I have sort of a stupid question...

[ryan840]

There's no reason we couldn't eat lunch at Mara in AKL and then tour the place if we're not staying there, is there? We'll be staying at OKW, but we want to see the AKL while we're there, hopefully to see some animals since we'll be skipping AK...

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Hey there! If your staying on site Disney allows people to go in and look around the different resorts. If your staying offsite I'm not 100% sure.

 

[ryan840]

Thanks!

 

[stemikger]

Sure you can. I was staying at Pop Century and went to AKL to take a look around. I ate at BOMA - I highly reccomend it.

Great lobby to sit and have a cocktail.

Have fun.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

All visitors to WDW are welcomed to visit and eat/shop at the Disney resorts. They are not just for resort guests. Their hope is that you may see a resort you like and stay there in the future.

 

[wfloyd]

Everyone can go in to see any resort but the guard may give you a parking pass for only 3 hours. This is to discourage people from parking in the resort lot then going to the parks for the day.

 

[susy]

I think it's a great idea. I must warn you that a family did this once and ended up switching to AKL mid-trip and even added on extra days! Don't forget that Mara has the famous Zebra domes in the frig! They are sooo yummy!!!!!

 

[ROBIN4NY]

There's no reason we couldn't eat lunch at Mara in AKL and then tour the place if we're not staying there, is there? We'll be staying at OKW, but we want to see the AKL while we're there, hopefully to see some animals since we'll be skipping AK...

When I was staying at WL, DH and I went resort hopping on the monorail to see where we would like to stay on our next visit.We went from Wl to CR to GF to the Poly and back.

People are so busy that I don't think that anyone noticed to be honest.It was a lot of fun to do.Enjoy

 

[ryan840]

Thanks everyone. I was 95% sure that it was ok, but I was making plans for a lunch break from MK and I didn't want to get there and find out that we were wrong! Now after the 3:00 parade, we will head over to AKL (so our son can get his nap in the car) and have a nice lunch at Mara while we relax, then we'll tour the resort and head back to MK, hopefully around 6:00. Does that sound do-able? I figured since Mara is counter service, we can take as much or as little time to eat as we want... BTW, what are zebra domes?

 

[geetey]

That should work just fine. You will have plenty of time, and Mara has plenty of space for you to enjoy a leisurely lunch without feeling pressed - especially at that time of day. There are even tvs going with cartoons (well, when we were there).
Be sure to look for the hidden Mickeys in the lobby!

Zebra Domes... (from All Ears) - coffee mousse dome glazed with white and dark chocolate zebra pattern $5.59

 

[ryan840]

Zebra Domes... (from All Ears) - coffee mousse dome glazed with white and dark chocolate zebra pattern $5.59

Why oh why oh why did you have to go and tell me that?? I am a sucker for sweets as it is, and then you had to go and mention MOUSSE??? I'm in trouble!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

.....Just kidding!

You will have a great time! The AKL does a great job with their public viewing areas of the animals.

Have Fun!!!!

 

[ryan840]

Do you think we will see any if we look for them around 4:00p?

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Do you think we will see any if we look for them around 4:00p?

I think your "gameplan" is very doable! Your son's nap may be a brief one, it won't take you long to drive over to the AKL. You should be able to see ample animals at this time. We have stayed at the AKL on six trips and have seen animals throughout the day.

Good Luck and have Fun!

 

[ryan840]

Thanks! I'm so excited to go now! We will probably drive around for a while to give him a longer nap, maybe we'll get lost or something... I'm glad to hear it's not a long drive, looking at the maps it seems like you'd spend an hour trying to get from one place to the next... They need a milage key!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Thanks! I'm so excited to go now! We will probably drive around for a while to give him a longer nap, maybe we'll get lost or something... I'm glad to hear it's not a long drive, looking at the maps it seems like you'd spend an hour trying to get from one place to the next... They need a milage key!

You could do a driving tour around some of the resorts. Make a big circle to the GF, Poly, Contemporary, WL, SSR, DTD, BW, BC, YC, and make your way over the AKL.

With your son napping you won't be able to get out at each resort, but you could drive around and see them from the outside. It might be better than having him have an abbreviated nap....that might not be good!

 

[barblue]

Do you think we will see any if we look for them around 4:00p?

We just stayed at AKL two weeks ago. We returned to our room one afternoon for a break just about 4 pm - and discovered that it was feeding time for the animals! (The keepers drove all over the savannahs and put food at strategic viewing spots.) After that, we always made a point to be back at the lodge by 4 and the animals were fed within 15/20 minutes of that time each of the three days we were there. So 4 pm is a great time for viewing in my experience!

If you are in the lodge around that time make sure to check out the viewing area on the left just past the check-in desks. There is a tree right in front of that spot in which they stick leaves for the giraffes. We loved watching the giraffes from there.

Also, if you don't see animals from one viewing area make sure to go to the others. We went animal-looking at all hours of the day and were always able to spot something if we moved around a bit.

 

[ryan840]

Could it get any better? Feeding time?? I'm literally jumping up and down in my chair! (mainly because things never seem to go this good for me) We will be sure to look all around then.

WDW Lifelong Fan- How long would it take to drive the circle? On our off day we were planning on doing some resort hopping, so if we don't have enough time to go all the way around, we still have a plan!

 

[O2BNWDW]

There's no reason we couldn't eat lunch at Mara in AKL and then tour the place if we're not staying there, is there? We'll be staying at OKW, but we want to see the AKL while we're there, hopefully to see some animals since we'll be skipping AK...

As a regular resort hopper I say no problem. DH and I like to "plant" ourselves at a different resort for a few hours every trip. It's research!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

Could it get any better? Feeding time?? I'm literally jumping up and down in my chair! (mainly because things never seem to go this good for me) We will be sure to look all around then.

WDW Lifelong Fan- How long would it take to drive the circle? On our off day we were planning on doing some resort hopping, so if we don't have enough time to go all the way around, we still have a plan!

You could spend as much time as you wanted. The actual driving would not take more than 45 minutes to an hour if that.

I don't know how long your son will need to nap but I think he won't have time to sleep more than 5-10 minutes if you drive directly to the AKL. If he can sleep in a stroller, you might want to go directly to AKL and walk around, then when he wakes up you will be ready for him to see the animals and eat lunch. Good Luck!