liamsaunt
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2004
- Messages
- 4,797
Animal Kingdom Lodge November 19-23
DH and I were at AKL November 19-23. This was our second stay at this resort. We had reserved a Savannah view room, and ended up in 2353, which is about as far down the Kudu Trail as you can get. The long walk did not bother us at all, (we liked peeking out at the various viewing areas on the way to our room) but if I was traveling with kids I would have requested a different room closer to the Mara and pool area.
The noise level was fairly low. We heard the famous turbo toilets a few times, and the family next to us had kids that got a wee bit rambunctious, but that is to be expected at Disney I guess! Otherwise, the resort was quiet and peaceful.
We saw lots of animals from our room, especially giraffes (which only seemed to be around at certain points of the day), lots of ostriches, warthogs, some kind of giant cattle with big horns, gazelles, impala, etc.
The room was in very good condition. The only thing we noticed that was broken was that the cabinet for the refrigerator was off its hinges on the bottom. It was very nice to have the fridgewe used it daily. The room was mold, bug, and dust free, which was nice. Mousekeeping did a very good job, and the room was always made up no matter what time we returned from the parks. We tipped daily and she always left us extra towels (not towel animals!) and piles of soaps, shampoo, etc.
The resort staff was very friendly and helpful. My DH lost his room key and the concierge replaced it with no wait, and ran off our account to date to be sure that there were no charges we had not made. I needed medical assistance at one point and the front desk was very helpful with directions, offering transportation arrangements, etc.
We used in-room dining one night from Jiko. The service was prompt and the food was hot, but there were errors in the delivery. These were quickly corrected with a phone call.
We stopped by Victoria Falls a few times for drinks and noticed the standardized bar menu some others have mentioned, which is a shame. They do still have the African wine list though, and a couple of African beers.
Valet service was excellent, the car was always waiting when we got downstairs, and the staff were very courteous despite the fact that they were extremely busy.
We were at AKL for my DHs birthday, and the staff left him a birthday card in the room which had a photo signed by Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Donald, and Goofy. It was really cute!
We would stay at AKL again. For a Disney resort, it offers lots of amenities and great atmosphere. The only quibbles I have are that the lighting is too dim in the vanity area, and the bathroom is awfully small. And one real complaint: we checked in to AKL after two nights at Universals Portofino! For quality of room décor, comfort and quality of bed and linens, bath amenities, availability of extras such as mini-bar, turn down service, etc. Portofino wins hands down. However, the Disney parks trump Universal, so I guess I can put up with the scratchy Disney towels and toilet paper, LOL. Any questions, let me know. Thanks for reading!
DH and I were at AKL November 19-23. This was our second stay at this resort. We had reserved a Savannah view room, and ended up in 2353, which is about as far down the Kudu Trail as you can get. The long walk did not bother us at all, (we liked peeking out at the various viewing areas on the way to our room) but if I was traveling with kids I would have requested a different room closer to the Mara and pool area.
The noise level was fairly low. We heard the famous turbo toilets a few times, and the family next to us had kids that got a wee bit rambunctious, but that is to be expected at Disney I guess! Otherwise, the resort was quiet and peaceful.
We saw lots of animals from our room, especially giraffes (which only seemed to be around at certain points of the day), lots of ostriches, warthogs, some kind of giant cattle with big horns, gazelles, impala, etc.
The room was in very good condition. The only thing we noticed that was broken was that the cabinet for the refrigerator was off its hinges on the bottom. It was very nice to have the fridgewe used it daily. The room was mold, bug, and dust free, which was nice. Mousekeeping did a very good job, and the room was always made up no matter what time we returned from the parks. We tipped daily and she always left us extra towels (not towel animals!) and piles of soaps, shampoo, etc.
The resort staff was very friendly and helpful. My DH lost his room key and the concierge replaced it with no wait, and ran off our account to date to be sure that there were no charges we had not made. I needed medical assistance at one point and the front desk was very helpful with directions, offering transportation arrangements, etc.
We used in-room dining one night from Jiko. The service was prompt and the food was hot, but there were errors in the delivery. These were quickly corrected with a phone call.
We stopped by Victoria Falls a few times for drinks and noticed the standardized bar menu some others have mentioned, which is a shame. They do still have the African wine list though, and a couple of African beers.
Valet service was excellent, the car was always waiting when we got downstairs, and the staff were very courteous despite the fact that they were extremely busy.
We were at AKL for my DHs birthday, and the staff left him a birthday card in the room which had a photo signed by Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Donald, and Goofy. It was really cute!
We would stay at AKL again. For a Disney resort, it offers lots of amenities and great atmosphere. The only quibbles I have are that the lighting is too dim in the vanity area, and the bathroom is awfully small. And one real complaint: we checked in to AKL after two nights at Universals Portofino! For quality of room décor, comfort and quality of bed and linens, bath amenities, availability of extras such as mini-bar, turn down service, etc. Portofino wins hands down. However, the Disney parks trump Universal, so I guess I can put up with the scratchy Disney towels and toilet paper, LOL. Any questions, let me know. Thanks for reading!
