JAMBO! The UN-official AKL Thread ~ UPDATED(short film/pg 8 & slideshow/pg 12) Part 2

[Disney8704]

Does anyone know how long it generally takes to get from the airport to AKL from the point of getting on the ME Bus to AKL? Also, as for getting free upgrades, do they generally give them for the 1st people who get there really early or if I get there by like 2 or 3pm, do you think I still have a good chance or a very small chance? Also another thing is I know checkin time is at 3pm, but what time do they usually start having rooms to be ready to be checked in. I have 2 flight choices and cant decide which one to take. We will be arriving on a Thursday and leaving on a Sunday. My flight choices to go down to Disney are 9am and arriving in orlando at 11:20 or 11:05am and arriving in orlando at 1:15pm. Plus I wanna have an ADR for Boma at 5pm. If I grabbed the 9am flight we would have to leave my house no later then 5am, because it takes 2 hrs to get to the airport, and then we always allow 2 hrs before the flight takes off. Doesnt sound to bad, but if I can get away with grabbing the 11:05am flight and get there at 1:15pm that would be better but then again I dont wanna feel rushed or perhaps maybe cutting it really close to our 5pm ADR at Boma.

 

[MickeysHouse07]

Thank you all for the great advice. I was able to call back and had them put my request for the Zebra trial. I told the CM that I am very concern about the construction and the noise. She told me that I will be away from the hotel all day and the construction will be from 9-5pm. I was shocked that she ASSUMED I was would be gone all day. I told her that I have two small children 2yo and 4yo and they still take naps. And if they do not take naps they are unbearable and I was going to take them to her when they reach that point (of course I was joking and laughing when I said this to her) LOL And she laughed and said she noted the request.

One last question and I meant to ask her. Are there any microwaves that guest can use? Or can we request a microwave?

Thanks

 

[Jalva22]

Hello all. We will be at AKL June 7-10. I've booked savannah view. We stayed there in June 05 and rec'd a free upgrade from standard to Sunset Savannah, which we were very happy with. It will be me, DW, DD (11yrs), DS (7yrs).

My son has asthma problems, so I've already gotten our reservation noted and they tell me we're guaranteed a NS room because of this. This request obviously supercedes all others. I have also requested to overlook Arusha Savannah, and highest floor possible (we liked our 5th floor view last time).

My questions are:

1. Since we will be spending a lot of time at the pool, would we be better off eliminating the floor request and replacing it with a Zebra Trail request? It looks like we could access the pool area from the elevators at the middle of that trail, while Kudu could involve a LONG hike.

2. Is the Uzima savannah a nice enough view that we could change the requests to: NS (medical), Zebra Trail, 2nd or 3rd floor. This would eliminate the Arusha savannah overlook request and hopefully place us low enough to not hear any interior construction. Only fear is overlooking a people pen from a low room.

I'd appreciate any advice and TIA!

 

[marlower]

Does anyone know how long it generally takes to get from the airport to AKL from the point of getting on the ME Bus to AKL? Also, as for getting free upgrades, do they generally give them for the 1st people who get there really early or if I get there by like 2 or 3pm, do you think I still have a good chance or a very small chance? Also another thing is I know checkin time is at 3pm, but what time do they usually start having rooms to be ready to be checked in. I have 2 flight choices and cant decide which one to take. We will be arriving on a Thursday and leaving on a Sunday. My flight choices to go down to Disney are 9am and arriving in orlando at 11:20 or 11:05am and arriving in orlando at 1:15pm. Plus I wanna have an ADR for Boma at 5pm. If I grabbed the 9am flight we would have to leave my house no later then 5am, because it takes 2 hrs to get to the airport, and then we always allow 2 hrs before the flight takes off. Doesnt sound to bad, but if I can get away with grabbing the 11:05am flight and get there at 1:15pm that would be better but then again I dont wanna feel rushed or perhaps maybe cutting it really close to our 5pm ADR at Boma.

IMHO, I would take the earlier flight just in case there are delays of any kind. When we fly in, we will be taking a 730am flight that arrives at 11am, I figure by the time we land, get to ME counter, wait for the bus (that could take awhile) and then get to AK, it will be around 130pm. Last year, we used ME and stayed at Beach Club, we made about 4 stops before arriving at Beach Club, does anyone know if the ME bus will stop at any other resorts before arriving at AK?

 

[BensMom]

IMHO, I would take the earlier flight just in case there are delays of any kind. When we fly in, we will be taking a 730am flight that arrives at 11am, I figure by the time we land, get to ME counter, wait for the bus (that could take awhile) and then get to AK, it will be around 130pm. Last year, we used ME and stayed at Beach Club, we made about 4 stops before arriving at Beach Club, does anyone know if the ME bus will stop at any other resorts before arriving at AK?

Not sure, but I can tell you, only because I pick the fiance up at MCO every Friday night, that when I follow ME's or DCL buses, I can only guestimate the buses slated for Beach Club, Boardwalk, etc. take Route 528 from the airport, and having followed many buses on Route 417, these buses get off at Osceola Parkway, and AKL is at the very end of Osceola Parkway, a totally different route. Although I would imagine Disney likes to keep the buses full (makes fiscal sense), they would probably make more stops, AKL being at the end of the line. Just from a topographical point of view only.

 

[BensMom]

Thank you all for the great advice. I was able to call back and had them put my request for the Zebra trial. I told the CM that I am very concern about the construction and the noise. She told me that I will be away from the hotel all day and the construction will be from 9-5pm. I was shocked that she ASSUMED I was would be gone all day. I told her that I have two small children 2yo and 4yo and they still take naps. And if they do not take naps they are unbearable and I was going to take them to her when they reach that point (of course I was joking and laughing when I said this to her) LOL And she laughed and said she noted the request.

One last question and I meant to ask her. Are there any microwaves that guest can use? Or can we request a microwave?

Thanks

MICROWAVES...located at The Mara, where all the condiments and coffee are.

 

[pilferk]

IMHO, I would take the earlier flight just in case there are delays of any kind. When we fly in, we will be taking a 730am flight that arrives at 11am, I figure by the time we land, get to ME counter, wait for the bus (that could take awhile) and then get to AK, it will be around 130pm. Last year, we used ME and stayed at Beach Club, we made about 4 stops before arriving at Beach Club, does anyone know if the ME bus will stop at any other resorts before arriving at AK?

It all depends. From what I've seen in using DME 4 times now, the busses don't always have the "same" resorts each time. In other words the buses aren't ALWAYS, say, BC, YC, BW, and AKL. It'll depend on how many people are projected to show up for any given resort at any given time. But I think your chances for AKL being the "first stop" aren't great because of it's location.

 

[kimmar067]

...I told her that I have two small children 2yo and 4yo and they still take naps. And if they do not take naps they are unbearable and I was going to take them to her when they reach that point....

....

 

[BensMom]

....

DITTO, DITTO, DITTO!!!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Hello all. We will be at AKL June 7-10. I've booked savannah view. We stayed there in June 05 and rec'd a free upgrade from standard to Sunset Savannah, which we were very happy with. It will be me, DW, DD (11yrs), DS (7yrs).

My son has asthma problems, so I've already gotten our reservation noted and they tell me we're guaranteed a NS room because of this. This request obviously supercedes all others. I have also requested to overlook Arusha Savannah, and highest floor possible (we liked our 5th floor view last time).

My questions are:

1. Since we will be spending a lot of time at the pool, would we be better off eliminating the floor request and replacing it with a Zebra Trail request? It looks like we could access the pool area from the elevators at the middle of that trail, while Kudu could involve a LONG hike.

2. Is the Uzima savannah a nice enough view that we could change the requests to: NS (medical), Zebra Trail, 2nd or 3rd floor. This would eliminate the Arusha savannah overlook request and hopefully place us low enough to not hear any interior construction. Only fear is overlooking a people pen from a low room.

I'd appreciate any advice and TIA!

I would definately request Zebra Trail. We were overlooking Arusha Savannah from the Kudu Trail and it was a looongggg walk to the pool. Not sure if it would matter on the Uzima savannah or not. The animals would be different and probably not as many. The thing I loved most about the Arusha Savannah was watching the animals at sunrise. So quiet there then.

 

[kimmar067]

I would definately request Zebra Trail. We were overlooking Arusha Savannah from the Kudu Trail and it was a looongggg walk to the pool. Not sure if it would matter on the Uzima savannah or not. The animals would be different and probably not as many. The thing I loved most about the Arusha Savannah was watching the animals at sunrise. So quiet there then.

...ITA! It was a very long walk to our room on the Kudu Trail....I'd request a 3rd floor Zebra Trail room NEAR the elevator - that way, it wouldn't be too far down the corridor and you would have easy access to the pool and the Mara area....

 

[TxRabbit]

does anyone know if the ME bus will stop at any other resorts before arriving at AK?

When we took ME in March, our bus stopped at POP, CSR, then AKL. I don't remember how long it took though.

 

[DisneyDreaming2007]

So AKL experts, how are the pool view rooms? I didn't want standard and am still unsure of the extra cost involved in the savannah rooms. Besides, many people have told me there are lots of other places to see the animals but I still may ugrade to savannah....

Are the pool rooms okay? We have never been here before and are looking forward to it in September!

Any pics anywhere of the view from the pool view rooms? We have requested zebra trail.

 

[TxRabbit]

So AKL experts, how are the pool view rooms?

Definitely not an expert, but...we stayed pool view, #3012 on Giraffe Trail. We loved it. Same floor as the lobby was convenient. Special side door let you out just around the corner from the bus stops, which was beyond helpful when DS6 was so tired at the end of the day (or asleep ). Our view was okay. It wasn't directly over the pool, but more over the walk way on the way to the pool. We could people watch the pool and the comings and goings. Every evening DH and I sat on the balcony and had a nightcap after DS went to bed. There was some sort of white noise around, I don't know, like the sound of a fan that never turned off. It wasn't really loud or intrusive, it was in the distance, but it actually made us feel like we couldn't easily be overheard by people on the other balconies. We really enjoyed our stay there.

 

[CJsMom]

So AKL experts, how are the pool view rooms? I didn't want standard and am still unsure of the extra cost involved in the savannah rooms. Besides, many people have told me there are lots of other places to see the animals but I still may ugrade to savannah....

Are the pool rooms okay? We have never been here before and are looking forward to it in September!

Any pics anywhere of the view from the pool view rooms? We have requested zebra trail.

We have a pool view booked in December and I wondered the same thing! Quite a few pages back in this thread are some beautiful pool view pictures that totally put my mind at ease about choosing pool view. I don't remember exactly which pages they are on, but if you go back 10 or 15 I think you will find them. Lots of people have said they were very happy with the pool view rooms and saw plenty of animals in the public viewing areas. I think you can't go wrong staying at AKL! That said, if I manage to save a few extra $$'s between now and December I may try to upgrade when I get there.

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Check out the aerial shot on pg. 427. That is awesome. Pg. 432 (I think it was) had a pool view shot.

 

[Disney8704]

The pic taken of EE, were you facing towards the parking lot or pool?

Insomnia has its benefits

Did I hear a call for another AKL pic? Here's the view from a hall window three floors above us, between rooms 5016 and 5018:

...and here's one taken on the Boardwalk that I meant to upload on the trip teprt board this a.m.:

 

[Disney8704]

Just wondering but I saw a pool view pic over on another thread and its amazing! They had a view of the pool, savannah, the Flimingoes PLUS EE. Now I no they were on the 5th floor and I know I wont be on the 5th floor, but hoping maybe 3rd or 4th. But anyways, can I request a certain area of rooms. Like Giraffe Trail rooms 3018 - 3032 or 4018 - 4032. I no I can request a certain trail just want sure about getting really specific room numbers. And when it comes to requesting this, should I have my AAA TA add it or should I just contact AKL myself and have them note. If AKL, should I call or fax my request?

 

[heatherg]

Okay, we're headed to AKL next month. We have ressies for a deluxe savannah room (queen/bunk beds/daybed). We have a child who is a total giraffe fanatic . . . our whole reason we originally chose AKL was so she could watch giraffes first thing in the morning for 9 days. I am a frequent migraine sufferer, and the likelihood that I had to send DH and 3 kids off to the World without me at least one day is fairly high. If I end up under a construction room, I'll be in serious trouble.

What's the best trail/floor/rooms to request?

 

[pilferk]

Okay, we're headed to AKL next month. We have ressies for a deluxe savannah room (queen/bunk beds/daybed). We have a child who is a total giraffe fanatic . . . our whole reason we originally chose AKL was so she could watch giraffes first thing in the morning for 9 days. I am a frequent migraine sufferer, and the likelihood that I had to send DH and 3 kids off to the World without me at least one day is fairly high. If I end up under a construction room, I'll be in serious trouble.

What's the best trail/floor/rooms to request?

Zebra Trail, second or third floor.

That ensures you're not directly underneath any construction (on the 5th floor) and that you're far away from the construction at the end of Kudo trail.