JAMBO! The UN-official AKL Thread ~ UPDATED(short film/pg 8 & slideshow/pg 12) Part 3

[PolyAddict]

Question,

Can we order the white chocolate mickey with the tuxedo strawberries at AKL for our room?

Is it from room service? or can you only get it if staying concierge?

Thanks

 

[SharonLowe]

While "lots" of people might be cancelling, I just checked the web site for our dates (June 20-23) and the only rooms available are standard CL or pool view (no CL). It is silly to panic - Disney will do their best to make it okay and I bet most of the rooms badly affected by the construction noise have been blocked off.

Remember, they are also building a new animal barn so that is the outside noise people are hearing.

People in TA tend to be complainers - ignore them. Go have fun; go to the parks; enjoy the most beautiful resort WDW has to offer - AKL. Stop stressing and just remember the magic.

 

[kimmar067]

I just wanted to reiterate that. I haven't posted on this thread but I had changed to WL earlier in the week because of worries. However I was right the opposite. Ever since I had switched I just couldn't stand the thought of not staying at AKL. So after a few days of thinking in detail about it I called tonight and changed back to AKL. For me the importance of the theme and just the feeling I get from the pictures of AKL was a little more important than the construction worry.

But the part that I wated to reiterate is this: When I called CRO I spoke w/ Jessica and she was very helpful and seemed to know what she was talking about unlike other CMs that I've dealt with. She went on to tell me that apparently on one of the message boards panic had stricken and ALOT of people were cancelling AKL. She went on to tell me that yes there will be noise but most people will be at the parks during this time. She said that the chances are greater that we will have a very pleasant stay rather than a ruined vacation. And like I had posted before they are telling us about the noise and construction so we won't be surprised when we get there.

..... good for YOU, sista..... !!

 

[nicwoodard]

Can you upgrade to a concierge room when you get there? (yes, obviously a higher cost)

 

[John's Mom]

You can ask if there is a concierge room available. There most definitely will be a charge to upgrade. In my opinion, the concierge level at the AKL is the best at WDW.

Kathy

 

[tiffanym5375]

You can ask if there is a concierge room available. There most definitely will be a charge to upgrade. In my opinion, the concierge level at the AKL is the best at WDW.

Kathy

Hi Kathy. I'm new with Disney. So new to concierge too. I was just wondering why you think concierge is the best at AKL. I thought about doing this but as of now we just have our savannah view.

 

[d4est]

You can ask if there is a concierge room available. There most definitely will be a charge to upgrade. In my opinion, the concierge level at the AKL is the best at WDW.

Kathy

This makes me so sad. I have been trying to change my ressie from standard Savannah w/bunks to Club for several months. Nothing is ever available...at least not with the discount I got. I want club so badly

 

[cdhheidi]

We had our AKL stay from 4/25-4/30. The hotel was beautiful, the CM were all so kind. Unfortunately, we had a terrible experience with the lack of communication with management at the hotel and will likely never stay there again.

10 pm the night we arrived there was a message on our phone that the following night the electricity would be sporadically off and on for a few hours from 1-5 am. (we had arrived at 3 pm and nothing of this sort was mentioned at check in). Anyway, I called immediately and let them know this was a huge problem as my son is electrically depending as he is on a ventilator at night. They promised me over and over that they would have a battery back up that housekeeping would bring the next morning so it would be well in place before night time. When housekeeping showed up, they had no clue about it, so I called again. They checked with engineering, and promised it would be there by late afternoon. STILL didnt happen. 6 pm it STILL wasnt there so we went down and asked to speak with someone who had a clue what was going on. They checked, and promised it would be there by 9 pm, which it was.

Unfortunately, it was apparently brand new and not charged up, as the power went off at midnight and it only lasted 2 hours (it should have lasted all night as the power the ventilator uses is not that high). Of course, a battery back up not getting any electricity chirps a lovely loud chirp every 15-30 seconds... from midnight till 2 pm. Then it ran out of juice and had a steady beep that was quite loud... called down and they brought up another back up. back to the 30 second chirp for an hour. Then it had no juice either! They brought up 2 MORE back ups, which lasted until the power finally came on around 5 am. I am sorry, but 5 hours of chirping and beeping made mommy and daddy VERY poor company the next day! not to mention all the frustration of trying to be sure that we actually GOT a battery back up... shortened that day at the parks big time, and we were too tired to go to the parks at all the day after this debacle.

I tried to get someone to talk to us, but other than a scarce apology from the front desk we heard not a thing. Called our travel agent, and they never called HER back either. (we were joining a 200 person part on the disney cruise a week later, so the group manager from that trip also tried to call, and no response to her either!). when we checked out I again complained, and they gave me a paltry 1/2 night refund.

I had expected more from Disney, and certainly more from this hotel that I have read so many wonderful things about the last few months. Thankfully we had alreadty planned a hotel change partway through so had a marvelous 5 days at boardwalk... would stay THERE again in a heartbeat.

The power outtage was "supposedly" part of routine maintenance, and supposed to happen 5x a year... and NOT part of the construction.

Frankly, this would probably not be a big deal for most families, but for anyone with special needs, I would certainly NOT reccomend AKL as the place to stay. I get better service from marriott or even choice hotels! When Marriott had a key box problem last year in Seattle and I had to walk to the other end of the building to get in, they gave me a 2 night credit on a 4 night stay. Now THAT is customer service!

Travel agent is still working on this for us, but I hold out little hope. Personally, what would have been far better is to offer us another hotel for the one night of the power outtage... I would not have minded moving nearly as much as I minded not SLEEPING that night!

Ok, vent over... but did want to share our experience in case others with health issues are considering a stay.

Heidi

 

[John's Mom]

Hi Kathy. I'm new with Disney. So new to concierge too. I was just wondering why you think concierge is the best at AKL. I thought about doing this but as of now we just have our savannah view.

Don and Juanita, who are in the Itinerary Planning Office, are great. Whenever I emailed the IPO, I always got a fast reply. Don even called me one evening about 15 minutes after I emailed him a request. They always managed to get all the reservations I wanted.

The Lounge staff was always helpful. I was trying to find a specific item for my daughter and a staff member called several places trying to locate it for me.

The food offerings in the lounge were great. I love the cappuccino machine.

The best part of staying on the concierge level at the AKL is the sunrise and sunset safaris. We have been on both and they are something not to be missed.

If you have any other questions about the concierge level at the AKL, there are many people on this thread who can help.

Kathy

 

[kimmar067]

This makes me so sad. I have been trying to change my ressie from standard Savannah w/bunks to Club for several months. Nothing is ever available...at least not with the discount I got. I want club so badly

...off-topic, I know, but that has GOT to be one of the most, errrrr, ummmmm, interesting avatar pix that I've ever seen.....

 

[RachelTori]

...off-topic, I know, but that has GOT to be one of the most, errrrr, ummmmm, interesting avatar pix that I've ever seen.....

You noticed it too, Kimmar?!!!!!

 

[Tig-girl]

Hi everyone! Just needed to see my countdown ticker today......

 

[mariamard1]

...off-topic, I know, but that has GOT to be one of the most, errrrr, ummmmm, interesting avatar pix that I've ever seen.....

Glad someone else saw that, too!! Was that the "Hoff"??

Seriously, me , dh, dd 3 and 8 have ressies for a week starting July 4. We reserved pool or water view, non smoking. Is there a certain area we should request? Are the rooms still fairly new??DD (3) has asthma and mold and mildew are her triggers.
Thanks guys and Ill have a ton of questions for ya'll within the net 2 months.

 

[disneytraveler]

Hi everyone! Just needed to see my countdown ticker today......

Wow only 4 months to go!
I heading to Wdw in December although not Akl yet. I will be going to Italy
with ABD in September so a stay at the Lodge is out of question now. Would like to go back there though. Its the Movies resort this time lol.

 

[Flossbolna]

Glad someone else saw that, too!! Was that the "Hoff"??

Seriously, me , dh, dd 3 and 8 have ressies for a week starting July 4. We reserved pool or water view, non smoking. Is there a certain area we should request? Are the rooms still fairly new??DD (3) has asthma and mold and mildew are her triggers.
Thanks guys and Ill have a ton of questions for ya'll within the net 2 months.

Hi! We stayed in a pool view room in February and I felt the room was very clean and not at all run down. Didn't see any mold, as compared to other hotels we stayed at in Florida. In my opinion, pool view rooms all have a fairly good location. However you might want to request a room close to the lobby. Also you should be prepared that most of the pool view rooms on the lower floor will look out at some tree or so. If you want an unobstructed view, request a higher floor.

 

[Momto2boysSC]

We haven't traveled in ages - our first family trip since our two DS were born (and the oldest will almost be SEVEN by the time we actually go). So excited I could almost pee in my pants......

Should we tip housekeeping? I have watched too many DATELINE NBC reports about the horrid things/germs you will find in the rooms or things that housekeeping will do to your things (like use your toothbrush to clean the toilets or not replace glasses with clean glasses - they just use a washcloth to wipe out the glasses). And if we tip them, do we do it every day?

Where can I find a shuttle/bus schedule? I'm trying so hard to plan it out now so that I won't stress when we get there. (You'd think we were going next week and it's not until September!) I'm told it takes forever to get to the different parks. Is it best to drive to the parks rather than ride a shuttle? Or drive to another resort and take the monorail?

Can we see any fireworks displays from the AKL or are we too far out?

We're taking time off from school in September (DS1 will be in first grade and DS2 will be in kindergarten) -- it's the one time that I feel like if we are out of school for a week I can actually keep up with the homework. I am terrified of the fourth grade. I think I could not win any money on that show Smarter than a 5th grader.....

We're getting in on a Sunday and have absolutely no plans, other than to acclimate to the hotel and hit the pool. What are the best guides to get regarding what parks to hit on what days? Mikes? Frommers? Something else?

ANY help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[John's Mom]

We haven't traveled in ages - our first family trip since our two DS were born (and the oldest will almost be SEVEN by the time we actually go). So excited I could almost pee in my pants......

Should we tip housekeeping? I have watched too many DATELINE NBC reports about the horrid things/germs you will find in the rooms or things that housekeeping will do to your things (like use your toothbrush to clean the toilets or not replace glasses with clean glasses - they just use a washcloth to wipe out the glasses). And if we tip them, do we do it every day?

Where can I find a shuttle/bus schedule? I'm trying so hard to plan it out now so that I won't stress when we get there. (You'd think we were going next week and it's not until September!) I'm told it takes forever to get to the different parks. Is it best to drive to the parks rather than ride a shuttle? Or drive to another resort and take the monorail?

Can we see any fireworks displays from the AKL or are we too far out?

We're taking time off from school in September (DS1 will be in first grade and DS2 will be in kindergarten) -- it's the one time that I feel like if we are out of school for a week I can actually keep up with the homework. I am terrified of the fourth grade. I think I could not win any money on that show Smarter than a 5th grader.....

We're getting in on a Sunday and have absolutely no plans, other than to acclimate to the hotel and hit the pool. What are the best guides to get regarding what parks to hit on what days? Mikes? Frommers? Something else?

ANY help would be greatly appreciated!!!

We always tip housekeeping. The average is $1 a day per person. You should leave a tip every day. We usually put the money in an envelope addressed to Mousekeeping and put it on the nightstand between the beds.

The AKL doesn't share buses with any other resort. They have great bus service. The buses usually come about every 20 minutes. The longest ride is to the MK which takes approx. 20 minutes.

Fireworks are not visible from the AKL.

We used TGM for our Dec. 2005 trip. Mike's info was extremely helpful with all the holiday crowds.

 

[HGD24]

We just got back from our weekend at AKL.

Here's a noise report:

**Our room was at the end of Kudu Trail (4356). It was a std room w/a std view. Although it overlooked the ends of 2 of the savannahs, the view was not considered good enough to be a savannah view so it had been downgraded at some point. Our room overlooked the new barn that is being built. With the room door closed, you could not hear the noise at all, but with it opened, you could. The heat and humidity were enough to keep the door closed, so it really wasn't an issue. Work was completed at 5pm on weekdays and did not take place at all on the weekend.

**As we walked around the pool area, we noticed construction noise on the Zebra Trail side of the pool, but you could not hear it from the Giraffe Trail side.

Staff Report:

The girl who checked us in wasn't too friendly and basically circled our room on the map and told us which room number we had. That was it. Later on as we were wandering around the lobby trying to find our way to Mara and the pool, we heard another CM explaining everything about the restaurants, the overlooks, the bus stops & the store to another couple that was checking in. I guess our CM didn't feel up to it...

Every other staff member we encountered throughout the resort was very friendly and very helpful.

The moral of our story is - There are ways to avoid the construction noise if you want or need to & 99.9% of the staff is friendly!

I hope everyone else has as amazing a time at AKL as we had!!!!

 

[kimmar067]

Hi everyone! Just needed to see my countdown ticker today......

...nuttin' like pourin'

in the wound.....[ ]

 

[kimmar067]

We just got back from our weekend at AKL.

Here's a noise report:

**Our room was at the end of Kudu Trail (4356). It was a std room w/a std view. Although it overlooked the ends of 2 of the savannahs, the view was not considered good enough to be a savannah view so it had been downgraded at some point. Our room overlooked the new barn that is being built. With the room door closed, you could not hear the noise at all, but .....I hope everyone else has as amazing a time at AKL as we had!!!!

....thanks!