AKL Questions, Share your Thoughts

[torismom]

We are booked at AKL for one night in June to enjoy the resort at the end of our stay. We are really looking forward to this. We have a Deluxe Savannah View booked. We are planning on just hanging out there and asking for a late check out.If you have stayed in one of these rooms, please tell your experience. Also, what did you enjoy most about this resort? We are two moms traveling with 5 children, ages, 8,4,4,2 and 1. We did make a ps at Boma for dinner. Haave any of you been to the story telling? How did your children enjoy the pool area and wandering around the resort? Anything special we should be on the look out for?
Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[DeeP]

We stayed at AKL in July. AKL is a very unique resort that has many interesting artifacts around and very interesting CMs. The rooms have beautifully carved wooden furniture and are nicely laid out. Some people say the rooms are too dark for their taste but we did not feel this way at all. It is amazing to sit on your balcony and watch the animals or walk around the resort and view the animals from one of the overlooks. We used the pool daily and it was very nice but when we were there the water was heated which considering the air temp was in the 90's having the pool water heated was not refreshing at all. The hot tubs were like stepping into a pot of boiling water so we did not use them at all. We ate at Boma and Mara food court and enjoyed both, we also have eaten at Jikos and loved that. We listened to a story teller once and it was very interesting.
The only thing we did not like about AKL was how far it was from the parks but since you are staying at the resort all day this will not be a problem. AKL is a very nice resort and you will enjoy it very much.
BTW, I hate to tell you this but AKL does not grant late check outs. We tried in July and they said they do not late check outs.

 

[mouseclick1]

We had a similar plan last month. We spent 1 day/night at AKL before we went on our Disney cruise. We did not hit the parks at all, just enjoyed the resort all day long. It was wonderful! Our boys swam most of the day, and spent some time in the arcade. We also found different places to watch the animals, including just sitting on our balcony and enjoying the view. Since we were only there for the one day, we splurged and had a concierge room, so we also spent some time in the lounge.

We never even made it to the storytelling or other planned activities because we stayed so busy doing our own thing. We even had a blast in the gift shop! It is truly a remarkable resort and I'm sure you will all have a wonderful time!

 

[gepetto]

There are TONS of hidden Mickeys there. Try to find them all.

 

[Captain Crook]

Ton's of hidden Mickeys? I only saw one.

They do not allow late checkout without dire circumstances and even then it's subject to the checki/check out ratio...

 

[Michelemouse]

You can get a Hidden Mickey Hunt sheet at Guest Services. I believe we had to find about 15 Mickeys. Once we found them all we took the sheets back to Guest Services and the kids got some great prizes.

Have fun!

Michele

 

[Barbruka]

I hope with that many kids, you have two rooms reserved, not one. All of you will never fit in one room. We stayed in the same type of room with four (two adults, and two kids) and it was tight. Those are not large rooms. But we absolutely loved the resort. One night is not enough! I'd do at least two!

 

[DisOrBust]

Thet do not have late check out as an option. however, They do have lockers, showers and restrooms and you are able to use the pool until you leave the resort in the late afternoon.

I also hope you have 2 rooms booked or it will be really tight.

You "may" be able to check in early.

 

[Gillian]

I checked in a 7:00 AM the 2nd week of March

After telling me that a standard room was parking lot view & asking if I wanted to upgrade to savannah view for $60 (I declined), they put me in a 1st floor pool view room. It was very small. the location was very convenient to the pool & mara.

We are planning to go back in september with a bigger budget & a savannah view room!

 

[zurgswife]

We just did the 1 day/night thing at AKL with our kids at the beginning of March. DH and I had stayed there for 3 nights in early Sept. and loved it. We wanted the kids to enjoy it so we started our vacation there...

My DS was up at 6:30 saying LOOK AT THE ANIMALS MOM!!!!

It was exactly what we had hoped. The other kids slept for a while so my DS got to enjoy the view by himself for a while. It was awesome.

We ate at Boma and even my picky picky eaters found things to eat and tried new things.....Though JIKO is my favorite restarant i figured my kids wouldn't enjoy it so we didn't eat there...

The animals are awesome and we enjoyed the large pool there also for a few hours.

 

[Chip and Dale]

We stayed at the AKL in a savannah view room for 10 days. We found it dark and small and t hought the furniture was overwhelming for the size of the space. It was always a long walk to the room. The lodge is museum-like with its many artifacts in glass cases. That doesn't create the warmest of atmospheres. Personally, we won't stay there again unless we get a fantastic rate. However, we must say that the balcony on the savannah view room was great--lots of close ups of the animals.

Just our humble opinion....

 

[buzz5985]

We were lucky enough to spend 2 nights March 3 & 4 savanah view. My 5 yo DS loved everthing about the place, the pool, the animals. It may be a little expensive for you with all the kids, but my son spent a couple of hours in Simba's Clubhouse. $8/hour and they feed them dinner. Dinner included in the price. He spent 2 hours there while my DH and I enjoyed drinks and dinner at Boma's. Actually now that I think of it, Boma's may be expensive for all the kids, and you could place them in Simba's for the same as the meal at Boma's. And the 2 Mom's could enjoy a nice meal together. Unless your kids are great eaters, may be a waste of money. My son started crying when we came to pick him up!!!

 

[Tluvs2talk]

We stayed 3 nights at AKl savannah view in January. We had just cruised on Disney's Wonder.We Resort at 9:00. We checked in and were told our room was not ready. WE WAITED TILL 3:45 to get in our room. I really was upset as we called ever half hour to check on our room. We were told the room had not been slept in but they were waiting for housekeeping to clear it for use. I really should have complained as we wasted an entire day. Our lugguage had already been tagged and was being held for us, so we couldn't even get to our swimming suit's. I had a good stay there, but this did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I will stay at Caribbean or Wilderness lodge from now on.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Tluvs2talk
We stayed 3 nights at AKl savannah view in January. We had just cruised on Disney's Wonder.We Resort at 9:00. We checked in and were told our room was not ready. WE WAITED TILL 3:45 to get in our room. I really was upset as we called ever half hour to check on our room. We were told the room had not been slept in but they were waiting for housekeeping to clear it for use. I really should have complained as we wasted an entire day. Our lugguage had already been tagged and was being held for us, so we couldn't even get to our swimming suit's. I had a good stay there, but this did leave a bad taste in my mouth. I will stay at Caribbean or Wilderness lodge from now on.

Check in isn't until 3:00. Yes, they should have had the room ready at 3:00, but 45 minutes isn't that big of a deal. Not getting in until 6:00pm would be a big deal. Additionally, you can always get items from your luggage even when it's checked. I did this at AKL, they even took me into the luggage room, which I thought was a neat backstage peek.

Anne

 

[cottontail]

Hi Guys:

If you are staying at the akl for two nights, and you want to do one park day and one resort day is it best to do the park day at ak park the first day, as the room is not ready till later in the afternoon, and then use the next day to relax.


Any comments,

Deb.

 

[Gillian]

Deb's suggestion is a good one. That is actually what I did for my recent stay. I arrived at about 7 & was extremely lucky to get a room so early! I was fully prepared to have them hold my bags until I got back from the parks & a room was ready. The next day was for relaxing at the resort!

The bus ride to the AK is very fast, so that is the obvious park choice for a short AKL stay.

It never hurts to keep a bathing suit handy, like in an outer pocket of your suitcase, in case you are hanging around the resort with nothing else to do. It is also advisable to have one in your carry on if you are planning to swim the same day as you fly to Florida. Luggage does get "misplaced" sometimes!

 

[Tluvs2talk]

It is a big deal when other's are checking in behind you and getting into their rooms right away. It especially made me mad knowing the room was clean and just waiting for approval. Like I said this was in January when attendance was way down. We just stayed at CBR wo weeks ago and our room was ready at 9:00 a.m. I also know that check-in isn't until 3:30, but in 30 plus trips to Disney Resorts we never had to wait more than a few hours. Anyway, we still had a good time. Just kinda aggravating.