Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort Frequently Asked Questions (slight update 5/14)

[surfgirl]

First, a *big* thank you to everyone who has provided information!

A few questions and input is apporeciated.

We are staying in a concierge room in early Sept. with our 2 1/2-yr. old. Our preference would be the same floor as the lounge so we can leave her in the room after she falls asleep (with a monitor) and we could walk down to the lounge. However, we would *love* a savannah view.

1. Should we go with a savannah view, even if 5th floor, and and not plan on utilizing the lounge in that method?

2. Is she too young for the Sunrise Safari ? She is a "watcher" and is very good about sitting in a car and watching (we routinely drive 400+ miles with only 2 or 3 stops).

3. Do you have to enter AK after the Sunrise Safari or can you get on the bus back to AKL?

4. Will the Concierge CM book a character meal for us?

Thanks, all!
Any other room request info would be appreciated.

 

[Gregg]

I have never stayed in a concierge room. Using AKL as an example, is it worth the extra money? I mean, what do you get above what a normal savanah view room gets?

Sorry for the semi-off-topic question!

Gregg

 

[carterman_12]

To Gregg-
Concierge, besides offering a larger room, offers food and specialized guest services during your stay. if you can get a nice discount, then I think it is worth the money.

To surfgirl-
you can always request a 6th floor savanna room for your needs. When concierge contacts you, be sure that you request that, and mention that you have a baby and it would be of a major convience for you.

It depends on how your baby tolerates the roughness. Sunrise Safari is basically a long Kilimanjaro Safaris ride, with a major focus on the animals. It is pretty rough, so its up to you.

No, there is transportation back to AKL after the sunrise safari (Im think im right on this one...might have to re-check)

You can ask a concierge CM to pull strigs for you to book character breakfast or any other resturants. it can work espically the hard to get resturants. But yes, they can book food ressies.

 

[hmp2z]

Hi! We are going to be staying in a savannah view room at the AKL, and I was wondering if they provide binoculars in the rooms, or if we should bring some along.
Thank you!
Heather P

 

[Gaylord_Focker]

I've read through these (pretty fast, though) and am not sure if this was brought up. We have the AKL booked for June - at the FANTASTIC *new* annual passholder code (go to mousesavers for the code) - a Deluxe Savannah room ($243/night-total). When we were first booking this room, we could not get a definite answer to what's the difference between Savannah and Deluxe Savannah. However, on the last trip to the "reservation fairy" we found out the Deluxe sleeps 5. The regular Savannah goes up to 4. There. Now we know and wanted to share it with you. Can't wait!

 

[madcoco]

The deluxe has a few more square feet.Not 100% positive but I believe it is about a balcony width extra.

hmp2z You have to bring your own. unless something has changed in the last few months that we haven't heard about. Picked up a neat little zooming set at SharperImage.They don't take up much room, worked great and most important, they didn't fog when we took them from the room to the balcony.
Have a great trip!

 

[Gregg]

we had a great savanah view room in April. Add in an Aerobed and walah! Sleeping capacity for 6! ;o)

 

[susy]

I'm not done reading all the pages yet, but do they give you a map with the public viewing areas at check-in??? I'm thinking about paying for a pool view, instead of standard. Also, what floor to request? I was thinking 3rd floor. We will only be there 3 days/2 nights and I want to be close to the lobby, pool, and restaurants.

 

[sharoncity]

Yes you get a map at check in with everything marked. The public viewing areas are very easy to find as you walk down the hallways. Third floor is good, but which trail you are on determines how close you are to the pool and restaurants. However, if you book pool view, then you will definitely be in the right wing for proximatey (sp?). The restaurants (all three) are located near the pool on the first floor. Remember the lobby is on the third floor. Takes some getting used to at first, but then it seems logical. Have a great trip, we sure did!!

 

[susy]

Thanks! I would love to be on the same floor as the lobby, so I think I will request the 3rd floor. I just hope this all works out. We are in the midst of DS starting preschool and me finally going back to work. We also need to get another car. Lots can happen in a few months time!

 

[surfgirl]

Carterman, thanks for the info.

I think the best thing is to prioritize what I want for a room (ie. floor, savannah view, queens vs. daybed) and let them do what they can! I will email the concierge and enlist their help.

 

[merryRwe]

HELP!! This will be our 1st Dis trip with OUR own kids DS 4 and DD 2. Just got off the phone with CRO, booked AKL standard room for $129 9\25-10\01 but now I am panicking after reading all your posts. Should I have made some kind of room request? Should I upgrade to a view room? Should I call them back, she said it was a 2 queen bed room, which was what I wanted, but I didn't verify non-smoking. Any input for us first-timers? Thanks so much. We are also booked a the Dolphin, but will probably cancel, AKL sounds so great! THanks for any help!

 

[sharoncity]

Welcome to the DIS merryRwe!

I would definitely call back to request the Nonsmoking room. Whether or not to upgrade depends if you can afford it. If you can swing it easily, it is definitely worth it! But if it would really be a stretch, don't worry about it. There are plenty of areas throughout the resort to see the animals. If you think your kids are old enough, you could request bunkbeds. My dd(9) and ds(4) loved them. We also requested (and got) the Zebra Trail. This trail puts you on the same side of the resort as the pool and restaurants. This was key for refilling our mugs every day! Also, the Zebras are an aggressive animal, so they are not on every savannah (they don't mix well with some of the other animals). I wanted to make sure our room had a view of both Zebra and Giraffe as those would be the only animals my ds would be able to recognize himself. (Although he certainly enjoyed seeing all the others as well - "I see animals!!! I don't know what kind! Just animals!!!! - was his litany each day.) I tried not to go over board with my requests because I didn't want the cms to just throw it out because I was asking for the world. Have to say we got all but 1 request (and I'm not sure that it would have been possible to receive that request in combination with the other requests.)

In summary, if it is very important to you, then by all means request it. If not, go with the flow and wait to have your socks knocked off! I'm sure this resort will!

 

[merryRwe]

Thanks Sharoncity!

Here is what I am thinking, since this is our first WDW trip with the munchkins we are kind of looking at it as a learning experience (DD and I were there in 2000, stayed @ Downtown Dis area, and learned that ON property was MUCh better) Anyway, financially to upgrade to a savannah view is not a problem, but we were splurging in other areas, ie the flight down there (it was important to us to have a direct flight with lots of extra seat room, so we upgraded on the flight) I know you all think we are probably nuts, but it makes more sense for us.

So this is what it boils down to, the WDW rep was not extremely helpful this morning when I booked. After reading all of the great posts here I got some much needed info. But still wondering about the actual room requests, we are planning on doing 3 days of parks and the rest of the time at the hotel pools. So is there a particular area we should request as far as a standard room? Need to be close to food\pool and probably lobby (assuming that is where the buses depart from) any area we should be looking at specifically?

Thanks for any help...all of you are my only source of info, we don't know ANYONE who has stayed at AKL yet!!!

 

[Babymoon]

We're staying at AKL for our trip in January 2003 and I have a question about bunk beds.

Is it only the deluxe rooms that have bunk beds? Do I have to request this at the time I make the reservation or should I do it at check-in?

Thanks!

 

[sharoncity]

The regular savannah view rooms also have bunk beds. I would definitely request them when making reservations. My kids (9 & 4) loved them!

 

[Gregg]

If you are looking for a great bunkbed room overlooking the savannah, request 3507. We had that in April and it's great because:

1) it's right in front of a giraffe feeding box
2) great view of the entire savannah (zebra trail)
3) same level as lobby
4) easy access to pool and food -- a few steps out of the room, down the elevator 2 floors and you're there

3509 and 3511 also look to be good, but I'm not sure if they are bunkbed rooms or not.

good luck
Gregg

 

[bonzie1]

Does anyone know if the safari they offer to concierge guests is always sold out... can a regular guest be put on a waitlist if there is any extra room? Thanks!

 

[bonzie1]

Does anyone know if the safari they offer to concierge guests is always sold out... can a regular guest be put on a waitlist if there is any extra room? Thanks!

 

[bonzie1]

Does anyone know if the safari they offer to concierge guests is always sold out... can a regular guest be put on a waitlist if there is any extra room? Thanks!