The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge

[heartbeeps]

We just returned from a 4 night stay at AKL (5/2-5/6/08). Here are my thoughts...

THE GOOD
- the savanna view (Arusha/Zebra trail near pool elevator) was excellent (any closer to Arusha rock & you wouldn't be able to see as much; any further out & it looks like a REALLY long walk to the lobby!)
- the balcony was big enough to walk out on & I liked being on the 2nd floor b'c I was under the tree tops for better animal viewing
- the animals were close enough that I never thought I needed to hike to Arusha rock to see them
- the night vision monocular was cool (we saw a giraffe sleeping)
- the room was nice - a bit "tight" if you've got a walker (forget a wheelchair) but otherwise acceptable
- the lobby was exotic and beautiful (although Wilderness lodge is more our "style")
- the parking lot was close by the entrance so it wasn't far to walk
- the pool looked inviting and there were chairs available - I just NEVER got a chance to sit on one!
- the private afternoon safari was expensive but put us within arms reach of giraffes! plus, having seen all 3 savannas on the private safari, I'm really glad we were on the Arusha savanna. (The Uzima savanna had a baby giraffe but she was really far away from the rooms so I'm not sure folks in that area of the hotel saw baby too often. There was also a baby zebra - I think on Uzima savanna too.)
- Meeting for drinks at Victoria Falls lounge worked well and Jiko's for dinner was wonderful (never got a chance to try Bomas).

THE BAD
- a savanna view room is expensive - hindsight being 20/20... as active as we were, we should've just gotten a pool view room and used the alcove areas to view the animals enhanced with the private safari tour!
- our room wasn't ready when we checked in but they told us it would be by 3pm... then at 3pm they told us it would be between 3 & 6pm (they didn't have any other rooms to move us into b'c they were sold out) - do the rules change as the time ticks on or what?
- we never got our room made up one day (we got back ~2pm and it wasn't done by then and we really needed to rest since we were up at 430am so we hung the do not disturb sign out at that point and pulled it off around 5pm); never a phone call/no turn down service - nothing!
- for a deluxe hotel the amenities were scant! compared to other deluxe hotels (but still a big improvement over the value resorts at Disney)
- the counter service at Mara didn't offer as many options as the counter service at All Stars Movies
- never rec'd a bill hanging from our door the day of our departure - waited in line for at least 30 minutes for the lone clerk to check out everyone in front of me!

THE UGLY
- the line for check-in and check-out was too long so AKL wasn't magical coming or going! (talk about a bad first impression and a bad last impression - geez )

Other
- We never heard any construction noise on the Arusha savanna. I will post pix of the villa construction in new posts below so you can see the construction stage they're in right now.

 

[kaysmommie]

Great review, thanks for posting .

 

[4everluvDisney]

Thanks for posting. Checking in to AKV on December 21.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I don't think there ever was an expectation that Mara would be equivalent to a Value or Moderate Food Court. With two full service restaurants, there isn't the need. You really won't find any deluxe resort with similar food courts to the values and moderates.

Curious to wonder what other deluxe amenities you were expecting.

 

[samiet620]

- the private afternoon safari was expensive but put us within arms reach of giraffes!

Hi, this private safari is interesting to me since my DS14 is an absolute animal nut. questions
1) How do you get in on this? (is there a link or something where I can get the info)
2)Can anyone do this or is it for those who stay atr that resort only?
Any info would be great,thanks!

 

[raven69david]

- the private afternoon safari was expensive but put us within arms reach of giraffes!

Hi, this private safari is interesting to me since my DS14 is an absolute animal nut. questions
1) How do you get in on this? (is there a link or something where I can get the info)
2)Can anyone do this or is it for those who stay atr that resort only?
Any info would be great,thanks!

It's called the Wanyama Safari and it's for guests not staying in Concierge level. Do a search on Wanyama safari and you should come up with a detailed listing of the excursion. This is for AKL resort guests only.

 

[raven69david]

Here's the info I got on this excursion:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21086797&postcount=4

 

[tiger4me2]

Glad you enjoyed your trip to AKL. We leave May 13th for ours

 

[heartbeeps]

I don't think there ever was an expectation that Mara would be equivalent to a Value or Moderate Food Court. With two full service restaurants, there isn't the need. You really won't find any deluxe resort with similar food courts to the values and moderates.

Curious to wonder what other deluxe amenities you were expecting.

a refrigerator that was cool within 3 hours of arriving would have been nice - it took more than a day; called the desk & they said they'd send someone up to look at it - that person NEVER ARRIVED and we gave up! At least it got cold by day 2!

hand lotion would have been nice! I won't even go to the extreme of saying I'd like a shower cap in the room .

forget the amenities - just making the bed before 2pm would have been welcomed!

 

[heartbeeps]

Re -
1) How do you get in on this? (is there a link or something where I can get the info)
2)Can anyone do this or is it for those who stay atr that resort only?
Any info would be great,thanks![/QUOTE]

you must be a resort guest to participate. It's $210 for non-concierge level guests; $150pp for concierge level guests. They also have a morning safari that is ONLY open to concierge level guests but we felt it wasn't worth the astronomical add'l price to stay concierge level. For the Wanyama sunset safari, they'll take up to 12 people. The day we booked there was only one other couple with us. PM me if you'd like to see the pix.

OOPS just saw someone else replied. sorry for the duplicate post.

 

[Deb & Bill]

a refrigerator that was cool within 3 hours of arriving would have been nice - it took more than a day; called the desk & they said they'd send someone up to look at it - that person NEVER ARRIVED and we gave up! At least it got cold by day 2!

hand lotion would have been nice! I won't even go to the extreme of saying I'd like a shower cap in the room .

forget the amenities - just making the bed before 2pm would have been welcomed!

We usually stay at DVC resorts. Once we had a refrigerator that I thought wasn't working (we had just arrived). I called maintenance immediately and someone was over in our room checking it out within 30 minutes. Did you have the option of calling maintenance instead of the front desk?

As for hand lotion, most of the hand lotion I've gotten in other hotel rooms is pretty darn stinky and greasy. I guess I just bring my own and if there is some in the room, I might try it but it's not a deal breaker for me.

Shower cap? What's a shower cap?

As for the bed, well, with DVC, we make our one bed every morning, except if we are getting a full cleaning that day. Again, not much of a deal breaker for me. I personally like it that housekeeping isn't coming to my room every day, just every fourth day (and most of them just to replace the towels and empty the trash). Are you saying your room was never cleaned before 2PM every day or just the day you came back to take a nap? I travel for business on a regular basis and I know I hate it when I go back to my room at lunch time to watch All My Children and the room hasn't been cleaned yet.

Something I have done is called Housekeeping when we left for the parks to let them know our room was available to be cleaned if they wanted to get it done and out of the way.

 

[dddisrunner]

Sorry to hear your experience wasn't as magical as you expected. It is funny how different individual experiences can be. We were there from 4/20-4/30 and thought the resort was gorgeous and the amenities plenty. We "only" had a standard view and were really OK with it as there are PLENTY of other places to view the animals. Our fridge worked perfectly. We had plenty of the H2O spa line products, shampoo,conditioner and lotion. Our room was made up by the time we arrived back at the resort everyday, whether it was 1pm or 10pm. Our "mousekeeper" was terrific. I agree that the seleection at Mara is slimmer compared to the values but as a previous poster mentioned it is because of the 2 full service restaurants that are there. All the deluxes are like that. Hopefully you will give AKL another shot. You just seemed to be unlucky. Did you talk to mgmnt regarding your fridge? As far as the check in/check out lines, AKL is on par to every other resort. When we were at the Poly for dinner during our stay there were at least 35 people in line waiting As you can tell I am a huge AKL fan and just wanted to show how different our experience was from yours.

 

[texasgirl73]

Thanks for sharing. Glad to see the ugly list was so short, I'm staying at AKL in July....and the bad is all stuff I can deal with.

 

[auntfrannie]

In general the amenities at any deluxe disney resort really aren't what I expect from a deluxe resort. When I stay at Embassy Suites (which is definitely not a deluxe hotel), they leave bottled water (free), cotton balls, qtips, shoe shine cloth, and shower cap in addition to the shampoo, conditioner and body lotion.

I also had problems with AKL housekeeping when I stayed there a few years ago. That's the reason I don't even consider staying there again even thought I think the resort is beautiful.

 

[earthelves]

In general the amenities at any deluxe disney resort really aren't what I expect from a deluxe resort. When I stay at Embassy Suites (which is definitely not a deluxe hotel), they leave bottled water (free), cotton balls, qtips, shoe shine cloth, and shower cap in addition to the shampoo, conditioner and body lotion.

I also had problems with AKL housekeeping when I stayed there a few years ago. That's the reason I don't even consider staying there again even thought I think the resort is beautiful.

I'm Staying At Embassy Suites Jamaican Court /I Drive Next Yr & I Will Look Forward To These "Freebies" Thanks For The Info

 

[heartbeeps]

Did you have the option of calling maintenance instead of the front desk?

no, we assumed the front desk was following through with our request when they stated: "We'll send someone up to look at it." (I explained we had Rx meds that needed to be refrigerated but that didn't do anything either - we ended up giving the meds to another family member in another room after giving up on action from the hotel! )

As for hand lotion, most of the hand lotion I've gotten in other hotel rooms is pretty darn stinky and greasy. I guess I just bring my own and if there is some in the room, I might try it but it's not a deal breaker for me.

I didn't mean to imply it was a deal breaker - it's just that I felt it wasn't up to the caliber of a "DELUXE" resort anywhere else I have ever stayed. Basic amenities missing!

As for the bed, well, with DVC, we make our one bed every morning, except if we are getting a full cleaning that day. Again, not much of a deal breaker for me. I personally like it that housekeeping isn't coming to my room every day, just every fourth day (and most of them just to replace the towels and empty the trash). Are you saying your room was never cleaned before 2PM every day or just the day you came back to take a nap? I travel for business on a regular basis and I know I hate it when I go back to my room at lunch time to watch All My Children and the room hasn't been cleaned yet.

Again, not a deal breaker but if I had known that housekeeping was so slow, I wouldn't have thrown my wet towels on the floor! The thought of reusing them at that point was repulsive! And, looking for a housekeeper cart after our little nap proved too late! I don't know about every day, I just know about the day I left at 5:30am and returned ~2ish it was still a mess. Sure, I can make my own bed and do so 360 days a year, but I'm paying for a DELUXE resort so my expectations are a little higher. Maybe I'm just too darned demanding, expecting lotion, a shower cap, clean towels & a made bed, and a refrigerator that works along with a responsive front desk.

Something I have done is called Housekeeping when we left for the parks to let them know our room was available to be cleaned if they wanted to get it done and out of the way.

yes, you're right, I'll need to be more proactive next time and not expect from Disney what I routinely get from a Hilton or Marriott or Hyatt. I guess there's "deluxe" and then there's "DELUXE" and Disney has their own definition.

 

[heartbeeps]

Did you talk to mgmnt regarding your fridge? As far as the check in/check out lines, AKL is on par to every other resort. When we were at the Poly for dinner during our stay there were at least 35 people in line waiting

talked to the front desk, expected them to keep the commitment they made around 830pm; when they didn't show by 10pm, I just went to my back up plan - one of the other 18 family members' rooms and asked for space in their fridge (at that point, I just wanted to go to bed and didn't want them knocking on my door; I thought 90 minutes was a reasonable amount of time). But no need to worry about that as I never received a phone call, and apology or a follow-up! (and, by the next afternoon, the fridge was up to coolness.)

The clerk at check out said I needed to do something at check in to prevent having to stand in that line. I told him I provided by credit card and authorized charging privileges so I wasn't sure what more I could have needed to do. It would have cut down on the line if the clerks were more explicit at check in on what to do at check out to prevent needless waiting in line.

Interesting, too, I NEVER saw a guest comment card anywhere in the room or in the lobby.