We just got back from a week's stay at AKL concierge with our DVC points. Although I now live exactly 10 minutes from the park entrances I rarely visit unless I'm staying in a resort. I just don't make the time for it and get too tired to stay out too long. This trip some of the cutbacks were very noticeable and my usually sunny disposition was tested somewhat. Here are a few observations:
Epcot Friendship boats- there used to be two boats, each going across the lagoon to take guests to/from different areas of World Showcase back to the entrance areas of Future World. Now there is ONE boat that goes around the lagoon, making an extremely long wait. Many guests who use these boats are those with limited stamina and I heard groaning and complaints from elderly guests who had trouble standing over 30 minutes to wait, but who didn't feel as though they wanted to walk that far either. They need to have fold-down seats along the railing for people to use. By the time our boat was loaded I looked out and there were enough people still waiting to fill another boat- I doubt they realized the wait they were in for.
Busses- After a year or so of no problems, I once again had an argument with each lift bus driver over driving forward in my chair onto the platform. They stood at the top of the bus yelling for me to "BACK IT UP" while I had to explain why I couldn't, why it was unsafe for me, etc. I don't need to give out info on my equipment and medical issues in front of a queue line of guests nor use my breath to have to talk over the bus engine. I finally spoke with a bus supervisor regarding training the drivers-recommending that people who are using their own chairs already know how best to load them. People in rented ECV's may not know- but please don't scream at us when we refuse to BACK IT UP. There were still a few times a bus arrived with a broken lift, and there was often a bus that arrived too full to load my chair, or other guests in chairs and ECV's waiting also, necessitating a wait for the next bus. That gets really old, esp. when your stamina is limited to start with and there's a 1 hour trip each way to/from a park. Oh...and the addition of Kidani Village has made things much worse. AKL is the only deluxe resort without some kind of preferred transportation, but now with Kidani being the first stop, the wait times are much longer, the bus often arrived full with other chairs filling up the two spaces, etc. Of course then Kidani guests are taken back first so those in Jambo have to wait longer on the way back also. Oh...and I tried Kidani and won't be back, so that's not a choice I'd make either.
Other cutbacks- I noticed many of the usual food carts were missing, so there were long waits for popcorn, pretzels, etc. if people could even find what they wanted. This was esp. noticeable at Epcot with lines snaking so far back that I know I'd have told my kids they weren't getting whatever was at the end of that line! There were plenty of kids having meltdowns in the lines waiting for a snack. Another issue I had was with the ferryboat and I'm not sure if this is due to cutbacks or not, but could be. We ended up in a torrential downpour due to the wait time ON the ferryboat. I figured the drivers had to wait a certain timeframe before taking off but we waited a REALLY long time, even though this was in the afternoon and for the most part, all the guests boarded at the same time since the ferryboat was ready and waiting as we approached. If they'd have left after we boarded, we'd not have ended up being drenched. Oh well- next time I'll take the monorail.
Other than the above issues we had a nice trip, despite the afternoon rains which can't be helped. There were some minor issues with our room ( a previous smoker, a problem getting the hinge taken off the door to let it swing freely) and an idiot on his honeymoon that thought it would be funny to pull the fire alarm after midnight. It was a real challenge for me to "evacuate" in a power w/c with a service animal whose ears must've been in great pain from the loud alarm we couldn't get away from and I felt for all the parents holding sleeping children in front of the lodge. I did hear though that this person was taken to jail.....sigh.
Hope everyone who goes enjoys their visits! We won't be back until September and may end up cancelling that trip as I'm not sure I can stand the heat, but we'll be back at AKL concierge in December for sure. Until then I'll have to enjoy everyone else's trip reports! I'll be glad when the economy improves so that perhaps some of the things that are now cut back can be expanded upon again.---Kathy
Epcot Friendship boats- there used to be two boats, each going across the lagoon to take guests to/from different areas of World Showcase back to the entrance areas of Future World. Now there is ONE boat that goes around the lagoon, making an extremely long wait. Many guests who use these boats are those with limited stamina and I heard groaning and complaints from elderly guests who had trouble standing over 30 minutes to wait, but who didn't feel as though they wanted to walk that far either. They need to have fold-down seats along the railing for people to use. By the time our boat was loaded I looked out and there were enough people still waiting to fill another boat- I doubt they realized the wait they were in for.
Busses- After a year or so of no problems, I once again had an argument with each lift bus driver over driving forward in my chair onto the platform. They stood at the top of the bus yelling for me to "BACK IT UP" while I had to explain why I couldn't, why it was unsafe for me, etc. I don't need to give out info on my equipment and medical issues in front of a queue line of guests nor use my breath to have to talk over the bus engine. I finally spoke with a bus supervisor regarding training the drivers-recommending that people who are using their own chairs already know how best to load them. People in rented ECV's may not know- but please don't scream at us when we refuse to BACK IT UP. There were still a few times a bus arrived with a broken lift, and there was often a bus that arrived too full to load my chair, or other guests in chairs and ECV's waiting also, necessitating a wait for the next bus. That gets really old, esp. when your stamina is limited to start with and there's a 1 hour trip each way to/from a park. Oh...and the addition of Kidani Village has made things much worse. AKL is the only deluxe resort without some kind of preferred transportation, but now with Kidani being the first stop, the wait times are much longer, the bus often arrived full with other chairs filling up the two spaces, etc. Of course then Kidani guests are taken back first so those in Jambo have to wait longer on the way back also. Oh...and I tried Kidani and won't be back, so that's not a choice I'd make either.
Other cutbacks- I noticed many of the usual food carts were missing, so there were long waits for popcorn, pretzels, etc. if people could even find what they wanted. This was esp. noticeable at Epcot with lines snaking so far back that I know I'd have told my kids they weren't getting whatever was at the end of that line! There were plenty of kids having meltdowns in the lines waiting for a snack. Another issue I had was with the ferryboat and I'm not sure if this is due to cutbacks or not, but could be. We ended up in a torrential downpour due to the wait time ON the ferryboat. I figured the drivers had to wait a certain timeframe before taking off but we waited a REALLY long time, even though this was in the afternoon and for the most part, all the guests boarded at the same time since the ferryboat was ready and waiting as we approached. If they'd have left after we boarded, we'd not have ended up being drenched. Oh well- next time I'll take the monorail.
Other than the above issues we had a nice trip, despite the afternoon rains which can't be helped. There were some minor issues with our room ( a previous smoker, a problem getting the hinge taken off the door to let it swing freely) and an idiot on his honeymoon that thought it would be funny to pull the fire alarm after midnight. It was a real challenge for me to "evacuate" in a power w/c with a service animal whose ears must've been in great pain from the loud alarm we couldn't get away from and I felt for all the parents holding sleeping children in front of the lodge. I did hear though that this person was taken to jail.....sigh.
Hope everyone who goes enjoys their visits! We won't be back until September and may end up cancelling that trip as I'm not sure I can stand the heat, but we'll be back at AKL concierge in December for sure. Until then I'll have to enjoy everyone else's trip reports! I'll be glad when the economy improves so that perhaps some of the things that are now cut back can be expanded upon again.---Kathy
This is why I wish that WDW had not eliminated smoking rooms. Now those folks will smoke anywhere. During our first visit to AKV, a man was smoking on the balcony next to us, so I took his picture and showed it to Guest Services. He had a gatorade bottle full of butts that could have easily been blown off into the animal area. The thought of an animal eating those butts made me more sick than smelling the smoke. 
