Tell me I won't be disappointed

[stitchlover]

So our trip is in 19 days and we will be staying at AKL this trip for the first time. My DH and DD are sooooo excited but I just keep thinking this resort is going to be a beating. AK is not our favorite park so we won't be spending the majority of our time there. I just keep thinking that the transportation to everywhere is going to take a year and a half and we are going to spend all our time on buses. We have paid for a savana (sp?) view so that will be nice. But we will be arriving later in the day then usual. We don't even land until after 4pm so I keep thinking that by the time we arrive all the good rooms are going to be gone and we are going to have a view of half savana/half parking lot.

Tell me this is going to be just fine, please!

 

[dalt01]

you are a BUSY little stitchlover today arent you........we had a savannah (correct spelling) view. not a parking lot in sight.....they would get run over and you would get poop on your shoes.

 

[stitchlover]

you are a BUSY little stitchlover today arent you........we had a savannah (correct spelling) view. not a parking lot in sight.....they would get run over and you would get poop on your shoes.

I know...sorry. I almost said I know this is my third thread this morning. I will go weeks without posting and then I have time to sit down and spend time here. Sorry! No one is awake this morning at home so I have some time to spend here.

 

[MinnieGarden]

You won't be disappointed. We stayed there for one night last summer before a cruise and it was fabulous. The savannah view is totally worth it. We came back to dinner and found a giraffe outside our room taking a bath! In the morning we woke up to find zebras outside. It was quite a treat for our 6 year old.

I can't speak for the transportation as we got on the cruise ship the next morning, but I will say budget plenty of time for the resort itself. There are several savannah overlooks where you can see lots of animals as well as tons of kid activities. Enjoy!

 

[doconeill]

I don't think it is really as bad as it is made out to be. Yes, AKL is at the extreme corner of the property, but we're talking about minutes difference.

As for checking in and the "good" rooms, checking in early doesn't mean anything either. But I have every expectation to think our situation was unique in this though, and yours will not be like this, so I won't recount it here again. But they did reclassify rooms so there will be fewer disappointments...and there are no SV rooms in view of a parking lot.

 

[dalt01]

I know...sorry. I almost said I know this is my third thread this morning. I will go weeks without posting and then I have time to sit down and spend time here. Sorry! No one is awake this morning at home so I have some time to spend here.

you are excited and i dont blame you POST AWAY.........................

 

[dalt01]

We came back to dinner and found a giraffe outside our room taking a bath!

bubble?

 

[doconeill]

We came back to dinner and found a giraffe outside our room taking a bath!

bubble?

"Hey, I'm taking a bath here! Do you mind?"

 

[MinnieGarden]

"Hey, I'm taking a bath here! Do you mind?"

I have to say it was interesting to watch.....

 

[stitchlover]

I don't think it is really as bad as it is made out to be. Yes, AKL is at the extreme corner of the property, but we're talking about minutes difference.

As for checking in and the "good" rooms, checking in early doesn't mean anything either. But I have every expectation to think our situation was unique in this though, and yours will not be like this, so I won't recount it here again. But they did reclassify rooms so there will be fewer disappointments...and there are no SV rooms in view of a parking lot.

Thanks for the information. I had a friend who loved her first stay at AKL and had a horrible experience her second time and swore she would never stay at this resort again. We honestly have never had a problem with any of the hotels we have stayed at on property. Didn't really care for the Polynesian but there wasn't anything wrong with it. It just didn't appeal to our family.

My husband says if I don't have anything to obsess over I'm not happy. So maybe I will just try to put this on the back burner and go with it. If I'm worried about it not being a good choice I will be looking for things to be disappointed about when we arrive.

 

[kbelle8995]

Actually I've stayed At AKL and loved it. It is one of my favorite resorts. Partially because of the African storytellers and cast members talking about their country. Plus going out early in morning and watching the animals receive their breakfast is a wonderful experience.

 

[stepdisney]

Stayed at AKL 2008 and Kidani 2009. We loved it. The resort doesn't share with any other (Just Jambo and Kidani). We never had a problem with transportation. We love this resort. If it rains, this resort has the most fun activities IMO. Every night there is a story teller at the fire pit and you can even view the animals with night glasses. They have, IMO three of the best dining venues on property with Sanaa, Boma and Jiko. It was almost like having 2 vacations, one Disney, the other an exotic African Safari. Enjoy yourself. (and you never have to explain posting, I've been on all day!)

 

[tickledtink33]

You will love AKL. It is one of my favorites. I agree that transportation isn't as bad as folks make it out to be. What I find interesting is that folks complain about the transportation times from AKL but not the transportation times from the All Star Resorts which are just across the way from the lodge. I wouldn't let what others are saying worry you.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

you are a BUSY little stitchlover today arent you........we had a savannah (correct spelling) view. not a parking lot in sight.....they would get run over and you would get poop on your shoes.

ACTUALLY, it is more properly "savanna" when referring to the African grassland (although "savannah" is a perfectly acceptable alternate spelling)...there is a city in Georgia that is correctly spelled "Savannah".

I mean, SINCE we are correcting each other's spelling....

 

[DUHgreg]

From our room at Kidani, we have zebra, cattle and giraffe outside right now.
The only possible problem is the walk to the room. We're pretty far out. Jambo is the same. Other than that, no problems. Savanna view means just that. Animals galore.

Enjoy the prep work and don't sweat the small stuff.

Check out the daily events at the resort. We're hoping to do one of the tours tomorrow. Lost at poolside bingo today.

 

[doconeill]

Savanna view means just that. Animals galore.

And that is the problem we had...and why I believe that was one of the rooms that is no longer a Savanna View...

Not a single giraffe seen all week. Two ostriches, and an eland. And the eland even left after a couple days. The area of view was very small compared to most of the rooms as it looked back on the main lodge and had an external staircase next to it blocking any view towards where most of the animals stayed. I saw more of the people taking breaks from working on Kidani than animals.

The hallways had a better view.

 

[cj9200]

We have stayed at AKL twice and will be at Jambo AKV in June. Never had more of a problem with the buses than any of the other resorts. It might take a few more minutes. We drive up so if it was a major problem I would have taken the car. That was pre Kadani opening but I suspect it is pretty much the same.

Loved both of our savanna views. We are past the commando stage at the parks so when we headed back to the room, DD would go out on the balcony to watch the animals while I took a nap. They also have tons of activities to do. At night there is an area where they have night vision goggles. Try to catch that. Have lots of fun.

 

[dalt01]

We have paid for a savana (sp?) view

we had a savannah (correct spelling) view.

ACTUALLY, it is more properly "savanna" when referring to the African grassland (although "savannah" is a perfectly acceptable alternate spelling)...there is a city in Georgia that is correctly spelled "Savannah".

I mean, SINCE we are correcting each other's spelling....

OP was actually asking to be corrected...........i provided a service to her............you however were just being...............well.............you.

 

[jimmiej]

Hey stitchlover, looks like we'll be there at the same time. We arrive on the 14th. I'll be the one wearing the lime green DIS lanyard.

 

[HomerHog]

We had some long waits and very short waits for buses at AKL, no different than any other resort. AKL is perceived to be far away from everything because of its remote location and distance from MK. However, if you take the travel chart in the Unofficial Guide and add together the travel time for one trip to each park, AKL has one of the lower total travel times on property.