Just switched to AKL from Pop-crazy???

[kgkmom]

We're heading to see the Mouse in 14 days and I just switched our ressie to AKL from Pop. My brother surprised us by joining us at the last minute, and he decided to spring for AKL. Not being one to be left behind, I switched us! So, I have a few questions:

-Do you think I might be kicking myself over the extra $$ for AKL if I don't spend a certain length of time actually at AKL?
-My DD will be 12 that week-is there anything cool at AKL(and I mean cool by 12 yr old standards ) that we might not want to miss? Anything geared to teens?
-What are some of your favorite aspects of AKL? Any neat 'secrets' that we can discover?

We're staying for 6 days, it's our 6th or 7th trip, so we can take some resort time and not feel like we're missing out on the parks. This is our last trip for a few years, so anything we can do to add some extra pixie dust would be great!

Thanks in advance!

 

[michelewdw]

We just returned from AKL and we absolutely loved the resort. The rooms are great, I think your 12 year old will definitely enjoy watching the animals from your room if you have a savannah view. Also the pool area was beautiful and was open 24 hours. They have night vision goggles you can use at a certain location in the evening to view the animals in the dark, I have a 10 year old and a 7 year old and there were quite a few older kids out there the night we used them. The CM's around the resort are great and there is always someone from Africa around talking about the animals, plants, etc.. They were wonderful and very interesting. Lastly the restaurants are some of the best on Disney property. I think you will be happy with your decision. We can't wait to stay there again. Have a great trip!!!!

Michele

 

[Mich Mouse]

We loved the AKL and visited last summer when DD was eleven. She loved the animals, and viewing them with the night vision goggles. The pool is awesome...Make sure you really enjoy the resort. We spent so much time just enjoying AKL, it really was such a wonderful vacation. We felt like the hotel was an attraction in itself...And it is!!

Another thing DD liked was the Cultural Safari. Each night a CM who is from Africa hosts a discussion about what it is like to live in Africa. My DD was really interested in the differences in schooling, and that they have shark nets in the water at the beaches. Some random things really interested her.

We will be at the BC while you are at AKL! Can't wait to finally be on my way!

 

[kimisabella]

Well I must be crazy also! I just switched from POP to AKL!! I have been wanting to stay there, and I figured since we are celebrating our 7th anniversary and dd's 2nd birthday, I wanted to do something special. I didn't even tell DH yet - everyone will definatley be surprised. I hope it's worth the extra $$$$!!!

 

[s&k'smom]

We were there last Oct and plan to go again next Oct. 2006 and AKL is our first choice. We found it wonderful. The pool area is huge and our room overlooked it on the 5th floor which my kids thought was terrific. We also found the bus service very good. Never waited more than 10 minutes. CM's were absolutely wonderful. It is a big resort and it took a day to get our bearings but wow it is well worth it.

 

[bishop1989]

We just returned from a split stay at AKL and CR Tower view (12th Floor).
We usually stay at values or mods but with the AP discount we stayed at these two. WOW!! was the CR great! The staff was so helpful, it was clean, close to MK and just a great time. AKL was absolutely horrible. From the moment we checked in with "Reggie" who was pompous and rude to the service guy who came in to our room after we checked in without knocking to change our refrig. we didn't work our entire stay. Got called to the front desk after returning from EMH to discuss the fact that I had over extended my charging priv. (Did not have charging priv put on my room keys.) to find out that they had called the wrong number. Overall the staff -except for those working with the kids- were terrible. Dark gloomy interior, away from parks and the savannah view was not what I had anticipated! Hope you have better time but we will never go back to AKL. We'll stay at CR, Swan or AS.

 

[Mr Poohbrain]

Add me to the "crazy bunch".............. I changed our one night at POP to two nights at AKL before our BCV stay.

Now, if I could only get upgraded from pool to savannah view for DS's 3rd BD.

Hoping for a little

Mrs. PB

 

[kgkmom]

Yikes, bishop! I'm so sorry you had such an awful experience! Did you speak with any managers while you were there about the CM's rudeness and poor service? If so, what was their response?

kimisabella-your concern is exactly mine! I hope the extra $$ is worth it too, especially after reading bishop's experience. When will you be there?

Mich Mouse-thanks for mentioning the Cultural Safari! My DD will love that! She wants to be a vet, so hearing about African animals and the culture will be fascinating.

To all who mentioned night vision goggles-can you rent them at the hotel? If not, any idea where I can look to find them, and how much they cost?

Thanks for all of the suggestions, and for the cautions too! 13 days to go!

 

[michelewdw]

Each evening a CM is outside in the viewing area where they offer the night vision goggles.The area was close to the pool area. I believe you can use them from dark until 11pm. If you inquire at the front desk, they will give you a map and times.

Michele

 

[bishop1989]

The night watching is approx 9-11 each night. Yes they have the binoculars there for you to use free of charge. Yes, I talked to a manager and recieved the obligatory response, "We are so sorry about the situation, that is not typically the way that we do things around here."
Many people enjoy the AKL we just are not among those people. I love the atmosphere and energy of the All Stars and also enjoy the Swan and Contemporary. Hope you have a great time!! No matter where you stay it's always fun in the MK and EPCOT!!

 

[kimisabella]

kimisabella-your concern is exactly mine! I hope the extra $$ is worth it too, especially after reading bishop's experience. When will you be there?

Sarah - we're going from oct 2-7th - I see your leaving in less than two weeks!! You definatley have to post a report about how your experience was! Have a GREAT time!

Andrea

 

[crow11ad]

Don't think twice about it. Who knows when you maybe back and if your going to be there for a while, enjoy it. Some people will say that you won't even be at the resort to fully justify the $$$$, but it's the whole thought that you are staying there. Our first trip in April 04, we were going for our Disneymoon. Didn't know anything. SO we picked CBR. It was great. We decided to go in Dec of 04. Ok I decided and DW agreed. Originally we were going to stay at PO, but I surprised DW by moving us to WL. Good thing to with the discounts that came out. We saved about 500+. This time what was supposed to be a 3 day weekend in October for my bday has now turned into an 8 day stay that was originally attended for pop. But I have us now for 1 night at pop and the rest at po.

 

[disneyfan67]

My family and I were there for 2 nights on April 27th to the 29th and we really liked it. We split our stay and checked into the Polynesian which is my favorite! I really liked AKL lodge and was impressed with the theming and service. It's a beautifull resort and I want to stay there again even though the Poly is my favorite and we like being close to MK.


PROS: Great theming and the largest pool of any Disney resort. Great food options and the food court is pretty good for being a food court! Boma's is a must try!! A very beautifull resort and I loved walking around at night and sitting by the fire pit in rocking chairs is so cool! My family really found the experience at AKL to be a good one and we will go back.

CONS: Transportation options are a little lacking, IMO. My family is so used to going on the Monorail at the Poly and being at MK in minutes. We waited outside at the bus stop at AKL for a bus to take us to MK and it was probably a 20 to 25 minute wait and then the ride to MK took another 20 on top of it. If you're used to being Monorail riders then this might be a liitle bit of shock to get used too. If Disney was to put a monorail line to AKL, then it would be our home resort.

I think you are going to love it here and you can't go wrong with staying at AKL. Don't worry and enjoy your trip! YOU WILL LOVE IT BECAUSE AKL IS GREAT!!!

 

[kgkmom]

Thanks, everyone for your great ideas and info. This is our last trip for a few years (unless Powerball comes through ), so we want to soak up as much atmosphere as possible.

We'll have a rental car (DB always rents), so in your collective experience, is it better to drive ourselves to the parks, or use the buses? The only times we've really had long waits was after EMHs or events or something. Just curious!

Sounds like the night vision experience will be cool, so we'll try that, and I love swimming at night (as does DD), so we'll take advantage of the great pool then.

bishop-you are exactly right that it doesn't really matter where you stay-it's all about the Mouse!

kimisabella-I'll certainly post when we get back.

 

[wld]

We stayed at AKL twice and really loved in. In fact if a decent code comes out we will be changing from POP to AKL. I really did not notice the whole dark thing that some people do. I loved the lobby. And we saw lots of animals on the savannah. The night goggles are also on some of the porches that are on some of the floors that you can go out and sit on and watch animals. The pool area is really lovely too. We never bring a car so can't help you out there, but we found transportation not to be a problem.
Our first stay the CM's were average. But this past May our check in person was great, and much more awake than we were at 11pm. Very friendly and giving everyone information as he saw we had older girls. The bell hop was standing behind us to take our luggage up and every morning as we left our mousekeeper was standing outside our door wishing us a great day.

 

[RichNKatHolly]

Thanks, everyone for your great ideas and info. This is our last trip for a few years (unless Powerball comes through ), so we want to soak up as much atmosphere as possible.

We'll have a rental car (DB always rents), so in your collective experience, is it better to drive ourselves to the parks, or use the buses? The only times we've really had long waits was after EMHs or events or something. Just curious!

We'll be at AKL after Thanksgiving and can't wait! It is our last trip too for a while so this trip is a 10 day, money-eating, doosy!

Anyway, about transportation, we have always stayed at POFQ and enjoyed waiting for and riding the busses. Last visit in Jan we were offsite so had a rental car. I find this much easier most of the time. You can come and go when you like - and if you are staying until closing you will definately get back to your resort before anyone waiting on line for the bus. Don't get me wrong, we don't mind waiting at all and I'm sure we will use Disney transport at least a few times during the trip, but driving seemed to be a bit easier even with parking, etc.

Have fun - can't wait to read your report when you return!

 

[mlutz11175]

I have rarely seen my 15-year-old as excited as he was when we checked into AKL last week. We were upgraded to a savannah view (from pool), and seeing his dilemma about whether he should go take his shower or wait to see if more animals would show up outside our balcony was hysterical. It seems that frequently it takes a lot to get kids of that age excited - but AKL certainly did!

 

[kgkmom]

mlutz11175-I totally agree! My DD will be 12 in two weeks, and she is not impressed by much these days! She does want to be a veternarian, so I'm betting she'll love being in such close proximity (albeit by binoculars!) to all the animals. This is also going to be her first time in a deluxe hotel (my first at a Disney deluxe), so I'm sure she won't be pooh-poohing that either!

 

[spoon full of sugar]

We went to AKL for a long weekend a while back and loved it! The themeing is amazing, I just wish we had spent more time at the resort!( we live close, so usually just do commando weekends) What I would really like to do is stay at CR or the Swan to do the commando park thing, and then check in to AKL for 2 or 3 days to just do AK and hang out at AKL. It really is that cool! About the CMs, I have heard alot of people complain about them at AKL and I understand why,the ones from Africa, while usually nice (though some are reallly rude,like anyone else) don't have the western european can do attitude toward service. They're more like eh, whatever. I don't think they're trying to be rude, it's just a cultural attitude, like the french .They are really friendly and personable , just don't expect them to hop to, like some corn feed Kansas boy circa 1956!

 

[YCFAN]

I've "visited" AKL twice now through dining experiences and have thoroughly enjoyed both times. In fact we've decided to do the regular commando vacation next July for 7 days and return to the YC again. After that we are spending 3 days at AKL and other than going to AK we are hoping to spend more time at the resort in the last three days. We've rented the Presidential Suite and plan to take full advantage of it. Can't wait to see if I love it as much as I think I will.