Family of 8 with older kids (college freshman, high school, 2 in middle school). Parents in law, one with a motorized scooter. Stayed at AKL 6/18-6/25. This trip we did early entry rope drop, break for pool/rest in afternoon and back to park for evening pretty much every day. I’ll do this post in several short posts with tips as I remember them. Start with thoughts on AKL.
THOUGHTS on AKL:
* resort is stunning, my favorite for theming, vibe, and restaurants
* we did standard resort view rooms. Being close to lobby is key, but being convenient to Mara/Pool is also very important. I had forgotten there is only one elevator on the Mara side of the resort. We were 5th floor Ostrich trail which was good but I’d consider requesting 3rd floor giraffe trail to avoid elevators to the 3rd floor lobby and same side as Mara
*AKL buses are in general good, but we found that unfortunately the first bus to MK, Epcot, & DHS came about 7:10-7:15 (not 7am), which made it challenging for us to be in the front of the early entry crowds, moving slower than usual with a big crew and a scooter
*The app for bus arrival times is spotty, not always accurate
*if you have a scooter in your party, send them to the bus first. Buses can only accommodate 1-2, rarely 3 scooters. They are the limiting factor of getting on. And they can text you when bus is here and they are loading the scooter for everyone else to hustle from The Mara with your coffees or from the room!
Boma is fantastic. If on DDP, do it twice! Sadly Boma has cut the number of soups from 20+ to just 7 now but everything else is as great as I remember it pre-COVID
In the summer, check radar prior to pool breaks. Disney will close pool when a lightning cell is close even if sunny. Pool is great. Wish they’d allow drinks sitting on edge of pool but I get it….
NEXT POST will be tips on park security, park entry, early entry strategy, and grabbing same day LLMP with a party of 8…..
THOUGHTS on AKL:
* resort is stunning, my favorite for theming, vibe, and restaurants
* we did standard resort view rooms. Being close to lobby is key, but being convenient to Mara/Pool is also very important. I had forgotten there is only one elevator on the Mara side of the resort. We were 5th floor Ostrich trail which was good but I’d consider requesting 3rd floor giraffe trail to avoid elevators to the 3rd floor lobby and same side as Mara
*AKL buses are in general good, but we found that unfortunately the first bus to MK, Epcot, & DHS came about 7:10-7:15 (not 7am), which made it challenging for us to be in the front of the early entry crowds, moving slower than usual with a big crew and a scooter
*The app for bus arrival times is spotty, not always accurate
*if you have a scooter in your party, send them to the bus first. Buses can only accommodate 1-2, rarely 3 scooters. They are the limiting factor of getting on. And they can text you when bus is here and they are loading the scooter for everyone else to hustle from The Mara with your coffees or from the room!
Boma is fantastic. If on DDP, do it twice! Sadly Boma has cut the number of soups from 20+ to just 7 now but everything else is as great as I remember it pre-COVID
In the summer, check radar prior to pool breaks. Disney will close pool when a lightning cell is close even if sunny. Pool is great. Wish they’d allow drinks sitting on edge of pool but I get it….
NEXT POST will be tips on park security, park entry, early entry strategy, and grabbing same day LLMP with a party of 8…..
