Just back from AKL -- happy to answer any/all questions!

[SleepingUgly]

We just returned from an eight-night trip to WDW. We stayed at AKL. Booked a standard view, and did not get upgraded, but got a really good room with bunkbeds that was nice and quiet --even though it faced front parking lot -- and was close to pool and lobby and food court, which was great with young kids. Cast members at check-in were OK -- professional and polite, but nothing spectacular. Mousekeeping did not leave us any towel animals, but I am not complaining. They arranged our daughters' stuffed animals in fun situations almost everyday -- one night, we came home to see them lounging on the bed, watching TV. Another night, we came home to see them gathered around a magazine, just reading. Our daughters loved it.

Overall, a great experience at AKL. Buses were OK, but could have been better. By the end, we were driving our own car to the parks, and that was definitely much easier.

Will be happy to answer any/all questions!

Linda

 

[califred]

Did you do anything around the resort? My kids will be 3 and 7 when we go and my mom is coming for her first every disney trip. We do plan on driving ourselves in lieu of disney transport..

Oh and did you eat Bomas?

 

[SleepingUgly]

Did you do anything around the resort? My kids will be 3 and 7 when we go and my mom is coming for her first every disney trip. We do plan on driving ourselves in lieu of disney transport..

Oh and did you eat Bomas?

We didn't do much around the resort, unfortunately. Our two girls (ages 5 and 3) did participate in the children's parade one evening; they had a blast. Just meet in the giftshop before 8 pm, and cast members tell the kids to pick out an instrument and then they walk around the lobby playing their instruments, making all sorts of a ruckus, heh. That was great fun for all the kids.

We also were able to view the animals one night with the night-vision goggles one evening. That was very interesting. I was told that each unit costs about $3000, so be careful to not drop them!

We utilized the buses the first few days, but then drove on our own the last couple of days, and found that driving was much easier and convenient. Although the buses were to be commended -- we never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus, even thought it felt longer sometimes, since buses for other resorts kept coming and going, and we just kept waiting, heh. But it was never really more than 10 minutes. And I think we only had to stand once, and that was because we left MK right after Wishes finished up, so there was quite the crowd waiting to be picked up.

We did eat at Boma's and we all loved it. Our kids are used to trying new foods, and they are actually fans of tofu, so they loved the curried green beans and tofu dish at Boma's. They also loved the couscous Marakesh and the cocunut rice, as well as the nut-crusted salmon. I'm talking about a 5-year-old and a just-turned 3-year-old! My husband loved the exotic things such as the oxtail stew and seafood and chicken stew. The desserts were great! I know everyone talks about the Zebra Domes, which are indeed good, but the Pineapple Cheesecake was my FAVORITE! It was definitely our favorite restaurant in all of WDW. Great food, especially for those who love to try different things.

Hope you have a great trip!!!

Linda

 

[jaletu2000]

What did you think of the pool? And how was the food court - Mara, I think?

 

[jsmla]

We have a standard view room booked too. Which trail was your room on? Would you recommed the area your room was in or did you think there were better standard views on other trails or floors? We don't really expect an upgrade but I would prefer to have an open balcony and a quiet room.

Thanks,

Jennifer

 

[SleepingUgly]

What did you think of the pool? And how was the food court - Mara, I think?

The pool is great for little kids. Zero-entry pool, and that was terrific for my girls, who aren't the best of swimmers. It doesn't go very deep, but adults were aplenty in it. There is also a slide that was popular with the kids. It is heated, so it was comfy anytime of day or night. Plenty of chaises, although you may not find one exactly poolside, but we never had a problem finding 3 or 4 in a row available for us.

Mara was terrific! The prices were reasonable, I believe. A breakfast platter with eggs, potatoes, biscuit and sausage or bacon was about $5.50. Same platter for kids (sans potatoes) for about $1.50 less. You can order the kids' size platter for yourself -- that's what I did, not because I'm cheap, but because that was more than enough food for me. We had dinner there one night -- the African stew is very good and so is the tandoori chicken pizza. They have staples such as cheeseburgers and fish and chips, but if you like to try new things, Mara is an excellent food court. Service was good and extremely friendly, and you can sit poolside to eat. Great atmosphere.

Linda

 

[SleepingUgly]

We have a standard view room booked too. Which trail was your room on? Would you recommed the area your room was in or did you think there were better standard views on other trails or floors? We don't really expect an upgrade but I would prefer to have an open balcony and a quiet room.

Thanks,

Jennifer

We had room #5029, which is on the Giraffe Trail, I believe. It is the second-to-last room on the end of the hallway. If you are facing the front of the building, our room was on the top floor, to your right. So it's far enough and high enough from the front lobby/parking area to miss all the noise of check-in and people driving up to valet park, but still close enough to make the trip to the lobby very convenient. We were also far enough away from the bus stop to not hear any noise of the buses, except at certain times (depending on the wind, I guess), but that did not bother us at all. There is a large clump of trees right in front of this part of the building, so when we stepped out onto our balcony, we saw the top of the trees -- no cars, no buses, no pavement. It was very relaxing and soothing, even though it was not savannah view. And on clear nights, we could see the lights far away on Highway 192, which was a nice little touch. And the convenience to the pool and lobby and bus stop and the food court could not be beat. For the price, I really am glad we got this room, instead of having paid extra for savannah view.

I think if they are going to assign you to a standard-view room, at least ask for a higher level room. Some rooms were street-level, and if you sat out on your balcony, people walking by on the sidewalks can look right into your rooms. Those would be awful, I would think. Get a fifth-floor room if you have to have a standard-view room, IMO.

Linda

 

[pixie08]

I am curious abot the buses...what about it did you not like. Was it a long wait at the hotel? the parks? a long ride? We are going in Aug (it will be busy) and really trying not to rent a car..is that a bad idea?

Thanks for your help!

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We also just returned from 8 days at AKL. Our first night, we were in 5111. Although it had bunks for our kids, we HATED the room. Because the balcony is totally enclosed on the bottom (not the open railings) and the thatch roof is low, it made the room very dark. On our second day, we moved to a savanna view room on the zebra trail. The size was the same, but it was much brighter. This made such a difference!

All of my children loved the pool area. My 2 yo spent all of her time in the baby pool. If you have a toddler, be forewarned that the pool is very shallow and eats swimsuits. She also skinned her elbows and nees on the pebble-y concrete but never complained. My 4 yo LOVED the slide. However, he's not a strong swimmer yet; and we were only able to obtain a small enough life jacket on one of our 8 days. There are not nearly enough jackets for all the little ones!! While I love the theming of the AKL pool, I hate how there are so few chairs where you can actually see your kids in the pool. Also, the baby pool has a solid wall around it; so there is absolutely no way one parent can watch children in both pools. Dh and I never got to swim together. We always had to separate to watch the kids.

Despite staying at AKL for 8 days, we never found the time to do anything other than swim and occasionally eat there. We had planned on participating in more of the activities but just never made time.

 

[milmore104]

First Welcome back!AKL is our FAVORITE resort! We just love everthing about it. The food is Great lots to do and for us the transportation was fantastic. Better than any other resort we've stayed at. We NEVER waited more than 10 minutes for a bus to or from the parks and the usually weren't full at all!

 

[Ilovestitch]

I prefer the busses at AKL to the other resorts b/c they are direct/don't share w/other resorts. The monorail resorts are convenient to get to the MK and Epcot but any other park you are going to share busses, the Epcot area resorts share busses, too.

 

[SleepingUgly]

I am curious abot the buses...what about it did you not like. Was it a long wait at the hotel? the parks? a long ride? We are going in Aug (it will be busy) and really trying not to rent a car..is that a bad idea?

Thanks for your help!

If you do not rent a car, you will be fine at AKL. The buses were not too bad; it's just that after we started driving, we had something to compare the bus service with, and the car was just always easier and more convenient for us.

In the mornings, we never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. And we always found a seat. The drivers were pleasant enough, even though one drove 30 mph all the way to MK, so we were being passed by kids on their tricycles, haha. And another guy didn't know how to turn out of the loading area at AKL and ran into the bushes and had to back up a couple of times before he got us out of there. It was more amusing than exasperating, though.

At the parks, the wait for the buses just SEEMED longer, and there were a couple of times that I thought planning could have been better. For instance, after Wishes one night, lots of resorts had buses already waiting for the expected crowds. Not so for AKL. We had to wait the same 10 minutes for the bus, and the first one that came could carry only 20-30 percent of the people waiting in line. And it was packed! Luckily, we got on that first bus, but I felt bad for those still in line who had to continue to wait.

Again, if you do not rent a car, you will be fine at AKL. The wait time was not bad at all, and when taken into consideration the size of the parks and the number of people transported day in and day out, Disney Transportation really does a fabulous job!

Linda

 

[BostonRob]

If you do not rent a car, you will be fine at AKL. The buses were not too bad; it's just that after we started driving, we had something to compare the bus service with, and the car was just always easier and more convenient for us.

In the mornings, we never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. And we always found a seat. The drivers were pleasant enough, even though one drove 30 mph all the way to MK, so we were being passed by kids on their tricycles, haha. And another guy didn't know how to turn out of the loading area at AKL and ran into the bushes and had to back up a couple of times before he got us out of there. It was more amusing than exasperating, though.

At the parks, the wait for the buses just SEEMED longer, and there were a couple of times that I thought planning could have been better. For instance, after Wishes one night, lots of resorts had buses already waiting for the expected crowds. Not so for AKL. We had to wait the same 10 minutes for the bus, and the first one that came could carry only 20-30 percent of the people waiting in line. And it was packed! Luckily, we got on that first bus, but I felt bad for those still in line who had to continue to wait.

Again, if you do not rent a car, you will be fine at AKL. The wait time was not bad at all, and when taken into consideration the size of the parks and the number of people transported day in and day out, Disney Transportation really does a fabulous job!

Linda

I'd just like to take the opposite point of view and say "RENT A CAR!". It opens up a world of dining options because you can drive to any resort, but try getting there on the busses! Also, you always get a seat, as opposed to busses, where you're lucky to get a seat. I figure if I'm spending so much time waiting in line all week, at least I can eliminate waiting for the busses. Just my 2 cents. I will add that we valet parked for the whole trip and that made it even more enjoyable. For $7 per day, I think that's a no-brainer.

 

[rptanner]

Did you do laundry? Is there a laundry room on every floor? Is it crowded?