How are Animal Kingdom Holiday Decorations?

[TheresaNY]

We will be there 11/21 thru 12/2 and we were a little disappointed that we couldn't Wilderness Lodge. How is Animal Kingdom at this time of year ? Do they play holiday music in the lobby, etc? How are the animals ? Are they more active since it is cooler ? We have never been to AKL. Any advice is welcome !

 

[GEM]

I'd love to hear about this too, and I'd LOVE to see some pictures of AKL dressed up for the holidays. We'll be there the 14th-24th!!

I'm wondering about the music, too. Do they still play the wonderful African music, or is it Christmas music? The Christmas music would be nice, I guess, but I would really miss the regular lodge music!

 

[Redbudlover]

Subscribing - I will be staying there 12/19 - 12/26. I was there for dinner last December, but it was early in the month. The tree was magnificent, but I didn't get see much of the rest.

 

[Daydreamer64]

We'd like to know too!

We'll be there Jan 1st- Jan. 7th- I wonder - what do you hear in the CR? We'll be there ( CR ) for 2 days before AKL -Dec. 30th - 31st- maybe we'll get the best of both worlds- holiday music at CR and African music at AKL from the 1st on... That'd be great!

I'm so excited!This trip will be announced on Dec. 29th to allow the boys time to pack- we LEAVE for the ATL airport at 3:30am . So we get Christmas on the 25th, then another big surprise on the 29th . THEN, this is the part I'm about to bust with excitment over, we are adding another layer to the surprise- we are flying for the first time ever- the kids have never flown- then the big bang!-- a limo is picking us up at MCO! Last but not least we are telling them that we are going to the parks for a weekend trip and that's all we can afford to do- they asked about having dinner at Boma's and we told them that if we had enough money, we could have dinner there on our check out day before we hit the road- well, you already know we are not leaving that day- we are checking in for a week!

We've never vacationed like this before. We usually go on a dime and stay in value, share meals, and eat a much in our AS room as we can- and we know we will never spend this amount of money again as this is a special trip- so we are determined to have it all and celebrate the holiday season in style!

 

[TheresaNY]

Well I sure am glad I started this thread but where are all our AKL experts ???? I looked through a few hundred pages of the AKL thread but didn't find the answers all of us are looking for . Hopefully someone will respond and maybe even have some Christmas photos for us.

 

[raven69david]

In the WDW Christmas Episode on the Travel Channel, they show the Animal Kingdom Lodge with this colossal christmas tree in the center of the lodge. It is fully decorated and is like 5 stories high. They didn't show much else, but the christmas tree was breathtaking. Please watch out for the episode i'm referring to as it's one of our favorite episodes that we recently lost on our DVR as we had to turn it in to upgrade to an HD DVR.

 

[AJKMOM]

Never been at Christmas, but I saw on the Travel channel that it looked nice. I think the decorations were authentic African, which means Americans wouldn't appreciate them as much. One special showed a chocolate village, not sure if they still do that.

Just because you aren't staying at the Wilderness Lodge, doesn't mean you can't go there and check out the decorations. It's easy to take the boat there from the Magic Kingdom and it's a nice break from a day at the park.


A lot of people say they are the best resort decorations at all of WDW.

 

[Minniemomof4]

We were there last year over Thanksgiving break. The tree in the lobby is a must see!! It is HUGE and so beautifully decorated. Better than any I have seen. Other than the tree there were no other memorable decorations. Zawadi Market Place had Christmas themed merchandise but really no other decorations. Still worth it for the tree though!

 

[CTDis4]

We thought the Christmas decorations in the lobby of AKL breathtaking. Every bit as beautiful as WL. Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[TheresaNY]

Thanks for the wonderful replies. The AKL is on Great Hotels this Sunday here in NY - 2:30 pm I think then followed by WL.

How are the animals? Are they more active and visible in the cooler weather ? We saw more in Kilamanjaro Safari in Dec. than on any of our July trips. Any hotspots to check out to see them at AKL? What about bunkbeds. How are my odds at getting a bunk bed - I have std room.

 

[1000th happy haunt]

There was no chocolate village at Animal Kingdom Lodge last year. I asked why, but no one could tell me the reason.

 

[Stucas]

heres some, sorry they are all of the lobby. I saw a few the other day and now I can't find them again
http://hotels.about.com/library/photos/wdw_holiday/blholiday05.htm

http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-b189055-p277404-Christmas_Tree.html


heres 2 form allears

-Lauren