Animal Kingdom Lodge?

[eeyoregal81]

I have been to WDW countless times, and we usually stay at CBR. Sometimes we decide to try new resorts (Boardwalk, Poly), and this time we have decided to try AKL because we got an amazing AP rate. I have read some things about it, but I'd love any and all suggestions or comments from someone that has been there!

 

[java]

Over on the trip reports board there is one by the Murphy's (Erika) and she is there right now. She spent the last 2 nights at the AKL and she has a few pictures. I have never stayed there so I can't help but it sure sounds great!

 

[eddieras]

we just got back from six nites there- our second time. it's wonderful! i'd recommend a third floor savannah view on the zebra trail over the arusha savannah-
there's a lot of activities all day - for kids and adults
bus service is excellent as it has all direct routes- doesn't stop anywhere other than your destination (tho last week it did stop at blizzard beach on the way to some park - can't remember which one!)
boma is fantastic and mara not too bad either.. good burgers

do you have any specific questions? fire away!!

 

[mickey7861]

The AKL is amazing. My DD is 19 and still can't get over seeing the animals stroll by our room w/ the savannah view. Even if you don't have a savannah view room there are plenty of viewing areas in the resort itself. The buffet at Boma was very good and Mara, serves a good variety of fast food, including very yummy mini zebra domes! The pool area is nicely themed and spacious. I always loved the volcano pool at the Poly but the crowds are annoying. I was always a die hard Poly lover until I stayed at the AKL the first time, then I was hooked.

 

[Nik's Mom]

We were there during the first week in May and loved it! The lobby and grounds are beautiful, and the smell coming from the restaurants is mouth-watering! The hotel definitely made our trip more magical. We never got tired of sitting on our balcony and watching the animals! And the bus service was superb!

 

[Disneys Billpayer]

I have been to WDW countless times, and we usually stay at CBR. Sometimes we decide to try new resorts (Boardwalk, Poly), and this time we have decided to try AKL because we got an amazing AP rate. I have read some things about it, but I'd love any and all suggestions or comments from someone that has been there!

I stayed AKL last trip and loved it!!! Don't miss breakfast at Boma it was excellent. I'm staying at the Poly this time but will make a trip to Boma at least once.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Well we just got back today and we loved it. The accomodations were great!
I was a bit apprehensive at first because I had originally wanted the WL, but it was already booked. After a week at AKL, I am glad we got this one.
It was great watching the animals. We got to see them at various times of the day, so we got an eyeful of most of them from our window. We got a free upgrade, to Savannah view and made the most of it.
The interior of the hotel is great as well. I took loads of pictures and hope to get them loaded soon. And the hotel staff was wonderful. The poor bellman this morning had to load tons of our stuff and even climbed into the back of our minivan just to stack everything right when we were leaving. My DH was very impressed since he'd have had to do it.
Our only downer was the food. We had stayed at CSR last November and having the Pepper Market kind of spoiled us for the counter services. The menu at Mara wasn't as extensive, and the portions weren't as big. We also tried Boma for the buffet and my family turned out to be not as adventurous as I'd have liked. Oh well....
But, as for the room and everything else it was grand.
Kim

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

All I can say is---- IT'S AWESOME!! You will love it.

 

[ducklovr]

My SO and I just got back from AKL. I have to say that I have mixed emotions. It is a very beautiful hotel and the staff is amazing. The pool bartenders are very entertaining. I highly recommend Boma. The buffet is a little strange but very delicious. I think I ate mostly zebra domes b/c they are so yummy. You can also get these in The Mara. We were not impressed with our savanna view room though. We barely saw any animals from our balcony. We were 5th floor on the kudu trail. I got up as early as 5 am and stayed up to as early as 2 am. It really wasn't worth the price due to this aspect. It is the selling point of the room price and it did not deliver. I think we might stick to moderate resorts. I would recommend making a PS for Boma and arrive a little early to have drinks at the pool bar. I would love to go back in December.

 

[ducklovr]

My SO and I just got back from AKL. I have to say that I have mixed emotions. It is a very beautiful hotel and the staff is amazing. The pool bartenders are very entertaining. I highly recommend Boma. The buffet is a little strange but very delicious. I think I ate mostly zebra domes b/c they are so yummy. You can also get these in The Mara. We were not impressed with our savanna view room though. We barely saw any animals from our balcony. We were 5th floor on the kudu trail. I got up as early as 5 am and stayed up to as early as 2 am. It really wasn't worth the price due to this aspect. It is the selling point of the room price and it did not deliver. I think we might stick to moderate resorts. I would recommend making a PS for Boma and arrive a little early to have drinks at the pool bar. I would love to go back in December.

I highly recommend POFQ for a good moderate resort. We stayed there on our first trip. We had a standard room facing the parking lot. Not fancy but very convenient to our rental car. The breakfast was better than The Mara at AKL. The bed and pillows were more comfortable at POFQ. Overall it's a really nice resort for the price. You don't expect too much and you get just a little more than you expected.

 

[s&k'smom]

We had a 5th floor pool view last Nov and really loved it. The kids enjoyed seeing the pool every morning when they woke up and we didn't hear a bit of noise. I found Mara to be very convenient and once we got our bearings the resort didn't seem so big. I found the CM's exceptional and I have to say have no real complaints. Only that we had to leave. It's not for everyone as it is on the dark side in regards to lighting and stuff but DH and I like that kind of atmosphere. We found the busses to be just fine, at first I was worried being spoiled by having boat or monorail service but the kids didn't mind in the least.

 

[Leota]

We stayed in a Savannah view room a few weeks ago & loved it! We saw tons of animals. We liked it so much, we changed our Dec. ressies to include a couple days at AKL so the grandsons can see the animals. Here's a link to my AKL photo album - all the animal pix are from our 3rd floor balcony overlooking both the Arusha & Sunset Savannahs. I would not stay at AKL without the savannah view tho, that's what made the resort for us.

http://community.webshots.com/album/339973457AgWhcZ/0

 

[eeyoregal81]

We got a free upgrade, to Savannah view and made the most of it.

How did you get the free upgrade? I hear lots of people saying this happens at AKL and I was wondering how this works...

 

[wdw4pwe]

go for it ... we got bumoed to AKL in 2001 after the WTC disaster and POFQ was closed on us.

We've been back there ever since !!!!!!!!!!

It is truly like a vacation to somewhere else ... not Florida.

 

[rabx5]

My family are going in june and just cant wait. We have all read so much about it.

 

[Ron G]

We've stayed at AKL twice in the last three summers, we love this resort. The lobby is beautiful & my DD loves the pool too. We always look forward to eating at Boma ( have not tried Jiko yet). There are lots of activities for the kids too, one afternoon the CMs set up a table by the pool area & the kids could make african dolls & the next day i think they were able to paint ostrich eggs. There is a small fee for those activities though. Be sure to ask for a hidden mickey list when you check in. The resort is a fav. of ours !!!

Ron

 

[The Haunted Mention]

My family and I are going to AKL in October and we can't wait. We've heard so much about it and we've viewed alot of pictures online and on the Dis. I've read that the Mara doesn't have as an extensive menu like the CSR Pepper Market. But what my kids and I would like to know is do they have "mickey waffles" like most of the moderates?

 

[s&k'smom]

As far as I remember they do. Mara is quite large and had just about everything you could think of. For the complete list go to www.allearsnet.com they have every menu you can think of.

 

[john storey]

We stayed at AKL in April for 5 nights as part of a three week vacation. First of all the hotel was full to the rafters, making the pool area a no go zone unless you got there very early in the day. We found the hotel very remote from the rest of Disney, quite a long treck to almost all the theme areas (except of course Animal Kingdom). Our room was probably 1/4 mile hike from reception, (it was the last room in the corridoor, at the end of the hotel), at least it kept us fit. The animals we saw from our room though were quite varied & frequent, especially the little 'hogs' not sure of there real name but there were 3 of them & went everywhere together. Overall we probably just picked a bad week, but apart from the "animal novalty" we prefer other on site hotels.

 

[golfgal]

My family and I are going to AKL in October and we can't wait. We've heard so much about it and we've viewed alot of pictures online and on the Dis. I've read that the Mara doesn't have as an extensive menu like the CSR Pepper Market. But what my kids and I would like to know is do they have "mickey waffles" like most of the moderates?

Mara has a very limited menu, about 6 things for each meal. They do have Mickey Waffles for breakfast. They have some grab and go things, cookies, rolls, cereal, etc. but if you are using the meal plan, you don't have a lot of choice. Breakfast was a platter of eggs, bacon, potatoes and a roll, mickey waffles, egg/sauage/cheese bagel, oatmeal and one other thing. We just got back from our trip yesterday!