Kimberle
WL Vet
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
We had a wonderful time. The lodge is beautiful. It is remote, but it didn't feel so. The only really "long commute" was to the MK. Buses came often and weren't crowded at all, even after the night time shows.
Lounge - is back on the 6th floor. Lots of food out pretty much the whole day. However, it was almost the same, day in, day out. A few minor changes. Most is African flavored. It did taste good, but did not agree with my digestive system. Plus, by the end of the week it got kindof boring. I was also a bit disapointed in the evening desserts. Cookies and tiny pastries every night. A bit of a letdown after the wonderful cakes, etc from the Contemporary 14th floor and Royal Pacific.
The staff is nice, but a bit "cool" as others have said. IMHO, they need to move the desk up closer to were people walk in. They also wouldn't "do" anything for you that is "out of the box". At dessert time, they didn't have pb&j like most other lounges. My dd didn't like the choices. I asked a lady if they had any pb&j and she said "no". Just plain "no". I asked someone else later and said they only put it out out from 5-7pm. Other places I've stayed at would just get one from the kitchen.
Pool - Not terribly crowded. Not empty, just about the right number of people for the space. No problems finding a chair. Now, if the entire lodge was open, I think the pool would be very crowded.
Savannahs - Only the Zebra is opened. The others are closed, most likely for the duration of the construction. I did notice people had rooms overlooking the Sunset. I sure hope they didn't pay the entire Savannah price. Our room overlooked the Zebra. It was 4423, the 2nd building down on the corner closest to the lobby. We had a wonderful view and saw lots of animals.
Noise/Construction - Heard very little. Again, we were in the right wing. The construction seemed to by the left wing. They are working on the new building. The 5th & 6th floors are curtained off. We heard more from the leaf blowers than the construction crews. We took a mid day break in the pool every day, too.
Other guests - TONS of Europeans. I guess that's why so many other disers were moved, so they didn't have to make all the overseas phone calls. They were very nice, just smoked all over (nobody said anything to them) and let there pre-adolesent dd's run around the pool area topless.
Resturants - Here as well as anywhere in the parks, if you didn't have a ADR, you didn't get a table. There seemed to be a ton of people on the dining plan which suprised me a bit as the free dining hadn't started yet. AKL REALLY needs a 3rd resturant. The African stuff is fine, but you get really tired of if after a while. I know many people "rave" over Mara. But it was typical WDW fast food to me. Only 2 items on the kids menu (mac & cheese and roasted chicken). There is no place to have a sit down lunch here. Sometimes you don't want to board a bus and treck off someplace for lunch. Since this resort is off in a corner by itself, it REALLY needs a 3rd resturant (IMHO).
The great "WL/ AKL" debate. Having stayed at both, I can say they are totally different. The rooms have similar layouts, but that's about it. They truely are apples and oranges, totally different resorts.
All in all, we had a wonderful stay.
Opps, forgot - Sunrise Safari - We did this last Thurs. Wonderful as others have reported. We drove in the back/cast enterance. Since it was so early, the windows of the bus were foggy so it was hard to see the backstage area. The tour itself took a good hour, with lots of stops for pictures. We heard a male lion roar. Our guide who has been there since AK opened (10+ yrs), said it was the first time he'd ever heard this on a safari. He said the lion was basically marking his territory. B/fast was at Pizza something???. The host said the food was the same as Tusker House. Our's was the first b/f at the new location. The food was wonderful. I thought my dd was eating pumpernickle bread and it turns out it was chocolate cake. *LOL* The Chef came out to answer any questions about the food.
Lounge - is back on the 6th floor. Lots of food out pretty much the whole day. However, it was almost the same, day in, day out. A few minor changes. Most is African flavored. It did taste good, but did not agree with my digestive system. Plus, by the end of the week it got kindof boring. I was also a bit disapointed in the evening desserts. Cookies and tiny pastries every night. A bit of a letdown after the wonderful cakes, etc from the Contemporary 14th floor and Royal Pacific.
The staff is nice, but a bit "cool" as others have said. IMHO, they need to move the desk up closer to were people walk in. They also wouldn't "do" anything for you that is "out of the box". At dessert time, they didn't have pb&j like most other lounges. My dd didn't like the choices. I asked a lady if they had any pb&j and she said "no". Just plain "no". I asked someone else later and said they only put it out out from 5-7pm. Other places I've stayed at would just get one from the kitchen.
Pool - Not terribly crowded. Not empty, just about the right number of people for the space. No problems finding a chair. Now, if the entire lodge was open, I think the pool would be very crowded.
Savannahs - Only the Zebra is opened. The others are closed, most likely for the duration of the construction. I did notice people had rooms overlooking the Sunset. I sure hope they didn't pay the entire Savannah price. Our room overlooked the Zebra. It was 4423, the 2nd building down on the corner closest to the lobby. We had a wonderful view and saw lots of animals.
Noise/Construction - Heard very little. Again, we were in the right wing. The construction seemed to by the left wing. They are working on the new building. The 5th & 6th floors are curtained off. We heard more from the leaf blowers than the construction crews. We took a mid day break in the pool every day, too.
Other guests - TONS of Europeans. I guess that's why so many other disers were moved, so they didn't have to make all the overseas phone calls. They were very nice, just smoked all over (nobody said anything to them) and let there pre-adolesent dd's run around the pool area topless.
Resturants - Here as well as anywhere in the parks, if you didn't have a ADR, you didn't get a table. There seemed to be a ton of people on the dining plan which suprised me a bit as the free dining hadn't started yet. AKL REALLY needs a 3rd resturant. The African stuff is fine, but you get really tired of if after a while. I know many people "rave" over Mara. But it was typical WDW fast food to me. Only 2 items on the kids menu (mac & cheese and roasted chicken). There is no place to have a sit down lunch here. Sometimes you don't want to board a bus and treck off someplace for lunch. Since this resort is off in a corner by itself, it REALLY needs a 3rd resturant (IMHO).
The great "WL/ AKL" debate. Having stayed at both, I can say they are totally different. The rooms have similar layouts, but that's about it. They truely are apples and oranges, totally different resorts.
All in all, we had a wonderful stay.
Opps, forgot - Sunrise Safari - We did this last Thurs. Wonderful as others have reported. We drove in the back/cast enterance. Since it was so early, the windows of the bus were foggy so it was hard to see the backstage area. The tour itself took a good hour, with lots of stops for pictures. We heard a male lion roar. Our guide who has been there since AK opened (10+ yrs), said it was the first time he'd ever heard this on a safari. He said the lion was basically marking his territory. B/fast was at Pizza something???. The host said the food was the same as Tusker House. Our's was the first b/f at the new location. The food was wonderful. I thought my dd was eating pumpernickle bread and it turns out it was chocolate cake. *LOL* The Chef came out to answer any questions about the food.