Noise at AKL: unbearable!

[raven69david]

The noise today was unbearable! The hammering sound of something reverberated in our room. I had contacted Guest Relations several months ago to ensure that we would not be placed close to the construction. Guest Relations contacted me and upgraded us for free from a standard view room to Savannah view room. Guest what they did? They upgraded us from standard view to Savannah view, but they put us in the KUDU TRAIL: ARUSHA SAVANNAH!!!! This is basically right next door to the construction site. I would have been better off in a standard view room. I'm in room 2257 http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/DAKLMap.pdf I'd call back and move, but all of our clothes has been unpacked and don't want to go through the hassle of repacking everything and moving. PLUS, the view is gawd awful. Nothing but weeds and concrete/rocks to look at. No animals, for the exception of a few ugly looking birds, which look like ostriches (i don't have the animal guide map in front of me to properly name it). Guest Relations will get a scathing letter from me soon. Hard to have a two 3 year olds woken up by the construction noise and then being fussy for the rest of the day.

EDIT:

Forgot to include that a letter was left in the room by mousekeeping this morning apologizing for the consruction. Goes onto say when it will be completed and apologizes for the inconvenience. I'm taking two tired and fussy 3 year olds to whomever wrote this letter.

 

[DVCLiz]

The way to deal with this situation is to calmly approach the front desk and ask to see a manager. Explain that the noise is unacceptable and ask to be moved. It's not the AKL staff's fault that you don't like to pack your things up - moving you is the only way to resolve the situation, and if you are not willing to do that then in my opinion you have no right to write anyone a scathing letter.

Go and take care of the situation calmly WHILE IT IS HAPPENING, instead of tolerating it and being angry. That is the reasonable solution to your problem.

 

[DVC Mike]

Wow, that's not good!

We just got back from a visit to AKL. We were in a room on the Zebra trail overlooking the Uzima Savanna, and there were lots of animals and it was extremely peaceful and quiet. I never heard any construction sounds or saw any constructiion materials.

 

[kapoof]

it sounds like it would have been REALLY worth it to pack up and move. it is just a little common sense, what is worse a few minutes packing up some suit cases or not sleeping all night with hammering going on?

 

[DVCLiz]

it sounds like it would have been REALLY worth it to pack up and move. it is just a little common sense, what is worse a few minutes packing up some suit cases or not sleeping all night with hammering going on?

kapoof, I think this is daytime construction noise. I'm not aware of any construction that takes place overnight.

Still, I agree that it's common sense.

 

[G8r4evr]

That is a bummer, but it was nice of them to upgrade you. If the noise is that bad, please, pack up and move...I dont think you will regret it.

 

[kapoof]

kapoof, I think this is daytime construction noise. I'm not aware of any construction that takes place overnight.

Still, I agree that it's common sense.

dvcliz the op complains about 3 years olds waking up and being fussy the rest of the day, so i assumed she meant noise at nite.

 

[wilderness01]

The way to deal with this situation is to calmly approach the front desk and ask to see a manager. Explain that the noise is unacceptable and ask to be moved. It's not the AKL staff's fault that you don't like to pack your things up - moving you is the only way to resolve the situation, and if you are not willing to do that then in my opinion you have no right to write anyone a scathing letter.

Go and take care of the situation calmly WHILE IT IS HAPPENING, instead of tolerating it and being angry. That is the reasonable solution to your problem.

I agree.

 

[DVCLiz]

dvcliz the op complains about 3 years olds waking up and being fussy the rest of the day, so i assumed she meant noise at nite.

No, I think the construction starts in the morning, and that the OP's children were woken up by the hammering. They wouldn't make that kind of noise during the night - too many guests would be inconvenienced. They do it during the daytime so that most guests will be out and at the parks.

I agree it is a nuisance but the proper way to deal with it is to ask to be moved, not to complain in a letter after the fact.

 

[kapoof]

No, I think the construction starts in the morning, and that the OP's children were woken up by the hammering. They wouldn't make that kind of noise during the night - too many guests would be inconvenienced. They do it during the daytime so that most guests will be out and at the parks.

I agree it is a nuisance but the proper way to deal with it is to ask to be moved, not to complain in a letter after the fact.

i see..

 

[RachelTori]

Construction is going to be "24 hours 'round the clock" but I didn't think that was due to begin until sometime after the first of the year!!!

raven69david, please request a Manager deal with your problem right away. Don't let this ruin what should be a magical vacation for you and your family.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

While it is a pain to have to pack up everything, it is common sense to get this resolved ASAP. Speak with a manager on site to get the situation resolved. If they claim they can't help ask them to get Guest Relations on the phone. While it isn't fun to do this with a fussy child (and as a single mom I have had to more often than not resolve hotel issues with a manager while a fussy child is next to me) it is better to get it resolved face-to-face now rather than suffer though what should be a wonderful vacation time with you and your family.

It was nice of them to upgrade you to Savannah view. However, the CM who did that may not have been exactly in the 'know' about the effect of the construction noise. Managers are more empowered to help you with this.

Hope your stay gets better. We check into the AKL in 8 days!

 

[raven69david]

I wish i could take a video and post it here to demonstrate the noise levels right now. I'm sitting on the balcony and all you hear is deisel-powered trucks, the beeping of the construction equipment when they back up, etc. There are no animals on our side of the resort as the construction is scaring them off i guess. There's a truck right now putting out browse, but the animals still don't come. It might as well be a standard view room with a balcony.

As for dealing with this issue, i'll be talking with a manager about it, and you better believe that no matter the outcome, a letter WILL be sent to Guest Relations. I did request to be moved during check-in to a different part of the hotel when i was showed on the map where we would be staying, but there are no other savannah view rooms or standard view rooms on the other side of the resort left when we checked in.

I wrote them in August about this situation and needed to ensure that i wouldn't be placed on the side of the resort with construction as others had already reported excessive noise in the morning. This is great for families with older kids that wake up excited to see Mickey and leave early, but 3 year olds need more time to recover. DD3 and nephew 3 don't wake up until after 9 or 10am usually. Now they go to bed at about 12:00am or so as they love touring the resort and have to be woken up a little after 7am everyday due to the noise.

The guy at the front desk read the notes by GR and did the exact opposite. He probably got pissy cuz i started asking him about the bounceback deal and i had to "educate" him on what that was. He said a bounceback offer didn't exist. I took my bounceback letter to him to show him what i was talking about later, but after the fact that we were assigned an awful room.

Anyone in the Arusha savannah facing the east side of the resort with the odd room numbers is getting this beautiful view of a barren savannah. The most impressive wildlife we've seen so far is a lizard and an ostrich-like bird.

 

[lilyv]

Can't imagine why OP wouldn't want to talk to the manager and move. A letter in a couple of months won't make a difference. It's, maybe, an hour of inconvenience to change hotel rooms.

 

[JennSaint]

I wish i could take a video and post it here to demonstrate the noise levels right now. I'm sitting on the balcony and all you hear is deisel-powered trucks, the beeping of the construction equipment when they back up, etc. There are no animals on our side of the resort as the construction is scaring them off i guess. There's a truck right now putting out browse, but the animals still don't come. It might as well be a standard view room with a balcony.

As for dealing with this issue, i'll be talking with a manager about it, and you better believe that no matter the outcome, a letter WILL be sent to Guest Relations. I did request to be moved during check-in to a different part of the hotel when i was showed on the map where we would be staying, but there are no other savannah view rooms or standard view rooms on the other side of the resort left when we checked in.

I wrote them in August about this situation and needed to ensure that i wouldn't be placed on the side of the resort with construction as others had already reported excessive noise in the morning. This is great for families with older kids that wake up excited to see Mickey and leave early, but 3 year olds need more time to recover. DD3 and nephew 3 don't wake up until after 9 or 10am usually. Now they go to bed at about 12:00am or so as they love touring the resort and have to be woken up a little after 7am everyday due to the noise.

The guy at the front desk read the notes by GR and did the exact opposite. He probably got pissy cuz i started asking him about the bounceback deal and i had to "educate" him on what that was. He said a bounceback offer didn't exist. I took my bounceback letter to him to show him what i was talking about later, but after the fact that we were assigned an awful room.

Anyone in the Arusha savannah facing the east side of the resort with the odd room numbers is getting this beautiful view of a barren savannah. The most impressive wildlife we've seen so far is a lizard and an ostrich-like bird.

Quite honestly you should pack your stuff and move. I'm sure a room will have opened up since you have checked-in. Why tolerate the noise and be miserable your entire trip??

 

[koobs]

I'm a little confused. Isn't room 2257 on the Sunset Savanna? We had a room on the Kudu Trail Arusha Savanna last year and we never saw any ostrich type birds there. I'm not trying to be nitpicky or anything. Just want to clear up my confusion .

 

[DVCLiz]

If you are keeping 3 year olds up until midnight, then I think that is the problem. Disney has designed this construction so that the fewest number of guests will be impacted. They are not counting on little ones being up that late and needing to sleep in in total quiet. Most of the families I know who have children that age are up and 'at em well before 9:00am. I'm sorry that your particular situation is being negatively affected - it's just a question of what's best (ie least bothersome) for the entire group staying at the resort.

Look at it this way - in a few years you will be able to return with older kids and you will enjoy the lovely amenities of the new resort!!!

 

[ElizabethB]

Enough with blaming the victim. The answer lies with Disney -- don't "upgrade" people to a room right next to the construction! Disney's the one who will make millions from the new DVC units. Disney owes it to guests to make sure they aren't affected by the construction noise. Or, alternatively, Disney needs to simply close down the hotel while they do the renovations. If my stay were interrupted by unwelcome construction noise, I would never return to the hotel to enjoy the "amenities" constructed at my expense. Gees!

 

[magicaldisney]

If you're thinking of switching rooms, you might even want to see if you could switch resorts (not sure there is room anywhere, but maybe worth a shot) . I quite honestly don't understand why you didn't switch resorts back in August when you had so many concerns. I don't think you'll be happy at AKL at this point.

 

[luckytobeme88]

We will be going to AKL this coming July and knew well ahead that there's ongoing construction. There is plenty of warning about the noise from the the DISboards postings. Come on!