Pros and Cons about AKL

[nkereina]

Is it worth it to stay at AKV in a standard view studio?

IMO, yes. We stayed in a standard studio and were on the zebra trail side. Our balcony over looked several birds, vultures, etc. But the giraffes were right next door, only separated by a fence. We had good views of them on several occasions, so we were very happy with it for being standard view. All that said, I think there are some standard studios that run the risk being on the parking lot side. Touring Plans has a great room view locator.

What activities are there to do besides swimming?

There are several observation areas to see the animals throughout the resort. I believe the resort also offers tours of some kind and a night time safari. So a few things to do with the animals. If you stay in Jambo House, you can also use the amenities at Kidani and vice versa so almost like two resorts in one.

 

[hakepb]

Are you booking Jambo or Kidani?

It depends on how much time you stay in your room.
The more time you can spend on the balcony, the more you can enjoy the savanna. It's not like you are guaranteed a giraffe outside your room 24x7, so some people are disappointed when their schedule doesn't match the animals schedule.

For my plain-eating family, Mara was well above average for any Deluxe in terms of having enough plain food to keep them happy. And for adults, Mara has Zebra Domes as desserts (So far, Poly is the only Deluxe QS that my family wanted to eat more than twice at. )
No Deluxe has a food court selection like moderates or values. This forced us to adjust plans and eat more in the parks. (I.e. Eat lunch in the park, then go back to the room)

If you are into breakfast buffet, Boma is quite good. A bunch of normal food and some more adventurous options, too. (Overall it is very similiar to Tucker House)

There are multiple places you can sit and watch the animals. (There's more activity at feeding times)

For activities, AKL has cultural representatives (CM's from Africa) with scheduled activities and sharing interesting story's and live music about their home.

Don't miss night vision animal viewing and fireside story's.

http://kennythepirate.com/wp-content/uploads/akl_recreation.pdf

 

[kamerino]

We're staying at AKL later this month, and like you, I was initially torn between BWI & AKL. AKL won out because of the animals, 100% We booked a savannah view room, and I am looking forward to our mornings on the balcony more than anything. From what I've researched, there are also a ton of activities to do at the resort itself, and we've scheduled a resort day for our last day there. It's a gorgeous resort (I've been there for dinner), the food is delicious, and the place just has an incredible sense of magic to it... it's quite literally awesome, in the true sense of the word.

We've stayed at bus-only resorts the majority of the time, and honesty, I've never had a problem.

I'm thinking about booking a Starlight Safari for our first night there, and there are a lot of free things available, as well... flamingo feeding, animal tracking, etc etc.

No matter what resort you'll pick I'm sure you'll have a phenomenal time, and definitely go with what feels like the best fit for you guys, but count this as a vote for AKL!

 

[AshleeH]

AKL is Top 3 choices if we were to go to Disney and not go to the parks. It is a gorgeous hotel - relaxing, peaceful, the savannah view is amazing! The only thing I didn't like: It is so far from every park, except AK. We drove our car, so I'm not talking about the bus systems - I'm talking about driving to each park and at the end of the day, it felt like it took forever to get back to the room. Now we are all about location, location, location, so that factors into my memories of AKL, but I had no issues with the hotel itself. I can't foresee us ever going all the way to Orlando and paying Disney prices and not going to the parks, but it would be a top place where I would want to just relax and enjoy the scenery and amenities.

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

After staying there in a Savanna view room (on rented points) I won't go back. Yes, the resort is beautiful, but we're park people, so the allure of the activities and sitting on the balcony was lost on me. Yeah, it was cool the first day, but I wasn't as drawn to it as I thought I would be.

For me, if I'm paying deluxe rates I better be able to walk or monorail to at least 1 park. For that reason I won't stay at AKL or WL. I don't think their locations and transportation options justify the huge "convenience cost" (which is how most people justify the sky high prices of Disney deluxe resorts). But that's just my opinion.

 

[mastermind307]

I'm thinking about maybe doing a split stay, with AKV and BWV or AKV and VWL. That way we can stay at AKV and experience it, but also stay somewhere with more transportation options. I've never done a split stay so it makes me a little nervous, but I think it might work for us.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I don't get the bus/middle of nowhere gripes about AKL. It has similar travel times to the travel times from the MK deluxes. If your every trip is to MK, AK will seem like it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's the same thing if you're at the Poly or CR and you keep visiting AK. The bus travel time to AK is shorter than the walk to MK from CR. The travel times to Epcot and DHS are about par with MK deluxes--or substantially faster for Epcot if you're hitting crowded monorails and monorail queues in the MK resort area. I think people look at a map and think AKL is relatively inaccessible and that isn't the case at all.

 

[Hopefully]

I don't get the bus/middle of nowhere gripes about AKL. It has similar travel times to the travel times from the MK deluxes. If your every trip is to MK, AK will seem like it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's the same thing if you're at the Poly or CR and you keep visiting AK. The bus travel time to AK is shorter than the walk to MK from CR. The travel times to Epcot and DHS are about par with MK deluxes--or substantially faster for Epcot if you're hitting crowded monorails and monorail queues in the MK resort area. I think people look at a map and think AKL is relatively inaccessible and that isn't the case at all.

But many families DO spend multiple days at the MK and few spend the same number of days at the AK. Even though the travel time to the AK maybe shorter than the walk to the MK from the CR, you have to factor the wait time for the bus into that equation, which you haven't.

 

[mastermind307]

I don't get the bus/middle of nowhere gripes about AKL. It has similar travel times to the travel times from the MK deluxes. If your every trip is to MK, AK will seem like it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's the same thing if you're at the Poly or CR and you keep visiting AK. The bus travel time to AK is shorter than the walk to MK from CR. The travel times to Epcot and DHS are about par with MK deluxes--or substantially faster for Epcot if you're hitting crowded monorails and monorail queues in the MK resort area. I think people look at a map and think AKL is relatively inaccessible and that isn't the case at all.

I'm not so concerned about the travel time to get to the parks from AKW, but more so when we come back in the afternoon and decide we want to go do something else. At AKV we'd have to take a bus to go anywhere but if staying at BWV, we could walk to other resorts, EPCOT or DHS, or even walk and play mini golf.

 

[lullwater]

The biggest negative is distance if a room assignment is towards the end of one of the wings. This can make travelling from the pool area, restaurants, lobby, parking to the hotel room feel like an African trek unto itself.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

The biggest negative is distance if a room assignment is towards the end of one of the wings. This can make travelling from the pool area, restaurants, lobby, parking to the hotel room feel like an African trek unto itself.

One of the majors reasons I upgraded to pool view.

 

[soniam]

Except for the Epcot resorts and Contemporary, I try not to factor the transportation too much into the stay. We have been hosed so many times at Poly by monorail out of operation and horribly slow buses. Are planning to spend a lot of time at AK for Pandora? If so, then AKL would be very convenient for that. I booked it as an option for this summer, in case Pandora is open for our trip. I got a good discount that makes it cost the same as my original reservation at CSR. However, other discounts may come out.

 

[Hopefully]

I'm not so concerned about the travel time to get to the parks from AKW, but more so when we come back in the afternoon and decide we want to go do something else. At AKV we'd have to take a bus to go anywhere but if staying at BWV, we could walk to other resorts, EPCOT or DHS, or even walk and play mini golf.

Right. I agree with your concerns

 

[LumosQ102]

I'm thinking about maybe doing a split stay, with AKV and BWV or AKV and VWL. That way we can stay at AKV and experience it, but also stay somewhere with more transportation options. I've never done a split stay so it makes me a little nervous, but I think it might work for us.

Split stays are super easy, and Disney even transfer your luggage for you. Just call bag services, tell them you are transferring hotels & your bags are usually over in the new hotel after 4pm for check in. Caveat - we tend to be out of the hotel by 8am, so late checkout might lead to a later delivery

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

But many families DO spend multiple days at the MK and few spend the same number of days at the AK. Even though the travel time to the AK maybe shorter than the walk to the MK from the CR, you have to factor the wait time for the bus into that equation, which you haven't.

No, you really don't. Magic kingdom is not the entirety of Walt Disney World and shouldn't be treated as if it is when reporting travel times. Any one who intends to spend most of their time at Magic Kingdom has no right to complain about the commute from Animal Kingdom Lodge. They know where both are located before they make their reservations.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I'm not so concerned about the travel time to get to the parks from AKW, but more so when we come back in the afternoon and decide we want to go do something else. At AKV we'd have to take a bus to go anywhere but if staying at BWV, we could walk to other resorts, EPCOT or DHS, or even walk and play mini golf.

The travel times to Epcot and DHS from AKL are more or less 10 minutes, which is par for the resorts most people consider to be WDW's most central resorts. These are travel times I enjoy at CSR all the time, and so do folks who stay at the PO resorts. AKL's only long trip is to MK.

 

[Bree]

Since DD will be considered a Disney adult, we will be eating at mostly quick service places. I've read good things about Mara, but I've looked at the menu and there doesn't seem to be a lot of choices. We will eat a a few TS places, but none at AKL because DD is a very picky eater.

We normally go to the parks early and are done by early afternoon. What activities are there to do besides swimming? We'll swim some, but it's not something I want to do all the time. This is where I'd feel like we were "stuck". If we wanted to go do something or eat somewhere, we'd have to take a bus, vs at the Boardwalk where we have options to walk to.

My DD isn't the most adventurous eater, but found plenty to eat at Mara, Boma & Jiko. There is so much to do at AKL & AKV for activities (far more than any other resort, IMO)!!! Here is a link to this month's activity calendars. http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/resorts/wdw/pdf/AKLCalendar.pdf

I love how relaxing it is to come back to AKL after being in the parks. It's not nearly as crowded with non-resort guests as some of the other deluxe hotels.

 

[Amelia :)]

The travel times to Epcot and DHS from AKL are more or less 10 minutes, which is par for the resorts most people consider to be WDW's most central resorts. These are travel times I enjoy at CSR all the time, and so do folks who stay at the PO resorts. AKL's only long trip is to MK.

Agree. It's also worth remembering that distance is only one factor in how long your journey will take. You could get the the bus stop at WL and have just missed one, get 3 people pull up on ECV's then get stuck behind 3 other buses, and all of a sudden your 5 minute travel time has turned into 30. Wherever you're staying just give yourself plenty of time, bring a bit of patience and enjoy the journey because you are on your way to a park!

 

[sdomino11]

I'm thinking about booking a Starlight Safari for our first night there, and there are a lot of free things available, as well... flamingo feeding, animal tracking, etc etc.
!

Did you do the Starlight Safari? I'm considering booking it in May but it's very hard to find reviews! If you went, can you share your experience?

 

[Shellyred8]

We do split stays all the time. They are super easy. I like your idea of AKL and BWV. They are two totally different feeling resorts, so it would be like two separate vacations rolled into one! When you are at AKL, you could do MK and AK parks. Then, when you move to BWV, you could focus on EP and HS. You can also walk to one of the mini golf courses from the Boardwalk. I love the Boardwalk at night when it's all lit up. So magical! I think DD would love it!