Animal kingdom lodge....

[matt clark]

On Christmas i plan on switching from universal a.p.'s and doing a year of Disney.
I am planning on doing all four parks starting the day after christmas as the kids present.
Each night we are at the 4 parks we will be staying at world quest villas... its a great price and we really enjoy it.. however... as a cool down day i want to surprise everyone and purchase a day/night at Animal Kingdom Lodge. NONE of us have ever been to a disney on-site hotel.

Could you experts let me know how i should fill out the whole day/night on site???
its rest and relaxation so we would not be leaving the hotel grounds...
Where should we eat on site?
what is there to do on site?
safari?
fill me in.....

 

[matt clark]

also.. what is the best room to try and get for a family of four?
id love to be able to see the animals from our room if possible.
I know its obviously not 100% guaranteed to see anything, but whats the best location to try?

 

[BigRedDad]

Zebra trail is one of the best spots. You have to get a Savannah view in order to see animals. If not, you can go to any of the viewing areas to watch them to your hearts content. Personally, I love Boma for dinner. Many people like Sanaa, but I have never been there. They have daily kids activities and two pools. I prefer Jambo house because of the fireplace and the smell it puts through the lobby.

 

[RedDad]

We did this same thing several years ago - tagged an extra day/night onto the end of our trip at AKL, and just spent an entire day there. You'll pay more for a savanna view room, but it's worth every penny IMO. The dining is outstanding - The Mara is probably our favorite counter service at any resort, and Boma breakfast buffet is the best on property. Sanaa is a fun experience eating while watching the animals, and we loved the food (Indian/African cuisine). Jiko is also fantastic, though fairly upscale (better for adults, IMO).

As for stuff to do - you can swim in either pool (Jambo or Kidani), and there's a shuttle that will take you between the 2. There's also several savanna viewing locations throughout the hotel, along with some exhibits, etc. There's also campfire activities, roasting marshmallows for the kids, and movies by the pool in the evenings. You'll have no problem filling up a day and night at AKL.

 

[thomas998]

Don't go with the expectation of seeing animals. You may or may not see any depending not only on which room you have but also on what time you get up. The activity level of the animals varies depending on time of year and time of day... We saw very few when were were there for 4 nights and it didn't matter if we were looking from our rooms or the viewing areas they just weren't visible anywhere.

If your plan is staying at the hotel then it does have very nice pools... food is a matter of taste so that depends on your preference.... but if you plan on staying at the resort all day its perfect for that because its a pain in the backside to get to any of the parks from there because it is kind of off by itself in the middle of nowhere.

 

[SAV]

Have you given any thought to staying at the Beach Club resort? It has an amazing pool and is on the Disney Boardwalk which gives you plenty to do. I guess the Boardwalk part isn't very "restful" but it is something to do.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

My biggest piece of advice is to not pay extra for a savanna view room. Save a bunch of money, book standard view, and watch the animals from any of the public viewing areas. You may even get lucky and get a "standard view" room that still has a view of the savanna.

 

[matt clark]

excellent tips.
I think i will end up doing the buffet deal.
Everyone in my whole family likes different things and i cannot have much red meat.
I checked a few sites and the buffet seems to work for everyone.

Would getting a Savannah view room with the bunk beds be a happy medium???
i see that the animals are kind of a rare deal and theres tons of viewing areas... my son will be 6 and my daughter will be 12. i think theyd have fun with the bunk experience...

 

[matt clark]

i gave thought to the boardwalk for sure.
I think i want to do this as a one time big splurge day.
If i stay on site after that with the passes i will probably end up doing the budget hotels with lots of kid perks for the little ones... probably art of animation.
My fiance and daughter love little mermaid... so that will probably be a big draw for us after this large trip.

My kids have so many toys and gadgets they dont even have room in their rooms for them anymore... im just trying to come up with more creative things going forward for birthdays and christmas. We are going to be doing more vacations, cruises, and things like this for christmas and birthdays moving forward.

they can get two or three little presents and then something like this.
I plan on filling up stockings with magic bands etc. and putting this hotel reservation in a card or something.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

My biggest piece of advice is to not pay extra for a savanna view room. Save a bunch of money, book standard view, and watch the animals from any of the public viewing areas. You may even get lucky and get a "standard view" room that still has a view of the savanna.

Agree 100%... there are plenty of spots to view the animals.

 

[Swissmiss]

If you can afford to really splurge, look into the daytime safari at the hotel - after riding in a truck around the savannahs with one of the animal keepers who tells you all about the animals and the various research they are doing, the whole group eats a family style meal at Jiko. As others have said, not necessarily worth it to pay extra for the savannah rooms, particularly in your case where it sounds like you will be out of the room to take advantage of the activities. Arrive early in the day so that you can get the most of all the neat activities throughout the day. On our last trip we arrived early and while waiting for my sister and her husband to get in my daughter learned about tracking animals. Another day walking thru the lobby we stopped to learn about playing drums. Most activities like that are free, though at Christmas time there are some additional ones for a nominal fee (such as cookie decorating). For information, my child has an extreme sensitivity to pepper and other such spices (no joke, any time I've added a dash of pepper to food as I've cooked she's screamed that the meal is too spicy) and she has never had a problem finding something to eat at any of the restaurants at the Lodge. Have fun!

 

[matt clark]

ok, cool. i may consider a standard view room then.
Yes, we will for sure be there early. We should wake up at world quest and check out before 11a.m. and head right on over there to check in.

awesome on the random free stuff to do during the day.
any other cool things like that?
i saw at night you COULD do night vision goggles or something?
i saw on another sight the safari things were like $190 per person.
i have 4 people.. seems a bit outrageous with 4 people... 2.. MAYBE...
but if we are at animal kingdom the day before we are obviously doing the safari.
We live close to busch gardens and the personal safari deal is MUCH cheaper... so i will probably skip that "deal"

 

[jimbojones]

My kids have so many toys and gadgets they dont even have room in their rooms for them anymore... im just trying to come up with more creative things going forward for birthdays and christmas. We are going to be doing more vacations, cruises, and things like this for christmas and birthdays moving forward.

they can get two or three little presents and then something like this.
I plan on filling up stockings with magic bands etc. and putting this hotel reservation in a card or something.

We try to do the same thing and my kids now say they prefer to spend a week or two traveling than to get more toys. Its so much more satisfying and enriching to have experiences than just more junk to fill up the house that just gets thrown away or given away in the end. I don't remember what toys I had at 8 but I remember just about every moment of a visit to Europe when I was 8. For a birthday or winter gift we might get each kids a book about a place that we are going to go or something like that. I am by no means rich and I'd rather my kids see the world than have a whole lot of "stuff" so that's where we spend our money and free time, traveling.

 

[matt clark]

I actually didnt think of that. Thats a great idea actually. Any advice on a good disney history or fun facts book?
I may hit up amazon and poke around in a bit.