Just returned from a surprise birthday trip for DH (I told him we were going just 2 days before we left) and DSs (age 2) first trip to Disney. DH and I had not been to Disney for almost 12 years. I had pretty high hopes/expectations for AKL (I knew that the parks would not disappoint), and they were met or exceeded on all counts.
Arrived Friday (used FL Tours per recommendations on this board and thought they provided great service) around noon. Our room was not yet ready, so we checked our bags and were taken to the Concierge Lounge to check in. We received a packet with park information and an itinerary for our stay Concierge staff had made all our PSs per my requests and had booked us on the Sunrise Safari. DH was also presented with an Animal Kingdom birthday button and party hat (his actual birthday was Saturday), and DS was given a cute monkey sippy cup and some other small toy animal thing. We had a snack and some drinks (during our stay, DS loved that they had chocolate milk and lemonade (his favorites), and liked the African Smoothies, too), then headed to AK for a few hours for lunch, meeting some characters (an unplanned, but pleasant surprise) and Festival of the Lion King (loved this!). When we got back our room was ready. We got settled, then did some animal viewing from our balcony. I had read on this board that someone else who was at AK recently did not see many animals. Luckily, we saw lots of animals every day during the times we were in our room (first thing in the morning (7:00-7:30) and pre-dinner (5:00-5:45)) when we were in the room seemed to coincide well with animal feeding time, so lots of giraffe, zebra, kudu, wildebeest, various birds, and some other antelope-family animals whose names escape me now. We had room 5423 I had requested non-smoking, 5th floor, overlooking Arusha Savanna (per tips here thanks everyone!), and that is exactly what we got. Room was clean and we liked the decor. The view could have been a little better if we were farther away from the central portion of the building, but we loved our view, and we were already pretty far from the lounge as it was. This was DSs first time in a hotel room, and DH commented that he will now probably expect animals outside the balcony in every hotel we stay at! Temp on Friday was 60s during the day, 40s at night, so no night viewing. Pre-arranged gift for DH (Pal Mickey) arrived before dinner, and plush Mickey for DS arrived while we were up in the lounge having appetizers and wine. That ended up being our dinner (heavy appetizers were substantial enough to constitute a light dinner, and DH went back later to grab us desserts while I got overly-tired DS to sleep) as DS was too pooped to head to Fultons for our PS. The concierge staff that night was very sweet to overly-tired DS, helping to distract him by talking to/engaging him while DH and I ate. I grabbed a diet Coke on my way out to put in the refrigerator for the morning (I need a diet Coke immediately upon waking up!) The lounge was never very crowded during our entire stay, so I think we got better-than-average service. Only one unfriendly CM out of over a dozen during the entire time we were there. Even he wasnt really bad or discourteous, just not particularly pleasant.
Saturday morning we were up early for Sunrise Safari. This was wonderful. Great opportunity to take good pictures as they would stop the truck and let everyone get their pics before moving on. We just love animals and were enthralled. Our guide was very informative and nice. Tusker House breakfast was delicious and guides mingled with the guests providing some great information about the animals. Got a fastpass to return between 9:20 and 10:20 to do the safari again. So, we did the Jungle trail and forest walk first, then came back for the Safari. Glad we did it again as there were a couple of animals (warthogs and cheetahs) that werent out during our first go-through, but not nearly as good photo opps. Did a few more rides, train to Rafiki Planet Watch/Affection Section, then headed to Epcot for PS at Biergarten. DH had his birthday button on, so they gave him a cake for dessert and the oom-pah band had him and another birthday boy stand up while they sang Happy Birthday. DS slept through the entire lunch in his stroller and continued to sleep as we toured the World Showcase. We were back at AKL by 5:00. We actually were aiming to get back a little earlier. This was the only time we had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus during our visit we waited 25 minutes for an AKL bus from Epcot, and the bus ended up quite crowded as a line had built up behind us during our wait. Other than this trip, though, the buses were prompt and not over-full. I was glad I hadnt rented a car since we didnt have time to go off-property or resort-hop anyway during our short visit Anyway, we stopped by the lounge to have appetizers, then picked up some wine for us and chocolate milk for DS and went to sit on our balcony. It was 60s again, so we wanted to enjoy the balcony before it got too cold. While we were viewing, a CM came by our room with (another!) cake for DH, along with party hats, party blowouts and a birthday card (I had not pre-arranged this, and thought it was really nice). Oh, and Mousekeeping made us two towel ducks so cute! Headed back to Epcot for dinner at San Angel Inn. Came right back after dinner to try to head off another night of overly-tired DS (with limited success). DS loved the parks, loved the animals, but just got very tired (even with a nap) by the end of the day. DSs second gift a beanbag giraffe was waiting, and arranged on the bed with Plush Mickey. Again, too cold for any night viewing, but we were pretty tired anyway. Grabbed my diet Coke for the morning from the lounge and went to bed.
Sunday, breakfast at concierge lounge. Nice selection of fruit and pastries/bagels. We slept in a bit, so didnt get to MK till later than I had hoped. But, made the best of it, and planned to do clean up Monday. MK was fairly crowded both Sunday and Monday by noon time, though not bad in the morning, and nothing compared to what Ive seen in the past (when DH and I went previously and when I had been as a child and young adult with my parents and friends, we were always there during the most crowded times; I have been to MK on Easter Sunday, and honestly, that was awful). Used Fastpass for Pooh and Peter Pan, but stand-by lines for things like Haunted Mansion and Pirates were fine in the morning. AK and Epcot were totally fine on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was warmer, high 70s, so we got out of the park not long after our 1:00 PS at Crystal Palace. Went back to the hotel to swim and nap. Got a towel cow from Mousekeeping. More animal viewing at Arusha rock and from our balcony at 5:00ish, then up to the lounge around 6:15 for cocktails/appetizers before changing for dinner. DSs third gift arrived while we were animal watching a beanbag tiger. Dinner at Jiko excellent, I had the squash soup and the monk fish and DH the warm octopus and the filet. DS was again tired, so we had to take dessert to go. Even with a bottle of wine, we thought this restaurant was an excellent value considering the quality of the food and the service. While I put DS to bed, DH got us some cordials from the Lounge, and we sipped those after DS fell asleep.
Side Note: DS has peanut/tree nut allergies, and this was noted on all of our PSs. At every place we had a PS, a chef came out and went over the menu with us and pointed out items that we should avoid and told us why this was so great. I felt very comfortable selecting food for him. Concierge lounge staff also looked up ingredients of some foods for us to make sure they were safe for DS.
Monday checked out and checked bags and were given 3 bottles of water for our journey home, breakfast at lounge. DS got a tiger sippy cup. Got to MK on time on this day, so got to ride everything we wanted before crowds started getting worse. It was in the high 70s/low 80s that day. DS fell asleep after lunch at Pecos Bills. We pushed him around and did shopping for a while (got DS his embroidered mouse ears!), then headed back to AKL. Stopped in the lounge for snacks and drinks. DS and I then headed to Arusha rock. I didnt know if there would be animals as this was earlier than we had been back before, but we saw birds, a group of Zebra and some Kudu. We also saw that someone else had checked into our room and was hanging out on our balcony -- . We were the only ones out on Arusha rock for a while, and the 2 guides really took a liking to DS as we were leaving, they gave him a lion finger puppet. Hung out in the lounge till it was time to head to the airport.
Gripes (which were totally overshadowed by all the nice surprises): There was a little confusion with the surprise gifts the first night one came before the other, but the second gift was tracked down promptly, so I cant really complain about that. It would be nice to stay on the 6th floor and be near the lounge, but the sixth floor rooms are either pool view (which defeats the whole purpose of staying at AKL for our family) or a view of one of the side savannas (which did not seem nearly as appealing from what I could tell). Fifth floor view that we had was nice, but even where we were (not so far out on the arm) was a bit of a hike to the lounge. Also, we tend to make dinner reservations between 6:30-7:30 (this is what time we would eat at home 5:30 or 6:30 central time), so on two of the three nights we were in the room watching animals prior to leaving for dinner (between 5:00 and 6:00), and this was when turndown service would come took the mystery out of coming back to the room to see the surprise gifts having appeared and the animals arranged and such. But, not a big deal overall, while this fairly last-minute trip cost more than I had originally hoped to spend, it was totally worth it we will definitely be back to AKL, and will stay longer next time so we dont wear DS out as much (it sure is different going with a two year old!) and can take advantage of more of the hotel activities which we didnt get to do (like storytelling, cultural safari, etc.).
Thanks to everyone for the great tips on both AKL and the parks -- it really helped make our trip more enjoyable.
Arrived Friday (used FL Tours per recommendations on this board and thought they provided great service) around noon. Our room was not yet ready, so we checked our bags and were taken to the Concierge Lounge to check in. We received a packet with park information and an itinerary for our stay Concierge staff had made all our PSs per my requests and had booked us on the Sunrise Safari. DH was also presented with an Animal Kingdom birthday button and party hat (his actual birthday was Saturday), and DS was given a cute monkey sippy cup and some other small toy animal thing. We had a snack and some drinks (during our stay, DS loved that they had chocolate milk and lemonade (his favorites), and liked the African Smoothies, too), then headed to AK for a few hours for lunch, meeting some characters (an unplanned, but pleasant surprise) and Festival of the Lion King (loved this!). When we got back our room was ready. We got settled, then did some animal viewing from our balcony. I had read on this board that someone else who was at AK recently did not see many animals. Luckily, we saw lots of animals every day during the times we were in our room (first thing in the morning (7:00-7:30) and pre-dinner (5:00-5:45)) when we were in the room seemed to coincide well with animal feeding time, so lots of giraffe, zebra, kudu, wildebeest, various birds, and some other antelope-family animals whose names escape me now. We had room 5423 I had requested non-smoking, 5th floor, overlooking Arusha Savanna (per tips here thanks everyone!), and that is exactly what we got. Room was clean and we liked the decor. The view could have been a little better if we were farther away from the central portion of the building, but we loved our view, and we were already pretty far from the lounge as it was. This was DSs first time in a hotel room, and DH commented that he will now probably expect animals outside the balcony in every hotel we stay at! Temp on Friday was 60s during the day, 40s at night, so no night viewing. Pre-arranged gift for DH (Pal Mickey) arrived before dinner, and plush Mickey for DS arrived while we were up in the lounge having appetizers and wine. That ended up being our dinner (heavy appetizers were substantial enough to constitute a light dinner, and DH went back later to grab us desserts while I got overly-tired DS to sleep) as DS was too pooped to head to Fultons for our PS. The concierge staff that night was very sweet to overly-tired DS, helping to distract him by talking to/engaging him while DH and I ate. I grabbed a diet Coke on my way out to put in the refrigerator for the morning (I need a diet Coke immediately upon waking up!) The lounge was never very crowded during our entire stay, so I think we got better-than-average service. Only one unfriendly CM out of over a dozen during the entire time we were there. Even he wasnt really bad or discourteous, just not particularly pleasant.
Saturday morning we were up early for Sunrise Safari. This was wonderful. Great opportunity to take good pictures as they would stop the truck and let everyone get their pics before moving on. We just love animals and were enthralled. Our guide was very informative and nice. Tusker House breakfast was delicious and guides mingled with the guests providing some great information about the animals. Got a fastpass to return between 9:20 and 10:20 to do the safari again. So, we did the Jungle trail and forest walk first, then came back for the Safari. Glad we did it again as there were a couple of animals (warthogs and cheetahs) that werent out during our first go-through, but not nearly as good photo opps. Did a few more rides, train to Rafiki Planet Watch/Affection Section, then headed to Epcot for PS at Biergarten. DH had his birthday button on, so they gave him a cake for dessert and the oom-pah band had him and another birthday boy stand up while they sang Happy Birthday. DS slept through the entire lunch in his stroller and continued to sleep as we toured the World Showcase. We were back at AKL by 5:00. We actually were aiming to get back a little earlier. This was the only time we had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus during our visit we waited 25 minutes for an AKL bus from Epcot, and the bus ended up quite crowded as a line had built up behind us during our wait. Other than this trip, though, the buses were prompt and not over-full. I was glad I hadnt rented a car since we didnt have time to go off-property or resort-hop anyway during our short visit Anyway, we stopped by the lounge to have appetizers, then picked up some wine for us and chocolate milk for DS and went to sit on our balcony. It was 60s again, so we wanted to enjoy the balcony before it got too cold. While we were viewing, a CM came by our room with (another!) cake for DH, along with party hats, party blowouts and a birthday card (I had not pre-arranged this, and thought it was really nice). Oh, and Mousekeeping made us two towel ducks so cute! Headed back to Epcot for dinner at San Angel Inn. Came right back after dinner to try to head off another night of overly-tired DS (with limited success). DS loved the parks, loved the animals, but just got very tired (even with a nap) by the end of the day. DSs second gift a beanbag giraffe was waiting, and arranged on the bed with Plush Mickey. Again, too cold for any night viewing, but we were pretty tired anyway. Grabbed my diet Coke for the morning from the lounge and went to bed.
Sunday, breakfast at concierge lounge. Nice selection of fruit and pastries/bagels. We slept in a bit, so didnt get to MK till later than I had hoped. But, made the best of it, and planned to do clean up Monday. MK was fairly crowded both Sunday and Monday by noon time, though not bad in the morning, and nothing compared to what Ive seen in the past (when DH and I went previously and when I had been as a child and young adult with my parents and friends, we were always there during the most crowded times; I have been to MK on Easter Sunday, and honestly, that was awful). Used Fastpass for Pooh and Peter Pan, but stand-by lines for things like Haunted Mansion and Pirates were fine in the morning. AK and Epcot were totally fine on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was warmer, high 70s, so we got out of the park not long after our 1:00 PS at Crystal Palace. Went back to the hotel to swim and nap. Got a towel cow from Mousekeeping. More animal viewing at Arusha rock and from our balcony at 5:00ish, then up to the lounge around 6:15 for cocktails/appetizers before changing for dinner. DSs third gift arrived while we were animal watching a beanbag tiger. Dinner at Jiko excellent, I had the squash soup and the monk fish and DH the warm octopus and the filet. DS was again tired, so we had to take dessert to go. Even with a bottle of wine, we thought this restaurant was an excellent value considering the quality of the food and the service. While I put DS to bed, DH got us some cordials from the Lounge, and we sipped those after DS fell asleep.
Side Note: DS has peanut/tree nut allergies, and this was noted on all of our PSs. At every place we had a PS, a chef came out and went over the menu with us and pointed out items that we should avoid and told us why this was so great. I felt very comfortable selecting food for him. Concierge lounge staff also looked up ingredients of some foods for us to make sure they were safe for DS.
Monday checked out and checked bags and were given 3 bottles of water for our journey home, breakfast at lounge. DS got a tiger sippy cup. Got to MK on time on this day, so got to ride everything we wanted before crowds started getting worse. It was in the high 70s/low 80s that day. DS fell asleep after lunch at Pecos Bills. We pushed him around and did shopping for a while (got DS his embroidered mouse ears!), then headed back to AKL. Stopped in the lounge for snacks and drinks. DS and I then headed to Arusha rock. I didnt know if there would be animals as this was earlier than we had been back before, but we saw birds, a group of Zebra and some Kudu. We also saw that someone else had checked into our room and was hanging out on our balcony -- . We were the only ones out on Arusha rock for a while, and the 2 guides really took a liking to DS as we were leaving, they gave him a lion finger puppet. Hung out in the lounge till it was time to head to the airport.
Gripes (which were totally overshadowed by all the nice surprises): There was a little confusion with the surprise gifts the first night one came before the other, but the second gift was tracked down promptly, so I cant really complain about that. It would be nice to stay on the 6th floor and be near the lounge, but the sixth floor rooms are either pool view (which defeats the whole purpose of staying at AKL for our family) or a view of one of the side savannas (which did not seem nearly as appealing from what I could tell). Fifth floor view that we had was nice, but even where we were (not so far out on the arm) was a bit of a hike to the lounge. Also, we tend to make dinner reservations between 6:30-7:30 (this is what time we would eat at home 5:30 or 6:30 central time), so on two of the three nights we were in the room watching animals prior to leaving for dinner (between 5:00 and 6:00), and this was when turndown service would come took the mystery out of coming back to the room to see the surprise gifts having appeared and the animals arranged and such. But, not a big deal overall, while this fairly last-minute trip cost more than I had originally hoped to spend, it was totally worth it we will definitely be back to AKL, and will stay longer next time so we dont wear DS out as much (it sure is different going with a two year old!) and can take advantage of more of the hotel activities which we didnt get to do (like storytelling, cultural safari, etc.).
Thanks to everyone for the great tips on both AKL and the parks -- it really helped make our trip more enjoyable.
