AKL for adults only trip?

SamandplanningUK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hi all,

We have just booked a trip for Sept 2023 - 9 nights in AKL to celebrate my 40th and my husband and I's 20th anniversary. This is our first trip just the two of us and I managed to get £750 of dining credit and £200 gift card as a lovely bonus.
My question is; our heart belongs to Wilderness Lodge, but I chose AKL for it's variety of restaurants and its 'get away from it all' theming. Is it a good place for an adults trip?

We've stayed at POFQ, POR, CBR and OKW (this July).
 

RememberWhen

Well-Known Member
If you like the animals, I think you’ll love it! Which lodge did you book? And did you do savannah view? Jambo house has that same awe inspiring lobby feel that wilderness lodge has.

We stayed at Kidani in February and loved sitting out on the balcony watching the animals.
 

correcaminos

Well-Known Member
I've been all over in resorts. WL is one of our favorites, but so is AKL. I think it is nice and quiet and just a lovely feel to it. Different and yet similar in a way to WL (just themed differently). The get away from it all theming is top notch. Beautiful lobby, Lovely grounds. Like I said similar but different to WL.
 

SamandplanningUK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
If you like the animals, I think you’ll love it! Which lodge did you book? And did you do savannah view? Jambo house has that same awe inspiring lobby feel that wilderness lodge has.

We stayed at Kidani in February and loved sitting out on the balcony watching the animals.
I booked a pool view room, would have loved a Savannah view but the budget wouldn’t stretch that far.
We have visited Sanaa restaurant before so have been in that part but never visited the other part.
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
I booked a pool view room, would have loved a Savannah view but the budget wouldn’t stretch that far.
We have visited Sanaa restaurant before so have been in that part but never visited the other part.
Ask for an upgrade. You are there a long time so it might not happen but some do their standard view rooms even have animal views, and we have always been upgraded albeit for trips or only 4 or less nights.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
I actually prefer AKL over WL. It's probably the only resort on property where I can mentally feel like like I'm not tethered to the parks. Don't get me wrong...it's still magical and has lots of Disney vibes, but it's far more convincing with the destination resort vibe than other Disney resorts. Sure, it's not as close to the parks as some resorts, but we've had decent bus service in our AKL stays.
 

Philo

Well-Known Member
It's a very good place for an adults only trip. I had a split stay between ALK and WL for my honeymoon a few years ago and whilst both were amazing, ALK just feels more special to me.
 

LittleMerman

Well-Known Member
My boyfriend and I did an 8-night trip at AKL last February and loved it! It's such a beautiful hotel. We loved walking around the premises and enjoying the animals. It was too cold to swim but the pool looked very nice. We loved the food options - we had dinner at Boma our first night, enjoyed lunch at Sanaa, and had breakfast at The Mara one day. We were very pleased with the room. There were a few times we got drinks from a lounge or the pool bar and walked around enjoying the decor. There are plenty of places to sit and relax and enjoy a drink like around the fire or the sitting areas in the lobby.

It doesn't get my vote for the most romantic hotel - that probably goes to Poly or something that feels a little more upscale like GF - but it was an amazing experience and felt very "adventurous." We didn't get a savanna view room and asked for an upgrade with no availability. She told us more than likely that was because of the length of our stay and that we would have better luck asking in the middle of the week if we wanted to try again. We never did because we were so busy we didn't feel like packing up and changing rooms in the middle of our stay but you could always try if you're interested.

I'm curious how you got the dining credit and gift card though!
 

Diamond Dot

Well-Known Member
I've never stayed there, but, it's one ofthe best for resort hopping, The Mara is not a bad quickservelace, Boma is great for breakfast (especially with the free dining credit) and afternoons spent watching the animals is lovely. My tip would be to hop the bus over to Kidani Lodge for a breakfast with a view in Sanaa.
 

SamandplanningUK

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
My boyfriend and I did an 8-night trip at AKL last February and loved it! It's such a beautiful hotel. We loved walking around the premises and enjoying the animals. It was too cold to swim but the pool looked very nice. We loved the food options - we had dinner at Boma our first night, enjoyed lunch at Sanaa, and had breakfast at The Mara one day. We were very pleased with the room. There were a few times we got drinks from a lounge or the pool bar and walked around enjoying the decor. There are plenty of places to sit and relax and enjoy a drink like around the fire or the sitting areas in the lobby.

It doesn't get my vote for the most romantic hotel - that probably goes to Poly or something that feels a little more upscale like GF - but it was an amazing experience and felt very "adventurous." We didn't get a savanna view room and asked for an upgrade with no availability. She told us more than likely that was because of the length of our stay and that we would have better luck asking in the middle of the week if we wanted to try again. We never did because we were so busy we didn't feel like packing up and changing rooms in the middle of our stay but you could always try if you're interested.

I'm curious how you got the dining credit and gift card though!

That sounds just what I'm looking for, I didn't realise they had a fire! I might try asking for an upgrade as we are going in September which is apparently 'quiet' but I'm not sure if Disney's quiet periods exist anymore.
They are offering dining credit and gift cards if you book with Virgin Holidays for 2023 dates. If you book direct with Disney I believe you also get free tickets for Cirque Du Soleil as well.
 

LittleMerman

Well-Known Member
That sounds just what I'm looking for, I didn't realise they had a fire! I might try asking for an upgrade as we are going in September which is apparently 'quiet' but I'm not sure if Disney's quiet periods exist anymore.
They are offering dining credit and gift cards if you book with Virgin Holidays for 2023 dates. If you book direct with Disney I believe you also get free tickets for Cirque Du Soleil as well.
Yup! There's a little fire pit on the right side of the lobby with some seating:
fireplace-in-lobby.jpg


And there's an outside fire pit, I think it's outside the lobby of Kidani Village:
250C92D7-1489-4837-A815-6322999CD979.jpeg
 

TrainsOfDisney

Well-Known Member
I think AKL is one of the most upscale and most “adult” feeling resorts on property. They have really great restaurants, a great bar, and the Savannah is so peaceful and relaxing.

The only downside compared to other deluxe resorts is how far away it is from all of the parks and the springs but in my experience bus transportation has been better at AKL than other deluxe resorts but that might just be my luck.
 

Tom P.

Well-Known Member
That sounds just what I'm looking for, I didn't realise they had a fire! I might try asking for an upgrade as we are going in September which is apparently 'quiet' but I'm not sure if Disney's quiet periods exist anymore.
They are offering dining credit and gift cards if you book with Virgin Holidays for 2023 dates. If you book direct with Disney I believe you also get free tickets for Cirque Du Soleil as well.
Since you quoted amounts in pounds, I presume that you are in the UK and so that offer wouldn't be available for people in the United States?
 

Diamond Dot

Well-Known Member
That sounds just what I'm looking for, I didn't realise they had a fire! I might try asking for an upgrade as we are going in September which is apparently 'quiet' but I'm not sure if Disney's quiet periods exist anymore.
They are offering dining credit and gift cards if you book with Virgin Holidays for 2023 dates. If you book direct with Disney I believe you also get free tickets for Cirque Du Soleil as well.
Did you check the difference in prices between VH and WDTC? I found a huge difference for Pop Century. VH did include flights, but, it was £2800 for WDTC including the £148 off for the Defence Discount and £4280 including an economy flight with VH, I cannot believe a return ticket for one will be £1400. Then again, who knows? I'm going at the very end of August.
 

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