Animal Kingdom Lodge Wins Award

[MobileBadBoy]

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge was presented a Thea award from the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) for outstanding achievement in the Themed Hotel category. The presentation came at the association’s annual award ceremony (September 28) at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California.

The Thea Awards were created to recognize and celebrate excellence in the themed entertainment. The TEA is an international alliance created by and for professionals in themed entertainment, recreation and leisure industries around the globe.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, featuring 1,293 rooms and suites, is the newest deluxe resort at 47-square-mile Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Most of the hotel’s guestrooms overlook a 33-acre savannah that offers 24-hour viewing opportunities of more than 200 mammals and birds. Three restaurants tempt the taste buds of resort guests, while more than 200 pieces of museum-quality art placed throughout the resort educate guests about African culture and heritage.

Disney Imagineers visited more than 20 African lodges to bring authentic flavor and detail to the resort.

 

[The Mom]

I'm another AKL fan; stayed twice, and trying to book again in Jan. (I'll be bringing my mom for what will probably be her last trip to WDW, so I intend to go concierge)

 

[goofyfan13]

I love the AKL we've stayed there 3 times twice in a savanna room and we're going back in april. I think AKL has one of the best themes on property. When I first stayed there I was amazed by the animal habitat and then the food at Boma was amazing. I like the food court too, they have great french toast sticks

 

[Eljay]

Feel Like A Star!

Originally posted by The Mom
I'm another AKL fan; stayed twice, and trying to book again in Jan. (I'll be bringing my mom for what will probably be her last trip to WDW, so I intend to go concierge)

Do concierge if possible! Last weekend, my 3rd stay at the AKL, we splurged & stayed on the 6th (top) floor. You feel like royalty! You need to insert your room key into a slot in the elevator to access the floor, there is beautiful food out for the taking 3 times a day, in the evening, cordials & dessert are yours for the pigging-out. The room was a little larger than the standards. The usual queen beds but also an arm chair between the bed & the sliding doors. Maybe another 4-5 feet wider. Oh yes, delicious robes. BTW, last weekend was "Soap Weekend" and many of the soap stars were on our floor. Too bad it was wasted on us, we're not soap watchers, but you could tell at a glance that they were not just ordinary tourists. Drop-dead gorgeous guys! We rubbed elbows with them at the continental breakfast buffet that they serve on concierge. When we checked out on Monday AM, the limos were lined up to whisk them back to the airport. Ah, to live the life of a star! Guess what, I felt like one on that floor!

 

[jcrb]

Re: Feel Like A Star!

Originally posted by Eljay
Do concierge if possible! Last weekend, my 3rd stay at the AKL, we splurged & stayed on the 6th (top) floor. You feel like royalty! You need to insert your room key into a slot in the elevator to access the floor, there is beautiful food out for the taking 3 times a day, in the evening, cordials & dessert are yours for the pigging-out. The room was a little larger than the standards. The usual queen beds but also an arm chair between the bed & the sliding doors. Maybe another 4-5 feet wider. Oh yes, delicious robes. BTW, last weekend was "Soap Weekend" and many of the soap stars were on our floor. Too bad it was wasted on us, we're not soap watchers, but you could tell at a glance that they were not just ordinary tourists. Drop-dead gorgeous guys! We rubbed elbows with them at the continental breakfast buffet that they serve on concierge. When we checked out on Monday AM, the limos were lined up to whisk them back to the airport. Ah, to live the life of a star! Guess what, I felt like one on that floor!

If it not to personal - How much did it cost per night?

 

[juan]

*I stayed at AKL form the 7th - 17th and loved it
*Every nook and cranny was themed, not just some dry wall slapped up and painted
*I felt like I was in AK every where I walked outside
*I do have to admit, comparing the CorSpr water slide to the AKL slide, Coronado takes the win, but the pools were equally satisfying
*apart from MK, AKL was one of the closest bus stops to the park
*the amount of turnover for busses was unbelievable, after Illuminations, there would be at least 2 busses waiting
*1 bus stop for whole hotel and all routes were direct
*the animals were always right in front of the window
***I paid $120 a night for a perfect savanna view room

 

[Eljay]

Re: Re: Feel Like A Star!

Originally posted by jcrb
If it not to personal - How much did it cost per night?

Well, you have to consider that I am a FL resident, AP holder & I stay in a Disney resort usually 6 times a year. I had answered the ad in the paper for FL residents for AKL $109. When I called, the res. operator told me to understand that it was a parking lot view room. I thought, O.K., this is my 3rd time at AKL, I don't really need a savannah view, I'll save a little money. When we arrived, they offered an upgrade to concierge for $189. Seeing an unheard of bargain, we grabbed it thinking this would never happen again & we would certainly spend the $40 apiece in food in the cheaper room. We stayed just one night, our usual. We have 2 full days in the parks, stay over one night. I don't know if it was a preferred customer perk or a bait & switch to avoid selling a room for $109. What ever the case I enjoyed it, cause it probably won't happen again!

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Re: Re: Re: Feel Like A Star!

Originally posted by Eljay
Well, you have to consider that I am a FL resident, AP holder & I stay in a Disney resort usually 6 times a year. I had answered the ad in the paper for FL residents for AKL $109. When I called, the res. operator told me to understand that it was a parking lot view room. I thought, O.K., this is my 3rd time at AKL, I don't really need a savannah view, I'll save a little money. When we arrived, they offered an upgrade to concierge for $189. Seeing an unheard of bargain, we grabbed it thinking this would never happen again & we would certainly spend the $40 apiece in food in the cheaper room. We stayed just one night, our usual. We have 2 full days in the parks, stay over one night. I don't know if it was a preferred customer perk or a bait & switch to avoid selling a room for $109. What ever the case I enjoyed it, cause it probably won't happen again!

Great deal, ours was about $270 a night in October. I used a code I got from mousesavers, and we stayed 8 days. Would have been nice to save and extra $80 a night tho. Man, that's $640! Could have stayed another 3 days at that rate.

See I would have spent the movey anyways, but more days in the World are always better.

 

[jcrb]

Wow what you payed for those rooms I could have stayed 21 ($270 *8 = 2160 / 100 = 21 ) days at the All-Star Resorts

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Originally posted by jcrb
Wow what you payed for those rooms I could have stayed 21 ($270 *8 = 2160 / 100 = 21 ) days at the All-Star Resorts

Yea, I could have stayed at a motel outside of Orlando for probebly $30 a night too, but I want to stay at AKL concierge, and that was the best deal I could find at the time.

I'm not tring to be snippy or anything, and I'm sure this rant will come off like a flame, which is not my intend, so please don't take this as any attack or anything, but I just have to say this.

I don't want to stay at All-Stars. I make enough to be able to stay in the deluxe resorts, and that's where I stay. Disney to me is not about the cost, but the experiance. If I wanted to save money, I just wouldn't go at all.

But I love Disney, and even though I went out of my way to get the best deal I could on the resort of my choice, I was ready to pay the $470 a night the room normally cost. Now there is no sence in just throwing the money away, thus that's why I used the discount codes, but one thing I was not going to comprimise on was staying at AKL concierge.

I have friends that do All-Stars, do nothing but ride ToT, Rock and Roll, and other such E-Ticket rides, and skip just about everything else. To them Disney is an amusment park, and they want to spend the least amount to do Disney in this way.

To me, it's the sights, sounds, and smells of being there. Relaxing in a great resort. taking your time. On our trip, the only rides we got on the 8 days we were there were Alien Encounter, Jungle Cuise, PotC, Buzz, MK Train, AK Saffari, Haunted Mansion, Figment, Star Wars and Spaceship Earth. Most of these were done in one day as well. We spend the rest of the time on the things we really like to do.

We did 4 tours. These took up a good portion of each day. We love to see all the shows and parades. We spent a lot of time at the AKL resort. We visited other resorts.

Sorry, this is so long and boring, but I really couldn't care less about saving money if you have to comprimise on what you want to do on a vacation. If I can afford it, I will do it. I won't penny pinch it. We love AKL, and if I could afford the suites, I'd do that too. They start at about $650 and go up over $2500 a night.

Ok, off the soap box, sorry those I offended, have a nice day, be well, say goodnight....goodnight.

 

[WDWspider]

Well, some people pay $1000 a night at some WDW Resorts, I could stay at one of them for two nights if I didn't eat. :lol:

 

[Eljay]

Originally posted by AkiraRaptor
Yea, I could have stayed at a motel outside of Orlando for probebly $30 a night too, but I want to stay at AKL concierge, and that was the best deal I could find at the time.

I'm not tring to be snippy or anything, and I'm sure this rant will come off like a flame, which is not my intend, so please don't take this as any attack or anything, but I just have to say this.

I don't want to stay at All-Stars. I make enough to be able to stay in the deluxe resorts, and that's where I stay. Disney to me is not about the cost, but the experiance. If I wanted to save money, I just wouldn't go at all.

But I love Disney, and even though I went out of my way to get the best deal I could on the resort of my choice, I was ready to pay the $470 a night the room normally cost. Now there is no sence in just throwing the money away, thus that's why I used the discount codes, but one thing I was not going to comprimise on was staying at AKL concierge.

I have friends that do All-Stars, do nothing but ride ToT, Rock and Roll, and other such E-Ticket rides, and skip just about everything else. To them Disney is an amusment park, and they want to spend the least amount to do Disney in this way.

To me, it's the sights, sounds, and smells of being there. Relaxing in a great resort. taking your time. On our trip, the only rides we got on the 8 days we were there were Alien Encounter, Jungle Cuise, PotC, Buzz, MK Train, AK Saffari, Haunted Mansion, Figment, Star Wars and Spaceship Earth. Most of these were done in one day as well. We spend the rest of the time on the things we really like to do.

We did 4 tours. These took up a good portion of each day. We love to see all the shows and parades. We spent a lot of time at the AKL resort. We visited other resorts.

Sorry, this is so long and boring, but I really couldn't care less about saving money if you have to comprimise on what you want to do on a vacation. If I can afford it, I will do it. I won't penny pinch it. We love AKL, and if I could afford the suites, I'd do that too. They start at about $650 and go up over $2500 a night.

Ok, off the soap box, sorry those I offended, have a nice day, be well, say goodnight....goodnight.

Amen to that. The magic comes in different forms for each of us. For me it's not complete unless I wake up in a deluxe. Sure, I've stayed at the Roach Motel on 192, but now I find a way to pay for the magic that's important to me.

 

[Elaine]

AKL

I just wrote about how bad the AS Resorts are...now I'll comment on the AKL. We aren't rich enough to stay at a resort like this one for the whole trip BUT if you were going to spend $ on one this is the one!!! We stayed for 3 or 4 days a year ago and when we go in January we are doing 5 days at POFQ and 2 at the AKL (equal $$$) I can't wait. It is the very best place I have ever stayed in my life on or off Disney property. I guess that there is always the chance of a bad experience anywhere but they have it so together that I would be shocked. It has it all---beauty, theming, REAL animals, good food, etc.

 

[hal1736]

i just got back about a month ago from an EXCELLENT trip to the AKL! i loved and would definatly stay there again!

 

[SewIn2Disney]

ya know.....I just read the entire thread thinking "wow....it took them that long to give this resort an award?" then I realized that someone brought up a new thread for NOTHING!

hal1736....I see your new, and we thank you for using the search feature, but generally, we don't bring up thread's this old unless it's really important.
Welcome to the boards?

 

[Marge10369]

Yea, I could have stayed at a motel outside of Orlando for probebly $30 a night too, but I want to stay at AKL concierge, and that was the best deal I could find at the time.

I'm not tring to be snippy or anything, and I'm sure this rant will come off like a flame, which is not my intend, so please don't take this as any attack or anything, but I just have to say this.

I don't want to stay at All-Stars. I make enough to be able to stay in the deluxe resorts, and that's where I stay. Disney to me is not about the cost, but the experiance. If I wanted to save money, I just wouldn't go at all.

But I love Disney, and even though I went out of my way to get the best deal I could on the resort of my choice, I was ready to pay the $470 a night the room normally cost. Now there is no sence in just throwing the money away, thus that's why I used the discount codes, but one thing I was not going to comprimise on was staying at AKL concierge.

I have friends that do All-Stars, do nothing but ride ToT, Rock and Roll, and other such E-Ticket rides, and skip just about everything else. To them Disney is an amusment park, and they want to spend the least amount to do Disney in this way.

To me, it's the sights, sounds, and smells of being there. Relaxing in a great resort. taking your time. On our trip, the only rides we got on the 8 days we were there were Alien Encounter, Jungle Cuise, PotC, Buzz, MK Train, AK Saffari, Haunted Mansion, Figment, Star Wars and Spaceship Earth. Most of these were done in one day as well. We spend the rest of the time on the things we really like to do.

We did 4 tours. These took up a good portion of each day. We love to see all the shows and parades. We spent a lot of time at the AKL resort. We visited other resorts.

Sorry, this is so long and boring, but I really couldn't care less about saving money if you have to comprimise on what you want to do on a vacation. If I can afford it, I will do it. I won't penny pinch it. We love AKL, and if I could afford the suites, I'd do that too. They start at about $650 and go up over $2500 a night.

Ok, off the soap box, sorry those I offended, have a nice day, be well, say goodnight....goodnight.

AKL has the only suites that I after. If they were something I could afford I would stay in one in a heartbeat. Love this resort. I agree with you and it is also very important to our family vacation stay where we will be the most comfortable and of course afford. I do believe there is a Disney resort that fits eveyone's needs, likes and budgets and that choice is their's alone. Happy Vacations!:animwink:

 

[AkiraRaptor]

ya know.....I just read the entire thread thinking "wow....it took them that long to give this resort an award?" then I realized that someone brought up a new thread for NOTHING!

hal1736....I see your new, and we thank you for using the search feature, but generally, we don't bring up thread's this old unless it's really important.
Welcome to the boards?

Wow, your right, this is an old one... But I still feel the same as when I made the post. And I still pay the $480 a night minus the discounts for AKL too. :lol: