AKL-I'm in Love!

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

Just back and boy, did we love AKL. I have nothing at all negative to say about it. In fact we decided not to go to a park after we arrived(we could with our SP's) as we wanted to explore the place.

First off, we got an upgrade to Savannah view and could not believe it. The kids and I jumped up and down while DH kept asking, "how can this happen?". I said it was Disney magic and the CM laughed and agreed. We will have to book Savannah from now on ! What a view from our balcony. Giraffes were eating and feeding as we arrived about noon(Yes, the room WAS ready ). Lois took our bags up and told us all kinds of interesting info. AND we had the bunkbeds for the kids, which makes life so much easier when you have a boy and a girl !
We swam(was upper 70's-80 and pool heated comfortably). We walked around, took pictures, went to DTD for a bit, started the hidden Mickey search, ate at Mara and listened to Jay at storytime that first day. That was fun! Our room was very clean and no wear nor tear. It was VERY quiet, never heard a peep from anyone(except some animals while we were on the balcony ). We were on the 2nd floor and the view was exceptional.
DD enjoyed the cookie decorating at 1pm, and both kids got the reward for finishing the hidden Mickey's. A great CM at Ziwadi's gave the kids an extra prize he thought they deserved(and they were thrilled ).
This was our 3rd deluxe and we had stayed at 3 mods before. AKL is my favorite(we have never stayed in a resort we did not like though!) . The resort, the castmembers, the room, the view, the activities, the pool were exceptional and we will return!
Also, the parks were fully decorated for Christmas already and we did everything we planned by getting there at 9! 2 hours before the big crowds moved in. We were pleased. Weather was perfect.

 

[Tinkbell]

Welcome back! Glad you enjoyed AKL. It really is a beautiful place to explore.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

And the resort did not seem crowded at all for the holidays. Online showed it was full until about 5 days out, then some availibility appeared. The pool nor Mara's were never even close to full. Not that many walking around either. We easily got a rocker for storytime(all 4 of us), and only 2 other kids decorated cookies with DD! Interesting and nice! Perhaps it just absorbs the crowd well?

 

[DisneyFreaks]

So wonderful to hear you rave about AKL. It is our favorite resort now too. We were moved there this past May when PO/FQ closed and we really wanted to go back to WL again. We fell in love with AKL and liked it so much more than WL. My family doesn't want to stay anywhere else so I guess now we will have to divide our trips among two resorts so I can try other places as well. LoL

 

[Disney Fool]

Glad to hear you loved this resort. It's my favorite also. And you are absolutely right--if you stay there, beware that you may never leave the resort too much fun going on at the lodge

 

[Planecrazy4dis]

If you don't mind me asking, how did you get the upgrade? Did you just ask for it? BTW, what is Mara's?

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

Mara's is the counterservice food place. We got refillable mugs there too. We got fresh fruit there one morning. They also have a bakery area.
I did not ask for an upgrade-it was pure magic. I had regretted not booking savannah, but decided not to sweat it. I did not fax anything either, just NS and bunkbeds requested on reservation.
Pixie dust was in the air this trip!
I really thought AKL blew WL away. Tag Fairy needs to take notice!

 

[tobey sheahan]

ok i thinkmy question is answered-i've stayed at akl but never at wl and have always wanted to try it
but we had such a great time at akl wasnt sure what to do
i think i've made my decision-akl ! (i think)

 

[Kapp]

resort, Disney or not. It is so different than anything else at WDW that it is hard to compare it to anything else. Everyone should experience it at least once!

Kapp

 

[tink98]

we stayed at AKL this July and absolutely loved it. Our DS and DD 1st experience at WDW. We had booked a standard room and received upgrade to pool view which was fabulous. My sister and her family also booked a standard view, they arrived one day prior to us and rec'd savannah upgrade. Just luck I guess.

 

[Efastpitch]

great to hear. glad you had a wounderful time

 

[sm4987]

Glad to hear it. We will be there in 17 days. What savannah were you on?

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

I thought it was a great location. All the way to the end almost and on Zebra Trail- Uzima Savanna with Arusha Savanna to our left. So we could view both! One day 2 giraffes on Arusha were right across from 3 giraffes from Uzima! They were staring at each other. A baby ankole cattle that was born last Sunday slept with it's mama right in front of our balcony. The giraffes kept checking that baby out!
We always request "quiet" locations and did not this time-but this was PERFECT and quiet as it was off the beaten track, and 2nd floor. We enjoyed the hike there too, so much to see on the way.
I want to go back now!!!!

Oh tobey, we did enjoy WL and it is worth a stay there. We like exploring the different resorts-part of the fun. But there is so much more to explore at AKL I must return! WL is beautiful too!

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by BibbidiBobbidiBoo
JWe will have to book Savannah from now on !

Yeah, that's a problem . We were also upgraded to Savanah View last July and *sigh* we had to actually pay for the view on our next trip! My Dh said "Oh, it doesn't matter." The same man rushed to the sliding door everytime we entered the room to see what kind of animals were there. I knew that we would be deeply disappointed not having a Savanah View and ponied up the extra $40 per night.

Planecrazy4dis: The number of Standard View rooms is actually very small and many people are upgraded to Pool or Savanah view. I just asked if there were any upgrades available when I checked in .

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Glad to hear you like AKL. What's not to like, right???!!!! We fell in love with AKL too. It is our fave resort...

 

[Montana Minnies]

Thanks for your upbeat report!
My sister and I stayed at AKL this past July and we really enjoyed it too. It was the first time we had ever stayed at a deluxe on property and it was wonderful. We had such a great time that we will be back next Aug. with 8 of our family members to share the magic.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

robin, you are right! Disney knew what they were doing putting us there. We will pay for that view from now on ! My dh also ran to the balcony when we entered the room, instead of the TV! We got some beautiful pictures in the early morning before we left for the parks. The sun would come up behind the trees and produced great effects. Then in the evenings we had no sun in our eyes-great for us since we were early morning park goers !
We actually had trouble picking our Christmas card picture this year as they were all so good and different!