Just back AKL, prob. won't do it again

[ElaineM43]

We have to agree with the OP on this one. DH and I spent 9 days at AKL and we would never do this again. Besides the CM's being extremely RUDE, I had significant problems with disability issues.

There is no lunch served at this resort unless you want to go to Mara and Jiko is overpriced and too exotic for us. Boma would be excellent if they could control the temperature of the food.

I have written letters to Disney and they have called to confirm receipt and stated that a rep would be back in touch with me. This was definitely NOT a magical trip for us and we are veteran Disney people.

A total disappointment.

 

[jfranklyn]

I'm not the one who wrote that my balcony was noisy, but ours was too, at certain times of the day. We were only there for 3 days, but the people that were to the right of us, who also had a small child, were very loud. When we went out on the balcony, we were quiet, and were watching the animals. We also encouraged our daughter (who is 2 and 1/2) to be quiet, or to talk quietly, so as not to disturb the animals or other people. The people next to us were VERY loud, and were actually encouraging their child (who was probably 3 or so) to CALL the animals by yelling "Hey Zebra, come over here" at the top of their lungs!! We did not appreciate this. Our trip was truly magical to AKL, and this was in NO way the fault of the hotel, but it was annoying that people could be so insensitive to others and to the animals.

 

[Chickenlady]

About the balcony noise. ...

We could hear everything that any one within a ? 20 ? room radius was saying. We were out on the balcony listening to someone's cellphone conversation! I looked throught the divider, because it was so loud I figured it had to be the next door neighbors...nope! We could hear conversations from many different directions....normal balcony conversations, not yelling and carrying on. Never noiticed this on the balcony of WL, which has similar balconies. Must be something about the accustics of the horseshoe building and the savannah.

 

[Une Amie]

Chickenlady... we too heard a lot of noice, but it was not all that bad as far a we could tell. I do remember that if I sat down on the chair, the top of the railing got in the way of viewing the animals...what little we saw! I was sincerely disapointed with our balcony which I thought would be a bit bigger than it was and I thought I would see more animals than I saw.
I had a completely different impression of what we actually experienced. Other than our room, the rest of the hotel is absolutely wonderful...but my room is what counts the most...and we were not happy with it.

 

[lisapooh]

Thanks for the warning. I will remember to use ASL with my kids while we are there this weekend. Then our conversation will not disturb others.

 

[Sherrilatte]

Sorry to hear about the disappointment at AKL...I hope the rest of your trip at WDW compensated for this...We will be visiting AK in less than a week, but we will not be staying at AKL. What did you think about this park?

 

[Chickenlady]

We go to AK on every trip. Our little guy just loves all the shows, the safari and the playground! The only time we managed to spend more than a couple of hours there was in Feb! This park is soooooo blooming hot. We've tried everything from wet bandanas to misty fans and nothing helps. We still keep going back though, so maybe that is a good endorsement for the park.

One more comment on the balcony situation.....funny, but the railing was also directly in my line of sight. The decorator who picked the chairs should have sat in them while on the balcony.

 

[Tiffany]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience at the AKL. My husband and I just returned from the AKL on the 29th and we fell in love with the place.

The rooms are small compared to the other deluxes but I believe the same size as the WL.

We liked Mara and it was open from 6am till Midnight during our stay. The pasta primavera, fried shrimp plate and ceaser salad were all very good.

Well, sorry you did not enjoy your stay. Hope the rest of your trip was better.

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

Sorry you had a bad experience we just got back and LOVED this resort!! The CM's were soooooo nice and helpful. I had a car sick teenager on my hands at check-in and the CM's were so helpful getting us to our room. We had a standard view and ate breakfast on our balcony with the giraffes every morning. We had no problem filling up our mugs during our midnight swims every night. As far as the room size goes the furniture is so oversized it makes the room seem small but with three teenage females in our room not to mention me we managed just fine. I can't speak for the buses because we only used them twice(with no problem) but that is because I am a control nut and like to have my own vehicle.

I was so impressed DH and I are going next year with no kidos!!

TK

 

[TeresaNJ]

We just returned from AKL two weeks ago, stayed first three nights at AKL and last three nights at VWL. While WL is my very favorite resort, I have to say that AKL was wonderful. My husband absolutely loved it.

We had standard savannah view rooms overlooking the Arusha savannah. Every day there were ankole cattle, giraffe, zebra and elk outside our window. The view was unbelievable. I was not disappointed in the size or decor of the room. I didn't find it dark or dreary, in fact, quite the opposite.

We were able to get food and refills at Mara every day until midnight, so we were quite happy with their hours of operation.

We had no problems with bus transportation, except for a return from Downtown Disney. That was a way too long. Other than that, a bus was always availabe within the twenty minute posted wait, coming and going, and one was usually there within ten minutes.

The pool was awesome, the best Disney pool we've been in.

We ate at Boma's, DH loved it, I thought it was okay, not my favorite seasonings.

Resort was beautiful, but wished I had more time there to really absorb it all.

Will return again in the future.

Sorry to hear, Chickenlady, that things weren't better for you. We've had some less than magical trips too, one of them being at the BWV, so I guess that will happen sometimes.