Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE Information & Questions

[maranara]

Wow. I am trying to wrap my head around the awesomeness of the activity guide. It makes me want to add a day!

I just had the same thought! Does anyone know...if our flight isn't until late afternoon on our departure day, can we still stay at the resort & do activities until we have to catch the bus back? I know we would have to check out and leave our luggage, but that seems like a great way to spend our last day vs. trying to squeeze one more morning at a park in.

 

[RachelTori]

I just had the same thought! Does anyone know...if our flight isn't until late afternoon on our departure day, can we still stay at the resort & do activities until we have to catch the bus back? I know we would have to check out and leave our luggage, but that seems like a great way to spend our last day vs. trying to squeeze one more morning at a park in.

You are absolutely welcome to enjoy the activities at the resort on your check-out day! It will be a fun way to end your magical vacation!

 

[AngiTN]

Wow. I am trying to wrap my head around the awesomeness of the activity guide. It makes me want to add a day!

Can anyone tell me what "bead activity" means on the activity schedule?

You earn a bead when doing the activity. Earn several beads and you can get enough for stringing on a necklace or bracelet.

We are staying our 1 night at AKL for the reason of their awesome in resort activities. We aren't going to a park at all and in that situation, AKL was the obvious choice. Many think of the resort as a vacation within a vacation. It's our 2nd stay there and I can say that is the case for certain.

So the DDP is a good deal, but only if you get the mug thrown in? Paying OOP is for it is something you'd never do?

What about buying a $25 stuffed animal that your kid may want, or the candy that costs 5.95 + tax or the light up toys that you buy down there that are 3 x's the price as back home.....Or paying to eat a meal in any WDW restaurant which we know we wouldn't spend when at home, for better quality & service.

All's I was saying is Yes it is a good deal for $17 because for the average person, I'm sure they buy QS meals or snacks at the resorts some of the time ( Not talking about any kind of DDP )Downtime at the pool, while watching the kids swim...These are where the refills do their magic... Each time they fill up is saving from buying a 1 and done soft drink.. Also, we do drink some coffee in the room, but before we head to the parks, we may grab a pastry & refill our mug. While the kids fill theirs with juice or so.....During our time down there ( avg. between 8-10 nights) I'm sure we would've paid upwards of $100 or so....OOP.

When it comes to WDW, we are far from cheap.....Yes We could save money & eat off property, but WE don't..We enjoy the ambience & the setting, so we'll continue to pay for it....Do I need the $11 beer when I pass by Rose & Crown...No but it's right there at that moment...Do I like shelling out $100 -200 walking & eating around the world @ F&W, No, because it's not cost effective, but it does make us happy(Regardless of the price) There are sooo many more things that I can bring up that we all know we pay a high price for , but we do it anyway...I just think that for a mere 17 bucks this is one of the ways to actually get some of it back.

No and Yes.
No, I don't believe the DDP is a good deal at all, never do it
And Yes, purchasing the mug is something I would never do.

I can count on 1 hand the number of times we have bought a fountain drink, juice or coffee in the QS spot in our resort. And that's in all of our trips in the past 5 years.
If I'm at the pool I'm drinking a beer, same for DH. DGD drinks water if not at a meal.

There is no problem that you find it a great deal. Others don't. It clearly works out for you and your type of opting for a beverage. Just pointing out that it doesn't work that way for all. And in that case, it's not a bargain at all.

 

[brooke789]

You earn a bead when doing the activity. Earn several beads and you can get enough for stringing on a necklace or bracelet.

Awesome! Thanks

 

[DisneyMom111]

I just did my online check in and under the special requests section was "Kudu Trail View" What exactly is this? I don't know if this is something I want or not! lol And are the upper floors usually a better view? Thanks!!

 

[AngiTN]

I just did my online check in and under the special requests section was "Kudu Trail View" What exactly is this? I don't know if this is something I want or not! lol And are the upper floors usually a better view? Thanks!!

I noticed that too. I couldn't quite figure out why Kudu was preferred over Zebra either.
I wonder if it's because the way the rock is positioned the Zebra trail may have a more obstructed view of the savanna.
Or if it's because we could see fireworks from our room on Kudu trail. They were over the Zebra wing so those rooms facing the savanna wouldn't see them.

 

[Grumpy247365]

I just did my online check in and under the special requests section was "Kudu Trail View" What exactly is this? I don't know if this is something I want or not! lol And are the upper floors usually a better view? Thanks!!

I booked a standard room and selected high floor and kudu trail and I ended up with a view of the savannah on the 4th floor. The only downside is that the room was ALLLLLL the way at the end of the building, so the walk seemed like it took forever. I would definitely book it again. I woke up to giraffes, zebras, etc every morning. Just remember, the walk is pretty long, especially to get to the restaurants/pool/elevators.

 

[AngiTN]

I booked a standard room and selected high floor and kudu trail and I ended up with a view of the savannah on the 4th floor. The only downside is that the room was ALLLLLL the way at the end of the building, so the walk seemed like it took forever. I would definitely book it again. I woke up to giraffes, zebras, etc every morning. Just remember, the walk is pretty long, especially to get to the restaurants/pool/elevators.

I think that is the part that confuses me most about Kudu being on the list of preferred room locations. It has the possibility of being the furthest away from everything. You wouldn't think of that as a preferred location

 

[Grumpy247365]

I think that is the part that confuses me most about Kudu being on the list of preferred room locations. It has the possibility of being the furthest away from everything. You wouldn't think of that as a preferred location

It's definitely not preferred due to the walk, but the view is awesome and the room was much cheaper than booking a savannah view room. Luckily I didn't mind the walk, but it's definitely a hike at the end of the day LOL.

 

[AngiTN]

It's definitely not preferred due to the walk, but the view is awesome and the room was much cheaper than booking a savannah view room. Luckily I didn't mind the walk, but it's definitely a hike at the end of the day LOL.

True. But everyone that books standard and selects Kudu won't get Savanna view. That is pixie dust. So that still leaves the question, what about Kudu view is better (pixie dust aside) that it's an option on the online check in list.

​

 

[DisneyMom111]

I booked a standard room and selected high floor and kudu trail and I ended up with a view of the savannah on the 4th floor. The only downside is that the room was ALLLLLL the way at the end of the building, so the walk seemed like it took forever. I would definitely book it again. I woke up to giraffes, zebras, etc every morning. Just remember, the walk is pretty long, especially to get to the restaurants/pool/elevators.

We have a savannah view room already so what is the Kudu Trail View? Is it supposed to be a better view?

 

[AngiTN]

Actually, the more I think about it I think that is what makes Kudu preferred over the other wings. All of those rooms will have some sort of at least partial animal and/or savanna view.

 

[AngiTN]

We have a savannah view room already so what is the Kudu Trail View? Is it supposed to be a better view?

Have you seen this map? It will show you what is Kudu. I personally can't see why it would be better than Zebra when it comes to Savanna view.
https://touringplans.com/hotel_maps..._distance]=any&filters[ug]=&filters[view]=243

It could be like booking Boardwalk View at BWI and then selecting Water View on the online check in. All boardwalk view rooms are water view so it's a wasted choice. It's there for those that don't book Boardwalk view but hope to get one
Kudu may be there for those that book Standard and hope to get lucky and get at least a partial savanna view.

 

[DisneyMom111]

Have you seen this map? It will show you what is Kudu. I personally can't see why it would be better than Zebra when it comes to Savanna view.
https://touringplans.com/hotel_maps/disneys-animal-kingdom-lodge?commit=&filters[accessibility]=any&filters[floors]=any&filters[lobby_distance]=any&filters[rack_rate]=any&filters[rate_date]=04/06/2016&filters[sound]=any&filters[transportation_distance]=any&filters[ug]=&filters[view]=243

It could be like booking Boardwalk View at BWI and then selecting Water View on the online check in. All boardwalk view rooms are water view so it's a wasted choice. It's there for those that don't book Boardwalk view but hope to get one
Kudu may be there for those that book Standard and hope to get lucky and get at least a partial savanna view.

Ooohhh ok, I see now. Thank you so much for for clearing it up for me!

 

[DizDaD7]

You earn a bead when doing the activity. Earn several beads and you can get enough for stringing on a necklace or bracelet.

We are staying our 1 night at AKL for the reason of their awesome in resort activities. We aren't going to a park at all and in that situation, AKL was the obvious choice. Many think of the resort as a vacation within a vacation. It's our 2nd stay there and I can say that is the case for certain.


No and Yes.
No, I don't believe the DDP is a good deal at all, never do it
And Yes, purchasing the mug is something I would never do.

I can count on 1 hand the number of times we have bought a fountain drink, juice or coffee in the QS spot in our resort. And that's in all of our trips in the past 5 years.
If I'm at the pool I'm drinking a beer, same for DH. DGD drinks water if not at a meal.

There is no problem that you find it a great deal. Others don't. It clearly works out for you and your type of opting for a beverage. Just pointing out that it doesn't work that way for all. And in that case, it's not a bargain at all.

Very well...point taken....

 

[sndral]

I noticed that too. I couldn't quite figure out why Kudu was preferred over Zebra either.
I wonder if it's because the way the rock is positioned the Zebra trail may have a more obstructed view of the savanna.
Or if it's because we could see fireworks from our room on Kudu trail. They were over the Zebra wing so those rooms facing the savanna wouldn't see them.

I think that is the part that confuses me most about Kudu being on the list of preferred room locations. It has the possibility of being the furthest away from everything. You wouldn't think of that as a preferred location

We have a savannah view room already so what is the Kudu Trail View? Is it supposed to be a better view?

The most requested hallway used to be Zebra trail because it has close access to the pool, Mara & the restaurants. I think it's not on the request list w/ online check in because everyone would request it. By only offering Kudu trail as an option I think they are trying to encourage people to request it, rather than it being a 'better' view than Zebra. If I had a savanna view booked I would not request Kudu trail if I preferred to be on Zebra trail and closer to the amenities. Personally I'm kind of hoping for Kudu trail sunset savanna view next time (we favor booking savanna view) because that's where the zebra herd is, but if it were my first trip I'd rather have Zebra trail w/ a savanna view booking. If I was booked for standard view and didn't mind the potential long walk to get to the amenities then I might request Kudu trail as all of those rooms/villas have at least a sliver of a savanna view.
In December I left the requests blank and ended up back on Zebra trail w/ Arusha savanna view near a waterhole - which was lovely.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks. That makes perfect sense.

 

[Lacoccinelle]

I have stayed on Kudu and Zebra booking standard before. When we asked for nothing, we got Kudu by the feeding area facing Kidani, but the walk was so so so long to the bus and the Mara. This past fall, I requested kudu, but faced a request asking to not be by the smoking section due to asthma. I also stated that I requested Kudu on online check in, but would also be happy with zebra. We were in the pod right after the pool and Mara area and looked onto the savanna with the night vision, it was perfect, so close to the pool and the food.

 

[DisneyMommy9]

Just booked my first ever stay at AKL 7 nights in October!!! Standard Room, just me and my 9 year old son. So excited!!

 

[Misha72683]

Didn't necessarily mean yoeu , but just in general...In the grand scheme of things with all WDW prices going up and things getting way outta hand, to me the souvenier mug ( we buy 2 ) pays for itself within the 2nd or 3rd day If you ask me... If you add up the coffees we'd get each morning & the sodas or iced teas/ juices prior/during pool time, or coming back from parks. I think it'd be wayy more.

We feel this way too. Our last trip we filled it at least twice a day, more if we went back to the resort. We didn't necessarily eat at he QS, we just went and filled our mugs (this was at CBR). We filled them in the morning before we went to the parks and then when we came home. We actually bought our younger son a mug Oop because he really wanted his own. For our next trip, 7 nights, I assume we'll get a lot of use out of our mugs. My mom and I are pop drinkers and my bff drinks both pop and coffee. We're flying, so we won't be able to bring our own pop for the room and it's nice to have drinks in our room. I get that it doesn't work for evetyone.