanah view room will depend on how full they are. There are very few standard view rooms so the chance is pretty good to get upgraded if they are not full. If they are booked then the chances are slim. I would choose Portofino over AKL for the front of the line priveleges that you do not get at AKL. Also AKL is very far from everything as was already stated. Portfino is very close to all US has to offer, and can get anywhere by boat.

As previously stated, if you stay at the Portofino you will get automatic express access to all the attractions at Universal Parks. Have you considered splitting your stay and staying at AKL while visiting Disney and the Portofino while visiting Universal? For loads of information on both hotels and parks, go to www.disboards.com