Does the novelty of AKL wear off?

[Tigger in a kilt]

Oh yeah where ever you stay don’t eat at the same place for dinner on multiple nights.

There are loads of resteraunts everywhere though, so aside from breakfast it is usually easier not to eat in the hotel than eat in it.

Absolutely. We both have some health and stamina issues, so we tend to get more exhausted than anticipated, especially at the start when we have jet lag. I love all the AKL restaurants, which was one of my reasons for picking it, but even those amazing restaurants will get old if we end up too tired to eat anywhere else.

I figure even if we are tired, we could probably make it to World Showcase from Boardwalk. And if not, then a split stay means we aren’t staying long enough to get sick of any particular restaurant. Though I can’t imagine ever getting sick of the bread service at Sana’a!

 

[tzeitel]

With a split stay I would stay at AKL and then either BW or Y&BC over the Poly (and the Poly is my favorite resort!) just because you say you will be going more to Epcot and DHS. A short walk or boat ride is so much nicer than a bus! You can go back to your room to rest w/o much of a hassle or decide last minute to go back to Epcot for dinner.

 

[stephk1981]

We get tires of AKL after 3-4 nights. The transportation for us is just too big of an inconvenience. We love the resort for long weekend trips or as a few days add on to a longer stay elsewhere. Our favorites are Polynesian and Beach Club. We do have 2 children though, and the convenience of being able to get to parks quickly and back for naps does weigh into this greatly. Have a great trip!

 

[`OhanaHare]

No. Not for me at least.

If you are having doubts, book a split stay-1 week at Poly one at AKL.

 

[Nancyg56]

I have been waiting to reply because I have been thinking about what has been said. A huge thank you to everyone for their replies. I think you are right - I am going to call Disney and ask what my options are for doing a split stay (we currently have a package with free dining).

I have my doubts about the Poly, due to how busy it is, but I loved Boardwalk so we might go back there. Whatever hotel we decide, I think the fact that I have so many doubts about AKL means I should look into my other options.

Thank you all for your help!

I do not find the Poly busy. I know the GCH is and that the common areas can be cluttered with people, but once you move away from the center you are in a tropical oasis. The Poly is not necessarily my favorite resort however it is one of the most convenient for travel IMO.


WIth that said, I love AKL and would welcome a 2 week stay for all of the reasons already stated. THere is a tranquility to that resort that cannot be explained with words. For me, as my trip progressed AKL was more inviting, offering an escape from the controlled chaos that WDW is on a daily basis.

WHereever you choose to stay, if you do not want to rely on the resort TS restaurants for most meals, change your dining timing. Book a TS restaurant for a late lunch early dinner before returning to the resort and have CS for dinner or a later evening snack. Make the meals outside of the resort work for your convenience so you are not dining in the same two restaurants more often then you would normally enjoy.

 

[gillep]

I have to say, we did the Wanyama Safari several days into our most recent week long stay at AKL and it totally changed our appreciation and understanding of the resort. Prior to that, I took a lot of the animal/savanna part for granted. We had a CM on our Safari who was very passionate and incredibly knowledgeable about the animals. We learned many things that made us appreciate our daily balcony viewing even more. This CM also stopped by our balcony a few times afterwards and we enjoyed a nice brief chat (very random that we happened to be there while he was driving by). It added a special and unique angle to our visit.

This thread is making me really miss AKL. It is such a special place, in my opinion.

If you enjoyed Wanyama, I would highly recommend the Sense of Africa tour, we have done both, and they are both fantastic, but Sense of Africa is not discussed here as often. Personally, it has been my favorite tour at WDW, but I do love giraffes more than most, so that may cloud my judgement.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/events-tours/animal-kingdom-lodge/sense-of-africa/
Here is hopefully a link to the start of my report on it from last July with some pictures: https://www.disboards.com/threads/jambo-the-newest-akl-information-thread.3567178/post-59509638

 

[cwestpvb]

While I absolutely love AKL, it is my least favorite Deluxe. There really isn't anything bad about it, but I really value having outdoor areas to walk and explore. At AKL, the Savannah limits that. I love AKL for a few nights, but I don't think I'd last a week or 2 there (but that's also based on my preferences). The views are truly incredible, and I do love waking up and opening the balcony door to giraffes and zebras, but being limited to an outdoor observation area and the pool area makes me feel confined to the indoors for the most part while I am there. I really love the YC because I can go explore the boardwalk area, and I love just walking laps around that space. And I love WL since the outdoor spaces expansive and beautiful (walking through the new cabin areas are just so pleasant). We also spend a decent amount of time at the resort, so that's essentially why thats important to us haha. If you are okay with not having all that outdoor space, then AKL should be fine. Otherwise, I'd say do a split stay there for maybe 3 or 4 nights and then move to another one. That way you don't have to unpack much before moving to another resort, and you can still experience how incredible AKL is.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

We stayed for a few days at AKL (club level, Savannah View) last year and it was spectacular. Such a beautiful resort, and I loved waking up early to watch the animals.
I have 2 weeks booked there for next year and I’m having doubts. 3 days was wonderful, but I’m concerned that, for a 2 week vacation, the novelty of giraffes and zebras will wear off and then we are just left with the inconvenience of being stuck so far from everything.
I’m considering moving to the Poly, as I haven’t stayed there before. We are two adults, no kids, some health problems that affect stamina, and no car but are happy to use Uber/Lyft/Minnie Vans.
Am I overthinking this, or will we get sick of the animals and spending all our time on transport? Thanks.

You'll spend plenty of time on transport going to HS & AK from Poly. There is no one resort that is close to more than 2 parks. So I don’t think transportation is the issue unless you're spending most of your time at MK.

But why not split such a long stay, just to try another resort? A week at AKL, followed by a week at Poly?

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Duplicate post

 

[North of Mouse]

We stayed for a few days at AKL (club level, Savannah View) last year and it was spectacular. Such a beautiful resort, and I loved waking up early to watch the animals.

I have 2 weeks booked there for next year and I’m having doubts. 3 days was wonderful, but I’m concerned that, for a 2 week vacation, the novelty of giraffes and zebras will wear off and then we are just left with the inconvenience of being stuck so far from everything.

I’m considering moving to the Poly, as I haven’t stayed there before. We are two adults, no kids, some health problems that affect stamina, and no car but are happy to use Uber/Lyft/Minnie Vans.

Am I overthinking this, or will we get sick of the animals and spending all our time on transport? Thanks.

It's my least favorite resort as transport is buses only, and unfortunately, I 'do' feel really away from everything. Love to visit and enjoy restaurants there tho'.

 

[a1tinkfans]

I think a split stay would work best for you based on your input.
I don’t think AKL is too far or too remote and the peacefulness is awfully nice after park days. We don’t eat dinner at our resort each night, but I can understand if that’s your routine.
What’s important is that you find that sweet spot ... being comfy, having the amenities you ll need ( like various restaurants nearby) etc. and being Happy with your choice. Sounds like the split stay may just add that xtra special Something this visit.
( and I too recommend the night safari, it’s excellent!)
Happy planning and wishing you a wonderful visit

 

[snappy]

We prefer split stays, and a full week for the 2 resorts would be ideal, especially if you do one MK resort and one Epcot resort or one Epcot resort and either Kidani or AKL. I find it much easier to find dining choices in the Epcot resort area. I do love Sanaa but my husband has tired of it. Some of the best places we have found to eat to vary things has been at the lounges.

 

[wendlle]

Not too long as far as I'm concerned.
I also don't get the opinion of it being "so far from everything"
Every single resort on property is far from something. AKL is no different.
Staying at a MK resort means it takes you longer to get to other parts of the WDW property also.
At least at AKL you feel like you're on vacation.

 

[Wild4Walt]

It's different for each person but we spent 11 nights at AKL for our honeymoon in a DVC Studio Savanah room. It did not get old at all. I enjoyed being able to get up daily and see the animals from our balcony while my husband got ready every morning. We also enjoyed doing the night vision.

 

[toodycat]

I love AKL a lot, but two weeks seems too long not to do a split stay. Why not have two different Disney experiences?

 

[bilsLANDO]

Love AKL. Have done stays in Savannah and CL for a week each. Have also done a split stay with Grand Floridian.

Always sad to check out but I would suggest a split stay. AKL allows really easy access to DAK and Blizzard Beach and of course is super chilled out. Monorail resorts open up a whole new cadence to the stay and you can hit MK and EPCOT. You can pop into MK for literally one ride and then come out, or just go in for fireworks. Also you can hit Monorail to EPCOT. I would imagine WL has similar benefits.

If money was no object I would do a week at AKL and then move to a monorail resort for week 2. Sadly it is so we are doing 2 nights at WL and then 10 offsite this time

 

[bilsLANDO]

Love AKL. Have done stays in Savannah and CL for a week each. Have also done a split stay with Grand Floridian.

Always sad to check out but I would suggest a split stay. AKL allows really easy access to DAK and Blizzard Beach and of course is super chilled out. Monorail resorts open up a whole new cadence to the stay and you can hit MK and EPCOT. You can pop into MK for literally one ride and then come out, or just go in for fireworks. Also you can hit Monorail to EPCOT. I would imagine WL has similar benefits.

If money was no object I would do a week at AKL and then move to a monorail resort for week 2. Sadly it is so we are doing 2 nights at WL and then 10 offsite this time

And yes - to answer your question the magic does fade a little by the end of the week. But only from 100 percent to high 80s

 

[cakebaker]

We stayed for a few days at AKL (club level, Savannah View) last year and it was spectacular. Such a beautiful resort, and I loved waking up early to watch the animals.

I have 2 weeks booked there for next year and I’m having doubts. 3 days was wonderful, but I’m concerned that, for a 2 week vacation, the novelty of giraffes and zebras will wear off and then we are just left with the inconvenience of being stuck so far from everything.

I’m considering moving to the Poly, as I haven’t stayed there before. We are two adults, no kids, some health problems that affect stamina, and no car but are happy to use Uber/Lyft/Minnie Vans.

Am I overthinking this, or will we get sick of the animals and spending all our time on transport? Thanks.

We just finished a 6 night stay. I loved the resort and at least in regards to the resort itself, never got tired of it at all.

We stayed CL and I did get tired of the repetitiveness of the food offerings- it was good, but not my favorite cuisine and I found myself craving more of the foods I’m familiar with. We found ourselves eating more in the parks towards the end. This did not happen on an equally long CL stay at the YC.

I also got tired of the long drives to every resort outside of AK. It was so time consuming we started using Uber more than we ever have just to cut down on transport time.

It is a beautiful resort and we had a great time but it is not one I would choose for a long stay. For the length of time you’re staying, I’d do a split stay if you really want AKL.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I'm in the split stay camp.
Some of this depends on the room view from AKL as well. We've had Savanna view rooms with very poor views, and non-Savanna view rooms with a near perfect view. Kidani is worse than AKL for longer stays, as the walkways to the rooms are long and there is only 1 food option. AKL has more food and is more compact. 7 days is about the max for me.

On the flip side, I did not find the Poly to be busy-seemed pretty quiet to me. There are likely just as many people heading to AKL for Jiko and other dining than would be strolling around the Poly outside of the main building.

Our son just returned from the Boardwalk and said he felt is was the worst of the resorts we have stayed in. He noted transportation as the problem-long waits and no bus to HS. Due to weather the boats were down so the only options were to walk in the rain/storms or take a cab/uber.

Also don't feel transport from AKL to the other parks isn't much longer than any other resort, with DS being the exception.

 

[kiford]

Every time we walk into the lobby if we're going for a meal at Boma or Jiko, I remind myself that we need to stay there again. We rotate through hotels and AKL is one of the ones on that rotation. I just love the look, feel and smells of the resort.

I also don't find it to be terribly inconvenient. Given the length of time we've had to wait for the monorail at GF or CR, I see very little difference between AKL and any of the other resorts. If we stay at the Boardwalk resorts, it's very convenient to Epcot but we still have to wait for the boat to HS or bus to MK or AK. If we stay at GF or WL, we have to wait for the bus to HS or AK and the monorail, bus or boat to MK and Epcot. Unless you only go to one park when you stay there, you have to wait for some kind of transportation so I see them all as equal for that. If I feel like I get something special or that I particularly like at the resort (SAB at YC/BC, proximity to V&A at GF, Geyser Point at WL, animals at AKL), then I'm willing to take the vagaries of the various transportation methods wherever I am since I can always just enjoy my resort.