Just back from AKL

[luna]

and wish we were still there. Being devout WL fans, I was a little nervous about trying the AKL, but now we are hooked. I can't believe it is possible, but Disney actually took the WL, improved it, and created the AKL.
We had a fantastic room overlooking the Arusha Savannah, and so close to the elevator down to the pool and Mara. While not gourmet, Mara was definately a big improvement over Roaring Forks, there were quite a few choices and the atmosphere was much nicer.
We had dinner at Boma, which was excellent, much better than ever expected for a buffet. We also had a breakfast, which was also great, much nicer than the character breakfast selections.
We did one dinner at Jiko, but it must have been an off night. The restaurant was beautiful, but the food was very disappointing. I kept telling my husband there had to be something wrong that evening, as it just didn't live up to our expectations. Our favorite disney restaurant is still Flying Fish, Boma coming in a close second.
The crowds were moderate in the parks, even when it seemed crowded, we never had to wait more than 15 minutes for any ride without a fastpass. We hit the lottery in Epcot with the character caravan. The park was empty, and when the characters pulled up to Japan, we practically had them to ourselves. Imagine this... Mickey, Minnie, Tigger, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale, etc... My son was in character heaven.
The pool at AKL was great. Even when it seemed very busy, we were always comfortable swimming and the hot tub was wonderful. I do wish they had a quiet pool as WL has, but that is the only thing that WL has over this resort.
I can't say enough great things about this resort. Any questions???

 

[grumpyandbashful]

Glad to hear you enjoyed AKL! We stayed there last summer and were blown away . This summer due to crazy schedules, I'm taking DD and DS #2 back to AKL in June, while DH and DS #1 are trying WL (for 1st time) in July.
Do you remember your room number? Which floor were you on and was it out toward the end of Zebra Trail? We stayed in a deluxe room on 5th floor on Zebra Trail last summer, but since we will be in a reg. savannah view room this time, looking for a good location!

 

[luna]

I think our room was on the Zebra trail, it was 4509. It was right by a giraffe feeding station, and just before the watering hole. I would ask for 2509 or 3509 though. We had a good view, but being a little lower would put you closer to the animals.

 

[jennymouse]

Wow! Sounds like you had the idea room location; hope we get that lucky in October........there's been a discussion regarding the correlation of the time of day you check in and quality room you get and/or room requests granted. Did you request this location and what time of day did you check in?

Oh, and welcome home!

 

[luna]

We checked in around noon, and then I made my room request. We had to wait till after 3 to get into the room as it wasn't ready. There were other rooms ready when we checked in, but it was worth the wait. We spent the afternoon at the pool, and there was a locker room for us to use until we had our room. We were given a number to call from the house phones to keep checking for our room to be ready. One CM was quite snippy when I called at 3 and our room was still not ready. She seemed to have an attitude since that was the most requested area, and tried to pressure us into changing locations if I didn't want to wait for our room anymore. We didn't mind waiting at the pool, my only annoyance was that I was told the room would be ready at 3, and it was more like 4.

 

[TNMomof3]

Thanks for the report luna! I was leaning toward WL for our Oct. trip and my travel agent kept mentioning AKL. I was just thinking Zoo and never really checked it out. After she told me that it is her new favorite resort I did some research and was sold. It looks beautiful and I know my kids will love it. Thanks for making me even firmer in my decision

 

[Janet2k]

Luna, you're making me think about changing my future vacation and incorporating a few AKL days into it. *Sigh* Oh, woe is me!

 

[pattie]

Just back from WDW - April 25 - 28. I tried Jiko on Saturday, April 27 and was disappointed also. I will try again on next trip. My favorite restaurant is Boma.