Is AKL really that crowed?

[kenman]

I heard several reports lately that the AKL is ungodly crowed!
A fried of mine said that the pool was that crowed you couldn't even find a chair . The resturants where full to the max and most of the people weren't even staying at the AKL, there were eating and looking at the animals and even in the pool! I don't now if I should keep my May reservation or cancel!

 

[fortwilderness]

You must take into consideration that both Jiko and Boma are quite popular restaurants. Therefore people from the other Disney resorts and the surrounding area will be going to the AKL to eat at those restaurants. Anyone who gets a priority seating has a right to be at Boma and Jiko - they don't have to be staying at the AKL.

I would imagine that when people come for dinner at the AKL they would enjoy viewing the animals too. You don't have to be a hotel guest to view the animals from the public viewing areas. I explored the lodge last year and took full advantage of the public viewing areas. A cast member even chatted to us about the animals - he certainly didn't ask for resort identification before he would talk to us.

How was your friend positive that the people he saw in the pool, looking at the animals and eating in the restaurants were not guests of the AKL ? How could he tell the difference in the hotel guests and the visitors ? I am not trying to be mean I am just being curious.

 

[Tina26]

We visited AKL last July to eat at Bomas and take a look around and it didn't seem that crowded to me. Although, it was pouring down rain when we were there so that might have had something to do with it. I've heard that they are pretty strict about non-guests using the pool though and do ask to see id's.

Tina

 

[zurgswife]

I've stayed there twice Sept. and March and didn't find it overly crowded either time....Was it during easter that your friend was there because I'm sure that all the hotels were extremely busy at this time of year...

 

[jaguar9748]

We were at AKL at Christmas when things were very crowded, but the resort handles the crowds very well. The lobby area is nicely arranged. The restaurant area is nicely arranged. There is plenty of room to spread out in this resort and not feel crowded.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

WE stayed ay AKL in January when things were suppose to be slow. WRONG!!! We arrived to the resort at 9:00 and did not get in our room until almost 4:00. It would not have been so bad if they didn't let us know that the room was clean , just waiting for housekeeping to give them the OK. I enjoyed my stay, but admit it is not my favorite Resort.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

WE stayed ay AKL in January when things were suppose to be slow. WRONG!!! We arrived to the resort at 9:00 and did not get in our room until almost 4:00. It would not have been so bad if they didn't let us know that the room was clean , just waiting for housekeeping to give them the OK. I enjoyed my stay, but admit it is not my favorite Resort. I never saw them ask for any I.D to us the pool. I don't think there was any problem.

 

[jamsmom]

We were there Dec 30-Jan 6 and I really didn't think there were crowds at AKL. They were all at the park.....whichever park I went to, that is where the crowds were

 

[Janet2k]

Kenman, I stayed there last year at Easter and also twice over the Christmas holidays. The resort was hopping for all those visits but as another poster pointed out, the resort manages things well. For the Easter holiday that just ended, I don't know if you are aware of it but things were definitely buzzing at WDW. They had pretty much record crowds (theme parks were temporarily shut down a few times and all that jazz). Obviously WDW was packed and every resort felt the pinch. I would think that May would be much more manageable (less crowds), so think carefully about changing all your reservations around at this point. And if you decide to stay with the AKL, make sure you have a few PS’s set up already for Boma’s and Jiko’s. That way you won’t have to worry about your major meals once you’re on property. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a magical vacation. Gosh, I wish I was going to WDW next month. I am so jealous!

 

[ducklite]

I was there for the kick off of the 100 Years of Magic Celebration. The AKL was full, that's where Disney had put up a lot of the press and celebrity guests. We had no problems at all. We didn't swim, but DH did use the hot tub, and it wasn't crowded. We also didn't eat at Mara, but found Jiko to be less crowded then than it was on January 7!

Anne

 

[zurgswife]

We arrived to the resort at 9:00 and did not get in our room until almost 4:00.

I realize that this can be frustrating for most travelers...but check in isn't until 3:00pm...while yours was delayed for other reasons it seems...you shouldn't except to be in your room prior to 3:00 pm. I figure if they get me in prior it's a perk and if they don't then I'll do other things.

Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay Tluvs2talk. I have found that some of the CM's at the check in area are more helpful then others with getting you into your room...

 

[drusba]

I think you may be getting "crowded" reports simply because of time of year. For example, all the resorts were crowded over the two Easter weeks. May, other than Memorial Day time, has lower crowds than those peak spring break months and I doubt you will find it overly crowded.

 

[hoosll]

A lot of spring break people have mentioned spending more time at the resorts due to the crowds in the parks. This may cause larger crowds at pools, etc. during crowded times. Since AKL is the newest resort, I believe it is attracting a lot of visitors.

If you do not want the hassle of staying at an "attraction", you probably should consider another resort.

We had planned to visit AKL twice during our Feb. stay but ended up going once - it was enough to get the feel of the place.

 

[grlzmom]

Hi, we were there in October and just two weeks ago (Easter Weekend).

Of course I knew it would be crowded for Easter but it wasnt as bad as I expected. We had no problem with chairs around the pool at any time. Boma was crowded but we had ps. Mara (food court) was pretty full most of the time. Also, we got lucky, checked in at 10 a.m. day before Easter (we had just checked out of ten days in a rental home)

My kids never waited in line for the pool slide or anything. It was a great time.

Anyone else who was there Easter Sunday, did your kiddos do the egg painting? Wasnt that neat?

We love it there, and are going back in May before and after our Disney Magic Cruise.


Jeanne

 

[kenman]

How crowed is the pool at the Beach Club compared to the pool at the AKL? I know that they check ID.s there before you enter the pool area!!

 

[Richyams]

We were in the AKL last December, one of those interlopers that aren't staying there.

The two observation decks off the lobby were just about empty every time we walked by. We were able to get PS for dinner at Boma that morning. We certainly didn't notice any uncomfortable crowding anywhere.

There were little activity-TV areas around the lobby, some of these were empty, some had a family or two making use of the area.

We are DVC members and haven't really stayed anywhere but OKW, and one or two BWV stays in the last ten years. We liked our little tour of the AKL so much that we decided to go with AKL Concierge for a four night trip in October.

 

[jdads2]

We visited during the 1st week of Feb and AKL was empty. We had PS's for Boma but really didn't need them. After dinner we waddled (ate way too much!) around the lobby and the observation area. We didn't see many guests at all maybe a dozen at all. We were so impressed that we are staying there this September.

 

[chris1gill]

To answer your question Kenman, the BC/YC pool is a HECK OF A LOT more crowded than AKL during the busy Easter & spring/winter breaks... You are going during an off time... that being May, you shouldn't have a problem at AKL at all... we were there prior to Christmas & had an excellent time, crowds were not a problem at all... If AKL is your first choice, go for it, it's an experience you can't duplicate anywhere else, particularly if you have a savannah view....

 

[Tluvs2talk]

zurgswife,
We have stayed on property over 25 times and NEVER had to wait all day for a room. The thing that made me mad was people were coming behind us and getting their room right away. I also know that rooms are not guaranteed till after 3:00, but to know your room is clean and waiting for houskeeping to clear it made it worse. Normally it would have not been a problem but we had just returned from a Disney Cruise and were so tired. We wanted to take a long nap. We did finally go rest on the lounge chairs by the pool. We called every hour to check on our room progress. The rest of our stay was fine. I liked the resort and the animals, but still prefer some of the other resorts. I would recommend staying at AKL if you have never been before.