Disneylvr
Always Disney Dreaming!
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,662
I loved the Animal Kingdom Lodge! We had a postcard rate of $132(tax included) for a standard view. We made no room requests at all but received a complimentary upgrade to a savannah view at check-in. I was overjoyed!!! The only drawback is that our room (#2373) was near the end of the Kudu Trail (view of the Arusha savannah) and therefore far away from Mara, the pool, bus stops etc....
The room seemed identical in size to the Wilderness Lodge and about the same darkness. I know others have reported that the rooms were too dark for reading etc... My husband and I felt the lighting was fine for us and I read before bed every night with no problem. Our balcony looked out over the Arusha savannah and we saw giraffe, zebra, Ankole cattle, wildebeest.... The animals were especially active in the early morning and in the afternoon after the savannah was clean and new food was put out. FYI, this savannah gets cleaned etc. from around 12:30pm-2:30pm. The animals are taken out of the savannah and CM's clean up the poop, clear away brush and trash, and put food out for the animals. Around 2:30pm the animals come back out and go right to the food making their way, slowly, from the back of the savannah to Arusha Rock.
Our side of the hallway was the Arusha Savannah, the other side was the Sunset Savannah. There were several overlook areas of the Sunset Savannah where I saw ostrich and bongos that weren't on the Arusha Savannah. I also saw the "people pen" that many posters have described. I didn't see a "people pen" on the Arusha savannah.
While at the AKL, we only ate at Mara 3 times (not very impressive IMHO) and Boma for breakfast. I loved Boma!!! Their breakfast flatbreads are out of this world as is the Frunch juice! Thank you Albert for being such a fantastic server. We did buy the refillable mugs but Mara was such a hike from our room that we didn't get our moneys worth out of them but they make nice keepsakes.
The pool is really neat! When we swam on Saturday it was pretty crowded but on Monday there were maybe 10 people in the whole pool. There are activities (Disney trivia and crafts) for the kids at the pool. We had no trouble finding pool chairs even on the more crowded Saturday afternoon. Near the pool is another savannah where I watched giraffe and flamingos. Located at the outdoor viewing areas are many savannah guide Cast Members who will tell you anything you want to know about the animals.
Bus transportation was acceptable but not great. 25 minute waits were not unusual especially for the Epcot or Animal Kingdom buses. One family told me they showed up at 7am for the special character breakfast bus and it didn't show up until 8am. They missed their Priority Seating but they were still able to have their Epcot princess breakfast. We much preferred using our car. At MK the AKL bus stop is the farthest from the turnstiles, even farther than the All Stars. At MGM and Epcot it is one of the closest. At Animal Kingdom it is kinda in the middle. It was on this trip that we discovered valet parking and drove to the parks 50% of the time.
Cast members were fantastic and we didn't experience any rudeness at all. The room was comfortable and a nice size. Having animals outside your balcony was such a neat experience! Bus transportation could be improved, that is my only complaint. All in all I would definately stay at AKL again! My husband, who isn't an animal lover, could take it or leave it. If you have any questions feel free to post!
The room seemed identical in size to the Wilderness Lodge and about the same darkness. I know others have reported that the rooms were too dark for reading etc... My husband and I felt the lighting was fine for us and I read before bed every night with no problem. Our balcony looked out over the Arusha savannah and we saw giraffe, zebra, Ankole cattle, wildebeest.... The animals were especially active in the early morning and in the afternoon after the savannah was clean and new food was put out. FYI, this savannah gets cleaned etc. from around 12:30pm-2:30pm. The animals are taken out of the savannah and CM's clean up the poop, clear away brush and trash, and put food out for the animals. Around 2:30pm the animals come back out and go right to the food making their way, slowly, from the back of the savannah to Arusha Rock.
Our side of the hallway was the Arusha Savannah, the other side was the Sunset Savannah. There were several overlook areas of the Sunset Savannah where I saw ostrich and bongos that weren't on the Arusha Savannah. I also saw the "people pen" that many posters have described. I didn't see a "people pen" on the Arusha savannah.
While at the AKL, we only ate at Mara 3 times (not very impressive IMHO) and Boma for breakfast. I loved Boma!!! Their breakfast flatbreads are out of this world as is the Frunch juice! Thank you Albert for being such a fantastic server. We did buy the refillable mugs but Mara was such a hike from our room that we didn't get our moneys worth out of them but they make nice keepsakes.
The pool is really neat! When we swam on Saturday it was pretty crowded but on Monday there were maybe 10 people in the whole pool. There are activities (Disney trivia and crafts) for the kids at the pool. We had no trouble finding pool chairs even on the more crowded Saturday afternoon. Near the pool is another savannah where I watched giraffe and flamingos. Located at the outdoor viewing areas are many savannah guide Cast Members who will tell you anything you want to know about the animals.
Bus transportation was acceptable but not great. 25 minute waits were not unusual especially for the Epcot or Animal Kingdom buses. One family told me they showed up at 7am for the special character breakfast bus and it didn't show up until 8am. They missed their Priority Seating but they were still able to have their Epcot princess breakfast. We much preferred using our car. At MK the AKL bus stop is the farthest from the turnstiles, even farther than the All Stars. At MGM and Epcot it is one of the closest. At Animal Kingdom it is kinda in the middle. It was on this trip that we discovered valet parking and drove to the parks 50% of the time.
Cast members were fantastic and we didn't experience any rudeness at all. The room was comfortable and a nice size. Having animals outside your balcony was such a neat experience! Bus transportation could be improved, that is my only complaint. All in all I would definately stay at AKL again! My husband, who isn't an animal lover, could take it or leave it. If you have any questions feel free to post!
