Our First Visit to Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas July 2010

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OK, I am going to try to assemble something close to a trip report. I will probably throw some food reviews in along the way as well. Don't expect anything too detailed, just my thoughts regarding our first visit to AKV.

The Details

Arrival: July 24, 2010
Departure: July 31, 2010
Accommodations: AKV Savanna View Deluxe Studio - Jambo House

The Traveling Party

DS (9): My son always enjoys our trips to Disney. His favorite park is the Magic Kingdom. His favorite ride, by far, is BTMRR. This is his third trip to WDW. He is entering fourth grade this school year. His Asperger's Syndrome makes visiting the parks, well, interesting.

DD (11): The princess of the group. Unfortunately, she acts like she IS a princess. She bought her own tiara on this trip. Her favorite park is HS, where she loves TSM. She is going into sixth grade.

DW (Age withheld so I may continue to walk this earth): My wife works with pregnant and parenting teens. It's pretty stressful and she doesn't get paid vacation; she has to load up on hours before and after vacation just to keep us afloat. We have been to WDW together eight times. She loves all of the parks. Her favorite ride is Rock 'n Roller Coaster.

Me (38): I am entering my thirteenth year as a teacher at a public high school. My favorite park is HS. It's a toss-up between RNRC and TOT as to my favorite ride.

My father and stepmother also went along, but they stayed in their own studio. We spent most of the time with them, but this TR will focus mostly on the experience of my nuclear family. I may mention dad a few times, but think of him as a supporting character.

Next up, first impressions of AKV, on-line check-in and our studio...

 

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MAGICAL EXPRESS

Our flight from BWI pulled up to its gate at about 2:45 PM, right on schedule. We made our way to the B side of the terminal and headed down to the first level. The Magical Express area was pretty well deserted. Only a handful of people were waiting at the counter. About 20 were waiting in the queues to the coaches. We were behind a family of four in the AKL line. We waited no more than three minutes before we were escorted to our ride.

Others had already been loaded on the bus. The driver loaded our carryon bags. Once we were seated, the driver hopped on and said that he was ready to go. Great timing!

After stops at Caribbean Beach and Pop Century, we were on our way to AKV. We arrived at AKV Jambo House at approximately 3:45 PM.


ONLINE CHECK IN

This is the third time I have used online check in. The first, last year at SSR, went very well. In Nov. 2009 we used it to check in to BCV. Awesome and super-fast. This time? Eh, not so great.

My dad also checked in online. He decided to cut in front of me because he also needed to buy his park passes. Fine. He went to the CM on the right. I was waiting for the CM on the left; she was helping another guest check in. It sure took a long time. My dad finished in less than three minutes. Before I could dart over to the open CM, another guest (who checked in right before my dad) jumped the line to complain that his accommodations were not up to Disney standards. There goes that line.

So I'm still waiting for the CM on the left to finish up. The guest was providing credit cards, asking questions about buses, park hours, everything you could imagine. It turns out that the CM allowed the guest to check in at the online counter even though she had not checked in online. That was the slow down.

When I finally made it to the counter, I noticed the CM was "earning her ears." Oh boy. She tried to do the full check in with me as well. Another CM stopped her by handing her my folder. "Remember, if a guest has checked in online all you need to do is check a photo ID." "Oh, OK. That's much easier!"

So, not a great experience there. All-in-all it took me about 15 minutes to get checked in, even though I was the next guest in line. My wife took the kids to the gift shop while I was checking in.


FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I had never been to AKL before. It is obvious that the architect who designed the Wilderness Lodge also designed AKL. The main section of the building has a very similar feel, although the layout is more confusing. The lobby is on the third floor, the bar and savanna observation area is on the second, restaurants and pool are on the first floor. It is much more labyrinthine than WL.

Many have complained that AKL is too dark. The only truly dark spots I found were outside of Victoria Falls lounge and on the stairway from the lobby to the first floor. It's certainly not a bright resort, but I think it's unfair to call it dark.

The theme is carried out even more effectively than that of the WL, if that's possible. It seems that no detail was spared. Kudos!


Up next, our savanna view studio...