Yikes! Nervous about AKL!

[ilovefh]

We normally stay at SSR or OKW, but this trip will be our honeymoon and when I asked Dfiance where he wanted to stay he said AKLV. At first I was so excited, but now I am getting nervous! (You'd think I would be getting nervous about getting married, but nope, the hotel!) I feel like AKL is so far away from things. Help! I'm really nervous about staying there. Can anyone give me some reassurance that this resort is a good choice? how about some reasons I will like it. How about bus transportation?

 

[DznyDreamz]

You will LOVE AKL!!! We stayed there on our last trip and I was so close to changing on so many days b/c of fears of the construction. The resort is amazing, everything from the way it smells to the wood to the fabrics.

We had heard so much negativity of the buses but I have to say, there were no issues ever. Buses came frequently and went direct to the parks, no multiple stops along the way. We were usually where we wanted to be about 20 mins after getting on the bus.

So relax, you are in store for a fantastic honeymoon. This resort will NOT dissapoint.

 

[disnut8]

The bus service is fine. As mentioned, there is no sharing of the bus. Yes, it is the only transportation to and from the resort but I've honestly never seen a mobbed bus waiting area.

When my daughter-in-law first walked into the Animal Kingdom Lodge, she just stopped and stood there for quite a while with her mouth open. We literally had to drag her out of there. Anytime I'm there, I have to visit the gift shop. It's very unique.

And wouldn't you really want to have something a little out of the way for your honeymoon? The lighting in the rooms is very low as well. I think you are really going to enjoy it.

 

[raven69david]

This is our preferred hotel and we love it. The resort is gorgeous and the atmosphere is unique as we've never "felt" this way about any other resort. We've never used the bus service but there are tons of threads that talk about how wonderful it is; there are also threads that discuss ride times to/from all the resorts via Disney transportation.

The pool, the restaurants, the savanas, the scents from the lobby, the burning fire pits, nightvision viewing of the animals, all of the rest of the activities; everything is so wonderful at AKL that I'm 100% sure you will love it. The resort is somewhat secluded, but it adds to the experience. It's about a 10-15 minute drive from the hotel to the TTC; bus service will be a tad bit longer.

 

[ilovefh]

We also couldn't get our first night at AKL (we waitlisted but nothing came through) so our first night is still at SSR.

 

[ilovefh]

Since this is our first time at AKL and our honeymoon what are some neat, not to be missed things at AKL?

 

[soccerchick]

Bus rides are fine. MK was 17 minutes. AK was 5. Everyhting else was in b/w. Longest was to DTD on a Friday night. Sometimes had to go by BB on way to/from DHS. Sometimes we walked right up and bus was waiting. Other times we had to wait. Never so crowded that we couldn't get on the bus that arrived. At Pop, we sometimes had to wait for a second bus because the lines were long (and that was in late Sept./early Oct.)

Each trip we've been onsite there has been at least one blip in the system. Best bus service hands down was back in 2002 when we stayed at CSR. AKL was good, but stop 4 at CSR was right by our room.

Lots of neat stuff at the resort. The pool is awesome. Restaurants are awesome. Trails/animals are cool. There are some programs, but other than the safaris, nothing to change or rearrange your schedule for IMHO.

My biggest complaint were fellow guests, not the resort itself. Smoking spot is on the way to the bus que. Some people felt they could smoke on the walkway to the buses instead of going a few more feet out of everyone else's breathing space to the smoking bench.

My only other advice would be to upgrade your room and not do standard for your HM. We did standard and expected to see parking lots. My theory is that a lot of rooms have been downgraded bc of the AKV construction. Haven't been able to verify this, but that is what I think happened to us. We ended up w/ a bunk bed room (our 2 kids loved it) and a balcony that looked right out at the animals.

I like to try new resorts, but I will have a hard time not returning to AKL. It's a great deal for a deluxe (and we had a 40% code).

 

[ilovefh]

Thanks for all the info! We ended up with a Savanna view room. I am sure this is because the standard view rooms are less points! But dfiance was excited!

 

[sjw4870]

AKL is great. Its my favorite resort at WDW. When I first stayed there I was nervous about the buses because I was used to the monorail, but the buses are fine (though not as fun as the monorail). There is so much to do at the resort. Many of the savannah's will have a host who can answer questions about the animals and are usually happy to talk with you about their home countries. Not sure if they do this every night, but some nights there will be a host on the savannah who will have night vision goggles to view the animals. They also have storytelling at the firepit at night -I've never done this, but mean to every time. They also have a culinary tour where you can speak with Chef's at Boma and Jiko and sample some food. I haven't done this in a year or so, but it used to be daily at 4pm - took about 45 minutes to 1 hour. They have an activities board near the luggage stand which will list everything for you. Whatever you do - have a great time!

 

[Diane♥Disney]

AKL is amazing. The lobby is beautiful. I loved sitting on our balcony watching the animals and enjoying the views. Arusha savannah is so amazing. I must have taken at least 100 pictures of just the animals and the savannah. We saw tons of animals no matter what time we were out there. The pool is nice and really big. The gift shop is great. Mara is good. Everyone working there is so friendly. The only thing I didn't like was the beds, they were not comfortable. Don't worry, you will love AKL and have a wonderful time.

 

[kaffinito]

I thought the DVC beds were wonderful - they have the pillow topped mattresses, and you can just sink into one The buses were great, not crowded, and very timely. The resort itself is just lovely to walk around, there is so much to see and do there, you might have a hard time fitting it all in! The lobby alone is nice to walk around they have display cases set up, and several spots where you can look out at the animals. The staff is very friendly and welcoming, and the other guests are too. I just loved it there, and I didn't think I would as much as I did.

Enjoy your Honeymoon!!

 

[scotas]

My friends won't stay anywhere else when we go. They also discovered last year than you can actually request giraffes and get them. They ended up with a room about as close to where they fed them as possible. Who would have thought?

 

[EnnEss]

I agree with all the positive reviews having stayed there in may for the first time. The transportation thing is relative. Its probably 5 or 6 minutes further from MK than CBR or Pop. To Epcot and DHS its still pretty close. It baffles me when I read reviews insisting its 40 minutes to MK or something goofy like that excluding waits. It can take that long with bus waits, but it can at all the epcot resorts too. Disneyworld just isnt that big.