Me, DH, DS1 (20 years old, DS 2 16 years old) met up with Sister, her 2 DD( 9 and 15) and her fiancee and his two sons ( 8 and 10 )they stayed at the Howard Johnson maingate said it was ok.
July 1 at the Marriot residence inn at Seaworld, got upgraded to a 2 bedroom 2 bath suite with full kitchen! started this vacation out right! visited Universal
July2 Checked in at the Swan around 4pm. (This was the third time we had stayed at the Swan.) the room wasn't ready, we said we were just so glad to be there, we''d get a drink and wait by the pool. she told us to check back in an hour if we hadn't heard anything. We were very disappointed with the water temp at the pool. It was worse than bath water! the kids swam anyway, but I got right out. we checked every day, and the water was never even cool. It never really rained while we were there, ( ithink once for about 30 min while we were unpacking)which was GREAT, but the pool never got any of that pm cool rain water. I was so bummed out! I love the pool at the Swan it is fantastic!! We did swim one night, and enjoyed that.
Anyway, we hadn't heard anything by530 , and we had PS at Ohanna's, so we checked back, the gal was off duty, and the guy checking us in was surprised no one had called us, that our room was ready. We just laughed, and said no big deal, hey we are at Disney World!! He said, well, we had already upgraded you to a balcony lake view for your Birthday, so how about concierge privilages? Wow!! I was soarin at that point
Our room view was fantastic! I had coffee on the balcony every am at 6 and watched the sun come up over the lake! We went up to the concierge for breakfast each morning which really saved us big bucks! and the service up there was great!! The Swan has always been our favorite, but this sealed it. Hopefully, we can get an ap rate in oct. The beds are simply divine!!!! the room is large. only complaint is no fan in the bathroom, takes forever for the steam to get out. I had to switch my stuff to the outer bath area.
We had a clean room every day, it was quiet, housekeeping left everything I asked for, I tipped $2 and change each day.
We went to tubbies for coffee once , but it was too strong for me. I brought my own and made it in the room.
Switched to AKL on the 7th-9th. Did I love it, Yes, would I stay there again? No, not unless I got a really good rate. Am I glad I stayed there ? Absolutely!
Now before I start this, remember I LOVE all things Disney, and these are my Opinions.
We paid for a savannah view room which we got. 4327. It had a queen and 2 bunk beds. a 20yo and 17 yo don't fit in a bunk bed! when it saw this, I told them i'd get us another room, but they didn't want to sleep in the same bed again. They tossed all night.but wouldn't switch. They were so tired at this point, they could sleep on a rock!
our mattresses were horrible. you could feel the metal springs. Maybe I was spoiled by the heavenly beds at the Swan, but ouch, those beds were bad!
The room was small, and dark, but I loved it for the 2 days we were there. We were ready for the cool darkness,and the whole feel of the resort.it was at the end of a 10 day trip. But I can't imagine staying there longer than 3 days. (But that is just me.)
We got towel animals, and mousekeeping was excellent. our coffee maker didn't work, and they were there within minutes. all of the staff was friendlier than I had anticipated and eager to share stories.
We did see animals from our balcony, and it was great fun to watch the zebras while drinking my coffee at 6 am, but there were many times you just saw nothing. We spent all afternoon in the room on friday ( AK day, we went in the am, and just wore out from the heat) and so had the oppurtunity to see quite a few , but they were mostly resting in the shade. At the 4th floor, you are at treetop level, and unless they come close to you, you see a lot of legs! I went out taking pix while they took naps. I felt so isolated though, after an hour or so of picture taking and exploring, I was wishing I was at the sSwan, so I could walk over to shop at epcot, or go to mgm or one of the many places to eat at the boardwalk
The best pix I got was from the 2nd floor outdoor stairwells!
If we ever stay again, I'll skip the savanah view, there are plenty of places to see animals. or stay at another resort, make Boma reservations, come an hour early and stay an hour late!
The pool. Again, the water was so warm, we all went in when we arrived for a few minutes, and didn't go back. There were chairs galore,and we tried to just sit by the pool with our cokes, but the heat was too much. I thought it was nice enough, but it was just too hot to enjoy.
Now, I grew up in florida and go back every July to see family. I have dealt with the heat and humidity all my life, but it was rough this time.I don't remember the pool water ever being so warm you couldn't swim. It just wasn't refreshing at all. It was great at night however, but we only had the chance to do that once. Maybe turning 50 has been harder than I thought
I asked when I checked in if it would be all right if my sis and her 2 kids could swim, and the check in guy basically told me that would be ok. but after they all checked the temp, the skipped it. They have their own pool, so it was no big deal to them. They did the night vision goggles and loved that , also the story telling. They all loved Boma's for dinner! It was really good as usual.(see my dining reviews)
I think AKL is one of those places that is just very personal to people. Every person will experience it differently.
Like I said in the beginning, I'm glad I did it, I have no complaints, I loved the time I was there, except for the bed. but I'd rather stay at the Swan.
I haven't noticed anyone else say anything re the pool water temp, so maybe it was just me and my family, and someone else may have not thought it was so bad.
July 1 at the Marriot residence inn at Seaworld, got upgraded to a 2 bedroom 2 bath suite with full kitchen! started this vacation out right! visited Universal
July2 Checked in at the Swan around 4pm. (This was the third time we had stayed at the Swan.) the room wasn't ready, we said we were just so glad to be there, we''d get a drink and wait by the pool. she told us to check back in an hour if we hadn't heard anything. We were very disappointed with the water temp at the pool. It was worse than bath water! the kids swam anyway, but I got right out. we checked every day, and the water was never even cool. It never really rained while we were there, ( ithink once for about 30 min while we were unpacking)which was GREAT, but the pool never got any of that pm cool rain water. I was so bummed out! I love the pool at the Swan it is fantastic!! We did swim one night, and enjoyed that.
Anyway, we hadn't heard anything by530 , and we had PS at Ohanna's, so we checked back, the gal was off duty, and the guy checking us in was surprised no one had called us, that our room was ready. We just laughed, and said no big deal, hey we are at Disney World!! He said, well, we had already upgraded you to a balcony lake view for your Birthday, so how about concierge privilages? Wow!! I was soarin at that point
Our room view was fantastic! I had coffee on the balcony every am at 6 and watched the sun come up over the lake! We went up to the concierge for breakfast each morning which really saved us big bucks! and the service up there was great!! The Swan has always been our favorite, but this sealed it. Hopefully, we can get an ap rate in oct. The beds are simply divine!!!! the room is large. only complaint is no fan in the bathroom, takes forever for the steam to get out. I had to switch my stuff to the outer bath area.We had a clean room every day, it was quiet, housekeeping left everything I asked for, I tipped $2 and change each day.
We went to tubbies for coffee once , but it was too strong for me. I brought my own and made it in the room.
Switched to AKL on the 7th-9th. Did I love it, Yes, would I stay there again? No, not unless I got a really good rate. Am I glad I stayed there ? Absolutely!
Now before I start this, remember I LOVE all things Disney, and these are my Opinions.
We paid for a savannah view room which we got. 4327. It had a queen and 2 bunk beds. a 20yo and 17 yo don't fit in a bunk bed! when it saw this, I told them i'd get us another room, but they didn't want to sleep in the same bed again. They tossed all night.but wouldn't switch. They were so tired at this point, they could sleep on a rock!
our mattresses were horrible. you could feel the metal springs. Maybe I was spoiled by the heavenly beds at the Swan, but ouch, those beds were bad!
The room was small, and dark, but I loved it for the 2 days we were there. We were ready for the cool darkness,and the whole feel of the resort.it was at the end of a 10 day trip. But I can't imagine staying there longer than 3 days. (But that is just me.)
We got towel animals, and mousekeeping was excellent. our coffee maker didn't work, and they were there within minutes. all of the staff was friendlier than I had anticipated and eager to share stories.
We did see animals from our balcony, and it was great fun to watch the zebras while drinking my coffee at 6 am, but there were many times you just saw nothing. We spent all afternoon in the room on friday ( AK day, we went in the am, and just wore out from the heat) and so had the oppurtunity to see quite a few , but they were mostly resting in the shade. At the 4th floor, you are at treetop level, and unless they come close to you, you see a lot of legs! I went out taking pix while they took naps. I felt so isolated though, after an hour or so of picture taking and exploring, I was wishing I was at the sSwan, so I could walk over to shop at epcot, or go to mgm or one of the many places to eat at the boardwalk
The best pix I got was from the 2nd floor outdoor stairwells!
If we ever stay again, I'll skip the savanah view, there are plenty of places to see animals. or stay at another resort, make Boma reservations, come an hour early and stay an hour late!
The pool. Again, the water was so warm, we all went in when we arrived for a few minutes, and didn't go back. There were chairs galore,and we tried to just sit by the pool with our cokes, but the heat was too much. I thought it was nice enough, but it was just too hot to enjoy.
Now, I grew up in florida and go back every July to see family. I have dealt with the heat and humidity all my life, but it was rough this time.I don't remember the pool water ever being so warm you couldn't swim. It just wasn't refreshing at all. It was great at night however, but we only had the chance to do that once. Maybe turning 50 has been harder than I thought
I asked when I checked in if it would be all right if my sis and her 2 kids could swim, and the check in guy basically told me that would be ok. but after they all checked the temp, the skipped it. They have their own pool, so it was no big deal to them. They did the night vision goggles and loved that , also the story telling. They all loved Boma's for dinner! It was really good as usual.(see my dining reviews)
I think AKL is one of those places that is just very personal to people. Every person will experience it differently.
Like I said in the beginning, I'm glad I did it, I have no complaints, I loved the time I was there, except for the bed. but I'd rather stay at the Swan.
I haven't noticed anyone else say anything re the pool water temp, so maybe it was just me and my family, and someone else may have not thought it was so bad.
) in hopes of finding cool wildlife to view.
We stayed at AKL when it first opened and we had a savannah view room also. We were on the 2nd floor and did see many animals. We loved the theming, the CM's and the shop and restaurants are awesome! I doubt we would ever stay there again though. We love to rent bikes, boats and to have more than a bus for a transportation choice. We had a HA room (not requested but was okay) so I think our room was a little larger than the norm but, I also found it to be very dark. So when we go this year we are going to spend about 4 hours there and then go back to our room at the Boardwalk. It is an awesome experience to feel like your actually in Africa but when I am at Disney I want to feel like I am at Disney! I would recommend everyone to try it once though, at least for a couple of days. 
