Is there anyone who does NOT like AKL?

[luckytso]

There are so many people like AKL on this board.

We checked out AKL last Feb, and felt that it is a nice resort, but when it comes down to staying, we would prefer either Epcot or MK resorts, the closest one to be comparable would be WL.

I was quoted $127 including tax due to POFQ closing relocation at AKL Sav. view. I am kind of tempted to change our current ressie from WL to AKL, but DH is not that keen on it.

Anyone out there who does not like AKL or would much prefer other resorts?

Thanks

 

[peachgirl]

Me!

Granted, we've never stayed there but no one in our family is even remotely interested in trying it. I know there seems to be an awful lot of people who really like it, but the theme doesn't interest me. I'm sure it's a perfectly nice resort, but it's just not for us!

 

[jel0511]

I LOVED my stay at the AKL, but to me it did have it's pluses and minuses. I loved seeing the animals off my balcony, but after 2 nights of this, it just was old hat. The resort is beautiful, but most of the resorts are just as nice. My main complaint of the AKL is the lack of grounds. I know the grounds are the savannahs but I like being able to walk around a resort and really get a feel for the place. Most of the walking areas at the AKL are indoors, and that just doesn't work for me. I'd stay at the AKL again, but only for a short stay.

 

[goofy4tink]

I was interested in giving it a shot this summer. But family decided it didn't care for that particular theme. So, it's off to WL for us. Maybe I'll get to stay there another time. But, it does seem to be my least favorite of the themes also.

 

[4our4kids]

Interestingly, I never thought I'd like AKL. The darkness of it, the theming wasn't what I'd pick, and a girl at work who stayed there told me, "If you've been to the zoo, then you've seen AKL."

We went there for dinner at Boma's during our Feb. trip, and now have 4 nts planned there!

All I can say is you have to experience it!

 

[skiwee1]

Me! I thought it was dark and just plain ugly. The theming is not to my liking at all. Even my then 3 y/o said it was ugly and didn't want to stay there. That being said I'm sure there are people that think the Poly is ugly too but I like it. Different strokes for different folks!

 

[cinmell]

Me! I haven't stayed there but we've seen it and watched the Travel Channel special on AKL. A few of our relatives stayed there and enjoyed it, but I'm not interested in animals and the decor doesn't appeal to me at all. I'm not even crazy about Animal Kingdom themepark but I go because my husband likes it. I've heard great reviews about this resort, in particular, their concierge level but I just don't think it's for me. As skiwee1 said, different strokes for different folks!

 

[dizkidz2]

We will be staying there in June, our 1st time. When we visited it we didn't much care for it but decided to give it a try with the great rate we got. We have relatives that on their 1st stay didn't care for it, but went back for a second time and fell in love with it.
It's the newest of the resorts (and who doesn't like staying in a new resort?) so we will try it and hopefully enjoy our stay and if we don't we just won't go back.

 

[giatocj]

I never thought I would like the AKL since I'm not big into African themes, but we just got back last month from a 4 night stay and we LOVED it...we've already booked for next March...for a week. I never got tired of watching the animals and really enjoyed a lot of the activities they had for the kids...my grandson is 3 and he had a ball...he loved the pool and the arcade, but he really loved sitting on the balcony with his binoculars and watching the animals.

Donna C.

 

[Demosthenes]

It's really pretentious to quote yourself, but I didn't feel like typing this out again, so excuse me :

DW and I love the AKL, but as a vacation from our vacation, not as a launching pad for the parks. We've stayed there 3 times, but we recognize some legitimate negatives to the tresort.

1.) Transportation. The busses are inconsistent. I've waited for much longer the 20 minutes that many people talk about. It's not enough to discourage us from staying, but it is a real concern for commando style vacationers.

2.) Dark rooms. The rooms are dark and somewhat small. DW always brings another light with her to do her make-up.

3.) The pool. There is no quiet pool; for people like DW and I who like to relax in the pool without a group of rowdy kids nearby, this is a major drawback. I would never stay at the AKL during the hot busy months for this reason.

4.) Food. Restaurant choices are rather limited at this resort. While this isn't unique to the AKL, its remote location makes this problem more pronounced than other deluxe resorts. If you are at the YC, you have 4 hotels and their restaurants within walking distance. WL has a short boat ride o the CR, and the other monorail resorts have a quick monorail ride to other dining venues. At the AKL, especially after the parks close, it is extremely difficult and time consuming to eat at another resort.

5.) Limited recreation options. What we love about the lodge is, obviously, the view. And the eveing and daytime viewing is fantastic. We also like the nightly stories, but there is no beach or marina, there is no bike rentals, there's not even a jogging trail (DW and I are avid runners). They do have a nice excercise room, but at the AKL, which features the beauty of the outdoors, makes you work out inside.

All of these are valid cons or negatives of the AKL. They are the kind of thing that often goes overlokked in some reviews, or are left out of the positive trip reports on the lodge. Specifically, the restaurants & quiet pool issues may not occur to people accustomed to more pools or easier access to restaurants. It obviously doesn't ruin the resort for DW and I, but I don't think the resort is a good fit for everybody (as opposed to YC/BC or BWI which, I think, are for the most part, 1 size fits all).

 

[Jomrog]

I liked the AKL but would stay at WL again before AKL. I just like the location & ambience better at WL. I just didn't think the AKl was worth the $$.

JMO.

 

[CarolA]

One thing you I have learned is that yep, there is always someone how either does not like someplace or had a bad experience. You really have to decide for yourself. AKL is my absolute fav. I have no desire to even stay at Poly and hated Grand Floridian (hopefully I just caught them at a bad time, but I am not giving them a second chance!)

 

[Dodie]

DH and I checked it out on our last visit and both immediately decided that we didn't have to put it on our "must stay" list. Granted, we have never stayed there, but we did look around quite extensively.

The African theming, music, etc., just didn't "do it for us." We love animals, but didn't think the chance of seeing them on the Savannah made it worth a stay there.

Part of it is that it just seems so "dark." (I know that you hear/see that a lot about AKL, but it really struck us when we saw it in person.)

I think it's a "to each his own" kind of world. That's why WDW offers so many themed options. Personally, we will never stay there.

 

[JESW]

I'll let you know when we get back in June!

Our family prefers staying at an EPCOT resort since that is our favorite park. But we also want to try the different resorts. If I didn't read these boards I wouldn't have thought to try a vacation with resort splitting. We will be at the AKL for four nights and then finishing off the vacation with 4 nights at the BWI. Both are new resorts to us. This way if we don't like the AKL for some reason, we know that we will be near EPCOT the end of the vacation.

If we go back in November we want to try the WL (thought it would be appropriate to stay there when it was cool) and then the BC (we've been there before and loved it)

We have been staying at the YC the last few times and we've gotten very comfortable there. But I want to try all that Disney has to offer. Last May we went to the Polynesian and really liked it. We still have the CR and GF to try.

Hope you have fun wherever you stay!

Jill

 

[KristiKelly]

Personally, I loved AKL. My DH, DS-4y/o, DD-2 y/o(at the time) and myself stayed there 4/2002. We all loved it. We are going back to WDW 9/03, but DH always likes to try something new so we'll be at BCV, but AKL was my 1st choice. We never had waits more than 10 minutes for the bus either, the resort appeared full on the Savannah side. The pool can be rather loud, we had a Savannah view room, over half way around the resort and could still hear people @ the pool from our balcony (but it never bothered us). Housekeeping also came some mornings before 8:00 a.m. Sitting on the balcony @ night after the kids went to bed was nice. The rooms are dark, but with 93 degree days make-up was not a big issue, usually off within an hour. We paid $200 a night with a discount, I think for $127 a night I would do it,for a couple of nights anyway. Whether you stay there or not, eating @ Boma's is a must!!!

 

[las3888]

We stayed there last May. I am personally not crazy about the place, but it is a nice resort and the animals make it very unique. We pretty much stayed there because of the good deals, plus we wanted to try every WDW hotel once. It just isn't on the top of my list of places to return to. The biggest problem is that I felt I wasn't quite at WDW. We weren't on the monorail, so we didn't feel a part of that action, nor were we by EPCOT and the Boardwalk with all the endless choices of things to do, and places to eat there.

We also felt that way at WL. You are so close to the monorail - it just seems a shame that they couldn't just extend the monorail to WL.

On the other hand, the reasonable side of my says why should that make a big difference, but something about it just does to me!

 

[SandraC]

I have only stayed at CSR and CBR and I love to spread out feeling for those resorts. We had dinner at AKL last April, just at the Food Court. When I first walked into AKL, my initial thought was, "Oh I get it, it's EXACTLY like Grand Floridian only wood and not white." I thought the same thing with WL ~ but WL was darker than AKL. I need to walk around at a resort and I found AKL to be limited in that area. The pool was over crowded and noisy. We are pool people and love the 6+ pools at the mods. AKL is not that close to any parks, AK isn't really next door. The food court was excellent. One of our favs. I would stay at the AKL if I got a great rate. S

 

[kdibattista]

 

[JOC]

I don't know why, but the Travel Channel special on AKL made my husband NOT want to stay there. On our next trip in December I'd like to take a look around the resort and see if we'd enjoy staying there at a future date.

 

[gonga]

we have been to WDW 6 times since AKL has opened and we have yet to even go there! I don't know why, it just does not appeal to us at all. I think we would visit if it wasn't such a hike to get there (relatively speaking). I know that is part of the appeal of the AKL, to be away from it all and the animals and things. We haven't even been on the Dinosaur ride.........hope we're not missing anything. I know I would never get my DH on a bus for that. If he didn't love RnR and TOT he would never get on the bus for MGM!