Anyone ever get a really-really good rate at AKL?

[BabyFu18]

This looks like the type of place I would love to stay at, atleast once. I'm going on a trip with my parents (my Dad has been on a African Safari and loved it), and I think he would enjoy this hotel so much more than any of the others.

My only problem with booking this hotel is the price. I know people will say it is so worth it, and I agree, if I had the money to spare I wouldn't think twice about it. However, I do not have the money to splurg on it and I was wondering if anyone has ever gotten a really really good rate for AKL and if so how and how much was it.

I'm going out to my local MWR this week to see if they can help me get a good rate through the military, but I'm not sure if they will be able to help me or not.

So if anyone has any codes or such for the AKL or any way to help me find a decent rate for the hotel, I'd be so grateful!

Any tips/hints when it comes to trying to plan a magical and special vacation are always helpful.

 

[mmiller711]

If you find any military discounts please let me know. My DD surprised me with a night there on a trip a couple of years ago. She was just married to a young man in the military and they are going in August for their honeymoon...(long story). I would love to treat them to a room there but since dad and I are tagging along to keep her son, so they can have some alone time, we would need two rooms and I am afraid that is wayyyyyy out of our budget.

 

[BabyFu18]

I will let you know if I find anything good, a good discount would so many people enjoy such a beautiful resort. I would think they should offer some type of military discount, but I've been told that the disney resorts don't normally. So we will see.

 

[luvfigment]

Last Aug I got a rate of about $132/night for a standard room at AKL from my MWR. Upon check in we got a free upgrade to a Savannah room so that was a great deal! I am hoping to get a similar rate for this June but have SOG booked just in case. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[pennylynn]

I must have really lucked out a couple of years ago. I had a postcard with a rate of $120.00 a night. It's the only time I've had a postcard for the AKL and it was wonderful. Only good for a standard view room but it was still wonderful.

 

[BabyFu18]

Thanks I'm going to my MWR tomorrow but I spoke with them on the phone today and they didn't seem to know much about Disney or what I was looking for. I'm hoping when I can talk to the people at MWR in person they'll be able to help me out.

 

[mrsmagic]

Last month I got AKL for $109 per night for a standard room with the Annual Pass rate. I was able to book 2 rooms at this price with 1 annual pass.

 

[BabyFu18]

Ohh to bad an Annual Pass probably isn't worth it for me seeing as I only get to Disney once a year. That is an awesome rate though!

 

[dbarker]

The way I was able to afford it was to split my stay. For the 1st half, we stayed at All Star Sports. Then we moved to AKL for the 2nd half. It was wonderful. It was like 2 vacations in one. You might want to consider a split stay.

I noticed that you said you go to WDW once a year. If you time your yearly excursion right, you can get 2 trips in a 365 day period and still just go "once a year". An AP would be worth it then. Just another option to think about.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

The best rate I've ever had at AKL was $129 the October before last.

 

[BabyFu18]

Thanks everyone. A split stay is something I've thought about but we'll only be there a week and it seems like to much of a hassle to do a split stay for only 6 full days. If nothing else, I might look into it again though.

I usually only go in July to Disney and that of course being the summer is always busy and not cheap. I've actually never been to Disney any time besides July/August, due to school and work complications.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I really appreciate it. I'll be speaking with a travel agent tomorrow, I'll let you all know if I find out about any good rates and hopefully other will be able to benefit from them aswell.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Best rate I ever got was an annual pass rate several years ago - $109 per night for Holiday(!) season. Checked in on 12/26 and stayed over New Years , and were upgraded from standard to deluxe savannah at checkin. After we returned home, I calculated that the AP savings and free upgrade was approximately a $3,000 discount off rack rate ( $109/night vs $500/night rack for deluxe savannah)

Our annual passes have historically paid for themselves just in room discounts alone. For example, the last round of AP rates this year for feb-apr discounted the deluxe resorts by $133/night before tax. It doesn't take too many nights of a discount this large to cover the additional cost of the AP over the regular multi-day ticket.

 

[DizznyChick]

i did i did....109 with an ap
but i couldnt make the trip and had to cancel

 

[BabyFu18]

So I went to my MWR today and the lady I talked to quoted me a rate higher than the standard room rate on Disney's site! I couldn't believe it, I thought I was going to be able to afford this, but it doesn't look like it now that I know $200+ is the cheapest I can find for a room at AKL.

I'm looking into an AP rate (if they are good enough for July I will buy the annual pass). If not, it looks like it isn't meant to be for me.

 

[Littlemotherhaywood]

We went for $265 (including tax) a night concierge in December on a group rate. I don't remember the name of the group though.

 

[Kramer]

We got a Savannah view a few years ago for $109... we orginally had reservations at CBR, but they closed it for refurbishment so we lucked out and they moved us to AKL with a great rate.

 

[westcliffemom]

I just got $149 for 5/06. Is that a good rate?

 

[ducklite]

It was back four + years ago, so I can't remember exactly, but under $150/night for concierge with a CM discounted rate in early December.

Anne

 

[DemoBri1]

This past November I ended up with a pool view room (an upgrade) for about $142/night. This was purchased on the old BRP program. With the money I had left on my Disney Visa card, I ended up paying only $72 for that room for the one night we were there.

My DW absolutely loved it, and they really seemed to have some fun activities for the kids. If we ever stay off points at a resort again, I'm sure that AKL will be on the list.

 

[Ladybugsy]

Last September I got a Standard View room for 119 a night on a military code and was upgraded to a Savannah View. It was the best vacation EVER!