AKL Review - 9/8 - 9/14

[PrejeanPrincess]

If you are an AKL lover or are planning a stay in the near future, you may want to stop here. Where to start?

Check in: awful. We had 2 guarenteed, pool view, connecting, bunk bed rooms. I called several times direct to AKL prior to our visit to make sure there were even connecting bunk bed rooms. I was always told yes. I have 4 kids and though it would be nice if they each had their own bed. However, when we arrived I quickly learned there were no connecting rooms with bunks in both rooms. We were also told that one of our rooms was on the 2nd floor and the other was on the 4th. Not good. We are a family of 6 who all reside at the same address (this is one the qualifications to be guarenteed the connecting rooms) and I was assured that we were guarenteed connecting rooms. So I was completely taken back when I was told the rooms were on different floors. The manager said they were booked and could not give us the connecting rooms. However, I was assured (again) by the manager that the next day we would have our connecting rooms. He even said that the rooms were already set aside for us and they would have priority housekeeping in the a.m. in case we came back early from the parks. So the next day we check-out, stored our luggage, and were off the AK. Great time at the park. We left and got back to AKL around 5 p.m. and proceeded to re-check-in. Again, we were given 2 rooms on different floors. After 30 minutes of frustration, we were finally given the connecting rooms, one with bunks and one with queens. However, we were told that only 1 of the rooms was ready the other was still dirty. Keep in mind it was after 5 p.m. - isn't check-in at or after 3 p.m.? Finally, we got into both rooms and I still had high hopes the trip would not be spoiled. We requested turn down service and received a couple of towel animals - nothing fancy, just okay. It was just nice to have the beds ready to go to sleep and to have fresh towels. On the 3rd day, after being in the parks all day, we came back to AKL around 9 p.m., and guess what we did not receive housekeeping at all in either room. After 30 mins. on the phone with another manager, we finally recieved housekeeping services. Check-out went about the same a check-in.

The buses: Long rides to the parks (except AK), and we had fairly long waits to catch the buses from the resort and the parks. Some days were better than others. However, most of time we did all have seats and it was very nice not to have other resort stops.

Mara and Boma: Mara was great for our needs. We had breakfast there every morning. Boma was just okay, however I am glad we tried it.

AKL is a beatiful resort and we did not have any issues with the construction. However, b/c of our experiences with the cast members & buses we will definately go back to WL or try VWL. AKL will not be in our future.

I hope those of you going or planning a trip to AKL have a much better experience than we did. Please keep in mind this was just our experience.

The parks seemed more crowded than last year during free dining. We did not have any long waits at TS, however, CS at the parks were pretty crowded.

 

[raven69david]

Wow. Sounds like your lodge experience was awful, but i'm glad you had a great time at the parks. We've never had this issue, but then again we're a family of 3 and would never be placed in that situation. I hope you write a letter to Guest Relations to let them know of your experience. If things need to be addressed, then at least your complaint is on file and they are VERY GOOD about contacting you personally about your letter. Who knows, you may get a complimentary upgrade in the future, which doesn't excuse the way you and your family were treated, but at least it's something to look forward to on your next stay possibly.

We love the AKL and will be staying there for many years to come. Our biggest complaint when we went was trash outside the rooms (trays and room-service leftovers) that were still there when coming back from the parks between 3-5 pm. Made the resort seem trashy, but was all picked up by the time we got back from our evening trip to the parks.

Staying during times of free upgrades, holidays and during non-value seasons is something we avoid like the plague. All of our trips are 2nd week of December (exception of August 2006) and we find the best balance of crowds and price during this time. Less crowds and non-overbooked hotels means we have a better chance of having a great time with minimal surprises that may inhibit our magical experience.

Here's hoping for a better vacation next time around.

 

[CoolPool]

I've read several threads about one family not getting connecting rooms. Disney really needs to solve this problem at the reservation level. There must be a way to lock two rooms together in the system. If I had a family with 4 kids I'd be furious about how you were treated. Please do write Disney about this problem; its seems solveable and why a resort area that deals with so many families can't get this right is just a simple failure of management.

 

[LWcalif]

We originally had connecting pool view bunk bed rooms booked for 9/07. When I called AKL directly, they said there were no connecting bunk bed pool view rooms, so I cancelled the ressie and booked BWI. I guess it just depends on who you get with the correct info.