queenofhearts
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 25, 2002
- Messages
- 166
Jambo fellow Disers! 
Well, first a big thanks to everyone that helped my plan my Disney vacation of a lifetime! We had a wonderful time, and our favorite part of the whole vacation was knowing that we were going to return to our beautiful hotel every evening. We really miss it already!
We stayed in room 5235 which is a deluxe room with a king bed. We saw Ankole Cattle (these were my favorite to watch), Gemsbok, zebra, pelicans, and an occasional giraffe from our balcony. The animals were within eyesight almost all the time. This was my favorite part of the resort. One note: If you want to sit on your balcony at night and watch the animals, TAKE INSECT REPELLENT! My boyfriend and I were eaten up by some kind of insect one night. You could even take a citronella candle and burn it on your balcony (as long as the flame is enclosed, it's ok with the lodge).
We did not eat at Boma, but we did eat at Jiko. It was one of our favorite restaurants at Disneyworld. (Look for my review on the Restaurants Board soon). Jiko was a perfect environment for a romantic dinner. Boma was packed everynight, but there were some wonderful aromas wafting from the restaurant. Boma seemed to be a favorite for families.
The staff throughout the hotel were very gracious and helpful. The concierge staff was especially knowledgeable and very willing to help us at any time. The concierge is available until approx 10pm at night. The breakfast offerings in the morning were plentiful, and we did not find it necessary to eat a full breakfast elsewhere. Soft drinks and bottled water are available, but you must ask for it. We got two bottled waters every morning before venturing into the parks. Security at the parks never had any problem with us taking the water into the park. Our first day, we ate a big lunch, and when we returned to the concierge lounge in the evening, we found many yummy treats waiting. We ate so many chicken wings, stuffed zuchinni, hummus, peanut butter and jelly, etc., that we didn't find it necessary to go to dinner. We also enjoyed delicious South African Wines in the evening.
As concierge guests, we also took advantage of the Sunrise Safari. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide, Greg, narrated our tour through the African savannah. He stoped at each animal viewing area and told us lots of very interesting facts about the animals and the park. We used two roles of film taking pictures! Afterwards, we enjoyed the breakfast at the Tusker House (yum!). This is one of the best breakfasts I have ever had! The salmon cakes were especially delish! The only thing that was less than perfect about the tour was this: During the tour, you get to see some of the behind the seens areas of the AK (like the animal barns). Well, the bus we took had windows which were fogged (not from the temperature, it was special glass). You couldn't really see out of the windows very well at all. But, this may have been intentional. In any case, it certainly didn't ruin the experience! I would highly recommend the Sunrise Safari to any guest of the AKL Concierge!
Other than the Sunrise Safari, we did not participate in any of the other special events at the AKL.
We just couldn't find the time, but we will definitely try this in the future (can you tell we're going back 
)
We rented a car and found this to be a nice luxury. For instance, we could drive from the AKL to the WL in the evening for dinner and not have to worry about connecting bus routes. However, we relied on Disney transportation during the day to take us to the parks. The buses from and to the AKL were GREAT! We never waited more than 10 minutes for our bus. And, the bus was never really crowded (no one ever had to stand up)!
The resort did feel more removed than the Epcot or the MK resorts, but my boyfriend and I LOVED this. We felt so relaxed when we were at the AKL. The beds were comfortable, the rooms were very clean, and the lodge was quiet at night. My boyfriend and I both agree that we will stay at the AKL again when we return to Disneyworld. It was truely paradise for us!
Feel free to ask any questions!
Well, first a big thanks to everyone that helped my plan my Disney vacation of a lifetime! We had a wonderful time, and our favorite part of the whole vacation was knowing that we were going to return to our beautiful hotel every evening. We really miss it already!
We stayed in room 5235 which is a deluxe room with a king bed. We saw Ankole Cattle (these were my favorite to watch), Gemsbok, zebra, pelicans, and an occasional giraffe from our balcony. The animals were within eyesight almost all the time. This was my favorite part of the resort. One note: If you want to sit on your balcony at night and watch the animals, TAKE INSECT REPELLENT! My boyfriend and I were eaten up by some kind of insect one night. You could even take a citronella candle and burn it on your balcony (as long as the flame is enclosed, it's ok with the lodge).
We did not eat at Boma, but we did eat at Jiko. It was one of our favorite restaurants at Disneyworld. (Look for my review on the Restaurants Board soon). Jiko was a perfect environment for a romantic dinner. Boma was packed everynight, but there were some wonderful aromas wafting from the restaurant. Boma seemed to be a favorite for families.
The staff throughout the hotel were very gracious and helpful. The concierge staff was especially knowledgeable and very willing to help us at any time. The concierge is available until approx 10pm at night. The breakfast offerings in the morning were plentiful, and we did not find it necessary to eat a full breakfast elsewhere. Soft drinks and bottled water are available, but you must ask for it. We got two bottled waters every morning before venturing into the parks. Security at the parks never had any problem with us taking the water into the park. Our first day, we ate a big lunch, and when we returned to the concierge lounge in the evening, we found many yummy treats waiting. We ate so many chicken wings, stuffed zuchinni, hummus, peanut butter and jelly, etc., that we didn't find it necessary to go to dinner. We also enjoyed delicious South African Wines in the evening.
As concierge guests, we also took advantage of the Sunrise Safari. This was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Our guide, Greg, narrated our tour through the African savannah. He stoped at each animal viewing area and told us lots of very interesting facts about the animals and the park. We used two roles of film taking pictures! Afterwards, we enjoyed the breakfast at the Tusker House (yum!). This is one of the best breakfasts I have ever had! The salmon cakes were especially delish! The only thing that was less than perfect about the tour was this: During the tour, you get to see some of the behind the seens areas of the AK (like the animal barns). Well, the bus we took had windows which were fogged (not from the temperature, it was special glass). You couldn't really see out of the windows very well at all. But, this may have been intentional. In any case, it certainly didn't ruin the experience! I would highly recommend the Sunrise Safari to any guest of the AKL Concierge!
Other than the Sunrise Safari, we did not participate in any of the other special events at the AKL.
We just couldn't find the time, but we will definitely try this in the future (can you tell we're going back )We rented a car and found this to be a nice luxury. For instance, we could drive from the AKL to the WL in the evening for dinner and not have to worry about connecting bus routes. However, we relied on Disney transportation during the day to take us to the parks. The buses from and to the AKL were GREAT! We never waited more than 10 minutes for our bus. And, the bus was never really crowded (no one ever had to stand up)!
The resort did feel more removed than the Epcot or the MK resorts, but my boyfriend and I LOVED this. We felt so relaxed when we were at the AKL. The beds were comfortable, the rooms were very clean, and the lodge was quiet at night. My boyfriend and I both agree that we will stay at the AKL again when we return to Disneyworld. It was truely paradise for us!
Feel free to ask any questions!
Disney fanatic and Disney College Graduate.
