Akl For The First Time.....help!

[mickeymyfavorite]

I am so excited we will be staying at the AKL for the first time in Nov.! Any tips/observations/etc. would be greatly appreciated

I'm traveling with my DS12....we are excited, but scared first time in a delux, I booked a pool view. Please help with some of your tips...........thanks

 

[matt&jakesmom]

First off you will love AKL. We stayed there last year. It was first time at a deluxe. We had the free dining and thought why not just use the extra money and upgrade. So glad that we did. We even got lucky and got a free upgrade to a savannah view.

Definately take time to walk around and see the animals especially during feeding time. We would be up by around 8 and would go out on the balconey and see the trucks come in and the girafees and zebras would follow them and poke their heads to where the food was. It was funny to watch. They do have CM's walking around outside by the firepit to answer any questions you may have. Very informative. Also at night they have night vision goggles so you can watch the animals at night.

There is story telling by the firepit. We did not make it back to the resort in time for that, however, we did spend some time sitting by the fire. Yes I know crazy in Florida to set by a fire, but we enjoyed it. If anything we met some nice people.

Off to the side by the lobby, there is a listing of activities for the day. Since we spent most of our times at the park, my DS's did not participate. That is one thing we most regret is not spending a day or even a half an afternoon just at the resort. There is so much to do and we didn't even do half of it.

 

[raven69david]

Congrats on your new upcoming trip to AKL. You're gonna love it. The sights and smells of the resort alone will make it well worth staying there. We'll be there one month later for MVMCP. There is plenty to do there such as viewing the animals on the savannah, doing the night time viewing with the night-vision goggles , story telling by the campfire and tons of other activities which can be obtained at check-in.

Please be sure to post a trip report when you return from your visit to AKL.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

We have stayed there twice and loved it. My DH's favorite!!
Boma is a great restaurant and we have always enjoyed it for breakfast and dinner.

You can go out at night and see the animals with the night vision. That was nice also.
There is so much to see and it is so relaxing. I liked the pool view since it was closer to the lobby. The pool and the area around it is great!!!
We have also stayed savannah view.

They have a great gift shop and we always enjoy looking around in there.
For bus service this resort can't be beat since they don't share a bus with anyone else. You have to take a bus to every park but it really is not that bad at all since it is not that crowded (never was for us) and it is just that one stop.

Rember that it is a little darker at this resort due to the low lighting for the animals and the effect.
Really was not that much of a problem and I LOVE light and airy. I still enjoyed it.

The service we received was very good and all the cast members were great.
Hope you have a great time!!!

 

[TxRabbit]

We stayed at AKL in March. It was our first family vacation and DS6 first trip to Disney. It was wonderful. We also had a pool view room booked. We were on the Giraffe trail, 3rd floor, which is lobby level. It was a fantastic location. There is an elevator in that wing that will take you to pool level and a side door that lets you out on the hot tub side of the pool. Also, there is an emergency stairwell exit that lets you out right around the corner from the bus stops. You can use your room key to open the door from the outside on the return trip. SOooooooo convenient.

AKL is beautiful. There is so much to do at the resort. There are many activities throughout the day. We were at the pool one afternoon when they announced a bracelet making activity, where you went over and they had little bags of wooden and carved beads, string, and a clasp to make your own bracelet. You could make it there or take it with you to make later (which we did so that we could get a better quality string). It makes a very nice souvienir and FREE! There are culinary tours, animal watching with night vision goggles, storytime at the outside fire, etc. I admit that we didn't spend too much time at the resort...and wished that we had spent more time there. I tried to go back there for our August trip, but we were moved because of construction. That would be my main observation. It would be worth it to spend some time at the resort.

Mara is the CS there, and it is great. Open early and open late. Good selection. It can be a bit busy a peak eating times, but this was Spring Break when we went. They have just a few outside tables. Inside they play old Mickey cartoons on a couple of tvs (no sound). We went to Boma and enjoyed it.

The bus service was a dedicated service (no sharing with other resorts) and in general was fine. We just missed the bus to MK on an am EMH morning and it seemed to take forever for the next one to come, but it probably only took about 15 minutes. One other night, we were stuck in the TT line when the ride broke down at the end of pm EMH. We were there for SOOOOO LATE, we weren't surprised that we waited a while for the bus. Otherwise, I thought that the service was fairly consistent. Not too long of a wait. But I don't have any point of comparison either.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. If you have any specific questions, I will try my best to answer. Otherwise, you might ask the experts over on the JAMBO thread.

 

[grannyminnie]

You mentioned being scared...why is that?

 

[memobrien]

Oh I'm glad I found this thread. I was going to post the same thing. I'm taking my DD in Jan. She will have just turned 5 when we go. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES animals. So we will be staying at AKL for 4 nights and the other 4 at the Poly.

So I'm really interesting in what everyone has to say about AKL. My plan is that we will be up and to the parks early (she gets up at 5:30/6 on a regular day. So with the excitment of Disney...who the heck knows!). Then back in the afternoon to enjoy the resort.

Maura

 

[G's mommy]

We are staying at AKL for the first time in December! My son also loves animals, AK is his favorite park. We are so looking forward to it!

 

[mickeymyfavorite]

You mentioned being scared...why is that?

I quess because I don't know what to expect.

 

[grannyminnie]

I quess because I don't know what to expect.

Ok, now that I have your answer...don't be scared!!
It is a wonderful resort, with both beauty and the exotic, theme-wise. There are things that you and your child can learn also, if you haven't read this already. (programs and storytimes, etc.) Boma is set apart from the usual resort restaurants (my opinion), because of the exotic food choices. But if you're not adventuresome, don't worry...there are the usual things to choose from too.
The only down I see is the size of the rooms. I've stayed twice, the first time 4 of us were in the room; the second time just two of us. I wish their rooms were bigger, but they're not, and we just had to deal with that. Otherwise,
I say enjoy the place..it's awesome!

 

[LisaFB]

Ohhh I can't wait!! 2 1/2 more months to go and we're there!! YIPEE!!

 

[TaraPA]

Don't miss the Culinary Tour - it's for adults and children. It's daily around 4pm, you meet outside of Jiko. I was the only person there the day I went. I got a tour of Jiko & Boma, and free appetizers as well. They explained how their kitchen works & how they use African spices in their cooking. I highly recommend this if you have reservations about eating at Boma because you're afraid there won't be anything there that you will like. The chef explained every single thing on the buffet to me, so I knew what it was when we went to eat. Boma is DIVINE. It is my all-time favorite place to eat in WDW. I love trying new foods, and loved every single thing. DH & DSs are not so adventurous, but they had plenty to choose from - prime rib, flank steak, chicken fingers, fries, mac & cheese, pasta, etc. Try it!

 

[Angel16]

You are in for such a wonderful treat while staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is one of most favorite resorts.

I think everyone who has posted before has given you wonderful ideas and information regarding AKL. The one thing I would add on is: If possible plan to spend at least half-a-day enjoying the resort, lobby, art work, outlooks and have dinner there that night so you have enough time to enjoy Arusha rock and the guides. Be sure to see the animals through the night vision scopes. You will learn so much and have fun doing it.

In my three stays at AKL the animals are out in the early morning, then again in the late afternoon around 4:00 PM for feeding and the sunset safari. After dark there is a very good chance of seeing animals running and playing, especially the zebras.

I will warn you about one thing.....You will get hooked on staying at the AKL. Have a wonderful vacation. I am sure you will!

 

[Ellie_loves_Minnie]

I will warn you about one thing.....You will get hooked on staying at the AKL. Have a wonderful vacation. I am sure you will!

That's certainly true! I'm ashamed to say we've only been to Disney twice (2004 and 2006) but we've only ever stayed at AKL and I don't see how we could stay anywhere else. It's nice and relaxed but if you want the activities then they're there. Check any of the forums and most people love Boma and Jiko and they're pretty well regarded throughout WDW.

We're back there in September and cannot wait!