AKL - help

[iluvpluto27]

Hi,

We currently have a reservation at POFQ but I fancy trying something new,so am thinking about switching to AKL.

I've been searching through threads trying to get a feel for the resort (we've visted for meals before but never really explored) and reviews appear to be good.

One thing I've seen a lot of people mention is the size, and it can be a long walk to the Mara and the buses. When I visited I thought it looked quite compact but that must not be the case. If we are in a room, furthest away from the lobby how long a walk are we talking about? We're two reasonably fit adults by the way who walk a lot in our daily lives.

On the subject of size, how many rooms does AKL have? Is it smaller or bigger than the Yacht club, another resort I'm considering?

One last question, whenever I've been for dinner at Boma the area around there has been crazy but there didn't seem to be too many people in the lounge (Victoria Falls??), is this usually the case or does the whole lobby get absolutely packed at night with people waiting for dinner reservations? I like to be able to have a quiet drink at night sometimes, and hoping that will be possible here.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to figure whether it's worth the cost to upgrade.

 

[Kae]

Having stayed at both if you can upgrade go for it. We walked the whole resort more than once & our room was in an area some people viewed as far away but we found it fine. The room size is bigger than POFQ but I belive not as big as BC. VF was never that crowded when we were there either. Boma always was.

Kae

 

[iluvpluto27]

Thank you. How long would you say it took to walk from your room to the lobby? I just can't figure out when people say if it's a long walk if they mean 5 minutes or more like 15.

 

[spiceycat]

here is a map.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/aklmap.htm

AKL had 1,291 including deluxe, suites and concierge - don't know how many got taken out due to DVC.

yc has 630 rooms - here is that map

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/yachbeachmap.htm

yc map also includes bc and bcv on it.

akl is just it and AKV (the part inside Jambo house)

the problem I had with AKL/V is the bus transportation - but since I am going back for my third stay - can't complaint too much.

is you get a savannah view at AKL - expect to walk. if you get a standard or pool room you will closer to the lobbby and not so much walking.

with the YC - the lake view rooms were the furthest from the lobby - but only doing rain storms. otherwise there is a door you can take for a short cut.

 

[mskayjay]

Okay I have not stayed at POFQ but I was one of the posters who said it was a loooooong walk to the lobby and for us it was. If you look at the map, our room was in that farthest cluseter all the way to the right overlooking the Savanna. Now it may not look that far on a map but trust me its a hike and when you're pushing a good sized woman in a wheelchair on carpeted flooring it feels even longer! lol That being said, it was quiet, seeing the animals was awesome, I'd do it again in a heartbeat, rooms were typical WDW meaning standard size and typical decor as seen in the many photos here. I loved the "hidden" jacuzzi behind the water slide and the pool area bar, the nighttime tours/views of the animals, the area you describe is noisy during the day but much quieter in the evening. The upper bar was lovely when we stopped for a cocktail one evening.

 

[Crisgw]

We switched from POFQ to AKL (with a few in between ) and I'm very confident in our switch! Good luck with the decision!!

 

[madalex]

It can be a pretty long walk if you have one of the rooms out at the end of the wings. I did this walk for fun with my daughter the last time we were there and I would say it is somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes to walk from the lobby all the way to the end of the wing.

As for the lounge, it can sometime get a little full in the evenings when there is a big crowd waiting for Boma, but I have never seen it get to the point where there were no available seats.

AKL is a great resort and I would definitely suggest giving it a try.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Thank you so much for your help. I think we're going to make the switch, I'm going with a pool view room and looking at the map posted above they all seem pretty close to the lobby/buses anyway.

 

[fall08CP]

Please help! I just booked for later this month and my aunt wants a room close to the pool if possible. We are booked for a standard room. Can any AKL experts give me a good location? I would like to call and put in a request but I'm confused by the map. Are the "Zebra Trails" rooms an actual section or is that just how it's labeled on the map? Are there standard rooms there? We couldn't care less about the view but we have some young children who will spend a good amount of time at the pool so we'd like to not be out in the boonies