Just back from AKL

[MaryFMac]

We spent 7 nights in standard (very obstructed pool view) room.

We had a blast!

Let me know if you have any questions!!

 

[milmore104]

Welcome back! Glad you had a BLAST!!!! AKL is my favorite resort. Don't you just love it there? It's like a vacation from your vacation!!!

 

[slk537]

Glad to hear you had a wonderful vacation! I do have a few questions...

What kind of activities did they have available throughout the day? Did you miss not having a full on savannah view?

TIA!

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

Wow...bet we saw each other there! We just got back from 7 nights at AKL and absolutely had a fantastic time!

What a great resort! I'm ready to go back!

 

[Bugsmom73]

Did you notice a problem with animal dander??? DH has asthma and is allergic to animals. Is it a problem????

How many different animals did you see? WHat was the service like? Bellhops nice? How are Boma and Jiko?

 

[MaryFMac]

Activities: They had tons! We commented several times that we wouldn't have needed to leave the hotel to enjoy the vacations. Here are some I remember: Storytelling, instrument parade, decorate-a-cookie, night-viewing the animals, cultural presentations from cast members, presentation on savannah vegetation, tile rubbings, pool activites lead by the lifeguards. They also constantly had CMs with information and artifacts in the lobby.

The view: No, we really didn't mind not having the savannah. We had a room with the door onto the lobby, so the closeness was well worth not viewing animals.

Dander: Never noticed anything even related to dander. I have bad allergies and usually take antihistamines when some place new, and I was fine...

Staff: Every staff member we encountered was courteous and friendly. We didn't need the bellhop's services, but they were always helpful, even after we declined their assistance with baggage. Housekeeping was acceptable. We didn't get any towel animals or extra touches, but there was clearly not a child in our room, so we thought they may have used their time to make rooms with toys/stuffed animals more exciting. We did tip each day.

Restaurants: Both EXCELLENT. I was very sad that I became ill, and couldn't finish my meal at Jiko, and they were kind enough to box it for me and box a dessert. I was VERY sad that I didn't get to enjoy this meal more.
Boma was great, as usual.

 

[slk537]

Thank you so much for responding! Just this morning I booked two nights in November to stay there (second night = Thanksgiving) and I was so pleased to read that you liked it...we stayed there for one night last November and were in and out so quickly we didn't have time for much more than a swim, dinner at Boma, and sleeping. This year we really want to take advantage of the resort.

I do remember having horrible problems with my allergies, but I was not on my prescription at the time so I don't have any worries about the next trip.

Thanks again!

 

[mom22boys]

Did you eat at Mara? How was the food? Were you able to get it "to go" so that you could eat outside at the pool or back in your room?

Glad you had a great time! We are heading to AKL in November. We are so excited!

 

[HClayton]

Hi,

Glad you had a great time. What was the transportation time like to MK including wait time for buses.

Was it easy to transfer to other resorts for character dining?

Thanks
Helen

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Glad you enjoyed AKL. This is my favorite resort. aw: aw:

 

[MaryFMac]

The Mara: Yes, we ate here a few times. Everything was acceptable (hamburgers/french fries) to exceptional (the African stew!). And it was easy to take back to the room or to take outside.

The transportation: This was the one component of the AKL which frustrated us. The wait time was never more than 20 minutes, but with many of the routes (I remember it happening multiple times for MGM and EPCOT) the bus has other stops either before or after. Sometimes we would detour to AK and Blizzard Beach b/c we were the park-to-park bus. Many times, our commutes were 45 minutes. Also, the bus drivers would generally wait until the bus was packed to the gills before moving on, which added to commute times and put us in a position to stand on almost every trip (as two young adults, we'd give up seats to people with small children, etc.) We will probably stay at a monorail resort next time, just to have another option for transportation.

We never did any character dining, but we didn't have much of a problem getting to the Contemporary when we dined at the California Grill. We transferred at DTD instead of taking the bus to MK.

 

[kwirtanen]

Hi there,
Thanks for offering your advice. We are planning a split stay between AKL and CS in February. My initial thoughts were to splurge on the savannah room because that would make AKL more special. Do other rooms also have balconies and are there many public places to view the savannah? I know you said you didn't miss the savannah rooms because you were close to the lobby...does that mean savannah rooms are not close to the lobby? Thanks for your advice!
Karen