AKL construction

[KatePOOH]

We booked a bounce back offer when visiting Disney in September and wanted to stay at AKL. The reservationist said there would be construction and discouraged us from staying there. Does anyone have any info? My daughter loves animals and it would be the perfect place for us but we don't want any hassles. Any info would be appreciated!

 

[DVC Grammy]

We booked a bounce back offer when visiting Disney in September and wanted to stay at AKL. The reservationist said there would be construction and discouraged us from staying there. Does anyone have any info? My daughter loves animals and it would be the perfect place for us but we don't want any hassles. Any info would be appreciated!

If you look at the AKL lovers thread here, or the DVC Mousellaneous thread, you'll see many recent trip reports that state that noise was not an issue during their stay. In fact, many folks reported that if it hadn't been noted on their confirmation, they wouldn't have even known that it was supposed to be going on.

 

[PlutosFriend]

I will be staying there for 8 nights starting this Friday. I will let you know how it is when I get back

 

[G&GMom]

We stayed there last month and the construction bothered us. It was outside where they are building the new DVC building. We could see it and it was very noisy. No other rooms were available so we were stuck. We loved the resort but I would not go back unless they could guarantee that we would not have that view.

 

[PlutosFriend]

We stayed there last month and the construction bothered us. It was outside where they are building the new DVC building. We could see it and it was very noisy. No other rooms were available so we were stuck. We loved the resort but I would not go back unless they could guarantee that we would not have that view.

What was the location of your room?

 

[G&GMom]

What was the location of your room?

We were on Kudu Trail, Sunset Savanna. I think anything facing Sunset Savanna is going to have a view of the construction. And they started working out there early in the morning, between 6:30 and 7:30.

 

[mom22boys]

We were on Kudu Trail, Sunset Savanna. I think anything facing Sunset Savanna is going to have a view of the construction. And they started working out there early in the morning, between 6:30 and 7:30.

I am avoiding AKL for this very reason until the DVC resort is finished. However, one solution would be to book a pool view room. You should be on the opposite side of the lodge from the construction.

 

[gwilliams]

I just got back from AKL late last night, and would not have even known there was construction going on, had I not read about it before on this website. We were on Zebra Trail, and there is no construction visible from that whole side of the resort, nor was there any noise at all.

 

[pilferk]

We were on Kudu Trail, Sunset Savanna. I think anything facing Sunset Savanna is going to have a view of the construction. And they started working out there early in the morning, between 6:30 and 7:30.

One thing to note: A month or so ago, they were building the new animal enclosure JUST at the end of Kudo Trail. I'm not sure if you were seeing that, or the site prep for Kidani (they have not yet started pouring foundation or vertical construction as of about 2 weeks ago), but the animal enclosure is now complete. So that, at least, isn't going to be an issue going forward.

 

[G&GMom]

One thing to note: A month or so ago, they were building the new animal enclosure JUST at the end of Kudo Trail. I'm not sure if you were seeing that, or the site prep for Kidani (they have not yet started pouring foundation or vertical construction as of about 2 weeks ago), but the animal enclosure is now complete. So that, at least, isn't going to be an issue going forward.

I think we just saw the sitework for Kidani. It was mostly bobcats and other earth moving type equipment. We never saw any actual building, just groundwork. We were near the end of Kudu, at the last little part that juts out to the left.

 

[PlutosFriend]

I just got back from AKL late last night, and would not have even known there was construction going on, had I not read about it before on this website. We were on Zebra Trail, and there is no construction visible from that whole side of the resort, nor was there any noise at all.

Did you request Zebra Trail or just get lucky?

 

[pilferk]

I think we just saw the sitework for Kidani. It was mostly bobcats and other earth moving type equipment. We never saw any actual building, just groundwork. We were near the end of Kudu, at the last little part that juts out to the left.

It all depends, then. If the work you saw was behind a set of relatively distant chain link fences, it was the site prep.

If it was closer, behind construction barriers, it was likely the enclosure.



Could have been either one, considering where you were located.....

 

[05MM08MM]

I have a picture saved on my computer of the layout for the contruction showing what section will be worked on at what time and the location of the DVC villas. I'll see if I can find out where I got it from and post the link if I can.

Here it is, hopefully it works.

*EDITk it doesn't seem to be working for some reason. Are we not allowed to link to other WDW type sites?

 

[gwilliams]

Nope, we didn't request Zebra, that's just what we were given. Actually it worked out phenomenally well. This was a spur of the moment trip, and the only thing available at any deluxe restort was a 2 bedroom suite at AKL. It was more than we wanted to spend but we decided to splurge. Two days before we left, they called to ask if they could move us from the suite they had us booked in, to a different suite which, oh by the way, was $500 less per night. They said basically the only difference between the two suites was that the more expensive one had a dining area that could seat 8 (irrelevant to us, as there are only 5 of us). PLUS, they gave us an extra $500 off our bill to make up for the "inconvenience." Pretty sweet!

 

[pilferk]

I have a picture saved on my computer of the layout for the contruction showing what section will be worked on at what time and the location of the DVC villas. I'll see if I can find out where I got it from and post the link if I can.

Here it is, hopefully it works.

*EDITk it doesn't seem to be working for some reason. Are we not allowed to link to other WDW type sites?

Certain sites we're not allowed to link to...and you're trying to link to one.

But I think THIS is what you're looking for:

Keep in mind, though, it's WOEFULLY out of date. The section originally slated to open in May of '08, containing concierge rooms and value rooms, will be complete by Dec 2, 2007. The section orginally slated to open by December of 2007, essentially Kudo trail, will now open by Jan 28, 2008 (according to the DVC FAQ), and that will complete the Jambo conversion.

What effect that will have on Kidani's construction is currently unknown.

 

[raven69david]

We stayed there last month and the construction bothered us. It was outside where they are building the new DVC building. We could see it and it was very noisy. No other rooms were available so we were stuck. We loved the resort but I would not go back unless they could guarantee that we would not have that view.

Go to the Disney World site and send an email. Guest Relations WILL contact you regarding this issue and may provide you with some type of discount or upgrade on your future visit. I did this about 2 months ago as i was concerned about two 3 year olds and their nap time in the afternoons. I was afraid there may be a possibility that we would be bothered by the construction and we'd have to deal with 2 unhappy little ones throughout the day. They responded to my email about a week or so later and they called me. I ended up getting an upgrade from Standard view to Savannah view at no charge. .