Animal Kingdom Lodge Questions

[dxwwf3]

We just got a nice AP rate at the AKL for most of our stay during June 22 - July 2 and I have a few questions about the resort that I know someone will be able to help with.

First, where should I request our room to be? We have a standard room/standard view and I was told on the phone that there are VERY FEW rooms in this category in the actual lobby. Is this the best place to stay? We want to be as close as possible to the bus stop and/or The Mara. If we aren't able to get a lobby room, is the Zebra Trail the next best place to request? Because we will have a nothing view (and really don't care about the view anyways), it would be nice to be as close as possible to the buses.

What are people's opinions on The Mara? We're used to staying at the All Star Sports and Pop Century and I noticed the menu has just about everything we want, but it is a smaller selection overall. Is the food quality as good? We have no desire to eat at Boma or Jiko, so I would expect that we would be getting small breakfasts and late night meals there quite often.

What are people's experiences with the bus service there? As I said before, we're used to All Star Sports that usually has to share buses or Pop Century that usually has long lines (Although not too bad of a wait usually), but I know that AKL is a bit further away from the parks as well. This will be our first time at a Deluxe Resort, other than the Disneyland Hotel, and hopefully the bus service will be a step up.

Any other tips and ideas about the place? I'm a details person and will probably explore the grounds once we get there. Anything in particular to be on the look out for? We've been there once before to look around, but didn't spend a ton of time there.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[scorp111]

Are the Zebra Domes on the buffet at Boma???? They look wonderful....

They are on the buffet at Boma, and you can also buy them at the dessert case at Mara, the counter service snack area at AKL.

They are excellent, and a bit addictive!

 

[brkgnews]

They are on the buffet at Boma, and you can also buy them at the dessert case at Mara, the counter service snack area at AKL.

They are excellent, and a bit addictive!

Saying zebra domes are a bit addictive is like saying the pope is a bit catholic. :lol:

I think I had five servings of them over the course of my last week-long trip.

 

[Ashitaka]

Yeah looking at the resort map it does seem that the Giraffe Trail could be the best spot. Do you think it would be even better than getting one of the few lobby rooms? I just thought it would be neat to stay in the actual lobby, but if it would be more convenient to stay in Giraffe on the 3rd floor, in your opinion, I might call them back and request the Giraffe instead.

I'm not really sure if the Giraffe Trail is really any closer to the buses as I think you may have to walk to the lobby and then back around anyways. (I could be wrong on this, but I don't recall any entrance on the walk from the buses to the lobby until the one that enters the Zawadi marketplace.) And the lobby and the Giraffe Trail would be an equal distance to the Mara.

So I think if staying on the lobby intrigues you, put in a request for that. But wherever you are placed, you're going to have a great time at AKL.

 

[mickeymouse090]

I will be staying at AKL for the first time in January & I'm very excited about it! Thanks for all of the information, it has helped me out too. :wave: The only difference for us is we will be staying on a savanna, but we just don't know which one yet. Any suggestions on your favorites, especially since the DVC construction will still be going on when I am there.

 

[Ashitaka]

I will be staying at AKL for the first time in January & I'm very excited about it! Thanks for all of the information, it has helped me out too. :wave: The only difference for us is we will be staying on a savanna, but we just don't know which one yet. Any suggestions on your favorites, especially since the DVC construction will still be going on when I am there.

Allearsnet.com is reporting that there will be no animals on the Sunset Savanna January 15 - April 15th, 2009 due to them preparing the area for the new Villas next door. http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_akl.htm

I prefer the center Arusha Savanna as it seemed like every room would have a great view. Whereas it appeared that a few of the rooms overlooking the Sunset and Uzima Savannas might have dubious views.

For my first trip there this past December, I had put in a request for an Arusha view, knowing that this couldn't be guaranteed though. When we checked in, they first tried to give us a Sunset Savanna room facing the Ostrich Trail. Given that construction was going on, I nicely asked if there was any chance on getting the Arusha view we wanted. The cast member made a phone call to the room assigner and said that yes, we could, we'd just have to wait until 3pm for the room (it was then noon). We were so glad we did, because the room was great (3rd floor just a little bit off the lobby), as was the view.

We loved it so much, we're going back this October.

 

[mickeymouse090]

Allearsnet.com is reporting that there will be no animals on the Sunset Savanna January 15 - April 15th, 2009 due to them preparing the area for the new Villas next door. http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_akl.htm

I prefer the center Arusha Savanna as it seemed like every room would have a great view. Whereas it appeared that a few of the rooms overlooking the Sunset and Uzima Savannas might have dubious views.

For my first trip there this past December, I had put in a request for an Arusha view, knowing that this couldn't be guaranteed though. When we checked in, they first tried to give us a Sunset Savanna room facing the Ostrich Trail. Given that construction was going on, I nicely asked if there was any chance on getting the Arusha view we wanted. The cast member made a phone call to the room assigner and said that yes, we could, we'd just have to wait until 3pm for the room (it was then noon). We were so glad we did, because the room was great (3rd floor just a little bit off the lobby), as was the view.

We loved it so much, we're going back this October.

I had heard about the animals being off of the Sunset Savanna when I am there so that is why I was looking for some advice. I will request the Arusha Savanna when I book because of the construction, this will be my first visit to AKL & the last thing I want to see is construction going on! I also will be with some first timers to Disney & I don’t want this to be their first impression, especially because they specifically requested we stay at AKL because they are animal lovers!

Thank you for all of your help!:wave:

 

[WIX]

My DH and I stayed at AKL about five years ago and although it was very beautiful, we will never stay there again. The lobby is gorgeous. The savannah views delightful.

We were in the very last room of the upper floor at the furthest end of the hotel from the lobby and busses. We would have to walk so very far to get to an elevator, then take it upstairs and walk all the way to the end of the hallway to our room. This was a minimum fifteen minute walk. When you are walking as much as all of us do at WDW that is the last thing you want to ever do at the end of your day.

The food at both Jiko and Boma was excellent, but you don't want to eat it everyday. Well some of you may, but we tired of it. This was the year we realized how very often you actually grabbed a bite to eat at your own property. Just never realized that before then. We were there for eight nights and it was just too long for that kind of food. The DH is VERY particular on what he will eat. This was a very interesting trip.

This was the year we bought into the DVC and purchased VWL even though we could have bought SS cheaper. Just wanted our home base to be at a hotel we knew we could eat anywhere.

Hope this helped out :wave:

 

[RiversideBunny]

OK, I have a question about AKL -

So you stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals.
You pay the deluxe rates and get a savannah view room to see the animals.
The animals that you see, though, are the tamer ones like gazelles, giraffes, and zebras.
You don't see the exciting ones like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, crocodiles, gorillas, and snogasaurouses.

Is it worth it?
Thanks

 

[maryszhi]

savanah view to see the animals, or standard if your just staying there to stay there.
it is worth it, the atmosphere is amazing, and truely amazing to see the animals

 

[mickeymouse090]

OK, I have a question about AKL -

So you stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals.
You pay the deluxe rates and get a savannah view room to see the animals.
The animals that you see, though, are the tamer ones like gazelles, giraffes, and zebras.
You don't see the exciting ones like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, crocodiles, gorillas, and snogasaurouses.

Is it worth it?
Thanks

I agree, but I'm not paying for the hotel portion of our trip. I am going with my brother & soon to be sister-in-law & she is the one who wants to stay at AKL. I'm not going to argue since I'm not paying for it. On my last trip in 2006 I chose POFQ because it was a step up from the value resorts & because I couldn't afford to stay in the deluxe. My dream resorts to stay in if I ever hit the lotto are the Polynesian & the Boardwalk! :ROFLOL::ROFLOL:Good Luck hitting the lottery in this life time! :ROFLOL:

 

[jjgoo]

OK, I have a question about AKL -

So you stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals.
You pay the deluxe rates and get a savannah view room to see the animals.
The animals that you see, though, are the tamer ones like gazelles, giraffes, and zebras.
You don't see the exciting ones like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, crocodiles, gorillas, and snogasaurouses.

Is it worth it?
Thanks

Actually I hear that if you want to see the snogasaurouses you have to go when the cheerleaders and football players are in the park and if you look very carefully you may get to see a asaurous. Oh joy. :lol:

 

[Ashitaka]

OK, I have a question about AKL -

So you stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals.
You pay the deluxe rates and get a savannah view room to see the animals.
The animals that you see, though, are the tamer ones like gazelles, giraffes, and zebras.
You don't see the exciting ones like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, crocodiles, gorillas, and snogasaurouses.

Is it worth it?
Thanks

Worth it? Well, that depends on your preferences are and what kind of vacation you're looking for.

If you are going on a quick trip and will be spending all of your time in the parks, then probably not. When my brother and I used to go together to WDW, all we need in a resort was two beds to collapse on at the very end of the day. Thus, we stayed at the All-Stars. (Of course, that was all we could afford back then anyways.)

Years later, I'm now going on trips with the woman I love. We want to spend more time at our resort relaxing, thus we want a nicer resort. (And fortunately, we can now afford it - barely.) She loves animals, so this resort becomes our preference.

Is any deluxe resort worth it? The ones on the monorail can get you to the MK quickly. That can be a good benefit if you are planning on going to the MK a number of times during your stay. This coming trip we are only going to be spending one day at MK.

The animals give us something to look forward to as we head back to our resort. And the atmosphere at AKL is great.

As for the "exciting animals" - I'm not really needing a demonstration of the circle of life by seeing a lion chasing down an atelope as viewed from our balcony. I'm just looking for some gazing african animals to watch as I relax on my balcony.

I do believe that Grilled Snogasaurous is on the menu at Jiko. Mmmmmm.

So for us, AKL is definitely worth it.

 

[cushion]

just thought this video might help...we stayed in the savanah view that looked into the central savanah...we were on the 2nd floor and it was fab..oh and zebra domes were and are and will be when i go again in december ...AMAZING...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow9_wdmNKo8

 

[MickeyspalJim]

We have stayed at the AKL twice, once in a cash room, and then in a DVC. studio villa. The first room ended up in the lobby level, Floor 3, just down the hall from the store. Very close to the buses, like someone said earlier, just cut through the store to save a few steps. Speaking of the buses, Both stays at AKL, the buses were great! very short waits, and having a seperate bus stop with benches for each park was a plus as well. We got to the resort to find out that the "computer" kicked out our reservation, as well as 7 others that day, so We ended up with this great pool view room just off the lobby and there was not one bit of noise from the lobby or the pool disrupting Us in our room. As far as eating, We did the buffet the one time and it was enjoyable. like most buffets. The Mara is not too bad for a food court. They do add some interesting African Meals to the menu. I too tried the african stew in the bread bowl and it was fantastic! We both tried different soups and they too were very tasty. The rest of the menu is your usual food. Pizza, burgers, chicken. All tasty as long as You like it. We did! The dining room itself is a pretty good size as well. There is a section in the left corner with cartoons playing for anyone who is interested. The rest of the room has nice african music playing, which by the way, I really enjoyed. LOL.
Our second stay was in a savanna view up on the 4th or 5th floor. As someone mentioned before though, depending on Your room, it could be a very long walk just getting to the lobby, not to mention the buses. It is no joke when someone tells You 10 mins. or longer of a walk. The resort is quite a maze of hallways. Having the view was just great! They may not have animals attacking each other for some peoples enjoyment, LOL, but We took many many photos of the Mello animals that You do see. We even got a pic of a Giraffe kissing one of the small brown striped horned animals as well. Not something You see every day. No joke, it looked like they were in Love. :lol: They followed each other around all the time. Every so often, You see the animals pass by heading towards a signal that they hear and are trained to go towards, which gives You the op. to see just about every animal that roams these savanas.
Just for fun, You can go up on the 4th or 5th floor and go out on the suspension bridge and get some great photos of the lobby below and the savanna outside. Also, with just a standard view room, just go out the back entrance of the lobby to see the animals out on the savanna too.
At different times of the day, there is a tall thin African CM. with a really cool walking stick, who also has the longest Pin lanyard I have seen, who will pin trade with You all day long. He is a very pleasant, and friendly Man. Fun to just stay and talk with him for a bit. The resort has great views, pools, places to eat and a very relaxed atmosphere as well.
I hope some of this helps and I really hope that You have a great stay at AKL.:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy: