Resort Thread Jambo! Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

So my room request was a bit of a fail, but we wound up being happy with the room in the end.

I asked for a room on the 3rd floor close to the lobby with a partial savanna view and bunk beds. The room I was most specifically interested in was 3230 but indicated I would be happy with any room in that vicinity. I did stress that the most important priority was bunk beds because we have boy/girl kids. I'm giving the room assigner the benefit of the doubt and assuming that the room we got was the only one available for the duration of our stay in the category we booked (standard view with bunks) that had bunk beds.

We got room 2033. When I got the room-ready text I was so deflated. We got 2nd floor, away from lobby, parking lot view. It was like they gave us the very opposite of what we requested.

I was relieved to find the room had bunk beds. We gave them the benefit of the doubt and figured the bunk bed was our top priority so this must be what was available in our booked category with a bunk bed.

Turns out, we have a new favorite room when booking a non-savanna view room. The next best thing would be 2034 which is a pool view across the hall.

This room is fantastic for those using Disney transportation and who want to be near the pool and Mara! Right next door to our room is an exit which puts you at the very end of the path to bus transportation. It requires a room key/magic band for entry and nobody uses it. We thought maybe it would be loud with buses coming and going and people using the path but we rarely heard either and when we did it was brief and did not disrupt us in any way.




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Speaking of quiet, this room is at the end of the hallway and we never heard a single person and saw only a few on our floor in our 8 nights. The pool is just one floor down and not more than a few steps away, and the Mara is super close too. Animal viewing is not far either, since the Uzima savanna is just across the pool area. We saw a lot of animals from there and did some night vision goggles there too. It is an ideal location for a standard room.

Drawbacks to this room? The balcony is basically unusable, unless you want to be on display to those using transportation. It has a weird push-door and not a slider, I am assuming because it is accessible from that path and the push door provides better security than a slider would. The other main drawback is since you are so close to everything you NEED you rarely have reason to go into the lobby, and lets face it the lobby of AKL is ah-mazing.

If we pay for a savanna view in the future we will make other requests, but if we are paying for standard or pool, 2033 or 2034 will be our requests.

So in the end, while I would call this a room request fail - we did get the opposite of everything we asked for except bunk beds - it helped us experience a room type we never would have found appealing "on paper".
 
.....so glad it turned out well for you! How convenient to be SOOOOO close to those buses to the parks!
 
....I like your 'balcony' pix too....interesting perspective....
 
....I like your 'balcony' pix too....interesting perspective....
Yeah, like I said it's pretty unusable. We only went out there to spray on sunscreen, and even then if someone passed by they looked surprised to see us there and we felt silly.

OTOH using that "secret doorway" made us feel quite exclusive, especially when other guests seemed confused about where we were going/coming from.
 

....actually, I've used that door, but only to exit [to go to the bus depot], when we were located in Giraffe Trail....
 
....actually, I've used that door, but only to exit [to go to the bus depot], when we were located in Giraffe Trail....
We can be exclusive together. But shhhhhhhhhhhh.... don't tell ANYONE else!
 
I have always been interested in one of those rooms right along the bus path. Used to want one, too. But, now that we travel in summer, I prefer balcony's where I can see the sky - we LOVE watching thunderstorms from our room/balcony. But, man, the convenience factor really is there with your room, isn't it? Hmmm.. Thanks for sharing :)
 
I have always been interested in one of those rooms right along the bus path. Used to want one, too. But, now that we travel in summer, I prefer balcony's where I can see the sky - we LOVE watching thunderstorms from our room/balcony. But, man, the convenience factor really is there with your room, isn't it? Hmmm.. Thanks for sharing :)
Yeah I do wish the balcony were nicer. Fortunately from that respect we weren't in our room all that much. If we were at the resort we were checking out animals or in the pool!
 
Hi we check in JUne 9th , we have a savannah room with bunk beds...I cant walk very well and was hoping to have a room close to the elevators...is there a certain area I could request thats not a mile away walking wise or does it not really matter? tia
 
Hi we check in JUne 9th , we have a savannah room with bunk beds...I cant walk very well and was hoping to have a room close to the elevators...is there a certain area I could request thats not a mile away walking wise or does it not really matter? tia
I would request 3423-3437. This would put you close to the lobby - and on the lobby level, which is convenient - as well as close to the elevators that take you down to Simba's playhouse, laundry, pool, and Mara.

Here is a map of the resort showing these rooms: https://touringplans.com/hotel_maps...rs[balcony]=&no_draw=false&rooms=true&floor=3
 
I would request 3423-3437. This would put you close to the lobby - and on the lobby level, which is convenient - as well as close to the elevators that take you down to Simba's playhouse, laundry, pool, and Mara.

Here is a map of the resort showing these rooms: https://touringplans.com/hotel_maps/148/building?utf8=✓&hotel=228&building=148&filters[rate_date]=05/03/2017&filters[view]=220&filters[lobby_distance]=any&filters[transportation_distance]=any&filters[accessibility]=any&filters[floors]=any&filters[rack_rate]=any&filters[ug]=&filters[sound]=any&filters[balcony]=&no_draw=false&rooms=true&floor=3
thank you! whats simbas playhouse??
 
Hi we check in JUne 9th , we have a savannah room with bunk beds...I cant walk very well and was hoping to have a room close to the elevators...is there a certain area I could request thats not a mile away walking wise or does it not really matter? tia

We had a bunk bed savannah view in November on zebra trail and it was not a long walk from the elevator. The elevator took us right to the laundry and the door to get to Mara and the pool. It was room #2467. Maybe you can find it on the map and see if this would work for you. Enjoy your trip!
 
AKL Club Level Food

Available afternoon and evening
Peanut butter brownies. They were soooo good.


Afternoon and evening


Afternoon
Various nuts and stuff. They have little bags to make a togo mix.


Afternoon
Granola Bars


Afternoon


Evening 5-7
Kokstad Pork and South African Corn and Chicken Chowder


Evening 7-10
 
AKL Club Level Food

Available afternoon and evening
Peanut butter brownies. They were soooo good.


Afternoon and evening


Afternoon
Various nuts and stuff. They have little bags to make a togo mix.


Afternoon
Granola Bars


Afternoon


Evening 5-7
Kokstad Pork and South African Corn and Chicken Chowder


Evening 7-10

Vikster1 thanks for the pics.
 
Nice pics. I just asked my husband if he would consider upgrading to Club Level :upsidedow
 
I wish I had more pics to show. I must have been real hungry. lol To be honest I thought I wasn't going to like the hot offerings after seeing the digital menu that was posted a while back. I tried most and they were all good. I'm a picky eater. The chef served the offerings on an as need basic. They were in pots keeping warm. There was a mac and cheese with some little crumnble that was right up my alley. Various stews were served over rice or mashed potatoes on other nights. For desert, the choc mousse in pretty glasses were yummy. Rice Kripies balls, cookies and peanut butter brownies were plentiful everynight.
 












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