AKL Veterans: How often are upgrades?

[Laura's Dad]

How many of you who have stayed at the AK Lodge have been upgraded from a standard view to a pool view or from a pool view to a savannah view. We are planning to stay at the AKL (AP rates wiiling) in April. Should we book a pool view room in hopes that it will be upgraded to a savannah view in order to save money, or should we go ahead and request a savannah view room to be sure? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi.. we hear about it happening quite often on this board - however it is still hard to judge as maybe the people not receiving upgrades are not posting about it.

The majority of rooms at AKL are savanna or poolview so chances are good that you will recieve an upgrade.

However, I am happy to say I have read several trip reports of guests in standard view rooms that had wonderful holidays with plenty of opportunities to see th animals in the public viewing areas.

The standard view rooms are identical to the pool and savanna view rooms, you will be very comfortable.

Having said that, if you will be horribly disappointed to not have a savanna view, then you should book it in advance and pay the premium.

If you are flexible and it does not matter to you, then cross your fingers & hope for the upgrade.

Good Luck,

>>^..^<<

 

[mickey7861]

We've stayed at the AKL 3 times and each time we have received a complimentary upgrade from standard view, twice to savannah view and once to pool view. While the upgrades are nice I wouldn't be devasted to stay in the standard view that I paid for. If you really would hate a standard view then you should book the view you would "have to have" in order to be happy on your vacation.

 

[disney queen]

what are the chances of an upgrade from savannah to conceigre?

 

[>>^..^<<]

Originally posted by disney queen
what are the chances of an upgrade from savannah to conceigre?

LOL.... very slim, my friend

>>^..^<<

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by disney queen
what are the chances of an upgrade from savannah to conceigre?

I would say zero. They stay completely booked most of the time.

As for upgrades, it depends on what time of year you go, how full the hotel is, and how long you are staying. We have been upgraded there without asking from standard to (obstructed) pool view. But we were just there for one night offseason.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by disney queen
what are the chances of an upgrade from savannah to conceigre?

Probably about the same as being upgraded from any accessible room to concierge or from any accessible room to any other premium room.

 

[blanq]

We were upgraded from a standard view to a pool view, during our 5/7-5/14/03 stay. Our upgrade was unsolicited. While we were there, we met and befriended a single guy who shared he had been upgraded from a standard view to a savannah view room. He was staying at AKL on the silver plan. I personally would have been happy with a standard room, but we certainly enjoyed our pool view!

 

[DisneyFreaks]

If it is really important for you to have a savannah view then I would say you should probably book it from the start. Many people do get free upgrades at AKL but it isn't necessarily a given. We are some of the unfortunate ones who did not receive an upgrade even after asking to be moved because we had no balconies to our rooms. We had standard views and we also had the most fabulous time ever. The view from our rooms weren't bad at all. Next year we are going to book pool view rooms because that is what we have decided we want. Then watch, we will get the complimentary upgrade to savannah view. LoL

 

[MinnieGi]

We were complimentary upgraded from a standard AP room rate to a pool view room. We loved the resort and loved the pool view. We found plenty of opportunities to view the animals with all the look-out points both inside and outside. I was actually more into viewing the animals than my 2 1/2 yo DD and DH. DD was way more into the pool than the animals.

However if you really want to stay in a savannah room than I would defiently book it up front. I wouldn't leave something like that up to chance if you really want that view.

 

[robinb]

We were upgraded from a Standard View room to a Savanah View room from 7/4/03-7/7/03 at the AP rate. It was great! We checked in early (around 9:00 am), politely asked for an upgrade and said we would be happy to wait for a room. We were finally in our room around 5pm because they had shampooed our rug. We were all then way at the end of the Kudu Trail and the animals were great. We were offered a coveted Zebra trail room which was available earlier, however I opted to wait for a room with bunk beds. Although we felt like we were on a 2 week safari every time we treked back and forth to our room, the bunk beds were worth the wait ... my DD loved sleeping on the top bunk!

We're booked in a Standard View room again for 12/21-12/28 and I am starting to feel like paying for the upgrade ($50 more per night). We so enjoyed the animals! My husband would rush to the glass door every time we would enter the room to see the animals. This same man says he would be happy with a Standard (aka Parking Lot) view. I'm not so sure, even though he is talking about putting together a AKL Standard View room "Car Spotting Guide" . *sigh*