Animal kingdom lodge-it's all good!!!!

[petey]

Hello All, I hear all the comments about how Animal Kingdom Lodge is a little farther away than some of the other resorts, and how the bus service is not all that great. Maybe the resort is a little farther away from the Magic Kingdom, but I just stayed at AKL for the week of July 11th-18th and did not wait longer than 15 minutes for a bus anywhere the entire week. Also it took roughly 20 minutes to get to the Magic Kingdom. After all Disney is doing the driving so relax and relieve the stress. This is a beatiful resort with so much to offer. Waking up to various animals right outside your balcony is a breathtaking experience. Both the Boma & Jiko are excellent full serve restaurants and The Mara is a very satisfactory quick serve. The zero entry pool is nice, and take the time to view the animals at night with special night vision goggles. The Victoria Falls bar overlokking the restaurants is a very nice way to end the evening. Lastly AKL offers the opportunity to go on a Wanyama safari, getting a close up of the animals in ther surrounding savannah's and conclding with dinner at Jiko's. In closing, the Animal Kingdom Lodge, try it you will like it!!!

 

[goonie007]

I second this :wave: Love the atmosphere

 

[SeaCastle]

I'll be staying here for the first time in a few weeks, and the transportation was something I was concerned about as well. Thanks! :wave:

 

[zurgandfriend]

Other than "it's too far away" I have always heard gret things AKL.

A co-worker always raves about the pool. We have eaten at BOMA and Jiko and I rate them very high.

I might have to try it in the future.

 

[disneygirl1]

Thank you so much for your update!!! We are staying at AKL for the first time this coming December and 2 of my main concerns were the location and the transportation... Glad to see that it was not an issue for you. Let's hope it is the same case for us! We will be traveling with 2 boys 8 and 9 and I can not think of a better place to stay for them!

 

[meganw1985]

So glad to hear it! We will be checking in there in less than 6 weeks! Where did you get the night vision goggles? That's such a good idea I never thought of!

 

[disneygirl1]

So glad to hear it! We will be checking in there in less than 6 weeks! Where did you get the night vision goggles? That's such a good idea I never thought of!

Megan from what I read on the night vision goggles in the lobby... When you check in, make sure you ask for the activity sheet for the week and it should spell everything out for you... Can't wait till we check in. but I have a little over 4 months to go for that! :xmas:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

We stayed at AKL during Christmas 08 and only had 1 wait over 15 mins for a bus.

If you think about it carefully, AKL is only as far from MK as The Contemporary is from AK - so why worry

 

[sweetpee_1993]

We enjoyed our stay at AKL in January. The "removed" feeling lends to a whole lot of relaxation. I think we're a bit spoiled to the Contemporary room sizes...the AKL's rooms felt tight for us. We didn't get to use the pool. It was waaaaay too cold and it was empty (refurb). It sure looked like it would be a nice oasis during the warmer months. Boma, Jiko, & the Mara were all great. The laundry facilities were pretty good, too. If anyone gets the chance to do the Sunrise Safari, go for it! That was probably one of the most magical Disney experiences we ever had!

Glad the OP had a wonderful stay! Have fun to all those on their way to visit in the near future!

:wave:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

So glad to hear it! We will be checking in there in less than 6 weeks! Where did you get the night vision goggles? That's such a good idea I never thought of!

Megan from what I read on the night vision goggles in the lobby... When you check in, make sure you ask for the activity sheet for the week and it should spell everything out for you... Can't wait till we check in. but I have a little over 4 months to go for that! :xmas:

The boys went together to check out the NVG's. Hubby & I savored some quiet time relaxing in the Kilimanjaro Club lounge. I just asked them what floor that balcony was one and they both said it was the third floor. If you walk in the lobby & stand facing the big wall of glass at the opposite side of the main entrance, they were on a balcony to the left side on the 3rd floor. :wave:

 

[Glasgow]

Fav resort -- great atmosphere and the restaurants are fantastic. If I had one suggestion it would be more walking areas around the resort (for walking about after dinner) but otherwise it is wonderful.

 

[disneygirl1]

The boys went together to check out the NVG's. Hubby & I savored some quiet time relaxing in the Kilimanjaro Club lounge. I just asked them what floor that balcony was one and they both said it was the third floor. If you walk in the lobby & stand facing the big wall of glass at the opposite side of the main entrance, they were on a balcony to the left side on the 3rd floor. :wave:

Thank you so much!!! So it's safe to say that the 8 and 9 year old boys we are traveling with will love AKL??? They do not know we are staying there! Matter to fact neither are even finding out we are going to Disney until Thanksgiving day!!!

 

[tampabrad]

I just got back from a mini vacation at AKL. Stayed two nights and then decided as we packed to go home to stay a third. Loved the Kilamanjaro Club. Totally worth it. Ate at Sanaa over in Kidani Village and it is one of my favorite places. 24 hour pool was awesome. I think the longest wait for a bus was 10 minutes.

I haven't been to WDW during the summer in about 10 years, and I don't think I will do it again. I loved the exted park hours, but it was so hot, and much more crowded than I expected.

 

[WVParkfan]

Never understood the "it's too far away" comments. Our two favorite parks are the AK and Epcot, so the AKLodge would be perfect for us... if only we could afford it! Maybe some day!

 

[need2go2wdw]

Never understood the "it's too far away" comments. Our two favorite parks are the AK and Epcot, so the AKLodge would be perfect for us... if only we could afford it! Maybe some day!

I totally hear you on the "if only we could afford it, maybe someday!" comment! We never stayed at a deluxe resort until we joined the Disney Vacation Club. Once we joined, we wished we had done it years earlier! Since joining, we've gotten to stay at AKL about 6 or 7 times now and thats only in the last 3 years! Add in there all the other great DVC resorts you can stay at, and it's just awesome! I know DVC isn't for everyone (I know it gets a little bashed and bruised on these boards on occassion), and God knows, it isn't free, but it may be something to consider for your family. Buying into it directly from Disney can be expensive as the price goes up year after year, but you can look into resales of DVC memberships. You can get a resale at one of the older resorts like Old Key West or Vero Beach for half the price of a new membership at say Bay Lake Tower (you can use your membership anywhere, no matter what resort you buy into). The only downside is, you don't get it as long, maybe only 30-35 years as opposed to the 50 you would get with a new membership. The link is http://www.dvc-resales.com/dvclisting.cfm to the timeshare store DVC listings. I'm not trying to advertise for them, I just have used them in the past and had a great experience. In my opinion, DVC is the BEST way to be able to vacation more, longer and at higher end hotels at WDW period! We never would have been able to afford going as often as we do or stay in the kind of rooms we do without it.

 

[thewhitequeen]

I like that it's far away and I love the resort. However, I made the mistake of reading the bedbugregistry and bugs were reported there a few times. Now, I'm a little apprehensive about staying there again.

 

[sueuk]

I'll be staying here for the first time in a few weeks, and the transportation was something I was concerned about as well. Thanks! :wave:

We've stayed there twice, and never had a problem with transport. It's a beautiful resort. Some people also complain about it being dark - but it's all part of the theming.

 

[Fizbain32]

We love this place as well, that is why it is our home location for DVC

 

[jonnyc]

And it is a perfect spot to hop over to AK for Evening EMH