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

[kimmar067]

AKL lovers....

....for those of you with the Travel Channel, set your dials on it for 2:30 this afternoon - Great Hotels[with Samantha Brown] is gonna be on.....

 

[kimmar067]

We just returned from a 7 night stay at the AKL. We had the most magical time, I can't even begin to describe it. We had room 2505 which was a Savannah view with a bunk bed. It was just down from the elevator to the pool, Mara, the arcade and a quick walk from the lobby which was great after a long day at the parks.

Most days we got a later start and didn't leave the resort until 10:30-11 so we didn't spend much time at the resort mid-day. We hit the pool late night after being in the parks which was a lot of fun for my daughter. You don't often get to stay up until midnight swimming in an African paradise.

We were only a few days into our trip when I started nagging the family about when we would be back. It surpassed all expectations, I can't come up with anything negative about our stay. I was very worried going in about the construction, but it didn't make the slightest difference. If I hadn't known it was going on, I am not sure I would have noticed.

I will work on a full trip report with pics, but wanted to get something quick posted.

....so glad to hear that the construction really didn't affect you too much - can't wait for those pix!

 

[DznyDreamz]

Actually, there was one thing that bothered us about the resort. I have my flame suit on (no pun intended) and am prepared for the backlash!

I didn't like that the smoking benches were directly on the path from the front doors to the bus stops. I am not a smoker and found it very distasteful to enter or leave such a beautiful resort into a cloud of cigarette smoke.

We thought it could (should) have been located near the valet side of the entrance so it would still be close to the exit for the smokers, but the non-smokers wouldn't have to walk through the smoke.

To compensate we started going in and out of the Zawadi Marketplace, but that came with the "can I get this" with every trip through. Maybe thats what Disney had in mind when setting up the smoking areas???

Not a huge deal, but it did take away from the perfection, smell and overall ambiance of the resort.

 

[jaycns]

Actually, there was one thing that bothered us about the resort. I have my flame suit on (no pun intended) and am prepared for the backlash!

I didn't like that the smoking benches were directly on the path from the front doors to the bus stops. I am not a smoker and found it very distasteful to enter or leave such a beautiful resort into a cloud of cigarette smoke.

We thought it could (should) have been located near the valet side of the entrance so it would still be close to the exit for the smokers, but the non-smokers wouldn't have to walk through the smoke.

To compensate we started going in and out of the Zawadi Marketplace, but that came with the "can I get this" with every trip through. Maybe thats what Disney had in mind when setting up the smoking areas???

Not a huge deal, but it did take away from the perfection, smell and overall ambiance of the resort.

Not one flame from me...I totally agree!! This was my big peeve with AKL too. It's a poor choice. A very poor choice.

I think the other poor choice is having the smoking area down by the Boma/Jiko exit (right by the stream). We walked in and out of their to get to the pool. I know they need to provide smokers somewhere to "do their thing"...but IMHO, right in the middle of the busiest throughways in the hotel is NOT the spot.

Smoke impacted our stay far more this time then ever before (Four of us have asthma in my family and one of my sons has smoke as a severe trigger). It just made for some "hold your breathe and walk fast" type moments.

Overall, I cannot speak highly enough about AKL. I just think the smoking area choices were poor. I am betting part of the reason was they didn't want the smoke near the animals because at the Grand Floridian the next week of our vacation I didn't encounter any of their smoking areas.

 

[RachelTori]

Actually, there was one thing that bothered us about the resort. I have my flame suit on (no pun intended) and am prepared for the backlash!

I didn't like that the smoking benches were directly on the path from the front doors to the bus stops. I am not a smoker and found it very distasteful to enter or leave such a beautiful resort into a cloud of cigarette smoke.

We thought it could (should) have been located near the valet side of the entrance so it would still be close to the exit for the smokers, but the non-smokers wouldn't have to walk through the smoke.

To compensate we started going in and out of the Zawadi Marketplace, but that came with the "can I get this" with every trip through. Maybe thats what Disney had in mind when setting up the smoking areas???

Not a huge deal, but it did take away from the perfection, smell and overall ambiance of the resort.

I absolutely, positively agree with you on the smoking areas. I always made sure I took a deep breath before I got to that area; held my breath and exhaled slowly as I walked past!

 

[Donald is #1]

Wasn't the CM in the picture great? I was talking with him for probably 45-60 minutes during my stay in May. We had an awesome conversation talking about the his home country and also about the different types of animals that I can see where I live.

 

[MedCruise07]

We just returned from a 7 night stay at the AKL. We had the most magical time, I can't even begin to describe it. We had room 2505 which was a Savannah view with a bunk bed. It was just down from the elevator to the pool, Mara, the arcade and a quick walk from the lobby which was great after a long day at the parks.

Thanks for posting about your stay. I have a question about your room: how was your view of the animals? I have read that the upper floors are better but maybe not . . .

 

[DznyDreamz]

Thanks for posting about your stay. I have a question about your room: how was your view of the animals? I have read that the upper floors are better but maybe not . . .

Here are a couple of shots from our balcony. I don't have a super duty camera, just a nice Nikon point and shoot. I would have to say that our room was just about perfection. I don't think there is a "bad" view from any savannah room, (except maybe one that abuts the Arusha Rock overlook since you wouldn't be able to see across the entire savannah). My guess would be a higher room would only make the animals seem further away.

Plus, with a 2nd floor room, you could just walk to the end of the lobby, down a couple stairs and up the ramp to your room without needing an elevator or long walk. At the end of a looooong day with a 6yr old who had been on her feet all day, this was a saving grace for us.

From our room we turned right, down about 3 doors and the elevator was right there. At the bottom the pool was straight ahead, the laundry (which we used several times - so nice to come home with 3 suitcases full of clean clothes), the Mara and the arcade were all right there.

It may be difficult to request a specific room number, but in my opinion anywhere in this area is a fantastic choice. You could see all the feeding areas and got the "oh my goodness, the animals are right there" feeling. As the CM drove around tidying up the savannah, they would talk to us and answer our questions. It was like having our own personal guides. Since we tended to be in our rooms later in the morning, there weren't many other people around so we had the place all to ourselves - or so it seemed anyway.

 

[Jillpie]

We'll be there in April. I've only been to AKL once, for Boma, and we walked around a little bit. But can't quite remember, please tell me about the indoor viewing areas...are they directly outside of the rooms, can you hear people talking when you're in your room? Or are they "down the hall" from all the rooms. I just remember saying, wow, this is awesome you can sit and just rock in the chairs, how relaxing! Also, are there viewing areas all around floors 5 and 6? Just in case we don't get a view (value studio). thanks.

 

[DznyDreamz]

There are public viewing areas all throughout the hallways. Just before the "block" of our room where the elevator landing and vending area is, there is a porch with big rocking chairs and view finders where you can see the animals. There is also the main overlook right in the middle of the resort where you can walk out "into" the savannah and view different areas. Then there are areas around the pool where you can see the flamingo ponds and other savannahs.

Personally, I liked the savannah view to be able to hop out of bed in the morning and have the first sight be the animals being fed. The CM seem to spend all day long putting out new food for the animals and the animals seem to have the schedule down pat and arrive as soon as the food did. It was very cool and worth every penny (and a lot of them I might add!!)

 

[DznyDreamz]

I am glad to hear there are so many others who agree on the smoking areas. We felt sort of elitist to be holding our breath to walk past the smokers, but I found it just, well.....gross. The resort has such a unique aroma to it, it was a shame to have it overtaken by the smell of cigarette smoke.

Now, I totally agree smokers are entitled to smoke and should have somewhere to go that isn't an obscene distance from the hotel, but the front door and the door outside the Boma entrance seem like the worst possible places.

I was also amazed at how many people were ignoring the posted smoking areas throughout the parks. I wish it could be better enforced to keep people in the assigned smoking areas. I feel if you wish to smoke thats fine by me, but those of us who choose not to should not be forced to. JMHO.

 

[WoodysRoundup]

We just returned from a 7 night stay at the AKL. We had the most magical time, I can't even begin to describe it. We had room 2505 which was a Savannah view with a bunk bed. It was just down from the elevator to the pool, Mara, the arcade and a quick walk from the lobby which was great after a long day at the parks.

Most days we got a later start and didn't leave the resort until 10:30-11 so we didn't spend much time at the resort mid-day. We hit the pool late night after being in the parks which was a lot of fun for my daughter. You don't often get to stay up until midnight swimming in an African paradise.

We were only a few days into our trip when I started nagging the family about when we would be back. It surpassed all expectations, I can't come up with anything negative about our stay. I was very worried going in about the construction, but it didn't make the slightest difference. If I hadn't known it was going on, I am not sure I would have noticed.

I will work on a full trip report with pics, but wanted to get something quick posted.

Enjoying your trip report as well - thanks! What savanna was your room in? Do you recall?

 

[DznyDreamz]

Enjoying your trip report as well - thanks! What savanna was your room in? Do you recall?

Absolutely, it was on the Zebra trail. A very nice location indeed!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I know it's here somewhere in this thread, but it might take me a while to find in 639 pages!

Does anyone have a link to the map that shows where the standard view rooms are handy?

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

I know it's here somewhere in this thread, but it might take me a while to find in 639 pages!

Does anyone have a link to the map that shows where the standard view rooms are handy?

I would like to know this as well.

 

[pilferk]

Actually, there was one thing that bothered us about the resort. I have my flame suit on (no pun intended) and am prepared for the backlash!

I didn't like that the smoking benches were directly on the path from the front doors to the bus stops. I am not a smoker and found it very distasteful to enter or leave such a beautiful resort into a cloud of cigarette smoke.

We thought it could (should) have been located near the valet side of the entrance so it would still be close to the exit for the smokers, but the non-smokers wouldn't have to walk through the smoke.

To compensate we started going in and out of the Zawadi Marketplace, but that came with the "can I get this" with every trip through. Maybe thats what Disney had in mind when setting up the smoking areas???

Not a huge deal, but it did take away from the perfection, smell and overall ambiance of the resort.

Quick question:

I haven't been since the Public Smoking Areas have gone in, so maybe they changed location/got a bit larger. My question is: can you still exit the resort via Zawadi marketplace when heading to the bus stops, and avoid the "smoking area"? I know you used to be able to, and if you still can it's a good tip for those wanting to avoid wading through the "cloud".

 

[pixe*dst]

Quick question:

I haven't been since the Public Smoking Areas have gone in, so maybe they changed location/got a bit larger. My question is: can you still exit the resort via Zawadi marketplace when heading to the bus stops, and avoid the "smoking area"? I know you used to be able to, and if you still can it's a good tip for those wanting to avoid wading through the "cloud".

Yes--you can still do that & avoid the smoke. I only really noticed a lot of smokers with a "cloud" twice when walking to the bus. So, I guess it depends on what time you hit it, but the Zawadi exit is also an option.

 

[Flossbolna]

I know it's here somewhere in this thread, but it might take me a while to find in 639 pages!

Does anyone have a link to the map that shows where the standard view rooms are handy?

This is a link to an AKL map. The standard view rooms are on Giraffe and Ostrich Trail, facing the parking lot. There are some rooms that are kind of "savannah view", but where you do not really see very much of the savannah, and those might be standard view as well. I have never seen a map where you could identify the location of these. I hope this helps!

 

[DznyDreamz]

Quick question:

I haven't been since the Public Smoking Areas have gone in, so maybe they changed location/got a bit larger. My question is: can you still exit the resort via Zawadi marketplace when heading to the bus stops, and avoid the "smoking area"? I know you used to be able to, and if you still can it's a good tip for those wanting to avoid wading through the "cloud".

You can go through the store to avoid the smoking areas. We chose to take this route and suffer through all of the begging for "can I get this" and "can I have that" with my 6 year old, but it was better then holding our breath through the clouds of smoke! Sorry to be harsh however I am a reformed smoker from about 13 years ago and I think we are the worst critics !!

 

[RachelTori]

This is a link to an AKL map. The standard view rooms are on Giraffe and Ostrich Trail, facing the parking lot. There are some rooms that are kind of "savannah view", but where you do not really see very much of the savannah, and those might be standard view as well. I have never seen a map where you could identify the location of these. I hope this helps!

I don't think the link copied, Flossbolna! Is this the one you were talking about?

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/aklmap.htm

It will be a little outdated because of the DVC conversion. I don't know of any other maps that reference the room #'s.