Just got back! Any questions about CBR or AKL???

[stellablue]

We did a split-stay with CBR and AKL.

Would be happy to answer any questions you might have!

 

[IMDORY]

We are going to be at ALK for the first time ever for at least 5 nights this August. We rented DVC points and are waitlisted for 2 of 7 nights for AKL-so if the waitlist doesn't pan out we may be doing a SSR/AKL split stay. I've never done a split stay-how did it work out for you? Did you have the resorts transfer your luggage?

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm sure everybody would love an update on the construction at both the CBR and AKL. Do you have any pictures you can post?

 

[stellablue]

I highly recommend a split-stay. We loved getting to experience two hotels in one trip and they make the transfer ridiculously easy!!

Between Magical Express and the wonderful bell hop services, I literally did not touch my bags from the moment I checked into the airport upon arrival until I stepped off the plane when our vacation ended

All you do is call Bell Services and they will come within the hour. Let them know where you are transferring to and when you arrive at your new hotel, let them know you transferred luggage and the bell hop will bring them to your room-easy as pie! We went to MK all day that day until EMH at night and they held our luggage all day until we got to the resort at night.

We loved AKL! We noticed there are several DVC rooms overlooking the lobby, which is so beautiful!

 

[IMDORY]

That's great! We are soooo excited to stay there!

 

[stellablue]

I'm sure everybody would love an update on the construction at both the CBR and AKL. Do you have any pictures you can post?

Hah! I was waiting for that question Sure, I'd be happy to

I will have pics posted this weekend-we just got our Photobucket account and will be posting our pics-***If anyone can post or PM me info on how to post pics on the Disboards, it would be much appreciated!

For now, here's an overview:

CBR: The main pool is completely closed off, though you can see a bit of those castle towers. They have kept the pool bar open. It was a bit of an eye sore having the pool closed, but there were still plenty of people sitting outside and the fountain is pretty. There are plenty of smaller pools around this resort, but I didn't notice many people using them.

AKL: You CANNOT see the construction unless you are staying at the Sunset Savannah. We stayed at the Arusha Savannah/Zebra Trail located on the west side. We did not hear any construction at all during our stay. We did visit the Sunset Savannah in the afternoon of our last day (Wednesday) and there was no construction going on in action. We saw a giraffe right up close and he stayed there for quite a while. Overall, I would NOT recommend staying at the Sunset Savannah during the construction. Reason being is the savannah looks a bit ill maintained and the construction site does cause for an eye sore and ruins the back drop for photos. That said, this looks like it is going to be amazing once the construction is complete.

I also want to mention that, even though the Arusha Savannah is highly recommended, our section wasn't the best for animal viewing. This was our first time and we did see some great animals from our balcony-mostly zebras, ankole cattle, and crane birds, they seemed to frequent the east side of arusha rock much more. I think next time, I would choose the Uzima Savannah, as we saw a ton of animals including giraffes there. We were there for night vision too and saw a ton. I should also mention that a CM told us that they are constantly rotating the animals around the different savannahs, so you never know what you are going to see.

Overall, unless you are big swimmers, the construction was not too bad at CBR. We didn't hear anything disruptive while we were there. We are not big swimmers, so we didn't mind the construction...just wasn't the prettiest thing to sit near while sitting outside.

Overall, I would definately NOT let the construction at AKL deter anyone from staying at this wonderful resort. It was an amazing, beautiful, and probably the most unique resort at WDW! Unless you are staying in the Sunset Savannah, you will not notice or hear it at all. I would also put in a request to NOT stay at Sunset. Seems like you don't get as much for your money there, due to the background viewing.

Anymore questions, feel free to ask!

 

[jrmo]

How was the transportation at AKL? We're booked there for December.
Also, do you think all of the construction will be indoors by that point?
TIA!

 

[stellablue]

How was the transportation at AKL? We're booked there for December.
Also, do you think all of the construction will be indoors by that point?
TIA!

Hi there!

Well, buses were just ok. They were on time, but you really have to keep in mind how far away you are from the other theme parks when scheduling your day. We only ran into a problem during our very first day when we were trying to make it to MK for rope drop. This was really our fault though-we should have checked the bus schedules before heading out. Each park bus tends to come every 20 minutes throughout the day. It seemed like they took different routes each times, as we timed AKL to MK once at 18 minutes and MK to AKL another day was only 12 minutes. But I would NOT exclude staying at this resort because of the distance from parks. AKL is a very unique and enjoyable experience!

As mentioned, we didn't even notice the construction until we visited the Sunset Savannah so we didn't think to ask any CM about it. We did, however, see an advertisement for the AKL villas. I wish I could find it because it mentions when the construction will be completed. According to the rough drawing they had of the finished product-the new villas are going to be beautiful! It seemed to me that the only indoor construction they might do is maybe just connecting the current Sunset Savannah building to the new ones. There seems to be plenty of space over in the Sunset Savannah for adding on, it looks like they are going to be building outward, rather than inward if that makes any sense.

We did by the way notice several DVC rooms on the 4th or 5th floor overlooking the lobby. These were currently in use.

There are no signs or need to be doing any construction in the AKL lobby area. Everything looks brand new!

Feel free to ask any more questions!
I didn't

 

[mickeystoontown]

I am soooo computer illiterate but was able to start posting pictures after downloading them to www.photobucket.com. You will download the pictures and follow the simple steps. I puts your pictures into several different formats one of which is the kind you can post on discussion boards. You just copy that one and then paste it onto these boards. Simple as pie. If I can do it, anybody can do it.