3 Families doin' a Surf & Turf Trip! AKL CL & The Dream- The Last Day!

[nemofans]

I love when we drive under the Welcome to WDW sign! Once we pass that, then I always say to myself "I am finally back!" My excitement hits a peak at that moment.
We have eaten at TRex b4. It's quite impressive in there. We were in the ocean section.
We love AKL & are staying CL there for the 1st time this fall. I have requested zebra trail (2nd or 3rd pod from lobby) so we can be on the same side as pool & Mara. We stayed on zebra trail in the 2nd pod b4, but had pool view (which was very nice too). Loved that location.

[pas130]

Originally Posted by hstrickland

I believe that I might could make the daily trek if I had a suite....just maybe...

My DMIL actually just parked herself in the lounge the whole day She texted me when the scones where out We hung in the pool most of the day. But all the end of the hall on the Arusha Savannah....view & upgrade were worth the walk to the lounge, I cried at check out and refused to leave the balcony...bell services probably thought I was insane

Originally Posted by rustytss

Ok...I am on! Let's hope I remember how to do all of this. Hopefully I am posting this to your thread and not someone elses thread!! Oh, and how do I change my ticker? You set it up for me last time.

Hi Stephanie!!! Welcome to the Dis

heatherYou know, I avoided Trex for the exact reason we would never get the kiddos out of there LOVE the "bat"children

[hstrickland]

Originally Posted by 2xcited2sleep

Thanks for the peek inside TRex. I've never been but it sure does always seem to have a line outside of it. I can see how kids would love it. How funny are Faith & Jesse using that poor dino as a jungle gym?!?

So glad Stephen is carrying on the photography tradition!

The Tricerotops Jungle Gym probably wasn't the best idea, but what the heck. I just kept saying "Be careful!"..."Don't fall!"...not that they were paying ANY attention to me!...

Originally Posted by nemofans

I love when we drive under the Welcome to WDW sign! Once we pass that, then I always say to myself "I am finally back!" My excitement hits a peak at that moment.
We have eaten at TRex b4. It's quite impressive in there. We were in the ocean section.
We love AKL & are staying CL there for the 1st time this fall. I have requested zebra trail (2nd or 3rd pod from lobby) so we can be on the same side as pool & Mara. We stayed on zebra trail in the 2nd pod b4, but had pool view (which was very nice too). Loved that location.

Ya know...that's actually very smart to request Zebra Trail 2nd pod....right above the pool....not too far from the lounge. Guess I got lucky with my room...we were in the 2nd pod. Thinking back, the walk could have been horrendous if we were further down.

Originally Posted by pas130

My DMIL actually just parked herself in the lounge the whole day She texted me when the scones where out We hung in the pool most of the day. But all the end of the hall on the Arusha Savannah....view & upgrade were worth the walk to the lounge, I cried at check out and refused to leave the balcony...bell services probably thought I was insane

Hi Stephanie!!! Welcome to the Dis

heatherYou know, I avoided Trex for the exact reason we would never get the kiddos out of there LOVE the "bat"children

It's ok, Pas....everyone at Disney knows you're insane....especially the cast members that you speak to on the phone daily Are you on a first name basis, yet?!



Ok...back to finishing the next installment!

[hstrickland]

Day 1
Animal Kingdom Lodge Club Level Room


After we finished eating and shopping, we quickly walked back to the parking lot (we were just a little bit excited about the AKL). Stephen suddenly stops in mid stride with a look of panic on his face and says… “Mom…I think I left the camera bag at TRex.” WHAT??!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!?? My immediate reaction was to strangle him, but I refrained. In all honesty, I had forgotten about it, too. Good ol’ Pops took off and headed straight back to TRex….we jumped in the Ferrari Van ….no one saying a word! I think we were all praying. Poor Stephen…he felt really bad. Not as bad as ME…but bad. As we were waiting anxiously, we see a vision of heaven…..Pop with the camera bag!!! He has saved the day!!! ……and lots of money!


When we arrived at the AKL, we jumped out and let valet park the car….it was raining. I was like a kid in a candy store! I could hardly wait to get to the room. As we trek to the room (and yes it was a walk), I noticed the great detail that is in each and every WDW resort. The ceilings looked like bamboo and the large beams that appear to hold up the structure are wrapped with huge ropes….so cool!






Our room was on the 4th floor (all standard CL rooms are on this floor...I think)….





Room Number…..





Club Level standard rooms offer a view of the Arusha savanna with 2 queen-size beds, one king-size bed with one day bed, or one queen-size bed with bunk beds.


We had two rooms that were adjoining, but not connecting. (no connecting rooms available, so this was better than nothing) Our rooms were the first two rooms of the 2nd pod. The map below is hard to read, but it gives you an idea. I marked our room, lounge and elevators. It may or may not show up??? (something weird going on with Photobucket)






When I walked in, Faith quickly ran to the balcony to see the animals! You would think that my children have never been to the zoo….they went CRAZY!






So…that’s where we’ll start…the view! I can't say enough about the magic of waking up to animals outside of your room. Over to the right, you can see Arusha Rock and the observation deck.






And straight out in front of us were giraffes eating!!! Soooooooo cool! Dad and I were going nuts with the cameras and the kids were screaming. And don't worry about scaring the animals....won't happen....they're completey immune to crazy people (more animal/balcony pics later….we have a ton!!!)




All CL rooms have the following:

Table and chairs on private balcony

Ceiling fan

Vanity area with 2 sinks and bath

Alarm clock /iPod dock

Coffeemaker

DVD player (which was AWESOME!! You can check out movies in the lounge)

Hairdryer

2 Bath robes (which I used, just because I could)

Complimentary WiFi

Iron, ironing board

Pack 'n Play

Refrigerator

Safe




The beds were very comfortable….no complaints whatsoever!





I did not get a picture of the closet, but it had plenty of space! If you get a room that doesn't have a connecting door, you'll have an extra chest-of-drawers....otherwise, there's a door in that space.



Notice the gift bags on the table…these were birthday gifts from the CL staff for Stephen and my mom. I thought this was a nice touch.




In the bag was a neat little AKL scrap book.





And now the bathroom…..

This little guy came with a note from the staff…cute towel animal…





One of my favorite parts of a Deluxe resort….(I know, weird)…..the H2O products!!! It has been a year since we stayed in a deluxe, but I don’t remember the tooth paste and tooth brush.





The only thing that I wish the bathroom had were shelves underneath the sink. The CR and Poly have great storage areas in the bathroom (just something I missed) …not a huge deal, though.







The bathroom was a bit dark….but again…not a huge issue. It never bothered me that much. Something that my parents noticed right away was the size of the room. Last year was the CR and before that the Poly….no day bed or desk to work on. Again…not a huge issue…just an observation. When Bill arrived, I will have to admit that the room did seem small with 4 of us in there at one time. Guess it’s all what you get use to.


Over all, the room was super clean and completely in theme with the Lodge.



Up next.....a little taste of CL!

[i_heart_the_mouse]

Love it! I sooo want to stay at this resort! Alas, I switched us back the Poly.

I can't wait to read more!!!!

[jennyjinx3]

Ok so we are for sure going to rent some points to stay here....maybe in May....time to add some more hours to my work schedule!! Love the room!!!

[wdwtwins]

What a beautiful resort and room!

[rustytss]

Originally Posted by hstrickland

All CL rooms have the following:
Table and chairs on private balcony
Ceiling fan
Vanity area with 2 sinks and bath
Alarm clock /iPod dock
Coffeemaker
DVD player (which was AWESOME!! You can check out movies in the lounge)
Hairdryer
2 Bath robes (which I used, just because I could)
Complimentary WiFi
Iron, ironing board
Pack 'n Play
Refrigerator
Safe
[/CENTER]

Ok...for those not staying club level (that would be my family) the standard view rooms look exactly the same and come with all the same things. The only things I am not sure of (because our trip was cut short due to cancelled flights and we only stayed there over night) are the DVD player and free WiFi. The room may have had it but because we were only there from 1:00 am to 10:00am i didn't really need those things so didn't pay attention. Also our view was great. My brother-in-law was joking saying we were going to view the parking lot with standard view, but we had a view of animals as well. Heather was quite surprised too I think when she saw it.

[StitchIsOurHero]

Love the club level room review! It's so pretty! AKL is one of my very favorite resorts!

[Missoutandabout]

...

Wowsa! I think I'm in love!

So, that view is a Standard, not a Savannah View? That's amazing.

[amandaw]

I really want to stay at AKL one day! Your review makes me want to stay there even more. For whatever reason, Ed really does not want to stay there. Hmmm.....maybe if I show him your review, he'll change his mind. The room looks really, really nice. And you just can't beat seeing animals from your balcony!

Oh....and I'm so glad the camera was still at TREX! That is such a bad feeling when you realize you've forgotten something.....especially something like that.

[hstrickland]

Originally Posted by i_heart_the_mouse

Love it! I sooo want to stay at this resort! Alas, I switched us back the Poly.

I can't wait to read more!!!!

I don't blame you for switching back...you can still stay in 1 room at the Poly (for now) When the little one is older, you can do the split stay with 2 rooms. Save the money

Originally Posted by jennyjinx3

Ok so we are for sure going to rent some points to stay here....maybe in May....time to add some more hours to my work schedule!! Love the room!!!

You'll love it! The Arusha savannah was great for viewing all the animals...you're kids would go nuts!

Originally Posted by wdwtwins

What a beautiful resort and room!

For sure! More photos to come...

Originally Posted by rustytss

Ok...for those not staying club level (that would be my family) the standard view rooms look exactly the same and come with all the same things. The only things I am not sure of (because our trip was cut short due to cancelled flights and we only stayed there over night) are the DVD player and free WiFi. The room may have had it but because we were only there from 1:00 am to 10:00am i didn't really need those things so didn't pay attention. Also our view was great. My brother-in-law was joking saying we were going to view the parking lot with standard view, but we had a view of animals as well. Heather was quite surprised too I think when she saw it.

You got lucky! I found this on another website....

Standard view rooms at AKL are usually found along the Ostrich and Giraffe Trails at the front of the resort. These are the only trails that border the parking lot.
However, there are "standard view" guest rooms that are located in pool or savanna view areas of the resort and simply have a "less than exemplary" view, making it impossible for Disney to charge savanna view prices for them.

Originally Posted by StitchIsOurHero

Love the club level room review! It's so pretty! AKL is one of my very favorite resorts!

Like Stephanie said, it's the same room across the entire resort...just a different level of service and perhaps view. For me, CL is worth it....IF you're going to be there more than a night.

Originally Posted by Missoutandabout

...

Wowsa! I think I'm in love!

So, that view is a Standard, not a Savannah View? That's amazing.

No, no my room is a savannah view...Arusha savannah. What my sister had was a standard room, but she got lucky and had one of those "less than exlemplary" (I'm quoting from another website) views of a savannah. Here's a picture of what the room would be looking at...




But ya know...if you want to pay a standard price and get a bit of the savannah...ask for a room in this location I might have to take my own advice

[Sue M]

More great photos Really enjoying reading it. I don't recall toothbrush & toothpaste either. We stayed BC CL last year. I think all the CLs have different little extras. More H2o products. I recall getting the Solar gel, & mouthwash in addition to the soaps, shower gel, lotion, and shampoo & conditioner. Love the h2O products. What did you think of the new ones?

Can't wait to see pics of the CL food

[2xcited2sleep]

Ugh... I can just imagine the sick feeling in the pit of your stomachs over the camera bag. Thank goodness your dad found it!

The room looks great! I've only stayed at AKL once (not CL) and remember being like a kid myself each morning & afternoon returning to the room wondering "who" I would see outside my window.

I have never seen toothbrushes in the rooms... that must be new or perhaps, like the robes, is a perk of the CL rooms.

How sweet of the staff to leave b-day gifts for your mom and Stephen. Very cool!!

As always, looking forward to more!

[hstrickland]

Originally Posted by amandaw

I really want to stay at AKL one day! Your review makes me want to stay there even more. For whatever reason, Ed really does not want to stay there. Hmmm.....maybe if I show him your review, he'll change his mind. The room looks really, really nice. And you just can't beat seeing animals from your balcony!

Oh....and I'm so glad the camera was still at TREX! That is such a bad feeling when you realize you've forgotten something.....especially something like that.

Your son would love it!! I actually had my reservations about staying at the Lodge, too. And honestly, if we were doing a week long trip, I might not choose AKL....kinda far from everything. But for our purposes it was perfect!!!

Originally Posted by Sue M

More great photos Really enjoying reading it. I don't recall toothbrush & toothpaste either. We stayed BC CL last year. I think all the CLs have different little extras. More H2o products. I recall getting the Solar gel, & mouthwash in addition to the soaps, shower gel, lotion, and shampoo & conditioner. Love the h2O products. What did you think of the new ones?

Can't wait to see pics of the CL food

There were two toothbrushes and little tubes of toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and mouthwash.....(no solar gel). The packaging and fragrance was different than the other deluxe resorts.




Last year at the CR, we did get the solar gel.....Poly CL was the same (year before that)



And my favorite....the ship!!



If I remember correctly (back in 2009), the GF had toiletries that said GF on the packaging. See....I told you I loved the H2O products. And believe you me, we had plenty to bring home

Originally Posted by 2xcited2sleep

Ugh... I can just imagine the sick feeling in the pit of your stomachs over the camera bag. Thank goodness your dad found it!

The room looks great! I've only stayed at AKL once (not CL) and remember being like a kid myself each morning & afternoon returning to the room wondering "who" I would see outside my window.

I have never seen toothbrushes in the rooms... that must be new or perhaps, like the robes, is a perk of the CL rooms.

How sweet of the staff to leave b-day gifts for your mom and Stephen. Very cool!!

As always, looking forward to more!

Christine, sick was the understatement!!! Stephen insisted on carrying the camera bag, so I let him. When dad returned to TRex, they had it with the lost and found stuff....thank heavens we were at Disney!!! I realize that there are dishonest people there, too....but you know what I mean.