Animal Kingdom Lodge-First Time Advice!

[riogirl]

We just made reservations for the AKL for a week this August 2015! We are going with my family of 3 and my sister's family of 3 and it will be our first time at the AKL! I would love all you vets of the Lodge to help us out with the following:
We have pool view and would love a room
1) close as possible to the lobby/restaurants/action of the resort
2) advice on the best floor to request
3) we definitely want adjoining rooms and have gotten them easily at the WL-is AKL as accommodating?

So what is the best location to request? Thanks and all advice is welcome!

 

[CheshireCat12]

Not sure why no one has replied to this yet, but I liked the 4th floor.
You can just call and add a request for being as close as possible to the lobby, I'm sure they will accommodate if they can.

 

[Gaston's gal]

Disney is usually good at honoring requests, but won't guarantee them. While you are at AKL, make sure you do the Night Vision goggles when they offer them. It's a fun way to see the animals. You will really enjoy this resort!

 

[jlsHouston]

Make sure you ask for a room with a dresser...I stayed there once and had a pool view. There was no dresser in the room and we never really felt unpacked.... We had 2nd floor, quick walk to lobby, nice pool view. It's a lovely resort and probably the best pool IMO, even though everyone raves about Stormalong Bay at BC/YC...I really preferred the pool at AKL over Stormalong Bay.

 

[HauntedMansionFLA]

Explore the resort!!! There is a lot to see at AKL. Most people freak out and kill themselves at the parks. There are cast members from Africa that can educate about their home country. Do the night vision googles and enjoy the camp fire. The pools are awesome. Enjoy! Oh, there are lots of animals to check out.

 

[dreamfinder]

Most of the pool view rooms are pretty close to the lobby to begin with. Adjoining rooms is always going to be a toss up. If the assigner can grant the request, then they will. I'd make sure to have it noted on your reservation prior to your arrival to increase your chances of getting them. Touring Plans has a great tool here -> http://touringplans.com/hotel_maps/disneys-animal-kingdom-lodge to help you see what rooms are where and exactly how they are classified.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

In addition to the Cast member out on the Savannah overlooks talking to you about the animals, check with the activities schedule. They sometimes give presentations about their homeland customs, cultures, way of life, etc. in the library... it was very enjoyable when we sat in one one a few years back.

Youngsters might enjoy the night-vision as something different. But for me it was ...meh. Rather enjoy their beauty in the daylight.

I am sure they AKL staff will do their best to accommodate your requests, so make them ahead of time. Don't wait until check-in to expect rooms next to each other.

 

[riogirl]

THanks all

 

[Lucky]

You might find this unofficial AKL site useful...

http://www.aklresort.com/content/rooms

 

[JasonDeyoung]

We just made reservations for the AKL for a week this August 2015! We are going with my family of 3 and my sister's family of 3 and it will be our first time at the AKL! I would love all you vets of the Lodge to help us out with the following:
We have pool view and would love a room
1) close as possible to the lobby/restaurants/action of the resort
2) advice on the best floor to request
3) we definitely want adjoining rooms and have gotten them easily at the WL-is AKL as accommodating?

So what is the best location to request? Thanks and all advice is welcome!

I LOVE AKL! I love the giraffe trail section. I stayed 5th floor. They have a main elevator that you can use or another mid way on the floor that takes you down directly to the pool, quick service food and everything else. The bus stop is the closest to this section. I'd suggest giraffe trail

 

[HouCuseChickie]

We stayed AKL once and loved it! We paid for a pool view, but were given 3 savanna options during online checkin... so we wound up with a savanna view. We were on the same floor as the lobby which was great since there was no waiting for elevators. We were still right near the pool, which was great any time we did want to use the pool or eat at the Mara. The walk to the lobby also wasn't bad. I wish I remembered our room number, but we pretty much would walk to the end of the lobby towards the glass windows, hang a right and we were 2 or 3 sections down the hall. Honestly, not bad at all.