Mini AKV Review

[Maistre Gracey]

I would like to say I wish I had more time before I head off to work for the week. I have lots to write, but little time to do so..

First off I would like to say the wife and I had a great time meeting the other DISers at the Bellevue Room. What a great bunch of people!

Now.. onto AKV.
Our room wasn't ready until close to 5:00. We later found out that was due to a maintenance issue, and I'm happy to see it was reported and fixed.
We had room 5573, a 1br lookoff villa. The view was superb. We overlooked the Arusha Savanna (is that right?), and also had a nice view of the lodge itself. We were in front of the watering hole, so we saw tons of animals from our room.
The room was clean and new, so everything was crisp without dings in the furniture.
The decor, theming, and attention to detail were STUNNING!!

Now... a few small faults.
-- Very little space to put luggage. We ended up with some in the hall.
-- Need more hooks in the bathroom to hang towels and such.
-- My wife is 5' 1" tall, and she had a hard time climbing into the shower.
-- Housekeeping was obviously new to the DVC thing. T&T was kind of messed up, and we didn't have detergent at check in.

Those are all small issues.

One BIG issue was some previous guest left gum in the dryer. A brand new, beautiful dryer that looked like it was used once, had a bunch of gum stuck to the interior spinning thing.
Maintenance promptly came and cleaned it with some sort of solvent.
Please, if you make a mistake and leave gum in your pocket, please let housekeeping know instead of just leaving it for the next guest.
This is actually not the first time this has happened to us.

Miscellaneous stuff-
-- Sat next to a Disney office guy at Jiko. He mentioned the CRV several times without me saying a word about it (take it for whatever it's worth).
-- Lot's of construction at Kidani. I was like a little kid, fascinated watching the cranes in the morning.
-- Zero construction noise, and zero animal smell.
-- Owner's Locker is awesome. The owners are very nice people to work with, and the product seems outstanding so far. We bought a second locker already, and hope to see the clothes/shoes locker developed in the future.

All in all this was one of our best WDW trips. AKV proved to be a great purchase for us, and we can't wait to return!

MG

 

[Maistre Gracey]

PS- Get the fridge off wheels.. Evertime I tried to open the door I just ended up pulling the whole fridge to the middle of the floor.

MG

 

[LIFERBABE]

Thanks MG!

Really enjoyed your report and we are soooo excited to be staying at our new home this Christmas

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm glad you had a good trip and liked the resort. Once I found some small change in the lint catcher of a BWV laundry room...that was better than the gum that you found. I'm glad that it was fixed for you.

Here's hoping we overlap trips again and meet sometime!

Mostly we stay in studios and to me, the little friges open the wrong way, or the opposite way that I expect it to. So, I suppose if we ever stay in 1 bedrooms, I'll have your problem as well.

Bobbi

 

[Maistre Gracey]

PPS- My wife is making me add that she loved the hairdryer.

MG

 

[bobbiwoz]

PPS- My wife is making me add that she loved the hairdryer.

MG

Aren't you a nice guy! Was it not on the wall? In studios, I think it was in the closet, or in a drawer. I know that I needed my night light because we didn't have the little red light on the hairdryer shining.
Bobbi

 

[CarolMN]

PPS- My wife is making me add that she loved the hairdryer.

MG

This is important information! Please tell her Carol said THX!

We enjoyed meeting the two of you!

 

[LisaS]

Thanks for the report! If I'm reading the map correctly, it looks like you were out towards the very end of the Zebra trail, is that correct? I like being further out as well because it seems like that is where the animals go to relax in the shade. It sounds like you had a wonderful stay.

We had something stuck all over the inside of the dryer in our VWL 1BR on our last stay there. I think it was melted crayon. What a mess! Of course I didn't discover it until I had a load of wet laundry ready to go into the dryer, and it was about 10pm as well. I was going to call maintenance but my DH insisted on trying to remove it himself, which he was able to do by warming up the dryer and carefully scraping this stuff off with his room key. It took him about 30 minutes but he did a beautiful job. Since then I always inspect the dryer before running that first load of laundry!

 

[spiceycat]

boy never had problem with washers and dryers at Disney - so I better start looking from now on.

thanks for the report MG

 

[jenntish]

I've never heard of this before. Also, anyone stay in a value studio at AKV?

 

[LisaS]

I've never heard of this before. Also, anyone stay in a value studio at AKV?

I can't help you with your Owner's Locker question. The Value rooms at AKV open on Dec 1st.

 

[magicmommy]

I would like to say I wish I had more time before I head off to work for the week. I have lots to write, but little time to do so..

First off I would like to say the wife and I had a great time meeting the other DISers at the Bellevue Room. What a great bunch of people!



-- Owner's Locker is awesome. The owners are very nice people to work with, and the product seems outstanding so far. We bought a second locker already, and hope to see the clothes/shoes locker developed in the future.

All in all this was one of our best WDW trips. AKV proved to be a great purchase for us, and we can't wait to return!

MG

MG you got a second locker already?????

We enjoyed meeting everyone too!

Agree about the luggage space at AKV but we love it too!

 

[BCV23]

PPS- My wife is making me add that she loved the hairdryer.

MG

Hey, that's important! Glad to hear it was a good stay. Can't wait to see that decor myself.

Are there still drapes around the lobby on the 6th floor?

 

[SamSam]

Owners Locker is a wonderful service that makes your WDW vacation easier, here's a link http://www.ownerslocker.com/

We loved our first stay at AKV in Oct., I do agree that more hooks in the bathroom area would be nice. I would also like hooks in the entry way for jackets, backpacks, etc.

 

[BCV23]

I've never heard of this before. Also, anyone stay in a value studio at AKV?

At the top of this forum there is a sticky with a title something like"Store your gear between vacations." Click on it for description of Owner's Locker. We are lucky. Our son and his wife store some things for us. Otherwise, I'd be all over that service!

Oops SamSam beat me to it!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Glad you had a great time! THe hairdryer report is much appreciated as well! I always hope we get one that blows good. I like the little "nigh light" feature on them too!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

LIFERBABE- Christmas should be great at this resort. I’m sorry we missed you at VB..

bobbiwoz- I think we will overlap again. I remember our future trips were almost identical. I hope someone organizes a get together…
What my wife liked about the hairdryer is that it was not a wall unit. It was just placed on the shelf below the sink.

CarolMN- My wife liked the hairdryer so much, she was going to ask housekeeping to sell her one!!
We really enjoyed meeting you and your husband. Now, if only my wife or I could make those awesome desserts!

LisaS- You are indeed correct on the location. It was a bit of a hike, but worth it IMO. The view back to the lobby of the lodge was as great as the view of the animals (is there a name for the lobby??)
I think the fact that we were in front of the watering hole was a huge plus. We saw the giraffes doing the legs out, water drinking technique everyday.

spiceycat- Yes, it’s a good idea to take a look in the dryer before you use it. We have found gum, sand (at VB), and like Lisa we have also found crayon.

jenntish- Thanx to SamSam and BCV23 for giving the info about the lockers. I can’t say enough good things about the idea, and the owners. They are very nice people.

magicmommy- Yes, we got a second locker. We have one filled with a second set of toiletries, beach sandals, Clorox Wipes, disposable ponchos, and anything we could think of that would lighten our load. The second is mostly Christmas and Halloween decorations. That one will only be needed for our October and December trips. Both lockers are actually mostly full. I read they are developing a clothes & shoe locker for the future. Our goal is to get on the plane with one carry-on, and have the rest waiting for us.
We also enjoyed meeting you and your husband. Great job planning the get together!

BCV23- Hmm… I didn’t see any drapes, but I may have missed them.

SamSam- Yes, it seemed like there wasn’t any place to hang my towel, or my clothes and such (although if you ask my wife she’ll say I leave them on the floor regardless of how many hooks you put in front of me).

dianeschlicht- Yikes!! I would never have guessed the hairdryer report would be such a hit! Anyway, I am unable to confirm the nightlight option. In fact, I think it does not have one since it doesn’t hang on the wall. I suppose it’s possible that we had a non conforming hairdryer and other rooms are different, but I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up..

One last thought on the hairdryer.. If they're not connected to the wall, I hope they don't grow legs!

Was anyone else confused with all the fancy washer and dryer controls? I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but I couldn't figure this contraption out!!

MG

 

[Wigit12]

Since you have the Owners Locker, buy some plastic hooks with suction cups to store. We took them last month and absolutely loved having them. Just don't forget to get them when you pack up.
My son/DIL left 2 in their bathroom by mistake.

BTW--our locker is stuffed also!!! Can't wait to go back in Jan and NOT have to lug all the toiletries!!

 

[LisaS]

Since you have the Owners Locker, buy some plastic hooks with suction cups to store. We took them last month and absolutely loved having them.

What a great idea! Is there a particular brand that works well, in other words one that doesn't constantly let go yet doesn't leave any sort of mark on the wall?

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Since you have the Owners Locker, buy some plastic hooks with suction cups to store. We took them last month and absolutely loved having them. Just don't forget to get them when you pack up.
My son/DIL left 2 in their bathroom by mistake.

BTW--our locker is stuffed also!!! Can't wait to go back in Jan and NOT have to lug all the toiletries!!

I agree with Lisa.. What a great idea! I will add hooks to my locker in December.
Lisa also has a couple good questions about brands/types of hooks.

MG