Animal Kingdom Lodge?

[merry_nbright]

Hey, so, I've finally decided to go with the Animal Kingdom Lodge for my birthday/girls trip to Disney next June with my mom, niece, and best friend! My niece will be 8 when we go and I was wondering if the theming and atmosphere will be lost on her and we should try something different like Port Orleans? What do you all think?

 

[Mousemommy1]

I personally think that an 8 year old would be amazed by AKL, and that the theming of POR might be lost...

I mean, ANIMALS!!! What's not to get?!?! My 1 year old could get the theme.

 

[rwdavis2]

She will love the AKL.

 

[tcherjen]

We have visited and are staying there on our upcoming trip.
My 9 year old is super excited. Your niece will love it.

 

[merry_nbright]

Awesome! Great! We've got 5 people going, so, we're going to have to get two adjoining rooms. Do you guys know if they offer those at Animal Kingdom Lodge?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Every resort has adjoining rooms, but they are never guaranteed.

 

[jim o'reilly]

Hey, so, I've finally decided to go with the Animal Kingdom Lodge for my birthday/girls trip to Disney next June with my mom, niece, and best friend! My niece will be 8 when we go and I was wondering if the theming and atmosphere will be lost on her and we should try something different like Port Orleans? What do you all think?

My family and I just stayed at AKL from 1/23/16 to 1/29/16 Jambo house, studio, room 4228. I booked a standard room, was thinking that we'd be staring at the parking lot all day, but got a savanna room that was adjacent to Kidani village. I tried to slip the clerk a $50 bill to get a savanna room but he didn't even flinch at taking the money! No joke, we saw TONS of animals. Zebras, Giraffes, storks, antelopes and some we had no idea. The first few days were near freezing at night and chilly during the day. We thought that this would scare the animals away but were we wrong! But again, you won't be disappointed with AKL. Other benefits are Simba's clubhouse (babysitting for 3-12 year olds), arcade, two pools (that were mostly closed last week), Boma (best buffet at disney, imo).

The only issue is the bus transportation to the parks. We had to wait 90 minutes for a bus to get us to Disney Hollywood studios one day at 8:30am and almost an hour to get to Magic Kingdom at 8:15am and an hour to get back from Magic Kingdom to AKL at the end of the day (about 3pm, before the festival of fantasy parade).

 

[showers2flowers]

Our son was 6 during our first stay at AKL. He loved it then, loved it again this year at 9, and he remains insistent that it's the only place we can ever stay when we come to WDW.

 

[mmmears]

The theming won't be lost on kids. AKL is amazing. Have a great trip!

 

[BalooFan]

I don't think the theming and atmosphere could possibly be lost on her! It's probably like nothing she has experienced before. It's a beautiful and unique resort.

 

[mousestruck]

Your family will LOVE it! It is a magnificent resort!!!

 

[fairygagamother]

She (& the rest of your party)will love it! The CMs will teach her all about animal poop! What 8 year old doesn't like that?! Also, weather permitting, take her to Kidani to experience that pool too. You don't have to book a savannah view room to enjoy seeing all the animals, either. Many of the rooms have animals within sight even if your category isn't labeled as such. Even without the animals right out your balcony, there are so many areas to get up close to the animals. You are going to love it, I promise!

 

[HopperFan]

It's a great resort for the elementary and younger age kids. Mine were wowed the first time when they were younger. The second time they were middle school and were totally bored. I always tell folks take the kids when they are young, they will love all the animals, the games the CMs play in the lodge, the music entertainment, the pool etc.

 

[sndral]

Awesome! Great! We've got 5 people going, so, we're going to have to get two adjoining rooms. Do you guys know if they offer those at Animal Kingdom Lodge?

I think in 'Disneyspeakese' if you want rooms that have a door between them the request is 'connecting' rooms. Adjoining to Disney just means near each other, I've read.
I second the suggestion to visit the Kidani pool with your 8 year old niece, the kids splash area at Kidani looks like it's great fun for that age. The Jambo pool is larger, but the Kidani pool play area is worth a visit if you have appropriately aged children.

 

[merry_nbright]

Thank you all so much! Now I'm really looking forward to this trip! It seems like Animal Kingdom Lodge is going to be the perfect fit for us! Also, thanks for all the tips! Will definitely be using them!

 

[Dug720]

Awesome! Great! We've got 5 people going, so, we're going to have to get two adjoining rooms. Do you guys know if they offer those at Animal Kingdom Lodge?

Just to clarify... If you want a door between the rooms, you need to request CONNECTING rooms. Adjoining could be next to each other but no door - or across the hall, around the corner, etc. I used to work in a hotel, and the front desk was constantly dealing with complaints from people who used the wrong word.

Also keep in mind that it is ONLY a request. They will not guarantee connecting (or even adjoining) rooms. They will do their best, but they WILL NOT guarantee it.

 

[AspenLL]

Great choice for an 8yo! Will love it.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Great choice for the old and the YOUNG! There are also times when you can make s'mores, we just stumbled into it when they were setting up but there must be the times at the front desk. And each evening there is a station with night vision binoculars at a savanna.