What did you NOT like about AKL and why ?

[CanadianPaco]

Thanks - that's where I read about the platter. I was wondering what else was on the platter.

 

[LovinPooh]

We have a pool view room booked at AKL next Feb/March. Hopign for that discount lol. I chose the pool view hoping it would be relatively close to the buses without a view of the parking lot lol. This will be our 1st deluxe stay. We stayed at CBR this year and loved it. That resort is gorgeous. People complain about the buses adn the large layout. But we had great buses adn if you have preferred location, its perfect. I requested Martinque and we were literally right on top of OPR. DH hates the idea of spending the excess $ to go to AKL. But its on my bucket list. I feel I gotta try a deluxe. I am hoping that if he loved CBR he will LOVE AKL. The bus rides dont bother me with AKL. I do have the worry that I will regret spending the extra $ though. I just dont want that. I just cant imagine what deluxe has over moderate... I hope that made sense lol. But I have dreamed at stayign at AKL, Poly and CR. So heres one to check off. Great info on this thread... and no, DH wont be reading it

 

[Dwo]

We have stayed at cbr and por too and this time am splurging for akl. I have eaten at Boma - love the food lots and love the resort theming. The furnishings even restrooms are much more upscale and lobby is beautiful. I always noticed more buses to akl than other resorts whilst waiting to return to our resort at the parks too. I know what you mean about a tick list ; ) .

 

[smiths02]

We have stayed there twice. Then we stayed at CBR. We had three great vacations

I don't have a lot of negative things to say, but maybe somethings other people would say?

--Transportation is all bus---really not a problem for us, we had wonderful service (and your transportation is bus from CBR anyhow)
--It is far away, but I like the secluded nature of the resort. We are people who get to the park at rope drop and stay until a little after lunch and then we are DONE (we usually go somewhere for dinner, transportation could be an issue there, but we use our car for that) [If you want naps and going back to the parks, that is less doable]
--Food choices are good. My FIL is really picky and really meat and potatoes guy and he found enough to eat at the Mara and at Boma
--it is dark, but I found that relaxing in summer Florida heat
--Some of the corridors are a bit farther away (well, CBR is really spread out as well)

 

[MickeyNicki]

1. Location...too far from the action for us

2. Lobby....in the am and the evening its a loud chaotic madhouse

3. The size, the place is humongous!

 

[CampbellScot]

My family of four stayed at AKL (bunkbed room). We all loved the resort itself. It is stunningly beautiful and wonderfully themed. Having the animals right there is so amazing. We loved Boma and ate there several times. The Mara is a large food court with many choices. The gift shop is HUGE and filled with so many fun things to look at. Those are the things we loved!

What we did NOT like was how far away it was from EVERYTHING ELSE. We felt very isolated and for lack of a better word, trapped! The only mode of transportation is bus. When we were there we felt we waited for a VERY long time for some of the buses. Bus rides to the parks (aside from Animals Kingdom) felt longer than normal to us. We customarily would come back to our resort and take showers and get ready for our evening ADR's. The distance to and from AKL made that difficult. The wait for buses and the transit time made us late for more than one reservation. The distance was really an issue for us. We misjudged how long travel would take as compared to our stays at other resorts. (Although that could be b/c we are accustomed to Wilderness Lodge and it's close proximity to Magic Kingdom and the monorail.) So while we loved our stay at AKL, the distance from everything else made it a resort we would not stay at again.

 

[Minnesota!]

I wouldn't worry about breakfast - There are plenty of choices.
Mickey Waffles
Bounty Platter - scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, Mickey waffle, biscuit
Croissant Sandwich
the potatoes were really yummy.
Plenty of pastries, muffins, bagels, fresh fruit, yogurt, hard boiled eggs and smoothies...etc

They do have some *interesting* options - but one of the African inspired breakfast plate options included a roasted tomato - so we passed on that.

The grilled tomatoes are THE reason I keep going back to Boma. I CRAVE them. I am SO SO SO SO happy to hear Mara has them...I could totally eat a few of those for my meal and die happy!!

 

[chocovrdmicears]

The grilled tomatoes are THE reason I keep going back to Boma. I CRAVE them. I am SO SO SO SO happy to hear Mara has them...I could totally eat a few of those for my meal and die happy!!

LOL! They are definately there....and you are not the only person who loves them! We saw lots of people having them for breakfast! We were like but lots of people were like ..so there must be something to them...

 

[jcjen519]

Great hotel, I would definitely stay there again, but depending on where your room is, it can be a long walk to the elevators to get to the lobby and pool.

I agree with this. We have stayed at Kidani village as well and I would not stay there again. a lot of the rooms have laughable walk to rooms from elevators and amenities. We are DVC members and have points at AKL, we bought before Kidani was built.

That being said we love jambo house and I'm sure we'll stay there again. We love almost everything about Jambo house....the food....the atmosphere...the smells...the sounds.