Captain Blue Sky
Fly Guy
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2004
- Messages
- 179
This was our first, and last stay, at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.
First, we waited over 5 hours for our room. The delay occurred with Housekeeping. The Front Desk Staff reiterated repeatedly that they were working on it and that they would text us when it was ready but they never did. After 4 consecutive turn-aways throughout the day, my wife, the real person in charge, took matters in her own hands and approached the Front Desk Staff with the persona of a person who has been scorned too many times. Within 30 minutes she had branded them with the Fear of God, told them how ridiculous it was to wait over 5 hours for a room at any hotel, and then had a $100.00 resort credit provided to her for our "inconvenience." I think the use of the word "inconvenience" is a little weak. Waiting 5 hours is torturous, given the fact that we requested early checkin and were granted it. It was the least Disney could do.
The room was 3458, in Jambo House. A not-too-far walk from the Main Lobby, we found our room after passing through an area cordoned off due to construction.
Our Disney app could not open the door. My wife's Magic Band could not open the door. The only method in was my Magic Band, but if you stop and think about it, this totally defeats the convenience conveyed in Magic Band and app use. The Front Desk Staff was unable to fix the Magic Band short of replacing it.
The room itself was a typical Disney-style 2 queen beds room with a bath and a separate compartment for the toilet and the shower. The shower was a good size. The room was one of the newly renovated rooms. We like the fact that it had a rolled floor made to look like hardwood. No carpeting in the room at all. The finishes were dark, African themed, with uplighting behind the headboards, sconce lighting along the headboard walls, a large central room overhead light, and a light suspended over a small table and chair. It also came with a well stocked Keurig coffee bar, a fridge, and lighted shelves.
The flooring was a rolled, wood-look flooring. Hard under foot but clean, thank goodness. The beds are raised high off the floor giving access to the under bed area for stowing your luggage if you like to hang your clothes and put away your undies on the shelves and in the drawers, which we do because we like to "settle in" our places away when we travel.
The sink area had dual sinks, smaller than expected in size but still a welcome sight. A large indirectly lighted mirror with perimeter lighting recessed under the mirror was a nice touch. The toilet had a strong power flush that shook the whole unit upon activating it by the handle.
The shower was glass enclosed and had the large bottles of bath amenities. The nozzles broke off of each bottle and by the end of the weekend no bottles had nozzles.
Now the down side to this Animal Kingdom Lodge experience:
1) Housekeeping never once serviced the room. We brought this to their attention but nothing was acted upon. They never serviced the room.
2) The "Safety Check" was made during a time we had the "Room Occupied" sign up when we were snoozing after a long morning at the park. I felt it was rude and completely uncalled for to be wakened by a cast member to do a "Safety Check."
3) The $100.00 resort credit we received was removed overnight and the next day when we discovered it missing the Front Desk Staff could not re-apply it to our account. This happened twice during our stay. We eventually received it, but not without effort on our part. This was and is completely unnecessary.
4) Having stayed in the Contemporary Resort, the Coronado Springs Resort, the Port Orleans Resort, and over a dozen times in the All Star Resorts, I have to say this room at DAK was nothing much different from even the most affordable Disney Resorts.
5) Our weekend was complimentary (it was a freebie) but the going rate for the room type we were in was between $480.00-$550.50 per night! NOT WORTH IT, PEOPLE! Anyone who stays and pays this much either is a fool or has more money than brains.
Overall, a very B Flat stay. Given the problems we encountered at the DAK I would not recommend it or return there again.
First, we waited over 5 hours for our room. The delay occurred with Housekeeping. The Front Desk Staff reiterated repeatedly that they were working on it and that they would text us when it was ready but they never did. After 4 consecutive turn-aways throughout the day, my wife, the real person in charge, took matters in her own hands and approached the Front Desk Staff with the persona of a person who has been scorned too many times. Within 30 minutes she had branded them with the Fear of God, told them how ridiculous it was to wait over 5 hours for a room at any hotel, and then had a $100.00 resort credit provided to her for our "inconvenience." I think the use of the word "inconvenience" is a little weak. Waiting 5 hours is torturous, given the fact that we requested early checkin and were granted it. It was the least Disney could do.
The room was 3458, in Jambo House. A not-too-far walk from the Main Lobby, we found our room after passing through an area cordoned off due to construction.
Our Disney app could not open the door. My wife's Magic Band could not open the door. The only method in was my Magic Band, but if you stop and think about it, this totally defeats the convenience conveyed in Magic Band and app use. The Front Desk Staff was unable to fix the Magic Band short of replacing it.
The room itself was a typical Disney-style 2 queen beds room with a bath and a separate compartment for the toilet and the shower. The shower was a good size. The room was one of the newly renovated rooms. We like the fact that it had a rolled floor made to look like hardwood. No carpeting in the room at all. The finishes were dark, African themed, with uplighting behind the headboards, sconce lighting along the headboard walls, a large central room overhead light, and a light suspended over a small table and chair. It also came with a well stocked Keurig coffee bar, a fridge, and lighted shelves.
The flooring was a rolled, wood-look flooring. Hard under foot but clean, thank goodness. The beds are raised high off the floor giving access to the under bed area for stowing your luggage if you like to hang your clothes and put away your undies on the shelves and in the drawers, which we do because we like to "settle in" our places away when we travel.
The sink area had dual sinks, smaller than expected in size but still a welcome sight. A large indirectly lighted mirror with perimeter lighting recessed under the mirror was a nice touch. The toilet had a strong power flush that shook the whole unit upon activating it by the handle.
The shower was glass enclosed and had the large bottles of bath amenities. The nozzles broke off of each bottle and by the end of the weekend no bottles had nozzles.
Now the down side to this Animal Kingdom Lodge experience:
1) Housekeeping never once serviced the room. We brought this to their attention but nothing was acted upon. They never serviced the room.
2) The "Safety Check" was made during a time we had the "Room Occupied" sign up when we were snoozing after a long morning at the park. I felt it was rude and completely uncalled for to be wakened by a cast member to do a "Safety Check."
3) The $100.00 resort credit we received was removed overnight and the next day when we discovered it missing the Front Desk Staff could not re-apply it to our account. This happened twice during our stay. We eventually received it, but not without effort on our part. This was and is completely unnecessary.
4) Having stayed in the Contemporary Resort, the Coronado Springs Resort, the Port Orleans Resort, and over a dozen times in the All Star Resorts, I have to say this room at DAK was nothing much different from even the most affordable Disney Resorts.
5) Our weekend was complimentary (it was a freebie) but the going rate for the room type we were in was between $480.00-$550.50 per night! NOT WORTH IT, PEOPLE! Anyone who stays and pays this much either is a fool or has more money than brains.
Overall, a very B Flat stay. Given the problems we encountered at the DAK I would not recommend it or return there again.
