Animal Kingdom Lodge Partial closer till Sept. 1

[Fast Pass]

Thanks for the update mcgypsy!
Is the construction just on one side of the lodge or on both sides?
Was the lodge crowded, were the animals out in force? Are the animals real or do you think they are those animatronic ones?( Well, it is Disney and they have a knack for illusion.)(I was asked to ask that last question by an arm chair computer driver).
Did you hear if the construction would be done any time soon? I am going in September and have heard so many different CMs say so many things about the construction and the chances of us moving, it is stressing me out a little.
Construction fire! Egads! I'm glad that nothing serious happened.
If you had a choice would you still have stayed at the lodge or would you have liked to move?

 

[racinjunkie]

I just got back in from AKL a few hours ago.

Great news, thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[mcgypsy]

Fast Pass - The construction was mainly on the left side of the building as you enter the lodge. There are black curtains up over the balcony openings so you can't see. They did a good job - I was there 3 days before I noticed it! There was less stuff blocked out on the right side of the lodge. We were on the Zebra Trail, and never hear a bit of the construction. Kudu Trail seems to be taking the brunt of the work.

The animals were out in force, and unless they have taught the animatronic ones how to poop, they were real. I know that sounds gross, but I have a 6 & 7 year old, and that's the kind of things they wanted pictures of! I loved the lodge, but we generally stay at POLY, and will probably stay there in the future. AKL was wonderful, but the monorail is unbeatable, and I can't say enough about the difference in staying concierge at both places. Everything from the CL service to the CL food offerings was better at POLY. That said, we were there so we could do the sunrise safari, and that was unbeatable! We would stay there again just to do the safari.

The lodge wasn't overcrowded, but there were lots of folks there. The pool was always very busy, but there were always chairs available. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.

 

[grannyminnie]

mcgypsy...can you elaborate on the CL food offerings at both the AKL and Poly regarding the differences you found there? I have heard some good things about the AKL concierge offerings in the past, so your post sort of suprised me. Or is it just that you, like a lot of us, are "in love" with the Poly?

 

[mcgypsy]

I do indeed love the POLY, but this is the first time I have stayed CL at either place, so I wasn't biased by past experience. I did a split stay at both places this trip.
At Poly, the CL lounge was easily accessible by everyone staying CL. To get to the AKL lounge we had to go down the elevator, all the way down the Zebra Trail hall, through the lobby, halfway down the Kudu Trail hall and up another elevator and then 1/2 back down the hall to the lounge. If you weren't hungry when you headed there, you were by the time you got there!

When we checked in at 4pm at AKL, the food offerrings included rice krispie treats or cookies. There was a sign that said whole fruits were available upon request. You also had to find someone and ask for wine or beer. The morning of the safari, we were supposed to meet there for a light breakfast before heading out, but because it was so early, there was only cereal available. They were putting out pastry items as we left. Heavier food was offered only after 5pm.

At Poly, there were always pastries and fresh fruit available. Everything was out so you could access stuff without asking, and you never had only 1 or 2 items to choose from. There were heavier items available during lunch and dinner hours.

The Poly atmosphere was way more relaxed too. My kids were almost scared to speak in the AKL lounge. As soon as we walked in to check in a guy came out of nowhere and said, "m'am, I need to see your room key. You can't be in here without your key." My kids thought we had done something wrong.
The lounge at Poly was always full of families and happy people. There were never more than 3 or 4 people in the lounge at AKL. Most of them were probably like me, and just thought it wasn't worth the hike to get there!

 

[RachelTori]

In defense of my beloved AKL, I think part of the problem with the CL offerings is due to the fact that the lounge is in a temporary location, not ideally accessible for guests or staff. (and I'm sure there isn't as much space for the food and beverage offerings either.) When we were there early June, shortly before they moved from the 6th floor, there was always plenty of food available.

And, mcgypsy, wasn't the sunrise safari incredible?!!

 

[SleepingBet]

That's disappointment to hear about the food at CL lounge at AKL. I've read other reviews that said they were great. I guess it's due to the construction as I understand it's temporarily in the Presidential suite instead of the normal CL lounge and I think all the standard CL rooms have been moved, as well.

We're staying at AKL (I hope) Aug. 17 - 24 at CL mainly so we could do the Sunrise Safarie, but I was also looking forward to the food, especially at breakfast.

 

[EEyorelover22]

The sunrise safari is wonderful and that's worth it!!
Enjoy!!

 

[DisneyBee]

We were at AKL July 1-7, and the CL always had plenty of food available, and courteous staff on hand. Our room was quite close - we were right by the elevators on the 4th floor, so it was a quick ride up and a short walk to the lounge.

All that being said, we will stay at the Poly next year because we want to be on the monorail. We're very much "park hoppers" and we want to have easy access to our room to rest or change clothes.