Have you stayed at AKL recently? What are your honest opinions on bus service?

[Weather_Lady]

Hello! We are in the throes of planning a fall 2016 trip to Disney World, and are considering a stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Here's my dilemma. We'll be visiting for 6 or 7 days and won't be spending more than one of those days at the Animal Kingdom. Most of our time will be spent at the Magic Kingdom with the rest split between Epcot and HS, and we plan on going back to the hotel each afternoon for a nap.

We'll be using the Disney internal transportation system exclusively, so this means about four bus trips to or from a non-AK park just about every day. I've heard such wildly mixed reviews of AKL transportation that I don't know what to think. Some reviewers have said that the regularity of the AKL bus service, and the fact that it is dedicated (not shared with other resorts - just an extra stop at Jambo if you're staying in Kidani Village), means that any difference in commute time is negligible. Others have described a total opposite experience, with their bus wait/commute times allegedly tripled at the AKL. Even friends who rented a car complained that their commute time to the MK was regularly over 40 minutes from AKL (although presumably that included the time it took them to park and get themselves to the gate).

If you've stayed at the AKL recently and used Disney bus transportation, I'd love to hear (er, read) your experiences, in terms of: (1) frequency of buses - was the time you spent waiting for buses at AKL comparable to your experiences at other resorts?; and (2) ride time - is the bus ride itself to the non-AK parks really more than a few extra minutes? I certainly don't mind a bus ride that lasts a few more minutes each way, but if the ride time is more like 45 minutes than 20, or if AKL buses are less frequent/reliable than others, then either of those factors could be a deal-breaker.

 

[Lucky]

I was there last month. Frequency was the same as anywhere else. Travel time is a few extra minutes to MK but a few less to AK and BB. Stopping at Kidani on the way back to Jambo in the evening was a little irritating.

 

[lostpro9het]

We’ve stayed at AKL during:
F&W (Oct) 2013
Christmas week 2013
F&G and Expedition Everest challenge(May) in 2014
F&G and Expedition Everest challenge(May) in 2015
July 23rd weekend 2015
Future
This week!
Christmas Week 2015
Spring Break 2016

IMO, the busses at AKL are fantastic and the view that transportation at AKL is bad is WAAAAYYY overblown and not consistent with what we’ve experienced. In all our stays we’ve NEVER waited more than 10 minutes for any park bus where the average is more in the 7 minute range. Transportation to all the parks are relatively quick, even MK, less than 30 minutes and I’ve NEVER been on a AKL bus that took 45 minutes to get anywhere. The frequency was consistent with other resorts we’ve stayed at and I would say it is plenty adequate. If you ask me, the bus service at VWL, SSR, BCV, BWV and OKW are no better and in some cases far worse than the transportation at AKL.

THAT SAID, if you really don’t plan on spending any time at the resort and your focus is MK and EC then you should probably consider a different resort. BUT, if you are planning on enjoying the parks AND the resort the AKL is where it’s at!

 

[Weather_Lady]

THAT SAID, if you really don’t plan on spending any time at the resort and your focus is MK and EC then you should probably consider a different resort. BUT, if you are planning on enjoying the parks AND the resort the AKL is where it’s at!

We do plan on spending some quality time at the resort -- the well-reviewed restaurants were one of the aspects of AKL that really attracted us, and if we stay there, we'll certainly be enjoying the food court, and at least one lengthy table-service meal, at the resort. While we're officially coming back each afternoon for a "nap," some pool time and animal-watching would be included, as well.

 

[lostpro9het]

We do plan on spending some quality time at the resort -- the well-reviewed restaurants were one of the aspects of AKL that really attracted us, and if we stay there, we'll certainly be enjoying the food court, and at least one lengthy table-service meal, at the resort. While we're officially coming back each afternoon for a "nap," some pool time and animal-watching would be included, as well.

Oh yes, the food is sooooo good, the views are amazing, and the pools are fun! Have you decided between Kidani or Jambo?

 

[Weather_Lady]

Oh yes, the food is sooooo good, the views are amazing, and the pools are fun! Have you decided between Kidani or Jambo?

I think they both look lovely, but we'll be attempting to rent DVC points for a value studio, which would put us at Jambo House (and may or may not come with an unadvertised savannah view -- we're fine if it doesn't -- we'll just walk to the common lookout areas when we want an eyeful of zebra). We'll put in our reservation request with David's DVC Rentals (or one of the other reputable brokers) well ahead of the 11-month window, but if there's no availability, the whole issue may become moot as we simply cannot afford AKL out-of-pocket, even if a seasonal discount is offered. The gamble makes it more exciting, I suppose!

 

[lostpro9het]

I think they both look lovely, but we'll be attempting to rent DVC points for a value studio, which would put us at Jambo House (and may or may not come with an unadvertised savannah view -- we're fine if it doesn't -- we'll just walk to the common lookout areas when we want an eyeful of zebra). We'll put in our reservation request with David's DVC Rentals (or one of the other reputable brokers) well ahead of the 11-month window, but if there's no availability, the whole issue may become moot as we simply cannot afford AKL out-of-pocket, even if a seasonal discount is offered. The gamble makes it more exciting, I suppose!

Nice, good luck! We will be experiencing our first value room this week, a 1-bedroom. We've done savanna and standard but never a value.

 

[JasonDeyoung]

I've stayed twice at the Jambo House part of the resort. Honestly, both experience with the bus system I thought were fantastic. I never waited more than 10-15 mins for a bus to the any of the parks and never had a wait over 20 leaving the parks. I think they possibly have the best bus service on property. That's just MY opinion. With that being said, keep in mind the AKL resort is basically on the outter edge of property away from all the craziness. I love that. It is next to AK so that's obv a very short ride. As for Epcot, Studios, Disney Springs or the water parks it's a pretty short ride. Nothing out of the ordinary. Now going to MK from AKL I've timed it many times, it avg about 14 mins each time. That's from actually leaving the resort to arrival at MK. Some ppl will give you the "it took us an hour to get there!" Lines. Maybe if you just miss a bus which they run quite a few to MK anyways but had to wait like 20 mins then the ride over you're looking at 30-40 mins including wait and ride time but nothing on property takes an hour ON the bus. Some just don't take into it that you might have to wait. Don't let the "long bus ride" complaints even effect a decision. I did lots of research so knew exactly what I was going into and it was spot on if not better. Have a great time! Such an awesome resort

 

[Minthorne]

I was at Kidani December 2014 and thought the buses were the best I'd ever experienced at any resort in all my years.

 

[disneygirl1]

I feel like AKL gets a bad wrap for bus service. We have stayed there many times in the last few years and it was not bad at all. Experienced much worse service at other Resorts. It's a beautiful resort, one of our personal favorites.

 

[Bedknobs and Broomsticks]

During our 6 night stay at AKL Jambo house in October 2013 the buses were great. My DH and I were pleasantly surprised after all the negative trip advisor comments.

We booked a 9 night stay at AKL Jambo by renting DVC points through David's Vacation Club Rentals. We rented 11 months in advance were able to get a standard studio room at a great rate. So far the process has been seamless with excellent service from David's. We leave Friday!

 

[englanddg]

Yep, no issues with Bus service. My thoughts are in line with what others have said (a bit longer for MK, but AK is literally five minutes...insanely close...

We stayed at Jambo last month for four nights.

 

[Lucky]

I think they both look lovely, but we'll be attempting to rent DVC points for a value studio, which would put us at Jambo House (and may or may not come with an unadvertised savannah view -- we're fine if it doesn't -- we'll just walk to the common lookout areas when we want an eyeful of zebra). We'll put in our reservation request with David's DVC Rentals (or one of the other reputable brokers) well ahead of the 11-month window, but if there's no availability, the whole issue may become moot as we simply cannot afford AKL out-of-pocket, even if a seasonal discount is offered. The gamble makes it more exciting, I suppose!

We did Value Season and had 30% off at Jambo but it was still a lot more than we've spent on any previous WDW trips.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

I've stayed twice at the Jambo House part of the resort. Honestly, both experience with the bus system I thought were fantastic. I never waited more than 10-15 mins for a bus to the any of the parks and never had a wait over 20 leaving the parks. I think they possibly have the best bus service on property. That's just MY opinion. With that being said, keep in mind the AKL resort is basically on the outter edge of property away from all the craziness. I love that. It is next to AK so that's obv a very short ride. As for Epcot, Studios, Disney Springs or the water parks it's a pretty short ride. Nothing out of the ordinary. Now going to MK from AKL I've timed it many times, it avg about 14 mins each time. That's from actually leaving the resort to arrival at MK. Some ppl will give you the "it took us an hour to get there!" Lines. Maybe if you just miss a bus which they run quite a few to MK anyways but had to wait like 20 mins then the ride over you're looking at 30-40 mins including wait and ride time but nothing on property takes an hour ON the bus. Some just don't take into it that you might have to wait. Don't let the "long bus ride" complaints even effect a decision. I did lots of research so knew exactly what I was going into and it was spot on if not better. Have a great time! Such an awesome resort

Jason is right on the money with his comments - great bus service.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Thank you all for your comments! Now I feel like I've got a handle on what we can realistically expect, and I'm glad to hear that the bus service is generally good!

 

[COProgressFan]

Glad to hear all the positive reviews about bus service. We stayed here in 2005 and I recall bus service being fairly decent. For our trip next month, we have two small children (and naturally will be spending a decent amount of time at MK) so we were more concerned than we had been in the past.

I generally find that resorts with bus service ONLY (like AKL, values, moderates) have better bus service than the deluxe resorts with more options. There seems to be more frequency, and less sharing with other resorts. I can't tell you how much I hate the Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin routes. The Contemp/Poly and GF/WL routes can also be torturous. I'm not sure the travel times are much better at these other resorts.

We have also loved the flexibility of having a car on previous trips with the kids (no car this time), and that can be great, but I often think we may not be saving all that much time by the time we walk through the lots, etc. Driving to the MK is way more time consuming than bussing it.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Glad to hear all the positive reviews about bus service. We stayed here in 2005 and I recall bus service being fairly decent. For our trip next month, we have two small children (and naturally will be spending a decent amount of time at MK) so we were more concerned than we had been in the past.

I generally find that resorts with bus service ONLY (like AKL, values, moderates) have better bus service than the deluxe resorts with more options. There seems to be more frequency, and less sharing with other resorts. I can't tell you how much I hate the Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin routes. The Contemp/Poly and GF/WL routes can also be torturous. I'm not sure the travel times are much better at these other resorts.

We have also loved the flexibility of having a car on previous trips with the kids (no car this time), and that can be great, but I often think we may not be saving all that much time by the time we walk through the lots, etc. Driving to the MK is way more time consuming than bussing it.

What's the travel to the other parks from the GF? I've seen the same comments about the monorail resorts.

 

[COProgressFan]

What's the travel to the other parks from the GF? I've seen the same comments about the monorail resorts.

It's been a few years since I've stayed at a monorail resort. But in my experience, many of the busses were shared. Poly/Contemp use to share a bus and GF/WL would share. I do remember that it varied depending on route, but in general that was the practice. The problem with this is that the roads in that area are single lane, and fairly busy (Floridian Way, Seven Seas Drive., World Drive). So getting from resort to resort can be time consuming, even though they are relatively close.

I'm pretty sure this still occurs. Someone who's stayed there more recently might be more familiar with the exact routes.

 

[Tuvalu]

It's been a few years since I've stayed at a monorail resort. But in my experience, many of the busses were shared. Poly/Contemp use to share a bus and GF/WL would share. I do remember that it varied depending on route, but in general that was the practice. The problem with this is that the roads in that area are single lane, and fairly busy (Floridian Way, Seven Seas Drive., World Drive). So getting from resort to resort can be time consuming, even though they are relatively close.

I'm pretty sure this still occurs. Someone who's stayed there more recently might be more familiar with the exact routes.

As of August 2015:
Poly and GF share a bus to DHS and AK
WL and Contemporary share a bus to DHS and AK
Contemporary, Poly and GF share a bus to DTD
WL and Ft. Wilderness campground share a bus to Epcot and DTD

GF and Contemporary have the bus wait time screens (Poly and WL do not have them yet.) AKL also has the wait time screens.

As someone who has ridden A LOT of WDW buses from all levels of resorts, there is no resort with perfectly timed buses (since simply loading an ECV can throw the schedule off) and there is no resort with consistently bad bus service. For as many guests/routes those buses handle in a given day, they do an okay job of adhering to "Buses arrive (or depart) approximately every 20 minutes."

If waiting for a bus, or the crowded conditions on a bus, is problematic for someone, my counsel is drive yourself to the parks...with the exception of MK, where it is faster and more convenient to take a bus (or monorail or boat.)

 

[alissafalco]

I stayed there this past January, the buses were overall very good. My only complaint was sometimes a little over packed but we never had to wait too long.