Animal Kingdom Lodge

[kcksh95]

Love to hear suggestions of where to stay (ie, room #'s, general location) while staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Thanks

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by kcksh95
Love to hear suggestions of where to stay (ie, room #'s, general location) while staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Thanks

Have you booked a room yet? If so what view did you book? Standard, pool or savanna?

If you have not booked anything yet and it will not break your vacation budget then my suggestion is to book a savanna view room and request a view of the Arusha Savanna. Keep in mind that requests are just that and may not be granted so the only thing that is certain that you will get is a view of one of the three savannas.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hey, kcksh95 -

We stayed at AKL last Mar. and going back in April. We booked savannah view and requested Zebra Trail, Arusha Savannah and got room 2437. This was a great room, we had a great view of the animals, were close to the elevator and ice machine, right above the Mara counter-service rest., and not *too* much of a hike to the lobby/bus stop. Everybody says requesting specific room numbers is a no-no, though, so maybe just requesting the 2nd or 3rd floor near the elevator would work.

You can also request Arusha Savannah, Kudu Trail and see the same animals, just from the opposite side of the resort. But then you will also be on the other side from the restaurants and pool.

AKL is a wonderful resort, it is now our favorite. You'll have a great time!

 

[candleonwater]

Is it worth staying at AKL if you DON'T do a savannah view room? I'm heading down for two nights prior to a Royal Caribbean cruise and I'm trying to decide which resort... and I really want to try AKL, but don't want to spend the $$ on SView

 

[minnie56]

I always book standard view and each time I have been lucky enough to be upgraded to pool view which I think is so pretty, especially at night.

I had a Savanna view this past December and it was neat...but were it not for the $149 per night AP rate, I wouldn't have booked it. I actually prefer pool view, but that's just me.

We added our New Years stay on the end of a RCCL cruise and like you, didn't want to break the bank either! What ship are you going on?

Have fun!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hey, minnie56!

If you don't mind - do you remember what pool view rooms, or the locations, that you have had? We have pool view booked for April (peak season, sav. view pretty steep!) and we would like to know what to expect!! Thanks!

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Originally posted by candleonwater
Is it worth staying at AKL if you DON'T do a savannah view room? I'm heading down for two nights prior to a Royal Caribbean cruise and I'm trying to decide which resort... and I really want to try AKL, but don't want to spend the $$ on SView

It's worth it to stay at the AKL if you are sleeping on a couch in the lobby ! Seriously, we have visited there to eat at Boma a number of times, and finally stayed there over this list New Years.
It was Fantastic - well worth waiting for. Even if you are not in a savannah view room, there are many areas to view the animals from scattered throughout the resort. In fact, our most unexpected surprise came when my wife and I were wandering around the pool - she was looking for the second hot tub while the girls were swimming in the main pool. We came to one of the overlook points they have in the pool area, looked out and stood with our eyes wide open in amazement - there were four giraffe about twenty yards away eating from a tree-feeder. It was a definite "WOW" moment.

As far as what room to book, I would ( and did ) book the standard view room. In fact , we got some really good pixie dust sprinkled on us at checkin. We had booked a week starting on 12/26 at the AP rate ($109/night). At checkin, after we verified the names and number of our party I politely asked if any pool or savannah rooms might be available during our time period, and what the cost might be to upgrade to that view. Mike ran the numbers, and said about $500 for pool, and about $600 for savannah. I asked the girls what they wanted - they chose savannah (of course). I gulped and then said "ok". Mike then showed me the calculator again, said that he could do better than that, and hit one more key - zeroing it out. Thanks to Mike, we went from standard view to deluxe savannah. Needless to say - Way COOL !

BTW, AKL does not share its bus transportation with any other resort. Think this doesn't matter ? After the NYE fireworks at Epcot there was more than one busload at the AKL stop, but not much more - we were among the first few on the next bus back to the resort. We actually had seats in front , but gave them up. The usual reason - older lady and mother with speepy child.

Stay at AKL - you will find many reasons to enjoy it. We know , because we plan on going back.

 

[candleonwater]

Minnie56 - we're going to be on the Mariner of the Seas (as my daughter is a figure skater, she can't wait to try the ice rink!)

I think this thread as sealed it... I'll look into booking AKL today!

 

[MarkLem]

We just got back from NYE staying 3 nights in a standard room and 2 nights in a Savannah view room.

The standard view was every bit as nice as the deluxe room, minus the view of the animals from the balcony. We were only in the room to rest at mid-day and to sleep. Walking down the halls there are many viewing areas & windows, so we saw tons of animals while staying in our standard room. You also still get every bit as much of the feel of the AKL in a standard room as in a Savannah room, which is the important thing.

Our only minor negative: we had small kids so we spent a good bit of time in Magic Kingdom. AKL is a long bus ride to MK, especially if you are going back & forth a couple times a day. We would probably stay at Contemporary or Polynesian next time due to their proximity to the parks we mostly visit.

 

[johnsonet]

We stayed at AKL on the concierge level in October and loved it, although GF is our true love.
I'm planning a trip back to AKL during my DD's Spring Break (GF is currently sold out for my dates) and I'm going to book a pool view. Concierge was amazing but that was a special occasion (took my parents) and I know the pool view is gorgeous. Plus it'll mean being closer to the pool than we were last time - up on the 5th floor and three-quarters of the way down on Kudu Trail. PROHIBITIVELY far from pool and Mara. Plus, although it's a great bonus to have a view of the animals, we were higher up than I would've liked and we rarely went out on the balcony - of course, when we did go out it was stupendous! For a more-than-$300/night difference, I'll take the pool view any day! Having said that, I will definitely miss the Concierge lounge - it is wonderful!
Enjoy!

 

[candleonwater]

Okay, did it... Pool/water view at AKL. Is there only the one pool at AKL? I could have done a Garden Wing room at Contempoary for the same price. I hope I made the right choice! I really liked the atmosphere at AKL when we visited.

 

[johnsonet]

Erika~ I have never stayed in a Cont. Garden wing room but I cannot imagine that you would ever regret choosing AKL over it. AKL is an incredibly beautifully-themed resort: the music, the artwork, the decor, and, oh yeah, THE ANIMALS! It is very new and has so much to offer. And is a vacation experience in and of itself - definitely take advantage of some the offered activities - my dad thoroughly enjoyed the Culinary Tour. DD liked the cookie-decorating and we loved the African Folktales. Next time I'd like to do even more. Don't forget the restaurants! Both are fabulous.
I think the pool view will be fantastic. The only think you're giving up is proximity to MK, in my opinion. This next trip I am driving down and I will take my own car to MK (I think) b/c the bus ride is a long one, especially during a busy time (in my case Spring Break).
Have fun!

 

[candleonwater]

We're going down for our spring break too! How bad is the ride from EPCOT to AKL? The most we'll have to deal with is getting to MK in the am, as I'm sure we'll end up at EPCOT at the end of the day.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

From Epcot/MGM it seems that it was about a 10 minute ride, maybe less. The MK run may be a little longer, but not by much. Even when the bus was full and I had to stand ( not often ) I never felt like the amount of time spent in transit was any inconvenience.

 

[goin2disneyagain]

There is only one pool at AKL. I don't think you will be disappointed at AKL. This is our absolute favorite resort.

 

[johnsonet]

The ride to MK is not bad. Thankfully, from AKL the buses are direct and don't stop anywhere else (ie other resorts) but having stayed at the GF the past 8 or 9 years I have been completely spoiled by the proximity to MK and the monorail. 2 or 3 min. vs. 20 min. is a big difference. But AKL is awesome and I certainly would not "sweat it" and I probably will not drive to any of the parks on my next trip. I love using Disney transportation

 

[minnie56]

K&A&C's MOm....I can't recall which pool view room we had...It was on the first trail to the right as you enter...Giraffe trail? Another time we were on the rear trail to the right and it also was beautiful...in fact less trees to obscure the view. I wish I had a better memory!

Candleonwater/Erika....We just got off of Mariner of the Seas!!! We were on the Christmas cruise! She is so beautiful! The skating show is terrific, be sure to line up early for tickets!!!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Hey, minnie56! Hope you had a wonderful trip!!!
Thanks for the info - I'm sure we will love our room, we can't wait! Still 3 months away, and already my DD is counting the days!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Oh, I forgot!

We found the buses from AKL to be better than the other resorts - as PP's have stated, they don't make other stops, so the ride seems much shorter!!! Even the ride to MK wasn't very long, somebody posted on another thread they thought about 10-11 minutes.

I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with AKL, although I have seen a few (and I mean *few*) posts where expectations fell short. This is our favorite resort, it is so beautiful and even smells wonderful!!!

 

[kevind65]

we stayed at AKL with pool view room #1456 on the ground level of the zebra trail and loved it. closest room to the pool area, mara, game room, laundry and the restaurants....awesome place....you'll love it...we found the transportation to be more the adaquate from the AKL; didn't really notice the busrides being much longer than other resort we've stayed...
P.S. Johnsonet: you do not want to drive your car to MK under any circumstance....by the time you take a monorail or ferry over to TTC and then either walk or tram to your section of the parking lot; it will take much longer each direction....we have found that the disney buses are far superior in terms of getting in and out of the magic kingdom....