Animal Kingdom Lodge

[MickeyFlirt]

We are staying at AKL this June and have never stayed here before. Was wondering if anyone can can me info on this resort good or bad esp. about the buses. We have a standard savanna room view with requested Arusha area-how are they at granting requests as it seems some resorts are better? I also want the CM to have some items placed in the room for DD when we check in how accomadating are they with this and how far in advance should I call. Unsure what I want to have for her right now. Any suggestions?

 

[EEyorelover22]

I can answer the question about the bus service. It has always been good for us and we always go in June. We usually only request bunks and our request has been met. When my step mom was with us in 03 we asked to be close to the lobby because she has a hard time walking and we were. I found that I liked being farther down the lobby.

I cannot answer the question about the items in the room.

 

[ILuvWDWorld]

We had no problems with the bus service. For one thing, AKL doesn't share a bus with any other resort and doesn't have to make addt'l stops within the resort. We enjoyed the bus trip, talking about what we were going to do that day - the kids were ready to go by the time we got to the parks.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks with a large group and plan on using the bus service entirely. Hope this helps.

We LOVE AKL.

 

[Tiffany]

We are staying at AKL this June and have never stayed here before. Was wondering if anyone can can me info on this resort good or bad esp. about the buses. We have a standard savanna room view with requested Arusha area-how are they at granting requests as it seems some resorts are better? I also want the CM to have some items placed in the room for DD when we check in how accomadating are they with this and how far in advance should I call. Unsure what I want to have for her right now. Any suggestions?

Hi,

We just got back Friday night from our fifth stay at the AKL since it opened in April of 2001. We had a great stay as usual. We were in a regular savanna view room on the third floor of the Zebra trail overlooking the Uzima Savanna. On two previous stays we had views of the Arusha Savanna and prior to our most recent stay I would have told you to go with the Arusha Savanna but our experiance on the Uzima Savanna was just as good. Different animals but just as good. I would recommend that you request a room on the Zebra Trail as that trail is closest to the pool and food court and then whether or not you want a smoking or non-smoking room and leave the savanna to the luck of the draw.

As far as bus service goes it is outstanding. Buses run every 20 to 30mins from the Disney Resorts to the parks. During our last stay we only waited 20mins once and that was to do go MGM and we actualy saw the bus pulling out of the lot while we were walking down so 20mins was about right. AKL does not share its buses with any other resorts and there is only one stop at the lodge itself.

 

[Crazy Kanga]

It is a great resort, but I have to say that we had the worst bus service there than anywhere else we have stayed, including the much maligned AllStar Movies. Long waits for buses most of the time at least 15-20 min. at AKL and then long rides to the parks, especially MK. One day we were going to a park (can't remember which)and 2 buses came for other parks before the one we needed came. I guess you can have bad luck anywhere, but I felt I needed to give you another side of the story.

 

[Tiffany]

It is a great resort, but I have to say that we had the worst bus service there than anywhere else we have stayed, including the much maligned AllStar Movies. Long waits for buses most of the time at least 15-20 min. at AKL and then long rides to the parks, especially MK. One day we were going to a park (can't remember which)and 2 buses came for other parks before the one we needed came. I guess you can have bad luck anywhere, but I felt I needed to give you another side of the story.

How is a 15min to 20min wait for a bus a bad experiance?

You are told, or should have been told, when checking in that buses run about every 20 to 30mins from the resorts to the parks. We also had more then one bus driver announce this as part of their talk while they were driving us to the parks so anytime you are able to catch a bus in less then 20mins you have had good timing and should consider yourself lucky.

The ride from the AKL to the MK is shorter then going from the Studios to the GF since this bus also stops at CR and POLY.