How much time to spend in AKL

CamillaF

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 4, 2022
It's my first trip to Disney World and I am taking my husband and twin daughters turning 9. We are staying at AKL and I am trying to plan a somewhat leisurely trip and get the most out of the resort. So how much time would you plan to spend in the resort?
 
How much time are you wanting to spend hanging out at the resort? The pool is nice and you can spend a couple of hours watching the animals, and like the other resorts, they have some pool side activities throughout the day. Other then the animals, AKL is like most of the other deluxe resorts at WDW as far as activities goes. I think that most people spend a day just hanging out at the resort if their trip is long enough. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/animal-kingdom-lodge/recreation/
 
Pre-COVID, AKL had more activities than the other deluxe resorts. Some of those activities have not been resumed. I think that when COVID started they sent the Cultural Representatives (people from Africa) home, and I haven't been paying attention to when/if they are coming back or came back. There also is the possibility that under the Cheapak regime, these activities will not be considered cost-effective to resume.

Activities from an old calendar which apparently have not been resumed:
- African Wonders: Discover the continent of Africa through an interactive matching game.
- Medallion Rubbing: leave your "impression" and show off your artwork (I think it was like doing a tracing of the tiles in the lobby floor)
- Various versions of meeting a cast member from Africa and hearing them talk at different times of day (meet a lobby greeter, meet a Cultural Representative for a virtual tour of their homeland, listen to a Cultural Representative, listen to African folk tales)
- Tour of the hotel with a Cultural Representative
- African Face Painting
- Cultural Tour of Sanaa Restaurant
- Culinary Tour of Boma restaurant
- Wine tasting
- Cookie decorating
- Play African instruments
- Play African drums
- Join the Primal Parade (can't remember what that was) in the gift shop
- stamp activity
- meet a Savanna Guide and learn about Wildlife and African culture
- learn about feeding the pelicans and flamingos
- use real scientific equipment to learn how to track wildlife
- watch animal experts as they prepare and present interactive objects to the animals
- Balance the biodiversity blocks that make up a strong African ecosystem
- Poolside games including testing your animal knowledge, matching wildlife to their vocalizations
- use night vision goggles to look at the animals

They still have an activity where you make an object which will be used for enrichment of the animals. There is a painting course, but your kids are too young for it.

There were paid activities, not sure if they have resumed:
- Dine with an Animal Specialist
- Sunset Safari
- Night Safari

Here's a link to the May activity calendar:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/monthly-resort-recreation-calendars.3871996/page-6#post-63979958
 
Pre-COVID, AKL had more activities than the other deluxe resorts. Some of those activities have not been resumed. I think that when COVID started they sent the Cultural Representatives (people from Africa) home, and I haven't been paying attention to when/if they are coming back or came back. There also is the possibility that under the Cheapak regime, these activities will not be considered cost-effective to resume.

Activities from an old calendar which apparently have not been resumed:
- African Wonders: Discover the continent of Africa through an interactive matching game.
- Medallion Rubbing: leave your "impression" and show off your artwork (I think it was like doing a tracing of the tiles in the lobby floor)
- Various versions of meeting a cast member from Africa and hearing them talk at different times of day (meet a lobby greeter, meet a Cultural Representative for a virtual tour of their homeland, listen to a Cultural Representative, listen to African folk tales)
- Tour of the hotel with a Cultural Representative
- African Face Painting
- Cultural Tour of Sanaa Restaurant
- Culinary Tour of Boma restaurant
- Wine tasting
- Cookie decorating
- Play African instruments
- Play African drums
- Join the Primal Parade (can't remember what that was) in the gift shop
- stamp activity
- meet a Savanna Guide and learn about Wildlife and African culture
- learn about feeding the pelicans and flamingos
- use real scientific equipment to learn how to track wildlife
- watch animal experts as they prepare and present interactive objects to the animals
- Balance the biodiversity blocks that make up a strong African ecosystem
- Poolside games including testing your animal knowledge, matching wildlife to their vocalizations
- use night vision goggles to look at the animals

They still have an activity where you make an object which will be used for enrichment of the animals. There is a painting course, but your kids are too young for it.

There were paid activities, not sure if they have resumed:
- Dine with an Animal Specialist
- Sunset Safari
- Night Safari

Here's a link to the May activity calendar:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/monthly-resort-recreation-calendars.3871996/page-6#post-63979958
Well that is depressing seeing all of the things that you can't do anymore spelled out like that. LOL
 


How much time are you wanting to spend hanging out at the resort? The pool is nice and you can spend a couple of hours watching the animals, and like the other resorts, they have some pool side activities throughout the day. Other then the animals, AKL is like most of the other deluxe resorts at WDW as far as activities goes. I think
Pre-COVID, AKL had more activities than the other deluxe resorts. Some of those activities have not been resumed. I think that when COVID started they sent the Cultural Representatives (people from Africa) home, and I haven't been paying attention to when/if they are coming back or came back. There also is the possibility that under the Cheapak regime, these activities will not be considered cost-effective to resume.

Activities from an old calendar which apparently have not been resumed:
- African Wonders: Discover the continent of Africa through an interactive matching game.
- Medallion Rubbing: leave your "impression" and show off your artwork (I think it was like doing a tracing of the tiles in the lobby floor)
- Various versions of meeting a cast member from Africa and hearing them talk at different times of day (meet a lobby greeter, meet a Cultural Representative for a virtual tour of their homeland, listen to a Cultural Representative, listen to African folk tales)
- Tour of the hotel with a Cultural Representative
- African Face Painting
- Cultural Tour of Sanaa Restaurant
- Culinary Tour of Boma restaurant
- Wine tasting
- Cookie decorating
- Play African instruments
- Play African drums
- Join the Primal Parade (can't remember what that was) in the gift shop
- stamp activity
- meet a Savanna Guide and learn about Wildlife and African culture
- learn about feeding the pelicans and flamingos
- use real scientific equipment to learn how to track wildlife
- watch animal experts as they prepare and present interactive objects to the animals
- Balance the biodiversity blocks that make up a strong African ecosystem
- Poolside games including testing your animal knowledge, matching wildlife to their vocalizations
- use night vision goggles to look at the animals

They still have an activity where you make an object which will be used for enrichment of the animals. There is a painting course, but your kids are too young for it.

There were paid activities, not sure if they have resumed:
- Dine with an Animal Specialist
- Sunset Safari
- Night Safari

Here's a link to the May activity calendar:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/monthly-resort-recreation-calendars.3871996/page-6#post-63979958
Thank you for this information. We are planning on a day with no Disney parks and hopefully more of the activities will be back otherwise the pool and or exploring some of the Nature in the surrounding areas might be in order.
 
I can add a few things further back like magical begging where they chose a child to open the pool slide. My son was lucky enough one year where he got a hat, binocular, the choice of the first blow up that came down the slide a picture with CM and a certificate. AKL had many activities easy to make a non park week out of it. By far there is no order Deluxe that comes close. take note of the savanna you are on and ask the guide at the main viewing area when the animals will be most active in that area. Rainy days are an amazing time to spend watching….
 


There’s the pool and animal viewing. You could make a adr for Saana at Kidani. It’s like a 10 minutes walk from Jambo. There’s ping pong tables, nightly movie. The sunset safari at Kidani is back. It’s a tour you can buy where they take you out on the Savannah and learn more about the animals using night vision scopes.
 
I feel like you could spend half a day walking around looking at everything on display. There's something to look at seemingly everywhere, including the large copper thing in the floor just inside the lobby.
 
I think of them as the Sunset Safari and the Night Safari, but those are not their real names.

The Sunset Safari = Wanyama Safari. Tour the AKL safari and then have dinner at Jiko. This one has not resumed.

Night Safari = Starlight Safari. This one is after dark. We were given night vision goggles to use when I did this years ago. The website takes you to a booking page, but when I looked at a few dates, it said that there are no times available. I don't know if it's already booked up, for not booking.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/search/?searchQuery=safari
 
We’re thinking about visiting AKL during the afternoon that we go to AK. The pictures I’ve seen online are gorgeous and it looks worthwhile to do a special visit to eat dinner and walk around the hotel.
 
We will often take a day to enjoy the resort without parks. I didn't see it mentioned, but you'll actually have access to both the pool at Jambo and the one at Kidani - both are really nice and different. Both have animal viewing areas. We also have taken a recommendation from cast members in the past - if you venture into some of the stairwells at Jambo, you can get outside at an elevated level to view animals. I'd ask a cast member for any specific recommendations - we got to see some really fun stuff from the outside stairs.
 
Ask at the front desk for the hidden mickey scavenger hunt. That took us a good chunk of time exploring the resort.
 
Doesn’t take forever, but take a moment to look at all the displays and immerse yourself by reading what they are in the lobby. Especially read the story/history on the big mask thing, it’s pretty cool
 

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