Animal Kingdom Lodge is unbelievable...

[princessvacg]

OK, I know this review is kind of late, but I had to give my opinion of this resort. We spent 8 nights in July at the Animal Kingdom Resort and it was fabulous. I was a little leary after hearing some of the complaints about the walking, distance, bus problems, etc. We stayed in a delux savannah room..and yes, it was a free upgrade, far from the lobby...however, no one seemed to mind or care for that matter and yes we had little ones. The first night we arrived, I walked outside to see a Giraffe sleeping below our balcony. The next morning I sat outside drinking coffee to watch a heard of giraffe walk over to eat. No, it was not like visiting the zoo...which based on some of the reviews I read, is what I believed it was going to be. There was a total of 17 of us at Disney with my family and my DB's family both at this resort. My DM and DS stayed at different disney resorts. We have been to disney many times and have stayed at different resorts every year...this was by far the best. This hotel screams relax. The pool was amazing..and yes I have stayed at the Beachclub and experienced stormalong bay. It was never very crowded and YES the pool is open 24 hours a day...which was great coming home late on a hot evening. We had an adult dinner at Jiko, which was fantastic...a major compliment coming from me since I am such an incredibly picky eater. The Mara was one of the best food courts I have been to. On the night we arrived, it was my oldest DD's 20th birthday. We wanted to grab a quick bite and swim so we went into the Mara grabbed our food and went to eat at an outside table. While we were eating one of the cashiers came out with a Birthday cake lit with a candle. It made my daughters day since we spent most of the day in the airport and on the plane..although a plug for SW Airlines..the best and friendliest flight attendants I have ever encountered!! They had the entire plane sing happy birthyday to my DD. We were unable to get into the Boma due to the number in our party..next time! We had towel animals everyday and mousekeeping was terriffic. The bus rides were fine..never a long wait there or coming back. All I can say is that this hotel is by far one of the best disney has come up with and is worth every penny. It was difinitely a "Magical Experience!"

 

[Deb & Bill]

AKL is a wonderful resort. We've stayed there twice. Glad your trip was so good.

 

[Leota]

Great report. We liked AKL enough to spend a couple more days there away from our favorite resort(Dolphin) The Savannah view is what made it for us tho, it overrode the other things we didn't love so much to see the animals right outside our balcony. We spent hours out there watching them.

 

[princessvacg]

We spent lots of time watching the animals also and I never thought it would be as facinating. Maybe because they were not caged like at a zoo.

 

[johnsonet]

As you can see from my signature I've stayed at almost every Deluxe resort at WDW. AKL - concierge level in particular - is my absolute favorite. I think the resort is the most special, unique place on property. I also think the rooms are the best value at WDW. It does not appeal to everyone but it is my absolute favorite! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!

 

[WDWBetsy]

Thanks for sharing your review. The DH and I are looking forward to AKL, as well as their restaurants.

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Glad you enjoyed AKL!! It's our favorite. aw: aw:

 

[WDW LOVR]

We are in the minority, but we stayed for 3 nights during the past spring break and thought the resort was "just ok". Don't get me wrong, it was nicely themed and all, but the bus ride to everything except AK and BB was not to our liking. The room we got was about as far as you could get from Mara and the pool (farther than the walks to your room in the BWV wing of the Boardwalk resort). I didn't enjoy that long of a walk to get coffee every morning. We had the same 3 animals every day which were cool the first hour of the trip.

But I guess that's ok that everyone likes AKL. It just makes it easier for us to get a room at our favorite, the Boardwalk

 

[Patio]

I'm so happy that your trip was so magical. I totally agree with everything you said about AKL. I've stayed there twice and LOVED it. I even went to visit and have lunch at Mara on my last trip just because I missed it so much.

 

[Briarmom]

Now I am even more excited about our stay in Nov!!

 

[Aalore]

Sounds like you had a great time!!

 

[Furnacefighter]

We stayed at CBR on the last week of July. When we booked we had the chance of upgrading to AKL. We looked at our pocketbooks and decided to keep the original plans. We had a wonderful time but we were slightly disappointed by some of the conditions at CBR. Will keep your post in mind for the next time! Thanks......

 

[JennSaint]

We've stayed twice at AKL and it's our favorite so far!

 

[johnsonet]

We are in the minority, but we stayed for 3 nights during the past spring break and thought the resort was "just ok". Don't get me wrong, it was nicely themed and all, but the bus ride to everything except AK and BB was not to our liking. The room we got was about as far as you could get from Mara and the pool (farther than the walks to your room in the BWV wing of the Boardwalk resort). I didn't enjoy that long of a walk to get coffee every morning. We had the same 3 animals every day which were cool the first hour of the trip.

But I guess that's ok that everyone likes AKL. It just makes it easier for us to get a room at our favorite, the Boardwalk

WDW LOVR I can totally understand about that long walk. The first time I stayed there we were on Kudu Trail and our walk was VERY long. I don't mind walking in general but it did seem a bit much. We couldn't just "nip down" to Mara or the pool, for example ... At least now there are coffee makers in the rooms so you can have your coffee without walking a mile to get it And I now always request Zebra Trail so that I'm on the other side of the resort.
Concerning the bus ride, IMO it's not bad. It's so nice to go directly from AKL to the park you're headed to. When we stay at GF we have to stop at the Contemporary and Poly on our way back from MGM, for example. No huge deal - but it's nice to go "direct".
The bus ride from AKL to MK is the longest: 18-20 minutes. But MGM and Epcot seemed to be only about 8-10 minutes. Same as GF to MGM or AK...
Anyway, maybe you'll give it another chance someday. However, your favorite is one of mine as well. The Boardwalk ROCKS!

 

[minnie61650]

Bus ride times from AK according to Passporter.com

MK 20 min.
Epcot 15 min.
MGM 10 min.
AK 5 min.
DTD 15 min.

Linda

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Glad you had a great time!

We too, enjoy AKL very much!

 

[jarestel]

I agree AKL is great! One of our favorite resorts. Thanks for the report!

 

[Tjaleks]

I can't wait I switched to the AKL from a value and it is going to be a surpise for my family

Thaks for sharing this just makes me feel more comfortable with my decision.

I have booked a standard room, does anyone have suggestion on what area I should request. Oh, just wondering when someone get a free upgrade, (here's hoping, but will be fine without one) did you have a special request on your ressie or just happy with whatever you got??

 

[laurabelle]

Thanks for the report and I have to say I agree! I stayed at AKL for the first time last month too. My kids really wanted to try WL but it was booked so we got AKL instead. The whole family fell in love with this resort, so much so that we spent time away from the parks to hang out there! I love the sense that you are in a very different world there, with lots of special spots to discover. I'll def. be staying there again in the future!

 

[Princess Mommy]

I am getting anxious to go stay there myself! And I have to wait until December!