Deluxe coverage of AKL

[pjweaver]

I have never shied away from my displeasure of Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is a fantastic stand alone resort. If you want to visit Disney World for the parks though, it is not worth the money.

We had a short vacation there just after it was completed and arrived very late in the evening. The walk to our room was roughly a mile and a half and I think involved two elevators. The room was impressive and I was elated to see a huge steer the slept just beneath our balcony, and he was there every night.

The dining was excellent, even the breakfast buffet, and as a non-adventurous eater I found plenty to choose from. The vastness of this resort is needed to provide the fantastic views, but sweet jebus what a walk.

I first assumed that the walk was due to getting to the resort at 2:00 in the morning (thanks southwest), but learned the next morning that the trek to the bus stop required two bottles of water and at least one bathroom break. We also attempted the pool, but being July it was packed with people and the water was the temperature of bath water.

Keep in mind this is the only deluxe where the busses are the only way anywhere. You pay Beach Club pricing for All Stars transportation unless you have a car. If you are a smoker, don't even consider it.

All that being said, it is beautiful, but I won't stay there again.

 

[Irish_Mike]

I have never shied away from my displeasure of Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is a fantastic stand alone resort. If you want to visit Disney World for the parks though, it is not worth the money.

As much as I love Animal Kingdom Lodge and the theming, I agree with you here. To me, it's more of a relaxing resort - you'd go here if you're maybe doing an adults only vacation and want to maybe feel a bit more isolated from the rest of the World.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We stayed there back in 2013 and I was afraid of a lot of these things, but I think the room request system working in our favor made these things non-issues. Our room was on the same floor as the lobby...so no need for elevators. I'd say the walk from the lobby to the room was 2-3 minutes at most (I walk pretty fast though). We also were pretty close to the pool, which doesn't cut crowds or diminish how summer temps and extra bodies heat the pools, but location made it easier to check the crowds without dragging everyone to the pool. But I know where you're coming from with this because it's how I felt about our stay at YC. We were about as far from everything as you could possibly be (practically staying at the Dolphin) and it definitely tarnished our opinions of the resort. There were many other factors, but inferior room location can be a big deal.

For the buses, while it obviously doesn't have any other option, the bus service during our AKL stay was some of the best we've ever had at WDW. When we stayed at WL, our bus wait times were 25-45+ minutes, but we never waited even 10 min for a bus at AKL. So, even though it didn't have WL's boats (which weren't running at some points in that trip), our overall transportation waits/times were excellent at AKL.

I think my biggest issue with AKL was that even though Jambo and Kidani have great dining options, I missed having other resorts and parks nearby. On one hand, it helped make for a really convincing theme, but on the other...I felt extremely isolated. Had I been at an MK area resort, I'd have WL and the three monorail resorts for convenient dining/entertainment options as well as MK...same logic applies to staying in an Epcot/DHS area resort.

It's a nice place to visit, but even heading out there for an ADR feels like a pain when you're planning a more active WDW trip. I currently have an ADR for Jiko, but thinking of switching to Citrico's or Artist Point just because of the location and how much more we could do that night if we're closer to a park.

 

[ELSA711]

We just stayed for 3 nights this past week and we had a great room off the main lobby of Jambo House and after staying moderate for all these years, this bus service was impeccable.
We hopefully will never look back. We fell in love with this hotel and it didn't diminish Disney or the park adventures. It enhanced it for us.

 

[JimmyV]

I mostly agree with the OP. We stayed in a Savannah View Room once. Had some great vistas and animal viewing. But all in all, I am a "one and done" there. We spend by far the least amount of time at AK, so the location makes the price difficult to justify. The one time we stayed there we had a rental car and I would never stay there without one. But that is an extra cost that I can do without. AKL and Wilderness Lodge seemed like Moderate++ resorts to me, and not true Deluxe. Splitting hairs, probably. But that is how I felt at both places.

 

[samsteele]

I adore AK as a diner at Boma & at neighbouring Kidani's Sanaa. I always show up at least 45 mins early for my ADR and enjoy the resorts b/f eating. I gawk at the lobby, shop in the gift shops and enjoy the animals out back. Would I pay for the room? No. I'm in the parks for my vacation so AK's location & bus only transpo system just doesn't work for me. If I was inclined to pay Deluxe, I'd go for Beach Club, Yacht Club or Boardwalk. Great rooms & incredible location. AK is beautiful. But the transpo is not. Hurts me to say it. But its the truth.

 

[chipndaleluver]

Loved staying at AKL in a DVC 1 bedroom in 2013. We didn't have a Savannah view, but love the fact that I can go to the main lodge and see animals. Never had any trouble with the buses, for me walking is not an issue, so that was not a problem. It is spread out so walking is hard on some people, which is understandable. I love the theming, the atmosphere, the restaurants, the pool, love it all! Would stay there again in a heartbeat.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

I have been blessed to have stayed @ AKL twice...once in a Jambo savanna view room with a friend soon after it opened, and once in a Jambo DVC studio when I won my free stays through DVC about 10 years ago, when Kidani was under construction. Was thrilled with my 2-night first time savanna stay splurge - woke up the 1st morning with a giraffe right outside my room that I could see from my bed - how cool is that? My DVC Jambo stay was not that great, due to some very noisy, inconsiderate neighbors. Have posted about this before, so I won't again. Was still grateful to be there though, of course. I usually try to make it over to AKL Jambo House at least once a trip, just to see the animals, marvel @ the lobby, and eat some great food, usually Boma or maybe Mara, but have enjoyed Jiko as well. Have not tried any dining @ Kidani yet, but hope to sometime. I have toured the common areas @ Kidani once, and am amazed at how much closer the animals feel there than at Jambo, and love that resort as well. Have had mixed results with bus service, but since I go there mainly to "hang out", I try to be relaxed about my time there, regardless of the bus service. Both Kidani and Jambo are definitely "out of the ordinary and out of this World" experiences!!

 

[Shanti]

I have never shied away from my displeasure of Animal Kingdom Lodge. It is a fantastic stand alone resort...Keep in mind this is the only deluxe where the busses are the only way anywhere. You pay Beach Club pricing for All Stars transportation unless you have a car.

AKL is only as pricey as the Beach Club if you choose a savannah view room. We'll be staying in a standard room in July, and with the room-only discount we are (literally) paying prices equivalent to a moderate. That's a great deal for a beautiful deluxe resort.

 

[SGMCO]

We've stayed there back in 2010 and while I thought that it was a very Beautiful Resort I found the Bus service to be lacking while we were there, Pick up and drop off were always for DVC (wished they had there own buses) so for those of us who were just regular guest--buses were almost full from DVC before coming to Jambo. People tried form lines for bus but when bus would stop people rushed it. I Found Check in Desk to be very slow, even though we had checked in online before arriving (was ignored by CM--there were 2 of them--1 helping a family and one ignoring the only other people in line Us. I didn't like that the Deluxe resorts have terrible QS restaurants, Mira was no good at all, also very limited seating. Pool was only for little kids, no deep section more than 3 ft. That was our only Deluxe stay and probably our last--prices have went up so much, we can't afford to stay there again. We now only stay at MODS, which have all we need, without the attitude.

 

[Brancaneve]

I must say that I love it when people complain about AKL. That means more room availability for me.