I HAVE stayed at both and I think you CAN directly compare them.
We usually stay at the All Stars, because we like them. We can afford to stay anywhere else (and sometimes do), but we normally stay at the All Stars because we feel they most definitely give you the most bang for the buck.
The All Stars are cute, clean and have food courts that are superior (in size and in the diversity of food offered) to those of the deluxes. The bus transportation to/from the All Stars used to be superior to that of the deluxes, but with recent cutbacks we have found them to be about the same -- that is to say, lacking in frequency.
The room size at the All Stars is exactly what you would expect in that price range. Two double beds and a small bathroom with detached sink.
The room size at AKL I find to be somewhat disappointing (as indeed I felt the size of the Poly to be disappointing) in that it is not three times bigger than the AS room, even though it is easily 3 times more expensive. It is perhaps 20% larger. The bathroom is somewhat larger, but not commodious. I refuse to count the very small balcony and the hallway outside the bathroom as "living space", although I know WDW does.
The biggest difference in my book is that the beds at the AKL are queen sized (which is especially nice if the guest is queen sized!
) and the decor is more luxe -- understated lighting, nicer grade of towel, more decorative items on the wall.
On the other hand, you get virtually NONE of the amenities I expect at a high-priced resort -- nicer toiletries, bathrobes, access to a complimentary health facility, coffee machine, microwave, VCR or a wider range of cable channels. I suppose the iron and hairdryer count for something, but not for much with me as I don't use them.
The primary difference between AKL and AS is that there are real animals at AKL, and you have many ways to see them even if you don't have a savannah room. If you like a safari-type theme better than you like the fantasy world of the ASMo, the sports theme of the ASSp or the music world of ASMu, then go for it. If you are interested primarily in the food, you can just VISIT the AKL and eat there -- including their food court, which has a couple of interesting African-themed items.
Having stayed at both, we will continue to spend most of our time at the All Stars, because we feel it gives us great value. AKL was interesting to stay at, but I don't think we'll spend the big bucks to stay there again -- in our opinion it's just not 3 times better. I think you do yourself a favor when you spend a couple of days at the deluxes and moderates, to come to your own conclusions.
