Animal Kingdom Lodge

[Terk-1]

Since I had to push my 2005 trip to May of 2006, it's giving me more time to put money away, so I thought I would give Animal Kingdom Lodge a try. Will I like it? Is it far from the other parks? Is it really spread out? How are the rooms? How is the pool? Is there a hot tub? How is the transportation?

 

[sjw4870]

AKL is one of my favorite resorts.

To answer some of your specfic questions:

"what are the rooms like?" - if you are familiar with the rooms at WL, they are identical (except for the style). Many rooms overlook various savannahs, if you can swing the expense of a savannah room it's worth it. I think every room now comes with a refrigerator (at least mine did a few months back). Each room has a balcony. Most come with 2 queen beds, a few rooms have bunk beds.

"is it far from other parks?" - its about 5 minutes by bus to AK; about 10-15 to the other parks. Bus service is great. AKL has its own bus (as opposed to sharing with another resort) and there is only 1 stop. I don't find the perceived remote location to be a problem, but it is for some.


"how is the pool?" - the pool is big, nothing fancy. It has a zero-entry area and a small slide. The bottom is painted so the pool water looks grey-ish green.

"is there a hot tub?" - yes, there are two.

AKL has 3 restaurants. Boma, a buffet is especially popular and is one of my favorite places in WDW.

The hotel is magnificent, especially the savannahs and the lobby area. The hotel also has lots of activities throughout the day.

It is a wonderful hotel - I hope you enjoy your stay.

 

[soccer mom]

It looks like all of your questions were answered, but I will also say it is a truly unique and awesome resort!

 

[pixie08]

AKL is one of my favorite resorts.

To answer some of your specfic questions:

"what are the rooms like?" - if you are familiar with the rooms at WL, they are identical (except for the style). Many rooms overlook various savannahs, if you can swing the expense of a savannah room it's worth it. I think every room now comes with a refrigerator (at least mine did a few months back). Each room has a balcony. Most come with 2 queen beds, a few rooms have bunk beds.

"is it far from other parks?" - its about 5 minutes by bus to AK; about 10-15 to the other parks. Bus service is great. AKL has its own bus (as opposed to sharing with another resort) and there is only 1 stop. I don't find the perceived remote location to be a problem, but it is for some.


"how is the pool?" - the pool is big, nothing fancy. It has a zero-entry area and a small slide. The bottom is painted so the pool water looks grey-ish green.

"is there a hot tub?" - yes, there are two.

AKL has 3 restaurants. Boma, a buffet is especially popular and is one of my favorite places in WDW.

The hotel is magnificent, especially the savannahs and the lobby area. The hotel also has lots of activities throughout the day.

It is a wonderful hotel - I hope you enjoy your stay.

I couldn't agree more!!! we visited last may while staying @poFQ and fell in love!! We are sooooo looking foward to our trip in Aug! I've heard something about night vision goggles to see the savannah but I am not sure about the specifics...it sounds cool. The resort is the most wonderfully themed and unique...as other people have said "where else can you go an see zebras outside you balcony?

 

[MouseDogMom]

In the evenings there are savannah guides out by the pool with night vision goggles. You can see everything through them and it's almost as bright as daylight. Some people were even able to take pictures through them, although my DH took great pictures even without the goggles.

If you like WL, you'll love AKL. I think I could stay there every trip from now on. There were a couple of bus rides that seemed long, but overall the transportation was just fine. It was a small price to pay for such a wonderful resort. And be sure to eat at Boma!

 

[Terk-1]

Thanks for your input. I wanted to try someplace different for this trip and thought it would be nice to try the AKL. Sounds like a wonderful place to stay and now I'm really looking forward to it. Is there a specific area of the resort that I should request?

Thanks again!!

 

[DeanDoug]

All of your questions were well answered... so let me echo how much we love AKL. The service is excellent and the resort is beautiful... the pool is designed to look like a watering hole... really neat.
Enjoy... AKL is one of our favorite places in WDW... and our favorite restaurant is Jiko... worth a splurge!

 

[Terk-1]

I just made the "room" only reservation on the phone for May 2006. I initially booked a "standard" view room, hoping for a good discount to upgrade to a "savannah" view room. The CM was very nice and very helpful (Kayla) and indicated that the "savannah" rooms go very quickly, so I should decide soon whether or not to upgrade. Right now, those rooms are pricing at $320 plus tax, which is a bit much for me. I'm planning on going the beginning of May. Is this resort that crowded during that time? If I'm able to get a discounted rate (i.e. code or AAA), will that rate be moved over to the package or will I be paying more?