Anyone else find AKL sort of depressing?

[snappy]

I recommend the dine with an animal specialist lunch at Sana’a if still offered. I went solo when it first started. The curator of the animals at both AK and AKL was at the lunch along with one of his managers. I was told the curator later left Disney. He explained how the animal areas were set up, and how they started the mixed species Savannah which was at the time anyway not done at zoos. The info made me feel good about how the animals were treated. I think some of the animals are allowed to decide whether they go back to enclosures to sleep or sleep where they want on the Savannah’s. They explained how animals are called by different whistles or sounds back to enclosures for medicine, etc. It was very informative as both specialists were enthusiastic and passionate even though there were only 5 guests, 2 or 3 of which were from a Disney food blog. The specialists answered any questions posed and talked about their backgrounds and interests. Because they have the money Disney shares animals for breeding and other reasons with zoos for who have limited funding. Later I brought my husband, my daughter and her friend and although we had a different animal specialist it was very informative. And the food at Sana’a was served family style so you could sample different foods.

I like AK and Sana’a, just not a fan of the dark rooms.

 

[buzznina]

Not really sure what the OP and friend were expecting, but it's supposed to be like the Savannah in Africa (pic below) and I also think WDW did a great job replicating it. Our family thought the complete opposite, with so much land to roam around not even close to being a zoo. We found the whole resort to be one of the most "unique" resorts to stay at. I agree that the rooms are dark and felt a bit small because of the layout. But we would totally go back there.

 

[peabody58]

AKL is a stunning resort with a unique flair. Not everybody likes that aspect, and that is alright. We've stayed at both AK-J and AK-K. I like the AK resorts more than my DW, but she will stay where ever I get us booked. We like to sleep around and tailor our vacation experience to the resort theming. AKL is not always the optimum theming for when we desire a 'bright/festive' vacation, hence we book somewhere else. So thankful WDW has so many options for everyone to enjoy. For the record - I find any resort w/o a balcony to drink my morning coffee on very depressing.

 

[Anthony1971]

I like AKL... The first stay I was not a believer but it grows on you quickly..
I can understand the opinion of OP... However if they were to stay at the resort and had a room facing the Sunset Savannah they would get a better idea of how large an area the animals have... also note the animals are free roaming they are not confined to any one Savannah and all connect. I have personally seeing Giraffe running which was pretty amazing and gives you an idea of how expansive the sunset savannah really is.....

 

[MarkinNM]

Low budget................................ugm........................stay away from whatever you are taking!!

Seriously FAR, FAR, FAR from low budget, the animals in AK & AKL are better taken care of then most people! They roam freely on the savanna and come and go as THEY please thus at times, "lackluster" look but NEVER feel!! DId you or your friend see one cage or bar, no......Most importantly Disney is doing quite a bit for the conservation of the animals in the AK, while staying at the AKL, we partook of the various programs that Disney has and was well please with what Disney is doing to help the animals, maybe you need to educate your friend on this......

 

[cheryl.UK]

We had a lovely savannah view this year and loved it. Every time we stepped in our room there were numerous animals to see: zebras, giraffe, ankole cattle, emus, storks and a type of deer that I don't remember the name of. I loved it. As a previous poster said, it's a savannah, not a perfectly manicured enclosure, so it's not going to be lush and green.

 

[MeridaMerida]

OP here! I think what she said kind of stuck with me and I just noticed all the fences and we had a bad vantage point at the resort. We did not stay there, we dined twice so I don't have the full experience. I wasn't expecting manicured by any means. I would love to go back and give it another try with an actual stay. I have two young preschool kids and think it would be such a fun experience for them and I thought the restaurants were the best I had tried at Disney. Glad most of you had positive experiences. Do you have a particular area in the resort/floor you think would be the best if we have an opportunity to stay there? Is Savannah view the way to go?

 

[Tess]

A friend told me it reminded her of a sad, urban zoo (like a low budget zoo you would see in a city). I loved the theming, restaurants and hotel itself but couldn't get over her description.. I got the same vibe! The savannah area seemed sad and lackluster to me too, even though I LOVED AKL and AK overall. I didn't feel the same way about seeing the animal viewing areas at the actual theme park but something about the hotel's savannah didn't seem great to me.

It was one and done (unless someone gifted us a free stay) for us. We felt caged rather than the animals--no where to go other than the hotel, e.g., at Polynesian you can walk to GF, EPCOT resorts, you have the Boardwalk and walkway to DHS, etc. We felt it was dark and I wasn't fond of the scent of the hotel itself. Primarily though--it was the captive feeling. To each their own.

 

[Searc]

Low budget................................ugm........................stay away from whatever you are taking!!

Seriously FAR, FAR, FAR from low budget, the animals in AK & AKL are better taken care of then most people! They roam freely on the savanna and come and go as THEY please thus at times, "lackluster" look but NEVER feel!! DId you or your friend see one cage or bar, no......Most importantly Disney is doing quite a bit for the conservation of the animals in the AK, while staying at the AKL, we partook of the various programs that Disney has and was well please with what Disney is doing to help the animals, maybe you need to educate your friend on this......

The animals do not come and go as they please. And yes, there are bars and cages at AK, they are just well hidden. Most of the safari animals return to their enclosures (aka cages) every night and are released in the morning.

 

[MarkinNM]

The animals do not come and go as they please. And yes, there are bars and cages at AK, they are just well hidden. Most of the safari animals return to their enclosures (aka cages) every night and are released in the morning.

Nope, not what we were told by the keepers, the animals have the choice to come and go from their barns, depending on feeding schedules, some on the savanna never see the barns as they tend to ram into the walls causing injury so they are left alone on the savanna, again from the mouth of the keepers. Care to show the cages or well hidden bars, trust me here they are not there, again from the mouth of care keepers, now there are barriers to keep the animals from getting to close to the resort as people tend to feed or do worse to the animals, but far cry from cages or bars, FWIW....

As a matter of fact while we were there we saw the most animals around the time we got back to the resort, plenty of Giraffes, Zebras, deers to mention a few and this was anywhere from 1-3AM, attached a few pics that I took early in the am..........So before replying stick with facts first, it does count.....

 

[dreynolds1982]

I LOVE AKL. My absolute, 1000% favorite WDW resort. I've always thought the attention to detail, just like in the AK park, was incredible. Is the savannah area as thorough and detailed as the park? Of course not, but I still think they did a great job with it. The hotel itself is awesome. Even when I'm not staying there, I will always hop over just to walk around.

Just a quick example of the attention to detail. The imagineers that designed AKL commented that when visiting actual villages in Africa, one of the first things they would notice is the smell of cooking food. So when they designed the lobby with Jiko and Boma, they kept it all open so that you can smell the food from the lobby area as you enter the hotel.

 

[Searc]

Nope, not what we were told by the keepers, the animals have the choice to come and go from their barns, depending on feeding schedules, some on the savanna never see the barns as they tend to ram into the walls causing injury so they are left alone on the savanna, again from the mouth of the keepers. Care to show the cages or well hidden bars, trust me here they are not there, again from the mouth of care keepers, now there are barriers to keep the animals from getting to close to the resort as people tend to feed or do worse to the animals, but far cry from cages or bars, FWIW....

As a matter of fact while we were there we saw the most animals around the time we got back to the resort, plenty of Giraffes, Zebras, deers to mention a few and this was anywhere from 1-3AM.......So before replying stick with facts first, it does count.....

I've been backstage at AK. I've seen the cages and bars. As anyone who has either been backstage or ridden the train to Rafiki's can tell you.

 

[sndral]

A friend told me it reminded her of a sad, urban zoo (like a low budget zoo you would see in a city)...

Having visited a few ‘sad, urban zoos,’ in the past, nothing about the 4 multi acre multi species habitats at AKL remind me of the tiny cement cages of urban zoos.

One has to hope that Disney does everything it can to enrich the lives of the animals in its care. Many people, quite rightly, do not want to see wild animals in captivity unless it is for conservation reasons, part of a worldwide breeding programme etc. Hopefully the days of keeping wild animals in captivity just so that we can gawp at them ‘for entertainment’ has long gone.

AK/AKL is accredited by AZA, as are most reputable zoos and aquariums. They also participate in breeding programs through the AZA SSP to help insure the survival of threatened/endangered species. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...animal-kingdom/?CMP=SOC-DPFY19Q1wo1129180008A I believe the Mt. Zebra herd on Sunset savanna is part of the breeding program for that species, for example. http://orlandotouristinformationbureau.com/Topic/Rare-Hartmann-Mountain-Zebra-Born.htm
Not everyone can jaunt off to Africa or Asia to see animals in their natural environment, for some people seeing an animal in person establishes a bond which leads to support for saving that animal and protecting its’ habitat. There have been some cases where species have been restored to their native habitat only because captive breeding programs ensured survival of the species. Saving the habitat w/ the species in situ is far preferable, of course, but in some cases that sadly hasn’t happened.
What I enjoy at AKL is watching animal behavior, I finding it mesmerizing to just sit on my balcony studying them.

The animals do not come and go as they please. And yes, there are bars and cages at AK, they are just well hidden. Most of the safari animals return to their enclosures (aka cages) every night and are released in the morning.

At AK animals may be called to the barns at night. At AKL they are not. If the weather becomes very cold some species at AKL, like the giraffes, are lodged in their heated barns, but generally the AKL animals go into their barns for an hour to hour and a half each morning for checks & some feeding, but otherwise remain on the savannas. Even during a hurricane a few herd animals remain on the savannas because it would be more stressful to them to be cooped up for long periods than to be out in the weather.
When you stay at AKL in a savanna view room/villa you’ll see the animals from your balcony at all hours & if you are a night owl you’ll see the truck drive through checking on the animals periodically at night. If you participate in one of the safaris (Wanyama or night) or lunch with an animal specialist you learn about AKL’s husbandry practices. I’ve stayed at AKL several times, taken several Wanyama safaris, and done the lunch w/ an animal specialist at Sanaa once - obviously I enjoy the resort & am interested in the animals there, my impression is that the husbandry team is quite a dedicated group, but IME people drawn to a career in husbandry are.

 

[MarkinNM]

Ignore this post....ignore was the best option, sorry all

 

[Farro]

I've been backstage at AK. I've seen the cages and bars. As anyone who has either been backstage or ridden the train to Rafiki's can tell you.

They are talking about Animal Kingdom Lodge.
You are talking about Animal Kingdom.

 

[Disneypro1]

Never stayed there. But visit it a lot. I don’t that way at all. We love it.

 

[epcotobsessed]

We love the lobby, the restaurants, the grounds. The rooms are dark and cramped and so we have never stayed there more than a few nights, so I do understand negative reviews. It depends on what you are looking for - we never spend that much time in the room while at Disney - for those who do, I would not recommend AKL.

 

[MemphisVanessa]

OP here! I think what she said kind of stuck with me and I just noticed all the fences and we had a bad vantage point at the resort.

Those fences are actually for people, not animals. It's a safety area should the hotel need to be evacuated. People would fill this pen and would, thus, be kept separate from the animals. They're nicknamed "people pens".

 

[Deb & Bill]

When DVC first built Kidani Village, we thought it looked a bit prison-like. But since the landscaping has grown up, we really like it a lot and have stayed there are few times. We've stayed at Jambo House three or four times as well. The animals have freedom to wander around and not get shot. They have veterinarians taking care of them. Some of the animals at AK, AKV and AKL are either endangered or already extinct. They are being saved at this location from extinction. They do a lot to protect the animals from stupid guests, too, with many cameras on the savannas at the Lodge and Villas identifying any guest doing something they shouldn't do, like hanging laundry on their balcony railing, throwing food to animals, just stupid stuff. I enjoy sitting on my balcony there watching the animals. I could sit there for hours if I so desired.

 

[VandVsmama]

A year ago, we stayed 1 night at AKL in a savannah view room. It was spectacular. I would stay there again in a heart beat. Loved the lobby, the restaurants, etc., etc. Favorite part was just sitting on the balcony for a few hours and watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom basically unfold right in front of us. Several different species of animals. The giraffes would follow the food truck. A couple of them came running, in fact, including a baby giraffe. That was pretty great.

The animals are allowed to roam at night. I know this because I purposely stayed up until 3-3:30 am-ish just transfixed by all of the animal activity. Some of them just took a nap almost right underneath our hotel room.

I thought that our room was spacious enough. I loved AKL. I'd love to spend a whole week there some day.