We spent two nights at PORiverside and 8 nights at AKL- savannah view room arriving on Thanksgiving Day and leaving December 7th.
We had stayed at PORiverside numerous times before. This time we were in Bldg. 27 in AB section. The rooms were actually very nice. I was surprised not to find stains on the carpets and the inside of the room looked very good. In the past we had not found the rooms to be in such good shape. Everything was clean and housekeeping did an okay job. Nothing spectacular but they kept it clean and did a nice job. The food court, as always, provided a nice selection of food. We weren't there very long but there wasn't a lot of change from the previous year. However, the Thanksgiving Dinner they served there was nothing to write home about. If anyone is tempted, next year, I would bypass it and just get the standard fare ... cheaper and probably better tasting. The grounds were well kept. The pool, with the remodel was very nice. My DS and DH enjoyed it one day when we were there. Too cold for me but I like warm water. We like this resort and as far as moderate's go ... would rate it second to the FQ. That being said we are staying there again in February for four nights.
Animal Kingdom Lodge -- This was our first stay here. We had a savannah view room that was right off the lobby and overlooked Arusha Rock. Fantastic View. We could not have asked for more. We could view giraffee, ankole cattle, zebra, and other animals I can't remember. My DS (5) absolutely fell in love with the view and the animals. The room was very nice. I was expecting it to be dark but I didn't find it that way. I thought the lighting was fine but I am not a reader. In fact, this trip I did little to no work, at all, so I might not be a good judge. We enjoyed the bigger room here at the AKL compared with the moderates and especially liked the way the connecting rooms were laid out. It was a nice arrangements. We had two queen beds in both rooms. The hotel itself is gorgeous. The decor inside is amazing when you take time to look at the detail. And, the children activities that they have are great. We wished we had more time to do more of them. The CMs were wonderful with the kids. We also enjoyed talking with the CMs that were posted on the savannah lookouts. We highly recommend people take time to find out where they are from ... it was extremely informative ... and we learned alot.
Our check in was very shaky. Had a horrible CM. Talked with the manager later and they more than made up for it. Upon checking in we found signed pictures in our room celebrating our anniversary and welcoming our son. It was a nice touch.
We ate at Boma's. My husband loved it. I thought it was over rated. Mara's was fine but after 8 days the selection got to be rather boring and I was looking for more options by the end. But, compared with other deluxe snack areas this one was great. The food was always hot but the service, at busy times, was slow. They need to pay more attention to "customer service" in this area of the hotel.
One of the highlights for my mom was the turn down service and the chocolates that they left. She was craving them upon our return home and wanted to know if we were going to come turn down their bed there. Of course, I promptly told her no way.
Bus service was okay. This was our first trip traveling with someone on a scooter and there were times when Disney transportation failed miserably. I have written them a detailed letter to hopefully ensure it doesn't happen again to other guests. But I found that Disney did not pay as much attention to efficiently transporting guests -- either at PO Riverside or AKL as they have in past years. That being said, I definitely would still stay there again even if I was depending solely on the bus transportation. My expectations are very high but typically we waited 10-20 minutes for a bus and didn't have to stand.
The pool was definitely heated and my DH and DS(5) again enjoyed it. The air was too cold for me. But the hot tub was wonderful. One time we could even see the giraffees eating on the savannah ... can't do that just anywhere.
Will we return. Probably yes for our next November trip. The rates are great then. During peak season though we are back to the PORiverside in February.
Questions -- let me know.
Upon leaving, after having stayed 10 times at PO I asked my DH what he preferred. He said AKL -- even for the additonal cost.
We had stayed at PORiverside numerous times before. This time we were in Bldg. 27 in AB section. The rooms were actually very nice. I was surprised not to find stains on the carpets and the inside of the room looked very good. In the past we had not found the rooms to be in such good shape. Everything was clean and housekeeping did an okay job. Nothing spectacular but they kept it clean and did a nice job. The food court, as always, provided a nice selection of food. We weren't there very long but there wasn't a lot of change from the previous year. However, the Thanksgiving Dinner they served there was nothing to write home about. If anyone is tempted, next year, I would bypass it and just get the standard fare ... cheaper and probably better tasting. The grounds were well kept. The pool, with the remodel was very nice. My DS and DH enjoyed it one day when we were there. Too cold for me but I like warm water. We like this resort and as far as moderate's go ... would rate it second to the FQ. That being said we are staying there again in February for four nights.
Animal Kingdom Lodge -- This was our first stay here. We had a savannah view room that was right off the lobby and overlooked Arusha Rock. Fantastic View. We could not have asked for more. We could view giraffee, ankole cattle, zebra, and other animals I can't remember. My DS (5) absolutely fell in love with the view and the animals. The room was very nice. I was expecting it to be dark but I didn't find it that way. I thought the lighting was fine but I am not a reader. In fact, this trip I did little to no work, at all, so I might not be a good judge. We enjoyed the bigger room here at the AKL compared with the moderates and especially liked the way the connecting rooms were laid out. It was a nice arrangements. We had two queen beds in both rooms. The hotel itself is gorgeous. The decor inside is amazing when you take time to look at the detail. And, the children activities that they have are great. We wished we had more time to do more of them. The CMs were wonderful with the kids. We also enjoyed talking with the CMs that were posted on the savannah lookouts. We highly recommend people take time to find out where they are from ... it was extremely informative ... and we learned alot.
Our check in was very shaky. Had a horrible CM. Talked with the manager later and they more than made up for it. Upon checking in we found signed pictures in our room celebrating our anniversary and welcoming our son. It was a nice touch.
We ate at Boma's. My husband loved it. I thought it was over rated. Mara's was fine but after 8 days the selection got to be rather boring and I was looking for more options by the end. But, compared with other deluxe snack areas this one was great. The food was always hot but the service, at busy times, was slow. They need to pay more attention to "customer service" in this area of the hotel.
One of the highlights for my mom was the turn down service and the chocolates that they left. She was craving them upon our return home and wanted to know if we were going to come turn down their bed there. Of course, I promptly told her no way.
Bus service was okay. This was our first trip traveling with someone on a scooter and there were times when Disney transportation failed miserably. I have written them a detailed letter to hopefully ensure it doesn't happen again to other guests. But I found that Disney did not pay as much attention to efficiently transporting guests -- either at PO Riverside or AKL as they have in past years. That being said, I definitely would still stay there again even if I was depending solely on the bus transportation. My expectations are very high but typically we waited 10-20 minutes for a bus and didn't have to stand.
The pool was definitely heated and my DH and DS(5) again enjoyed it. The air was too cold for me. But the hot tub was wonderful. One time we could even see the giraffees eating on the savannah ... can't do that just anywhere.
Will we return. Probably yes for our next November trip. The rates are great then. During peak season though we are back to the PORiverside in February.
Questions -- let me know.
Upon leaving, after having stayed 10 times at PO I asked my DH what he preferred. He said AKL -- even for the additonal cost.
