We are going to AKL! Any tips?

[Ashley_Yasmin]

Hey Guys,

We are going to animal kingdom lodge for our honeymoon this year, we would love to hear what you think about the on site restaurants, which one is your favourite?

We just uploaded a video with our plans for the trip and a few questions that we have.

Hope you guys can help

 

[steviethegreat]

I looooove AKL. It's a WONDERFUL resort. Just the design is incredible. I've eaten breakfast at Boma and dinner at Jiko. We had bread service at Sanaa. We ate snacks at the Mara. Everything we ate was wonderful. Jiko is definitely a great signature restaurant and you wouldn't be sorry to eat there! Their signature dish is the Filet with Mac and Cheese. But I got the Bison Ribeye, I think, and it was one of the better steaks I've had on property.

We ate at Boma for breakfast. Their selection is AWESOME. Make sure you try the juice! (Is it Jungle Juice there? I can't remember.) They have a french toast bread pudding with caramelized pecans that is truly WONDERFUL. I went back for thirds. (And then waddled around the Animal Kingdom. It was so good.)

We had drinks at the lounge. We only had one drink, but they were good! If drinks are your thing, the theme is relatively simple. But the hotel is incredible all on its own. You can't get anything better than being right next to the restaurants with a pretty view outside and the little indoor river right next to it.

There's an indoor fire, which smells SO good when you walk in. And there is entertainment sometimes with drums and what not. The whole atmosphere of AKL is seriously wonderful. You really can't go wrong here.

If you don't mind waiting for your room, don't check in automatically online. I waited until I got to the hotel. Not only was my room ready, but I was upgraded to a Savanna view. That's not going to ALWAYS be the experience. It definitely doesn't happen for everyone or very often! But since you're going to be celebrating your honeymoon, that could happen! (Unless you've already booked for a view!)

I went to the Mara almost every day because I liked buying orange juice. They have a lot of different things to eat. I'd say they're one of the more adventurous counter-service meals on property. (Maybe I'm confused though.) Their pizza was really good! I didn't care for their cookie selection, though. Otherwise, the Mara is great! Definitely try Zebra Domes if you haven't had that opportunity! (I can't watch your video, since I'm at work.)

Have an amazing time! Enjoy the fact that you don't have to go far from your room for amazing food!

 

[Ashley_Yasmin]

Thank you for such an informative response, this has got us both really excited! We're looking forward to trying all the restaurants and especially the zebra domes, they look tasty.

What was the transportation like there? Was it easy to get to the parks?

Many thanks

 

[stinkpickle]

We stayed Kidani a couple of months ago, and the bus service was just fine. Also, if you want to try the bread service at Sanaa without messing with getting a regular meal, they serve it in the lounge.

 

[Ashley_Yasmin]

We stayed Kidani a couple of months ago, and the bus service was just fine. Also, if you want to try the bread service at Sanaa without messing with getting a regular meal, they serve it in the lounge.

Thank you for the advice, we really want to try the bread service so will definately do that How long was a bus to the Magic Kingdom?

 

[stinkpickle]

Thank you for the advice, we really want to try the bread service so will definately do that How long was a bus to the Magic Kingdom?

I don't remember the bus ride to MK taking all that much longer than from some other resorts like POR. It could've been 5 or 10 minutes more, but certainly not long enough for me to notice.

 

[Ashley_Yasmin]

I don't remember the bus ride to MK taking all that much longer than from some other resorts like POR. It could've been 5 or 10 minutes more, but certainly not long enough for me to notice.

Thank you, thats really good to know as i was worried it would take much longer

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Honestly I was bracing for bus issues and a long ride to mk but it was not a problem at all.
We loved Boma bf as well. Especially that bread pudding! We did the latest ressie on an off day and it was relaxing. Pool bar service was great and decent food out there too. We loved it and I'm dying to go back! I found we cancelled a lot of ressie the day before because we knew we'd rather go back and hang out at the resort than head back out to a restaurant.
Even if u don't have a savanna view there are tons of placed inside and out to check out the animals.

 

[Ashley_Yasmin]

Honestly I was bracing for bus issues and a long ride to mk but it was not a problem at all.
We loved Boma bf as well. Especially that bread pudding! We did the latest ressie on an off day and it was relaxing. Pool bar service was great and decent food out there too. We loved it and I'm dying to go back! I found we cancelled a lot of ressie the day before because we knew we'd rather go back and hang out at the resort than head back out to a restaurant.
Even if u don't have a savanna view there are tons of placed inside and out to check out the animals.

Thank you for the advice. We want to try boma on our first night but are worried about booking it in advance just incase our flight gets delayed, would Boma be okay for a walk in? or does it need to be booked in advanced?

Thank you

 

[Princess Minnie321]

Congrats on your honeymoon! We have little kids so we only ate at the Mara, but the food was great and reasonable prices. We found the quality better at the Mara then the quick service places in the parks. The lobby is beautiful. Boma smelled so good and I heard their breakfast is delicious.

We had a great bus experience and the longest we waited was 15 minutes. A couple times we had long lines and two busses pulled up together. The ride to MK was about 20 minutes. Going to and from the MK, we had separate busses for Jambo and kindani. For HS, Epcot, and AK, we shared. They picked up Jambo and then kindani to go to the parks and coming back we dropped off at kindani first. HS and AK were short rides. Epcot was maybe 15 minutes.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Thank you for the advice. We want to try boma on our first night but are worried about booking it in advance just incase our flight gets delayed, would Boma be okay for a walk in? or does it need to be booked in advanced?

Thank you

I guess it all depends on the time you get in and if you're going during a busy time, etc. When you land you could always check the app and see if anything's available. I'd make a ressie for later in the trip, but try walk up on arrival. Maybe when you check in go right to Boma first to see about a table - might be an hr or so wait if you get lucky, give you time to check in, freshen up, etc. If it doesn't happen, well at least you have a back up ressie later in the week to go to.

Congrats on your upcoming Wedding and Honeymoon! I just watched your video and had to chuckle. My daughter whenever we travel talks with an accent. I think she did non stop first 2 days of our trip pretending she was from London. LOL So too bad you weren't there when we were there - she would've liked to connect with someone from "home" I'm sure.

 

[Ashley_Yasmin]

Congrats on your honeymoon! We have little kids so we only ate at the Mara, but the food was great and reasonable prices. We found the quality better at the Mara then the quick service places in the parks. The lobby is beautiful. Boma smelled so good and I heard their breakfast is delicious.

We had a great bus experience and the longest we waited was 15 minutes. A couple times we had long lines and two busses pulled up together. The ride to MK was about 20 minutes. Going to and from the MK, we had separate busses for Jambo and kindani. For HS, Epcot, and AK, we shared. They picked up Jambo and then kindani to go to the parks and coming back we dropped off at kindani first. HS and AK were short rides. Epcot was maybe 15 minutes.

Thank you That is great to hear about the bus service being so good Did you guys have to wait a long time when checking in?

Thanks again!

 

[Princess Minnie321]

I did online check in. We were on the magic express bus around 9 when I got a text to say our room was not ready yet. We left our bags with bell services when we got to the hotel and went to the MK. Our room ready text came before noon. When I did online check in, I marked early check in. When we got back to the hotel, we went to bell services and they offered to bring us our bags. Since we had the room ready text wth our room #, we went straight to our room.

 

[steviethegreat]

I had a car, so I'm not sure about the transportation. But I have read that the AKL, since it's so far out, has its own buses. So the wait is never too long. I'm going to have a car again in April. I just don't care for public transportation. I have noise sensitivity. But as someone else pointed out, there are definitely great spots to see the animals if you don't have a Savanna view. You can go outside and see the animals in several different places and from different heights, too. We had an amazing time doing that.

The pool is also really nice! We hit it early because we went when the hurricane was coming, so it stormed every night. There weren't a lot of people. But the zero entry part of the pool was really neat.

But yes: try the Zebra Domes. They're not for everyone and they get a little repetitive if you eat too many in a row (but maybe that's just me), but they are so unique and fun. You can find them in the Mara!

As for Boma, we missed our reservation, but they sat us five minutes later. Depending on when you're going, it might be a better idea to get a reservation, but I think Boma's relatively chill compared to Tusker House, since it doesn't have character interaction.

 

[Babsy]

First, Congratulations on your wedding plans!

I think that you will LOVE the AKL. The resort is truly beautiful, with an amazing lobby, small but quite comfortable rooms and fabulous restaurants. DH and I have eaten in all four (Sanaa, Jiko, Boma and Mara). They are all really good and I would recommend them all at least once each over a 14 day stay.

We haven't had breakfast at Boma yet, because I always want to eat at Boma for dinner and because we either eat at Mara and bring the food outside to eat or stay in Club Level which includes breakfast. However, i hear good things about it so we plan to eat breakfast there in November when we return

Mara:
quick service
good food with some exotic selections such as soup from Boma
Zebra domes available here (a sweet dessert)
you can either eat inside or outdoors

Boma
breakfast is reportedly excellent
dinner has a vast variety
excellent and unusual soups, salads, breads, desserts
good meats
buffet

Jiko
really good food
excellent service
the boar appetizer is great
the bison is excellent
the vegetarian dish is awful
the african sampler is also very good

Sanaa
we had the bread service here and loved it


Personally, I would book an ADR if I wanted to eat at any of these with the exception of Mara. We had to line up just to check in for our reservation and had a wait of over an hour the last time we dined at Boma. Jiko was easier with only about a 5 minute wait and was less crowded, but we still needed the ADR.

If you want to eat at Boma on your first night, allow about 2 hours after your flight arrives. It takes about 90 minutes on average to get from your flight to the resort. Then you will want a few minutes to freshen up in your room. What time are you scheduled to arrive? If a delay occurs will that mean that you would arrive after Boma was closed for the night? If so, I would try for a walk up ressie or try booking online at the airport when you arrive. Otherwise you risk paying the penalty for a no show. If you do book Boma, but have flight delays and arrive late for your DR but before closing, go anyway. If they are able they will probably seat you despite being late.

Here is a list of our favourite restaurants in WDW:

Your resort:
Boma
Jiko
Sanaa

MK:
Be Our Guest (do a lunch as well as dinner)
Skipper Canteen

MK resorts:
1900 Nark Fare (for the character interactions NOT the food)
Narcoosee's (for the food)

Polynesian:
O'hana's

Contemporary:
California Grill
Chef Mickey's (for the experience, not the food)

Fort Wilderness:
Hoop Dee Doo Revue (for the corny show not the food)

Epcot:
Biergarten (good buffet) in Germany
San Angel in Mexico
Rose and Crown in the UK
Quick service in either the UK or Norway

Epcot resorts:
Trattoria al Forno at BWI
Flying Fish at BWI
Beaches and Cream at the BC (for the cute soda shop setting)

also most of the restaurants at the Swan and Dolphin are very good. I love Fresh for breakfast and Bluezoo for dinner.


AK:
Flame tree BBQ (quick service)
Tiffins
Tusker House

DHS:
Brown Derby


Don't worry about bus service from the AKL. It is fine! there is about an extra 5-10 minute bus ride to/from the MK and that is it.


Enjoy!!!

 

[mickeynut1]

What was the transportation like there? Was it easy to get to the parks?

I agree with others that the transportation is fine. AKL is out away from everything, but we found it to take maybe 5 extra minutes to get around compared to other resorts .

Even if u don't have a savanna view there are tons of placed inside and out to check out the animals.

I agree!

I think that you will LOVE the AKL. The resort is truly beautiful, with an amazing lobby, small but quite comfortable rooms and fabulous restaurants.

 

[Dakota731]

How early in the mornings do you have to be at the bus stop to get to the parks at opening?

 

[momof2gr8kids]

If you haven't already, check out this thread on AKL Jambo House for lots of good info.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/ja...ormation-thread.3567178/page-11#post-57006283