AKV Review w/ concierge info and PICS

[kelleydea]

I am so excited to see your reviews! We will be staying at the AKL club level in December and are going on the Sunrise Safari while we are there. I was hoping that we could be able to eat breakfast at the lounge on the days that we didn't have breakfast ADR's and I think that it won't be a problem. Your review makes me wish that we were staying longer than we are!!!

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

we are staying this fall at AK , i wonder if you have any pictures or comments on what else the lounge offers to eat and drink during the day and evening? Do you think it was worth the extra points for the congiere, and do you think it was just too far out , in reguards to travel time to other parks, and downtown disney area etc.?

I will be posting the evening offerings in just a sec; what I've listed so far is it for the daytime. Yes, I think it was worth the extra points for a splurge,and we'll probably do it again. We probably won't do concierge every trip, because we would rather stay longer and use less points. Other than the lounge, the daily housekeeping and turn down and the availability to book the Sunset Safari are all wonderful advantages. AKL is further out from MK and Epcot than the monorail resorts (obviously), but is VERY close to AK (5 min) and is fairly close to DHS. I don't think the travel time was an issue at all, it was the bus service that wasn't that great. Hopefully they are trying to improve on that, bus service isn't perfect anywhere! The positive is that the bus service isn't shared with another resort like so many others (that was really annoying at the Boardwalk)!

Thank you so much for posting. Your pictures and report are wonderful. Your family is so cute. How about a picture of YOU? Or were you always behind the camera? I am looking forward to the rest of your report and pictures. I really miss the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Thanks! Here's a family shot from our September trip; I'll post one from this trip when I get them uploaded:

If any of you get the chance to do the Sunset safari.....that by far is one of the best experiences we have ever had! The animals were so close it was AMAZING!!..

We would have loved to do the Sunset Safari, but you must be 8 or older. Lauren is only 3, so we'll do that in about 5 years!! How was the Jiko dinner afterwards? I'm so jealous!

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

Evening - served from 5 - 7.

There were 3 hot items that rotated (there was one soup, one veggie item, & one meat per night):

Soup - Coconut Curry, Carrot Ginger, & African Stew
"Veggie" item - some type of veggie pastry, meatballs
Meat - ribs, chicken wings, & grilled chicken pieces

These were available every night:

Cold veggies - Morrocan style carrots, artichokes & hearts of palm, marinated olives, celery, & roasted peppers

Pita chips, hummus (black olive & white bean), yogurt dip (this was kind of spicy). Also Uncrustables PB&J and gummy bears for the kids.

Cheeses - gouda, smoked cheddar, brie, & blue with crackers.

There were also African wines and beer (Tusker, Michelob, & Miller Lite) in addition to the usual drinks available all day.

Basically, you COULD make a dinner out of this if you wanted to (and we did a few times), but I wouldn't plan on it for every night. There's not much variety and nothing for kids except the PB&J. We basically made this a nice snack most nights before our actual dinner. The ribs and chicken wings were outstanding!

COMING UP NEXT: FINAL INSTALLMENT WITH LATE EVENING DESSERTS!

 

[hematite153]

"Veggie" item - some type of veggie pastry, meatballs

I've been enjoying your review, thanks for writing it.

Just one question, how do meatballs qualify as a veggie item????

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

I've been enjoying your review, thanks for writing it.

Just one question, how do meatballs qualify as a veggie item????

I guess because they were in a tomato sauce???? On the other nights, there was always some type of veggie pastry or quiche where the meatballs were in this picture.

 

[29apr00]

OMG this is so wonderful!! i'm very excited now to try and get CL for our trip next year!! Can't wait to book it!!

 

[LisaS]

When we were there they had one hot veggie item most nights but not all nights. Some nights there were two meat items, as in the photo above. So if you are a vegetarian, you can't count on a hot appetizer every night.


This really is a wonderful review of AKV Concierge. Thanks so much for creating this thread and posting all these photos! Great job!

 

[Donald is #1]

Excellent review and pictures! Thanks for posting them.

 

[allaboutmm]

Thank you so much for the trip review and pictures-excellent job!

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

This really is a wonderful review of AKV Concierge. Thanks so much for creating this thread and posting all these photos! Great job!

Lisa - you're very welcome!! I feel honored that the AKV "Queen" is enjoying my report. Thanks for all the work you have done for all of us!

Excellent review and pictures! Thanks for posting them.

I have enjoyed doing it. I knew I would have loved to see something like this before we left, so I made a point to take lots of pictures and make notes!

 

[mmmears]

I am really enjoying reading your thread -- thank you for posting such detailed information and photos of the concierge service. This will help me so much in planning our upcoming trip to WDW, especially with regards to our ADRs!

Cant wait for the final installment!!! Yummy treats!!!

Thanks again for sharing your vacation with us all.

 

[podsnel]

What a wonderful report!! Thanks so much for posting it! I'll be staying AKV concierge next May with a friend on a girls getaway trip- your TR has really brought the whole experience to life! Thank-you for taking the time to share!

 

[supersuperwendy]

When Kidani Village opens will it offer concierge level for DVC also or just in Jambo House?

 

[LisaS]

When Kidani Village opens will it offer concierge level for DVC also or just in Jambo House?

The information on the public DVC website states that only Jambo House will have concierge rooms. The same is true for the Value rooms. Kidani will have Savanna View and Standard View rooms.

 

[drag n' fly]

What a fantastic review. I can hardly wait!

 

[tinkerbelle77]

Thanks for all the pics and the great review...We were really curious on what to expect for our Sept. stay, and now we have no questions left! Thanks again!

 

[jazmyin]

We were waitlisted for 2 ngts and they came through for Aug. 27-29th!!! I'm so glad that you posted this thread. It was sooooo helpful. Then rest of our stay we will be in a studio SV from 8/29-9/2. Only a little more than one month to go. YEAH!!!

 

[carone0318]

We were waitlisted for 2 ngts and they came through for Aug. 27-29th!!! I'm so glad that you posted this thread. It was sooooo helpful. Then rest of our stay we will be in a studio SV from 8/29-9/2. Only a little more than one month to go. YEAH!!!

We will be there right after you. We check into a 1-bdrm concierge on 8/31 through 9/2. Can't wait, I forwarded this thread to my dh because of the awesome pictures the OP has! Thanks OP!!!!

 

[Disney_Mama]

Thanks for all the great information and pictures. The picture of your girls sleeping is priceless.

 

[famsen]

We will be staying in a 2BR concierge room in October. This will be our first time ever staying in concierge and are so excited!
Thanks for all the pictures and information. You helped answer alot of questions for me!