AKL standard - what to request?

[Fionasmommy]

Just realized that I haven't added any room requests to our reservation for next month! Only thing available at AKL was standard - should I request anything in regards to room location? I'm guessing that at the very least I should probably ask to be away from the construction.

 

[raven69david]

The standard rooms are not located close to the construction, but are rather close to the lobby (center section of the hotel). You will not see or hear any constructions from a standard view room. Savannah room views are the affected rooms and only those that are on the Sunset & Arusha Savannah's.

 

[HGD24]

What view did you book? We booked a standard room with a standard view for our trip this past May and didn't request a specific Trail. We ended up with a room directly above the entrance where the ME buses and guests with cars would drive up. The noise and smell was horrible! We ended up being moved because we planned to spend quite a bit of time at the resort and hoped to be able to relax on our balcony. The only plus was that the room was located right off of the lobby and above the restaurants and pool area.

If you booked a standard view room, request something on the Ostrich Trail. That would give you a good chance of getting a view of the parking lot and not dealing with the buses or cars.

 

[Tiffany]

Just realized that I haven't added any room requests to our reservation for next month! Only thing available at AKL was standard - should I request anything in regards to room location? I'm guessing that at the very least I should probably ask to be away from the construction.

Did you book a standard view room? If that is what you booked then you are going to be looking out at the parking lot or over the walkway to the resort bus stop.

 

[marivaid]

Did you book a standard view room? If that is what you booked then you are going to be looking out at the parking lot or over the walkway to the resort bus stop.

Or, like us, you may not be looking at anything. We had a view of a rain gutter, I think, that was so high we could barely see above it. It was an handicap-acessible room, a person in a wheelchair couldn't have seen a thing over that wall.

If you've booked standard, don't expect much. I regretted not asking to upgrade when we checked in.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Take that cute little darling in your signature with you to check in...... I did the same thing with my "oh so darling" 5 year old and he chatted the CM up and was bouncing off the walls excited. Well, that spectacular CM upgraded us to a Savannah view and it was a vacation we will never forget.

I know, I know...don't expect an upgrade but just wanted to share my experience (and I really think my adorable 5 year old had a hand in it! )

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

When we went on our honeymoon in October of 2005, we had booked a standard room, but not having been to disney in over 20 years, we didn't know much about it. The TA we used told us that WDW treats honeymooners special and when I inquired if we would have a view of the parking lot, she (the TA) told us that we would be assured not to get a room like that....that all the rooms had nice views. Well, needless to say the TA was WRONG!!! We got there, and the first thing I noticed when we walked in the room was a little balcony (barely big enough for one chair and a small bistro table, let alone big enough to actually stand out on) was overlooking- none other- than a parking lot. So I immediately called the TA and raised holy hocky sticks. Basically they told me that it was my problem, I got what I paid for and they hung up. I went to the front desk and explained the situation, as calmly as I could; and while they did not offer to upgrade us for free, they did offer us a premium room overlooking the savannah. It was alot more per night, but it was our honeymoon, so we splurged. I'm glad we did.

Anyway, my point that I'm trying to make is, you may want to request "no rooms overlooking parking lot". Some people just don't care since you may or may not spend much time in your room. I'm not one of them. I like sitting on my balcony in the morning having my coffee and reading the paper....not cramped and smelling fumes from traffic. I can go to the city for that. I made that request when we stayed at FQ this year, and it seemed to be honored, although I don't think I noticed too many room overlooking a parking lot in that resort. At AKL, the standard rooms are smaller than the savannah rooms (although not alot smaller), but the balconies in the savannah rooms are MUCH larger....for obvious reasons.

Sorry so long, but my "former" TA STILL strikes a sour chord with me....needless to say we didn't (and won't) use them again. Go figure from a national company.

 

[spiceycat]

you will do plenty of walking - so I would ask for one near the lobby.

the TA was use to the old policy of just about everyone being upgraded.

that was before Disney decided to move DVC in - now this resort should (once the construction is completely) be near or full just about every day.

the excess capacity has gone to DVC.

 

[Princess Erin]

Are all of the standard room above the parking lot. I have seen some pretty bad rooms there.

 

[shellybaxter]

I'm sorry to sound negative, but if I had booked a standard view room I would request a different hotel. In my opinion the standard view rooms at AKL are the pits and I'd rather stay at a moderate resort - or over at the WL where the standard views are better.

AKL is my favorite hotel, but I won't stay without a Savannah view room. Its what makes this hotel for us.

 

[lilyv]

When we went on our honeymoon in October of 2005, we had booked a standard room, but not having been to disney in over 20 years, we didn't know much about it. The TA we used told us that WDW treats honeymooners special and when I inquired if we would have a view of the parking lot, she (the TA) told us that we would be assured not to get a room like that....that all the rooms had nice views. Well, needless to say the TA was WRONG!!! We got there, and the first thing I noticed when we walked in the room was a little balcony (barely big enough for one chair and a small bistro table, let alone big enough to actually stand out on) was overlooking- none other- than a parking lot. So I immediately called the TA and raised holy hocky sticks. Basically they told me that it was my problem, I got what I paid for and they hung up. I went to the front desk and explained the situation, as calmly as I could; and while they did not offer to upgrade us for free, they did offer us a premium room overlooking the savannah. It was alot more per night, but it was our honeymoon, so we splurged. I'm glad we did.

Anyway, my point that I'm trying to make is, you may want to request "no rooms overlooking parking lot". Some people just don't care since you may or may not spend much time in your room. I'm not one of them. I like sitting on my balcony in the morning having my coffee and reading the paper....not cramped and smelling fumes from traffic. I can go to the city for that. I made that request when we stayed at FQ this year, and it seemed to be honored, although I don't think I noticed too many room overlooking a parking lot in that resort. At AKL, the standard rooms are smaller than the savannah rooms (although not alot smaller), but the balconies in the savannah rooms are MUCH larger....for obvious reasons.

Sorry so long, but my "former" TA STILL strikes a sour chord with me....needless to say we didn't (and won't) use them again. Go figure from a national company.

I don't think your former TA was very nice, or professional. It seems pretty thoughtless to send honeymooners off with high hopes of being comped. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. The right thing to do, IMO, is book (and pay for) exactly what you want. They should have told you that, and helped you get the "right" reservations. Glad you went for the paid upgrade.

 

[marivaid]

I'm sorry to sound negative, but if I had booked a standard view room I would request a different hotel. In my opinion the standard view rooms at AKL are the pits and I'd rather stay at a moderate resort - or over at the WL where the standard views are better.

AKL is my favorite hotel, but I won't stay without a Savannah view room. Its what makes this hotel for us.

Depends how much time one intends to spend on their balcony. We were there 4 nights in our standard room and yes, the view sucked, so we just didn't go on the balcony. We still enjoyed the animals and the scenery as there are public viewing areas everywhere. It took us 2mns to walk to the Kudu trail viewing area that was empty most of the time.

Don't get me wrong, Savanna View would have been amazing, but you can "make do" with a standard room too.

 

[Princess Erin]

I do hear that they have other upgraded rooms if available.

 

[spiceycat]

I do hear that they have other upgraded rooms if available.

that was before DVC moved it.

do not expect an upgraded here any longer.

It might still happen - but don't book a standard view thinking that you will be moved to savannah.

It probably won't happen.

 

[A_NY_Outlaw]

I'm sorry to sound negative, but if I had booked a standard view room I would request a different hotel. In my opinion the standard view rooms at AKL are the pits and I'd rather stay at a moderate resort - or over at the WL where the standard views are better.

AKL is my favorite hotel, but I won't stay without a Savannah view room. Its what makes this hotel for us.

I have to mostly agree with this. I was just disappointed on our 2005 honeymoon that the TA just gave us doses of bad information. I am not sure if I'd rather stay at a moderate resort though in lieu of a standard at AKL. We stayed at FQ this year and I was terribly disappointed. The bathroom had mold in it, the tiles on the wall were cracked and broken and it took teh front desk 3 days to fix our television. The concierge and front desk were very rude on a daily basis. Far cry from AKL.

It is on our short list when we go back next October.

 

[Ellielovesdisney]

We have stayed in a Savannah room here twice and a pool view once (and have a standard view reservation for january. I LOVED the 1st savannah view room we had...near the lobby on arusha savannah...lots of animals, but the second one was way at the end and the walk was endless and we saw a lot less animals. The pool view was nothing special for us and we just kept the curtains closed. I am sure that is what we will do with the standard view also. We probably won't be spending a lot of time on our balcony this trip anyway since DD4 loves to climb and this would make me nervous. I am still really looking foward to staying here since I think this resort is so special in so many ways...(but an upgrade woudn't hurt!!)

 

[shellybaxter]

I have to mostly agree with this. I was just disappointed on our 2005 honeymoon that the TA just gave us doses of bad information. I am not sure if I'd rather stay at a moderate resort though in lieu of a standard at AKL. We stayed at FQ this year and I was terribly disappointed. The bathroom had mold in it, the tiles on the wall were cracked and broken and it took teh front desk 3 days to fix our television. The concierge and front desk were very rude on a daily basis. Far cry from AKL.

It is on our short list when we go back next October.

I'm sorry that you had such a bad expirience at POFQ but please don't judge all moderate hotels by your one room. We've stayed at POR, POFQ, and CBR and all of our rooms were very nice, no maintenance or housekeeping problems. As for my saying I'd rather stay at a moderate over AKL standard - I meant I'd rather have less services and a beautiful atmosphere than a room with a lousy view.

 

[Fionasmommy]

Thanks so much for the replies!

I did book a standard, it was the only thing available at AKL at the AP rate. The trip was a spur of the moment surprise for my DD (she thinks I'm taking her along to a work convention in Ohio) - I just happened to see the AP rates online so I was glad to get anything. WL is our favorite, so I've been checking constantly for something to open up there, but it's booked solid. No big surprise, seeing as WL is so popular around Christmas. But, AKL is working out to not much more per night than a mod, so I'll take it even with a parking lot view!

We've stayed at POFQ and CBR and enjoyed both, but I'm looking forward to trying something new. I'm just not at all familiar with the rooms there, so I didn't know if it was something to consider. If construction isn't an issue, I may just leave it with no requests.

 

[Princess Erin]

well, hopefully there are some decent standard rooms. can anyone please give me an idea on what I could request. With my luck I will be stuck at the bus stop. Tried to book a savannah but nothing is available so this is it.

 

[DISNEYmooner2008]

Great.... DF and I are booked in a standard view room for our honeymoon in January.... Seeing soooo many people talk about upgrades here on the DIS, i figured we would chance it.... Plus, we used the January discount code and there were no Savannah views available with the code... Now what to do...