Animal Kingdom Lodge

[chrystalc77]

Can someone give me some advice about this resort? DH and I were watching a show on WDW and they showed this resort. So I looked it up and a standard room is actually a few dollars cheaper than the Cars suite we have booked.... Family of 4 so suite wasn't necessary just booked it instead of a LM room because of the walk. How are the buses and food at AKL? Any advice???

 

[iheartbelle87]

We love AKL! Their rooms are very spacious and beautiful! Bus system is excellent we've never had a problem. Only drawback to us is that there is only one (albeit, fabulous) pool where other resorts have multiple pools.

No complaints about the food here- Mara is great, and boma is a must for us!

 

[Pakey]

AKL has the use of the superior AKV pool so there's really 2 pools. Bus is adequate-AKL is 2nd stop for parks after AKV but there's usually still room on the buses.

Food choices are excellent if you are adventurous. There's Boma Jiko and Sanaa for table service-they offer African and Indian inspired foods. The counter service, Mara, is my favorite resort counter service.

 

[tarak]

We love AKL - it's the only resort my husband will stay at now. And they actually have two pools. One at Jambo House and one at Kidani Village. You can use both. We've never had issues with the buses, with the exception of the bus to Downtown Disney, which I've found to be awful no matter where I'm staying.

We love the Mara for counter service. They do have chicken nuggets if you need them. But they have fabulous flatbread pizzas, and African stew (my favorite and what I order every time). My kids loved the roasted chicken legs (although I don't think they're served every night). They have standard breakfast fare, but also have African dishes.

I've never stayed at a value resort before, so I can't compare the activities. But my kids love the pool parties, looking at the animals through the night vision goggles. They played a lot of games with the CMs at Kidani (one reminded me of Jenga with huge blocks). Just love it there overall.

 

[Babsy]

Can someone give me some advice about this resort? DH and I were watching a show on WDW and they showed this resort. So I looked it up and a standard room is actually a few dollars cheaper than the Cars suite we have booked.... Family of 4 so suite wasn't necessary just booked it instead of a LM room because of the walk. How are the buses and food at AKL? Any advice???

WOW! You are going to LOVE AKL!! It is a fabulous resort! The rooms are fine for a family of four. FYI, they have rooms with a queen bed and a set of bunk beds as well as the typical 2 queens. There is a small up charge, but some people find that it is worth it.

The pool view rooms are not much more $$ than the standard view and much nicer. The savannah view rooms are nice, but not necessary as there are plenty of public places to view the animals outside the rooms. We usually book pool view ourselves.

Dining options are limited but good. There is Mara for quick service, Boma for an all you can eat buffet and Jiko for wonderful table service. There are other options, I think, at the villas, but I have never bothered to go there. The options at AKL Jambo House suit us fine. We tend to eat in the parks a lot and bring a few things to have in our room for a quick breakfast or snacks.

the pool is beautiful, as well and we love the hot tub.

This is a fabulous resort with a really nice little gift shop that has a few items to buy like milk and bottled water. You can get some items here to take back to your room. I like the resort souvenirs that you can purchase here. A little less in your face Disney theming and very nice, unique items.

This is a little remote from the MK, but the bus just takes a few extra minutes to get to the MK and the bus only serves The AKL and the AKL Villas so it isn't too bad. On the up side, the bus the the AK is only 5 mins!!

Enjoy the AKL! It truly is an amazing luxury resort. SO much better than a value - even AoA!

 

[mickeynut1]

Can someone give me some advice about this resort? DH and I were watching a show on WDW and they showed this resort. So I looked it up and a standard room is actually a few dollars cheaper than the Cars suite we have booked.... Family of 4 so suite wasn't necessary just booked it instead of a LM room because of the walk. How are the buses and food at AKL? Any advice???

As others have said, AKL is an amazing resort. It is located out away from everything, but we found the buses to be quick and efficient. The buses only service AKL and Kidani, so there's no sharing with any other resort(s) and it didn't take more than about 5 extra minutes to get to the parks compared to other resorts. The resort has great dining options as well. Mara is great for quick CS meals/snacks and Boma is one of our favorites that is a must do for us every trip. With all of that said, you won't regret going with AKL. Have a great trip.

 

[Christinaxo]

We stayed at AKL last year for our 1st trip to WDW and we absolutely loved it! We are also a family of 4 and the room fit us just fine. We loved the zero entry pool for my 4 yr old and my son loved the poolside games/movies at night. We had excellent bus service with the exception of Downtown Disney as a pp said, but in all fairness while waiting for the bus at DD, the guests at other resorts were complaining about the bus service there as well. Even on long hot summer days in August we never felt the ride was unbearably long to the parks and we always had a seat except probably once. My young ones are picky eaters but we always found something to eat at Mara (the CS) and they even loved Boma for breakfast! AKL definitely set the standard really high for us, it was quiet and beautiful and if I was not wanting to try something new this time around, we would definitely go back!