What did you NOT like about AKL and why ?

[tupperware509]

?

 

[robinb]

(1) Not all of the savannah views are good. Many rooms overlook empty emergency "people pens" instead of animals and I call the Sunset Savannah the "Vulture Savannah" for the most popular animal there.

(2) The "Aroma de Boma" is nice for a day or two, but becomes overpowering once you're there for a while.

(3) The Mara (CS restaurant) can be difficult to get to.

(4) Some of the standard view rooms are the worst in WDW. I'm thinking of the ones that are right outside of the buses and the walkway from the bus stop. I always feel sorry for those people who paid so much for such a crappy room.

All that being said, Animal Kingdom Lodge was my husband's favorite resort so we purchased DVC points there. We love it!

 

[lucysmom]

Loved the resort. However, really did not like having to take a bus to get anywhere, and really, really did not like the shallow pool. It was way too warm in the summer to be enjoyable. Otherwise, it would be my favorite place to stay at WDW.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We liked it. Even the dark theming. We'd had many trips over there to eat at Boma and to hang out for while previously, and always wanted to stay there.

Unfortunately, we did a split stay and went there from a huge corner room at the Dolphin. Needless to say, the room seemed a little small and cramped after that. We were also used to a 24 hr room and quick service over there, not much available after a certain time at AKL. A friend we were staying with was hungry late in the evening and the most she could get was a grilled cheese sandwich from Room Service, which was closing down for the night.

Check in was disastrous - good thing I had my paperwork. But even with it, the CM was arguing we didn't have the type of room we'd booked till finally someone back there figured out what the problem was. (Directed to check in at main desk despite Concierge reservation.) That was a little frustrating but no real biggie. Room keys had to be changed a couple of times. By contrast, check in had been quick and smooth at the Dolphin.

There were also a lot of little things that didn't work - like the alarm clock, other things I can't think of right now, and even one elevator was down quite a bit. I said something to my DH about it one day and another lady standing next to me chimed in with, "I noticed that too! Everything's broken around here!".

With that said, we enjoyed our savannah view room and the concierge lounge, which was better than I'd anticipated from reports here. We like Boma and didn't make it for dinner, but had a nice breakfast with a great waiter there one morning. DH and I were glad we tried it out, but in retrospect, sort of wished we'd just stayed where we were (at less than half the price). But we'd met friends there so it was fun and and there was certainly plenty to like about it.

 

[Pirate Me]

Only thing that bothered me was distance to other parks but that can't be helped and doesn't factor in to our decision.

Otherwise, we love everything about AKL! It's such a beautiful resort with lots of activities. It's meticulously detailed and the gift shop is great. I also love how close most rooms are to the lobby so no worries there.

 

[iheartmickey1111]

I have stayed at 3 Disney levels of hotels: AKL, Coronado Springs and Pop Century. My opinion is this: if you spend a LOT of time at your resort, the more expensive resorts are probably worth the extra cash. For me, I'm only IN my room around 5 hours a day- to sleep and to shower. So I certainly can't justify for myself anything but the value resorts being worth the money. Heck, I could sleep in a cardboard box with how little time I'm at the resort!

I really was NOT impressed with the quick service food and the area its served in, especially after Pop Century (loved it there) and Coronado Springs food was just nasty.

But anyway, other than that it was amazing. Everyone is different, but for me it just comes down to how much time I'll be at the resort. Personally, I would rather stay more days in a value resort, than a shorter period of time at one of the nicer hotels.

Good luck with your choice, I'm sure it will be amazing whatever you choose!

 

[iheartmickey1111]

(1) Not all of the savannah views are good. Many rooms overlook empty emergency "people pens" instead of animals and I call the Sunset Savannah the "Vulture Savannah" for the most popular animal there.

(2) The "Aroma de Boma" is nice for a day or two, but becomes overpowering once you're there for a while.

(3) The Mara (CS restaurant) can be difficult to get to.

(4) Some of the standard view rooms are the worst in WDW. I'm thinking of the ones that are right outside of the buses and the walkway from the bus stop. I always feel sorry for those people who paid so much for such a crappy room.

All that being said, Animal Kingdom Lodge was my husband's favorite resort so we purchased DVC points there. We love it!

haha, that's the room we had! Had a "great" view of people getting off the magical express!

 

[cjsm&d]

We thought it was beautiful. If I were to go with just DW for a vaca I'd love to stay there for maybe two nights to enjoy the Savannah and the restaurants. I think everyone would enjoy experiencing this place at least once.

Here comes the but...
I felt away from the WDW action here, my family got bored with the resort itself after a few days. Once you've checked out the animals in the Savannah, there is not alot to do here compared to the other resorts. No boat rides, trails, etc...

 

[Mamu]

Loved it but like so many others hated the distance to the parks. It was not a good place to stay with teens, unless they like to sit around at the pool or watch animals. After 2 day my teens were bored with this lodge. Unlike Monorail or Boardwalk resorts where there,s so much going on.

We did have a car while we were there and did use it everyday.

 

[JennyDrake]

I think everyone who wants to stay there should try it for themselves.

I did not like the LONG hike to the CS (Mara), the small selection there, long wait and ridiculous ordering system and feeling like I was in a church basement rec room.

While I have only stayed there twice, check in/out has been an ordeal each time (and I had no special requests, nothing.) The first time check in was an hour and 10 minutes. I have not found the front desk staff at Jambo or Kidani to be very friendly. At Kidani the guy all but refused to print my SWA boarding pass.

It just left me with a bad taste, especially given what had been spent to stay there. But you should try it for yourself!

 

[JennyDrake]

I have stayed at 3 Disney levels of hotels: AKL, Coronado Springs and Pop Century. My opinion is this: if you spend a LOT of time at your resort, the more expensive resorts are probably worth the extra cash. For me, I'm only IN my room around 5 hours a day- to sleep and to shower. So I certainly can't justify for myself anything but the value resorts being worth the money. Heck, I could sleep in a cardboard box with how little time I'm at the resort!

Very well said!

I really was NOT impressed with the quick service food and the area its served in, especially after Pop Century (loved it there) and Coronado Springs food was just nasty.

Pop DOES have a nice food court. _I_ enjoyed Pepper Market, but like you I was NOT impressed with the CS at all.

But anyway, other than that it was amazing. Everyone is different, but for me it just comes down to how much time I'll be at the resort. Personally, I would rather stay more days in a value resort, than a shorter period of time at one of the nicer hotels.

Same for me.

Good luck with your choice, I'm sure it will be amazing whatever you choose!

Agreed!

 

[AlohaAnnie]

We love AKL - AKV!

I agree that things are a bit dark but I think that is because of the theme. Honestly, I never noticed it was dark and it never bothered me.

The paper straws are gross, we always bring our own and use them in our room only. We make sure they stay, in the room. I understand that the paper straws are for the animal safety and we do not want them to get sick because they are so cute.

Hallway walk can be long depending on where your room is located. We usually drive, Kidani is built on a parking garage, depending on where your room is there are several elevators from the parking garage and you can park closer to your room. Parking garage also keeps your car cool in summer because it is not sitting in the sun.

I do know that you can ride a certain bus to The Mara & Jambo from Kidani but I can't remember which one.

Lucky us we have never had a bad view.

The beds are comfortable to us. We stay in DVC, I do not know if the other rooms are different.

We love the savanna view, it never smells to us and we enjoy watching the animals every day of our stay.

We love the African Theme.

We can't hang towels on chairs or the balcony to dry with a savanna view but this is easily solved with suction cup hooks in the bathroom.

The Mara is really good to us, they have food without African flavor to it. It is a limited menu but it is good. We eat here about 3 to 4 times per trip, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

We enjoy the pools no complaints here.

Kidani smells great when you walk up to it! Delicious smells!

This is a very unique resort, I think everyone should try it once.

We can't stand the boardwalk resort cs option & mug refill policy. The boardwalk is beautiful and lovely to visit but we hate CS options and the resort mug refills (these are 2 big deals for our family), since you can't refill these by yourself but through the bakery in a paper cup that you pour into your refill. We would love to stay again but with a different plan for mug refills and cs options.

 

[ols386]

Didn't like that it felt far away from many other Disney attractions.

Did not like the darkness of it. I like the lighter brighter colored resorts.

DO love Boma, though. My favorite dining location in all of WDW.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Maybe I have no right to voice my opinion because I have never stayed there but visited the place... but here it goes. We were staying at the Polynesian at that time. We took the boat to MK to catch the bus to AKL. The place is beautiful! It does somehow reminded me of WL a little bit. It does make you feel like you're not even in Florida at all as if you're in Africa somewhere. Very exotic which I love. However.. on the way back, I just felt that the bus ride to MK took forever. I feel this resort is too remote from all the parks (except AK). But I think that's what Disney's intention.. How could you feel like you're in Savannah if you can see the Castle or the Spaceship Earth or the fireworks? They want that authentic feel that you're actually in Africa. And I think the animals would probably startle if they start hearing the blast from the fireworks. It's just not natural for them.

 

[let'sgo]

I booked a room by the pool to be sure that I didn't have a long walk to my room. I'd do that again! I was close to everything.

I didn't care for the counter service restaurant. Once there was enough.

Loved the resort! Would stay again in a heartbeat.

 

[OThopeful35]

Maybe I have no right to voice my opinion because I have never stayed there but visited the place... but here it goes. We were staying at the Polynesian at that time. We took the boat to MK to catch the bus to AKL. The place is beautiful! It does somehow reminded me of WL a little bit. It does make you feel like you're not even in Florida at all as if you're in Africa somewhere. Very exotic which I love. However.. on the way back, I just felt that the bus ride to MK took forever. I feel this resort is too remote from all the parks (except AK). But I think that's what Disney's intention.. How could you feel like you're in Savannah if you can see the Castle or the Spaceship Earth or the fireworks? They want that authentic feel that you're actually in Africa. And I think the animals would probably startle if they start hearing the blast from the fireworks. It's just not natural for them.

I totally agree with you!! I think Disney meant for it to be the way it is. I have never stayed there but we did visit on our last trip and I thought it was very beautiful. I can definitely see my family staying there in the future.

 

[maryj11]

Thanks everyone for all your input. I'm still unsure if we should stay here. My reason being the distance from MK and Epcot, my 2 favorite parks. I need to make up my mind before August 30th so I still have some time to think about it. Right now I have reservations at CBR which I think we will like. I'm just not sure if we may like AKL better . If anyone else wants to add their experiences with AKL feel free to do so
If anyone has stayed at both AKL and CBR giving me your advice on which you liked best would be great !

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Thanks everyone for all your input. I'm still unsure if we should stay here. My reason being the distance from MK and Epcot, my 2 favorite parks. I need to make up my mind before August 30th so I still have some time to think about it. Right now I have reservations at CBR which I think we will like. I'm just not sure if we may like AKL better . If anyone else wants to add their experiences with AKL feel free to do so

One thing to consider (and you may already know) - CBR only has double beds, while the other moderates and the deluxes have queen beds.

Have you considered Wilderness Lodge? The theming doesn't appeal to me personally, but it should be about the same price as AKL but would have the boat to MK and you could pick up the monorail there to Epcot.

Another option might be a garden wing room at the Contemporary, but I think it is more expensive than AKL and WL.

 

[JennyDrake]

If anyone has stayed at both AKL and CBR giving me your advice on which you liked best would be great !

I've stayed at AKL 2x; once Jambo w/waterview and Kidani 2Br.

I've stayed at CBR at least 4 times.

They are a little hard to compare. AKL is SO UNIQUE. Boma and Jiko are outstanding as well. Mara (CS) is OK (see my previous post) but has a convoluted system for ordering and takes forever. Ridiculous--and I am by no means impatient. The quality of teh food was good, selection was limited, but I'm not picky.

CBR is a quiet resort with big rooms and bright, pastel theming. If you like to walk outside and tour your resort, sit by a pool (LOTS OF POOLS) or stroll a lake, it is the place to be. _I_ also really like that the pools have deep ends.

The CS is 'meh.' Nothing terrible, nothing special. I've yet to have a good experience at their sitdown, so I no longer even try.

CBR is spread out and you can do a lot of walking to the food court if you don't have a preferred room. AKL is spread out but indoors so your hiking to the CS will be indoors with dim lighting.

My vote would be CBR, but it is just more to my taste--still, I'd hop a bus to AKL to dine!

Do you have any specific questions? FYI, I will be back at CBR in September.

 

[maryj11]

One thing to consider (and you may already know) - CBR only has double beds, while the other moderates and the deluxes have queen beds.

Have you considered Wilderness Lodge? The theming doesn't appeal to me personally, but it should be about the same price as AKL but would have the boat to MK and you could pick up the monorail there to Epcot.

Another option might be a garden wing room at the Contemporary, but I think it is more expensive than AKL and WL.

We have already stayed at WL and I really liked it but would like to try a resort that we havent been to yet. We have never stayed at the Contemporary though, I never really thought about it because the outside never really appealed to me? Maybe the rest of it is better than what it looks like on the outside.