Akk-ugh!

[ajblbv]

Wow, I just returned from my trip and I must say the AKL nearly ruined it. We had a standard view room booked, and they 'generously' upgraded us to room 2271 which basically overseas the fenced in area that I assume they bathe animals or care for sick ones or some such. After arriving to the room we find all lightbulbs are only 52 watts, extremely dim! So we call housekeeping and we are told tomorrow they will bring us a bright lamp, the next morning when we return from breakfast we find a lamp with a 52 watt bulb with it! And as to the size of the room, it is identical to that of an all star room, hardly on par with a deluxe resort.

Luckily after the lamp incident we moved to Polynesian and had a good vacation following that experience.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We love the AKL and hope to stay in the Concierge so we can do the Sunrise Safari. We had a wonderful time in our savannah view room. The fenced area that your refer to may be a refuge for guests in the event of a fire and their exit outside of the hotel is blocked. I was talking to a friend of mine whose son works in Marketing for Disney and that is what she told me. I work in Safety so this was interesting to me.

I'm sorry that you didn't like it, but you did only pay for a standard view which is less expensive than the savannah view.

Also, the standard rooms at AKL are 344 sf and 381 sf for the deluxe rooms, while the moderates are 314 sf. The Polynesian has larger rooms because it is older.

 

[ajblbv]

It wasnt a fenced off area for people, that was obvious. But I bet a standard view would have been better. And there is no excuse for that housekeeping mistake at a deluxe resort. I will say however that I bet in a deluxe or concierge room the stay would be very comparable to the Polynesian.

 

[Beanie]

I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience at AKL! When we stayed there last month, we loved it! I thought the rooms were bigger...it seemed bigger anyways...We had stayed at WL the previous week and those rooms were small to us in comparison...

As for housekeeping, maybe they had an off day or something?


I do hope you will give the AKL another try sometime...

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by ajblbv
It wasnt a fenced off area for people, that was obvious. But I bet a standard view would have been better. And there is no excuse for that housekeeping mistake at a deluxe resort. I will say however that I bet in a deluxe or concierge room the stay would be very comparable to the Polynesian.

If you were looking out a savannah view room and you saw a pen it is for people. It is there in case of fire. The guides on the Sunset Savannah explained that to us when we stayed at the AKL in 2001.

 

[eeyore0062]

Actually the size of the rooms at the AKL are exactly the same size as both the WL and the CBR. They feel smaller because the furniture is very large in scale. We felt the same way about the WL. Both the AKL and the WL are supposed to be on the dark side, as it is in the theming. I don't like dark atmospheres, either, so after staying at the WL once, we will now resign ourselves to staying at brighter and lighter accomodations.

 

[sharoncity]

We were at AKL in April and absolutely loved it. I didn't find the rooms to be dark at all. Can't tell you what wattage the bulbs were, as I never thought to look. I'm also not someone who wears a lot of makeup, so no complaints for the bathroom lighting either. We honestly didn't find the room to be small. Poly might have bigger rooms, but don't they have the extra daybed too? Doesn't seem like you end up with any more floor space after that. And while at AKL, if we were in the room, we were more than likely on the balcony watching the animals. Much too busy to worry about lighting and space!
And yes, that enclosure is a corral for the guests. In the event of a fire, they don't have you evacuate onto the savannah with the wild animals. You enter that enclosure and then a truck will back up to it for you to board and leave safely.
ajblbv- I'm sorry your experience wasn't as great as ours. I hope to try POLY too one of these times.

 

[kerrynic78]

That's too bad you didn't like your stay. I just got back from AKL and had the best resort experience ever. Housekeeping was amazing as was the staff. After staying at WL, Polynesian and the All Stars, AKL is by far my favorite. At least you didn't let it ruin your trip Hopefully you can try it again and give it another shot!! Hope you had a great vacation.

 

[smjj]

themed differently. Different themes for different peoples's taste. I can't imagine all resorts with the same theme now, can you??..smjj

 

[pollyanna]

So your main dissapointment with AKL is the wattage of the lightbulbs??????????

Good! I won't cancel my reserrvation based on that !

 

[Gillian]

Well, I have to agree about the light bulbs! It was really dark in the rooms at night, or when the curtains are closed. It's something you expect from a cheap motel, not (any) disney resort! You really do need a better lamp for reading, but I doubt they have anything brighter available, so I woudn't blame it on housekeeping. I'm actually planning to bring some light bulbs the next time we stay there.

I'm not big on makeup either, but the lights on the sides of the mirror made me look yellow. It was very difficult to see what I was doing. I'm not one of those people who can put on lipstick without a mirror

I don't know what to tell you about the view. Did they say it was an upgrade? Maybe they can't sell it as savannah view because people would complain. I sure would, if I had paid $60 extra per night. Still, it seems to me that your "pen" view might be better than "parking lot" view, or "along the pathway to the bus stop" view.

Thanks for sharing! It's always good to hear what people think

 

[DisOrBust]

Am I missing something...your vacation was almost ruined because you got upgraded to a savanah room, granted with the holding pen in front of it and a lamp with a 52 watt lightbulb? How is that a mistake from housekeeping? Sorry but I would be thrilled to get a free upgrade from a standard at AKL. I was on the Same Savanah with the same view but paid for a sav. room.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sorry you didn't like AKL.
I have read that they purposely have not as much light in the AKL rooms. One reason is that the dimmer lights don't get nnoticed as much by the animals. The other reason is that many guests are watching the animals with lights off or dimmed. If you were doing that and all of a sudden turned on a very bright light - it would be sort of like the flashbulb in the eyes effect.

 

[LvsTnk]

I stayed in a Deluxe Concierge room this past May, and I was surprised that it was as dark in the room as it was. There had been posts about it , and also posts that said it wasn't so. Honestly I could not see into the bottom of our luggage to get clothes out. I also thought the room was a bit small, be it square footage or oversized furniture. I loved our stay and would stay there again, but I could see where others would enjoy another resort.

 

[Beanie]

Good Point, Sue Ellen!

In all honesty, I had to come back in read this post because I seriously don't remember the room being so dark as people mention...Maybe because we always had the curtains open or the tv on?

Once again, I am sorry to hear of your disappointment and I do hope you will try AKL again!

 

[ajblbv]

Originally posted by DisOrBust
Am I missing something...your vacation was almost ruined because you got upgraded to a savanah room, granted with the holding pen in front of it and a lamp with a 52 watt lightbulb? How is that a mistake from housekeeping? Sorry but I would be thrilled to get a free upgrade from a standard at AKL. I was on the Same Savanah with the same view but paid for a sav. room.

A few things, the mistake from housekeeping was that we called, they told us specifically that it was common and they would bring us brighter bulbs the next morning, instead we got a light with a dim bulb in it?

I spend my money on vacation to be treated well and be in a nice environment, however, shabby service can ruin it very easily, and it is not something I would expect from Disney. In no way could my request for a brighter light have been interpreted for a need of a lamp with the same low wattage light bulb. So yes, it very nearly ruined my vacation, I spend about 30% of my trip in my hotel or at the pool, and if I perceive I am being treated unfairly it would ruin the whole point of vacation.

As for the view, looking out the window and seeing a big pen is ridiculous to me.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by ajblbv
And as to the size of the room, it is identical to that of an all star room, hardly on par with a deluxe resort.

All Star rooms are 260 square feet.

Animal Kingdom Lodge rooms are 344 square feet.

Must be that new math they've been talking about.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by ajblbv
As for the view, looking out the window and seeing a big pen is ridiculous to me.

Then you should have asked to be moved to the standard view room you reserved and looked at the bus stop and parking lot all day.

Anne

 

[jennymouse]

I hope my experience at the AKL will be as good as yours. I would be tickled pink with a free upgrade....I even think I could look over the misunderstanding about a light bulb.

 

[eeyore0062]

If you didn't like the room the upgraded you to, why didn't you ask them to move you again? The would have, you know! As for the darkness of the room, as SueinMN said, they have low wattage for a reason. When they brought the new lamp, when you saw the wattage of the bulb, did you call back and ask if a mistake had inadvertantly been made? You possibly could have even been moved to a different resort if you had let them know that you were that unhappy.

Even though WL is not my cup of tea and we got the quiet pool courtyard view instead of the main courtyard view for the same price, I certainly didn't let it ruin my vacation. My DH and DD were perfectly happy, and there were definite advantages of our view...it was MUCH quieter.

It is all in the perspective you take. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so to speak, so if you are unhappy with the accomodations, say so while you are there, but don't wait to complain after you arrive home and there is nothing that could be done about it. Otherwise, find some redeeming factor about it so you won't be so unhappy, and next time you know, so you can stay elsewhere.

JMHO