Why do you like AKL?

[edtoss]

The AKL never appealed to me or anyone else in my extended family, yet seems to be very popular on here. I'd like to know what you like about it -- to see if it is just a matter of opinion, or if there is something I am missing.

The reasons I don't like the AKL can be summarized as location and lack of activities. All of the other deluxe resorts have easy access to at least 2 of the parks, either by monorail, boat, or walking (Wilderness Lodge is an exception, but I'll get to that). The Boardwalk resorts have the Boardwalk for entertainment and walking around. The Polynesian and GF have beautiful grounds for walking around. The Contemporary has the excitement of being right next to the MK, and lots of activity in the lobby.

All of the other deluxe resorts (and also the moderates) have the lake for water activities, or just to sit on the beach. The AKL also seems to have the worst pool of any of the resorts, especially for kids (it's really just a big quiet pool).

The AKL DOES have a couple good restaurants (as do most of the other deluxe resorts) and the animals -- but I can do those in one afternoon/evening without staying there.

The AKL is comparable to the Wilderness Lodge. However WL doesn't seem nearly as isolated, has the lake and great pool, boat to MK, more activities, etc. AKL and WL seem to fall between the other Deluxes and the Moderates in terms of price, but AKL seems more of a moderate while WL seems more of a Deluxe.

Sorry if this post seems very negative -- I truly want to know why everyone likes AKL. Hopefully I'll find something I was missing.

 

[jiminyfan]

we just love this place. the animals are a big plus for us as we have a toddler who loves to wake up to "his" animals. Overall I feel that the cat members are the friendliest and best at any of the resorts we stayed at. I think the lodge itself is extremely beautiful. I like that is it tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the other areas. We stayed at BW and hated it - not a resort feel to us. The walk-in pool is a plus for my son. JIKO, great meals.

Everyone has different tastes and that is a GOOD thing. The AKL is our #1 deluxe hotel, followed by the WL - I just like the look and feel of these hotels.

 

[Ricola]

The animals, the atmosphere, the art collection, the store, the restaurants, the Fire pit, the location (NOT in the middle of everything), the fabulous concierge service, the wonderful staff, what's not to like?

The pool is the largest of any Disney resort, and our young kids love it.

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by edtoss
The AKL never appealed to me or anyone else in my extended family, yet seems to be very popular on here. I'd like to know what you like about it -- to see if it is just a matter of opinion, or if there is something I am missing.

The reasons I don't like the AKL can be summarized as location and lack of activities. All of the other deluxe resorts have easy access to at least 2 of the parks, either by monorail, boat, or walking (Wilderness Lodge is an exception, but I'll get to that). The Boardwalk resorts have the Boardwalk for entertainment and walking around. The Polynesian and GF have beautiful grounds for walking around. The Contemporary has the excitement of being right next to the MK, and lots of activity in the lobby.

All of the other deluxe resorts (and also the moderates) have the lake for water activities, or just to sit on the beach. The AKL also seems to have the worst pool of any of the resorts, especially for kids (it's really just a big quiet pool).

The AKL DOES have a couple good restaurants (as do most of the other deluxe resorts) and the animals -- but I can do those in one afternoon/evening without staying there.

The AKL is comparable to the Wilderness Lodge. However WL doesn't seem nearly as isolated, has the lake and great pool, boat to MK, more activities, etc. AKL and WL seem to fall between the other Deluxes and the Moderates in terms of price, but AKL seems more of a moderate while WL seems more of a Deluxe.

Sorry if this post seems very negative -- I truly want to know why everyone likes AKL. Hopefully I'll find something I was missing.

It really depends on what you are looking for in your vacation. I believe you might be missing the point of the AKL resort. The point of the resort is to make the people feel as if you are on an African Safari. The whole atmosphare of the resort is to put you as much in that frame of mind as possible. Watching the animals and exploring the different trails throughout the resort to find all of the hidden viewing areas and talking with the animal guides from South African and other African countries about the animals at the lodge and we have had some great conversations with the guides about the culture of Africa and the different artifacts that are throughout the lodge. The animals are the reason for the lodge. When we are there we find it hard to drag ourselves away from the lodge the lobby is amazing. Sitting pool side and watching Giraffe graze or sitting on your balcony and watching zebra and wildebeast go by. You cannot do that anywhere else in the U.S. it is a feeling that we cannot put into words.

That being said if a fast paced be at the parks from open to close style vacation is what you are looking for then I agree that the AKL is not for you. Also, there are just some people that do not care of animals and watching the zebra graze does nothing for them. If that is the case then the AKL is not for you.

That is why Disney is so great there is a resort for everyone's taste and each person needs to decide what they want out of their vacation experiance and pick the resort that best meets those needs.

I am sure you will have a great trip no matter which resort you choose.

 

[Gillian]

I agree about the location & the lack of sports activites. I wouldn't choose this resort on a package that included a lot of "stuff" If you have active teens, it might not be the right place.

What did we like about it? Peaceful feel, beautiful design with an amazing attention to detail. We enjoyed the pool & the hot tubs. The walk in area was great for our 2 year old. We loved sitting on our balcony and watching the animals. The food was yummy! We also thought the bus service was quite good. We had a car so we didn't worry about resort to resort or DD transportation.

I also liked the compactness of the resort. After getting DRENCHED just going from our room to Ohana at the Polynesian, we appreciated everything being inside or under cover at the AKL. Seems like a small point, but we experienced similar storms at the 2 resorts and at the Poly we really felt stuck in our room. This wasn't an issue at the AKL. It wouldn't be at the WL either, but would be at the GF, Poly or Boardwalk.

 

[edtoss]

Thanks for the replies. They were exactly what I was looking for -- I'm glad I got to see the AKL from another point-of-view.

I guess when I'm at Disney I like to be in the middle of everything, with lots of activity, lots of things to do at the resort or nearby and a "Florida/Disney" feel. I also want to be able to get to the parks by monorail, boat, or walking, rather than take a bus. We also tend to eat fairly simple meals. The last thing we want is to "get away from it all."

We did go to the AKL for a few hours on our last trip, to wander around the hotel and grounds, watch the animals, etc. We plan on going back there again on this trip, and I will pay a little more attention to the details and try to explore some more.

Just for the record, these are the Deluxe resorts in order of preference for me (but I would pick different ones depending on who was going and which parks which planned to go to).

Polynesian
YC/BC
[the above 2 are by far my favorites]

Contemporary (but mainly with the kids)
Grand Floridian [beautiful, great location, too formal]
Boardwalk [see above]
Wilderness Lodge
[the above 4 are very close together so I may pick any depending on the circumstances]

AKL

 

[currycook]

I understand your feelings and know others who would agree. However, we really enjoy the ALK for some of the very reasons you dont like it.

We have had the Florida A-seasonal pass for 4 different years now. We have been to disney so often that when we go to "stay" there we really enjoy the seculsion that the AKL offers. For us its a positive.

The safari enviorment of ALK is also, to us at least, something that no other resort can compete with. Inside or outside of WDW. Where else can you look out your balcony in the morning and watch safari animals. For us at least that is a major positive. Epescially for me wife who went to Africa on a true safari. I dont have the money for that but I can splurge on the ALK.

We all have different tastes. One nice thing about Disney is they have so many excellent resorts in both the moderate and delux category to meet so many diferent needs.

 

[currycook]

I understand your feelings and know others who would agree. However, we really enjoy the ALK for some of the very reasons you dont like it.

We have had the Florida A-seasonal pass for 4 different years now. We have been to disney so often that when we go to "stay" there we really enjoy the seculsion that the AKL offers. For us its a positive.

The safari enviorment of ALK is also, to us at least, something that no other resort can compete with. Inside or outside of WDW. Where else can you look out your balcony in the morning and watch safari animals. For us at least that is a major positive. Epescially for me wife who went to Africa on a true safari. I dont have the money for that but I can splurge on the ALK.

We all have different tastes. One nice thing about Disney is they have so many excellent resorts in both the moderate and delux category to meet so many diferent needs.

 

[firstmickey]

Hi.
We stayed at the AKL in Sept. and we were worried about it being so far from the parks.(We were a CBR upgrade).
The bus system was great. The longest ride was to MK and it took only 20-25 mins. It was a very short ride to AK, MGM, and Epcot.
Our kids (5 and 8) loved the pool and the water slide. They had pool games at 5 PM and they had a slide opening ceremony at 10 AM. Their were always lounge chairs available.

Seeing a giraffe munching on leaves while sitting in the hot tub in the morning was great also.

There were also many animal related activities there such as night vision tracking, etc. We want to go back to try some of them.

The restaraunts, especially Boma, were great.

Donna

 

[susy]

We got a $119 (standard) rate for Labor day weekend.
We were upgraded at arrival to a deluxe room wth pool view (our room was next to the suspended bridge in the lobby).

We ate at:
Boma (breakfast and dinner)
Jiko
Mara
had drinks from the pool bar

took buses to all four parks and DTD- great bus service
I was worried because we had an 8am ps at cindy's for my bday- no problem! It was the longest ride-15minutes. I timed it. We were at Mk by 7:30.

We loved the pool and saw animals from all different parts of the resort. I wouldn't hesistate to stay there again and am sending my mom and her DH there in Jan- they got a $109 rate!

 

[webray]

We love AKL for many of the same reasons already mentioned, the decor, the animals when you look off your balcony is priceless. The art collection, the outstanding staff, concierge is the best on property. We think the AK pool area is the nicest on property. The restaurants, gym, massages.

We spent three days, never left the resort...and wanted more. It is our favorite deluxe resort.

It really is not that far from everything...it is so relaxing...great place to be when the parks close down at night. The buses go directly to/from the lodge/destination. No going to other resorts first or multiple bus stops...very easy. When driving...it is right off one of the main roads with very easy access to everything else disney.

What is not to like about AKL???

 

[lillykat]

We liked the AKL because it was so DIFFERENT than the other hotel experiences. I have been to WDW with my family a number of times, and have stayed and visited all of the hotels on the property at some point or other. My DFH has never been to WDW world before this trip and although for different reasons we reached that same conclusion.
I have traveled all over the world (except for Africa) and the US and although I really enjoy other hotels and will definitely stay at some of the other ones on property they do not have the feel that you are transported to a different place. (Again I might be saying this because I have been to hawaii, etc and never to africa) My DFH felt that although he agreed that he would like to try other hotels (we will probably NOT stay at AKL for our honeymoon because we want to be on the monorail) his comment was that you can stay at hotels similar to many disney places in the US. He liked the uniqueness of AKL.
Also, what other hotel can you come back from a busy day at the parks and simply relax on your balcony and enjoy ANIMALS?
I'm not saying that this is true for all - but for some it might not be worth the experience if you do not have the a savannah room. Because some might feel that they could go to AK too see the same thing (or simply visit and get that same experience.)

 

[WDWalways]

I think it's beautiful and I love the animals BUT the only negative IMO is how far it seems to be from everything but other than that I think it's a GREAT resort!!

 

[jbethke]

I just returned from AKL on 12/4/02 and this was not my choice of a deluxe hotel to stay in, but what a resort!

I am not into viewing animals and was afraid I wouldn't care for the resort, but was I wrong.

The resort itself if beautiful, the smell and atmosphere are relaxing and rich. It is a resort you won't find anywhere else. The pool areas is great and there is a nice slide for the kids to go on and a great bar area, which I enjoyed.

The staff was the best I have seen and take it from someone who stays at the Bellagio in Vegas (which is hard to beat in service) AKL is right up there with them.

My sisters family (who has a 3 and 6 year old), loved the resort for all the things that made it unique for children.

I loved it for all the things an adult wants in a deluxe resort, to feel pampered and relaxed.

As for the resorts feeling miles away from everything, it only take a short 10 minute bus ride to reach the parks, so location was no problem fro us.

 

[kdibattista]

We loved the AKL so much that we are bringing our whole family there next December. We have been to numerous Disney properties (although this was our first deluxe experience). I guess one of the reasons you didn't like it is why we did. We liked that it was out of the way. We have "been there, done that".... 8 times. I loved that we could just relax at the resort. The savannah view was breathtaking.

On a side note - We had no problem with the transporation. Never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus.

 

[luvdzny]

AKL is our favorite resort. We love the atmosphere there, we spend hours in the lobby just "soaking it up." I love the fact that it is all in 1 building, it was great for 13 year old DD, she met a guy down there and they could explore on their own, but were easy to keep an eye on. Watching the animals is so relaxing, I love the giraffes. The cast members are great, and the African CM's are so much fun to talk to, you can really learn a lot about Africa. If I had to find a negative point about it, I guess it would be the Mara food court, they don't have as many choices as some of the moderates, but it is still a great place. We will continue to stay at AKL on every trip.

 

[Good Witch]

All family members on our recent trip voted AKL the best of the resorts we have stayed. That includes Grandparents, Parents, 20's Singles, and small children. 8 votes for AKL ! ! ! As a person who does not know what relaxation is, I was NEVER at a loss for things to do. Feet begged to rest but there was just too much to see and do. This family looks for things we cannot do elsewhere. We have wonderful beaches 3 hours away, pools down the road, bikes in the garage. We were absolute sponges absorbing all the stories, adventures, tales, and experiences from the African CM's. I could not have had these things at any other resort. Nor the animals, African food, architecture.........
Most of our family vacations are in search of a little adventure and the AKL added that touch. I LOVE luxury, but everyone offers that, only Disney has AKL.

I feel so much better now, been dying to tell everyone. And this way no one could stop me.


My little escape, only 15 minutes back to the masses.