AKL in late July

[NYMom]

DH, DS11, DS7 and I are planning a trip to WDW in late July.
We will be staying at the Gaylord Palms so that I could attend a Creating Keepsakes University and then move over to WDW.
We visited AKL during our last visit in July 2003, were totally awed by the hotel. We had dinner at Boma, which we my favorite. The boys loved going outside to watch the animals. But looking back on it, we have some concerns about staying there. The parking was horrible and the lobby and restaraunts were extremely crowded . We also noticed people wandering around the hotel hallways. Is this always like this? Is there any privacy or were we there at an unusually busy time? We would love to book there, but not if it was anything like last time. We've stayed at POFQ and The Swan in July/August and never experienced crowds like this at these hotels. TIA

 

[ADisneygirl]

Hi NYMom,

First of all, let me offer my opinion and say that you should stay there.

Now, about your concerns, which are valid. July is going to be busy at all the resorts. Kids are off from school and I find all the parks and resorts busier during summer. AKL has many "lookers" -- who want to see the lobby, the animals, the sights, etc. Also, all the deluxe resorts have people from outside coming to eat at their restaurants, so you will have a parking problem around dinner. We usually valet park to avoid the hassles of looking for a spot. Yes, the hallway we were in was very private. It was way out at the end of one of the trails. But as we got closer to the lobby, of course there will be more foot traffic. Also, the hotel has glass enclosed displays near the lookout windows along the trails leading to rooms. These are filled with interesting African art. So you get "lookers" at those.

While we have stayed at POFQ as well as the Swan, there is not the same draw for people to visit just to look as AKL does. AKL is a beautiful resort and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. We'd go back. Hey, we'd go back to any of the resorts we've visited! We love WDW!

Hope you decide to give it a chance once.

 

[bobcat]

I've stayed at AKL during that time and while the lobby and just off the lobby can be busy around dinner time once you are in your room on your private balcony you feel like you are the only one's there. Other than the dinner time rush with people coming and going I thought this was the most restfull and peacefull resort I have ever been to. We usually park the car once and don't see it until we are ready to leave. If I was going to use it a lot during our stay I would valet park for the convenience. The buses are great and we never had to stand. If you have time check out the tours and other offerings at AKL. I highly recommend the culinary tour.

 

[njdc5]

What's the culinary tour?

 

[bobcat]

The culinary tour is free to guests at AKL and is held most afternoons. You meet your tourguide by the fire pit and they will take you on a tour of the bar area (can't remeber the name right now) and talk about African wines, no taste tests here. Then you move on to Jiko where you learn about the restaurant and talk to the chef. You get a chance to sample some of the food and learn about the cuisine. I could have stayed here talking to the chef for a long time and actually was the last one out. You then move on to Boma where you again meet one of the chefs and get to try some of the food. I learned alot about the foods and it made my dinner at Boma even more enjoyable.