Esmeralda
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
- Messages
- 50
Hi everyone! We just got back from the Grand Floridian and The Animal Kingdom Lodge. Here is my review on the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We checked in early and a room wasn't ready for us so we had to store our luggage. We got upgraded to a pool view which also ended up having a view of the Savannah. Something we loved about the AKL is that all rooms are accessed through one building. The lobby is beautiful. There are 3 main animal viewing areas, lots of rocking chairs, fire pits, and African art. There is 1 gift store, Zawadi Marketplace, that has lots of neat Disney and African merchandise (my mom bought a giraffe).
The worst thing about our room was that they've rigged the thermostat to not go below 68 degrees. It was quite warm in the room which made sleeping a little uncomfortable. (I like a cold room so I can snuggle under the covers!)
One morning my daughter spilled yogurt on her sheet on the top bunk bed in the morning, and when we returned late that night, I pulled back the covers and there it was - a hard, disgusting pink spill. I called housekeeping and was informed of their policy to only change sheets every third day. I asked why there wasn't literature in the room and he said there should have been. (I searched everywhere and never found anything.) Other hotels let you know and you can leave something on the bed if you want them changed. Most nights I showered before bed but a couple of times I was too exhausted to shower until the next morning. We experienced weather in the high 80s and 98% humidity - needless to say, I sweated profusely during the day and I would not want to sleep on those sheets again! Yuck! Also, after I found the yogurt spill, I pulled back the covers on my bottom bunk and I had no sheet! So why in the world did they take my sheet if that wasn't their day to change the sheets in the room?!! I'm still baffled by that one! It's no big deal at all, just funny!
The African theme in our room was beautiful but I was disappointed that it didn't have a trace of anything Disney (unlike our room at the Grand Floridian). There were 2 sinks outside of the shower/toilet area. The toiletries only included shampoo, lotion, & soap. Our first bar of soap was rotten but the bars left the following days were fine.
The pool is open 24 hrs but the noise at night never bothered us. My daughter enjoyed the slide but thought it wasn't big enough.
We ate breakfast and dinner at Boma and dinner at Jiko. Both restaurants were good (minus one dish at Jiko) and I'll post detailed reviews of them on the Restaurants Board. Mara has good counter service, is located near the pool, and has refillable mugs available (in 2 styles - one with a skinny bottom so it'll fit in car cup holders). It was airy and open and also had outside tables.
AKL is fantastic with activities (both for kids and adults). They will give you a list when you check-in but it doesn't have times - you have to check the board for that. There's one in the lobby and one downstairs between the 2 restaurants. My dad and I did the Culinary Tour which was really interesting. You get to talk to the chefs and learn about African cuisine and wine. There's activities for kids like bead making, crayon rubbings in the lobby (fun for adults too!), cookie decorating and other crafts. There's also storytelling and night vision goggles.
Another thing to note is that they don't allow balloons in the hotel so don't spend money at the parks on a Mickey balloon or you'll be very disappointed when they don't let you in with it! Also, no straws at any place in the resort. (Which is hard for us sensitive teeth people.) Both these rules are to protect the animals.
Well, I think that about covers it. If anyone wants details on ANYTHING I mentioned above, feel free to ask. I'm happy to pass on tips (after planning for a year, I know how it feels).
We checked in early and a room wasn't ready for us so we had to store our luggage. We got upgraded to a pool view which also ended up having a view of the Savannah. Something we loved about the AKL is that all rooms are accessed through one building. The lobby is beautiful. There are 3 main animal viewing areas, lots of rocking chairs, fire pits, and African art. There is 1 gift store, Zawadi Marketplace, that has lots of neat Disney and African merchandise (my mom bought a giraffe).
The worst thing about our room was that they've rigged the thermostat to not go below 68 degrees. It was quite warm in the room which made sleeping a little uncomfortable. (I like a cold room so I can snuggle under the covers!)
One morning my daughter spilled yogurt on her sheet on the top bunk bed in the morning, and when we returned late that night, I pulled back the covers and there it was - a hard, disgusting pink spill. I called housekeeping and was informed of their policy to only change sheets every third day. I asked why there wasn't literature in the room and he said there should have been. (I searched everywhere and never found anything.) Other hotels let you know and you can leave something on the bed if you want them changed. Most nights I showered before bed but a couple of times I was too exhausted to shower until the next morning. We experienced weather in the high 80s and 98% humidity - needless to say, I sweated profusely during the day and I would not want to sleep on those sheets again! Yuck! Also, after I found the yogurt spill, I pulled back the covers on my bottom bunk and I had no sheet! So why in the world did they take my sheet if that wasn't their day to change the sheets in the room?!! I'm still baffled by that one! It's no big deal at all, just funny!
The African theme in our room was beautiful but I was disappointed that it didn't have a trace of anything Disney (unlike our room at the Grand Floridian). There were 2 sinks outside of the shower/toilet area. The toiletries only included shampoo, lotion, & soap. Our first bar of soap was rotten but the bars left the following days were fine.
The pool is open 24 hrs but the noise at night never bothered us. My daughter enjoyed the slide but thought it wasn't big enough.
We ate breakfast and dinner at Boma and dinner at Jiko. Both restaurants were good (minus one dish at Jiko) and I'll post detailed reviews of them on the Restaurants Board. Mara has good counter service, is located near the pool, and has refillable mugs available (in 2 styles - one with a skinny bottom so it'll fit in car cup holders). It was airy and open and also had outside tables.
AKL is fantastic with activities (both for kids and adults). They will give you a list when you check-in but it doesn't have times - you have to check the board for that. There's one in the lobby and one downstairs between the 2 restaurants. My dad and I did the Culinary Tour which was really interesting. You get to talk to the chefs and learn about African cuisine and wine. There's activities for kids like bead making, crayon rubbings in the lobby (fun for adults too!), cookie decorating and other crafts. There's also storytelling and night vision goggles.
Another thing to note is that they don't allow balloons in the hotel so don't spend money at the parks on a Mickey balloon or you'll be very disappointed when they don't let you in with it! Also, no straws at any place in the resort. (Which is hard for us sensitive teeth people.) Both these rules are to protect the animals.
Well, I think that about covers it. If anyone wants details on ANYTHING I mentioned above, feel free to ask. I'm happy to pass on tips (after planning for a year, I know how it feels).
.
