-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Staying at AKL for the first time, what is everyones take on this resort? good or bad
- Thread starter drossjr
- Start date
Pippa
Well-Known Member
Congrats on your honeymoon!
I am sure you will love it, it's my home resort for DVC and I adore it.
As it's at the edge of the property it feels quite isloated, which after the parks during the day is lovely. Its lovely to hang out at the resort in the daytime and its very tranquil once everyone else is at the parks.
I am sure you will love it, it's my home resort for DVC and I adore it.
As it's at the edge of the property it feels quite isloated, which after the parks during the day is lovely. Its lovely to hang out at the resort in the daytime and its very tranquil once everyone else is at the parks.
Upvote
0
Thanks DisneyJoe and Pippa for the well wishes
That was my one concern about being so far out on the edge of Disney property, We almost stayed at Poly but I have stayed their and though I love it we wanted something new and to be ours so we picked AKL because we love the look of the resort and our big animal lovers
That was my one concern about being so far out on the edge of Disney property, We almost stayed at Poly but I have stayed their and though I love it we wanted something new and to be ours so we picked AKL because we love the look of the resort and our big animal lovers
Upvote
0
Pippa
Well-Known Member
Make sure you pick up an activity sheet too, they have lots of things going on, some just for adults too.
My favs were the african story tellers around the fire pit in the evenings (even better with a glass of wine in hand) and the restaurant tour of Jiko and Boma. And it's all free!!
My favs were the african story tellers around the fire pit in the evenings (even better with a glass of wine in hand) and the restaurant tour of Jiko and Boma. And it's all free!!
Upvote
0
Master Gracey 5
Active Member
Stayed there a few years back and had a great time. Its a fantastic and well done resort and the chance to see animals out the back door never gets old. The rooms are very comfortable and spacious, probably some of the best I've seen in all WDW.
My only "complaints" are that the bus rides to the parks can be long given its location (especially after a late night at MK) and the walk to the bus stop itself from your room can be long depending on where you are actually staying. Still, these are small issues in an otherwise great resort.
Have fun!
My only "complaints" are that the bus rides to the parks can be long given its location (especially after a late night at MK) and the walk to the bus stop itself from your room can be long depending on where you are actually staying. Still, these are small issues in an otherwise great resort.
Have fun!
Upvote
0
corey154
Active Member
We only went for a short weekend trip but we loved it, we enjoyed sitting in the lobby, people watching. We had a regular standard room with no view and still loved our room. The only thing I didn't like was to get to the counter service you had to walk out of the main building, but at least the gift shop had sodas and limited snacks you could grab. I thought the main building always smelled so good from the restaurants. We didn't even want to go to the theme parks b/c we liked the resort so much, animal watching and swimming. And it's a great photo op resort!!
Upvote
0
This is so true. I swear I gain at least a pound every time I walk into the lobby around dinner time.:lol:
Upvote
0
We noticed the african story tellers last year when we went to eat at Boma, we plan on doing exactly what you suggest except I will have a beer dont like wine! Thanks for the advice
Interesting about the restuarant tour. We are also doing the sunrise safari! :sohappy:
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
We stayed in a club level savanna view room w/bunk beds (for our 2 sons) at AKL in January this year. My in-laws were in the connecting 2 queen room. The resort overall was great. We liked it. The location definitely lends to a more relaxing feel. We loooooved our breakfast at Boma. Jiko was enjoyable but not a restaurant I'd go eat at again if we weren't staying at the AKL. As an avid planner I didn't feel like the IPO (advance planning service) was any good for us. I think that's a more useful perk for folks who don't do all the insane planning we typically do. We also had like 2 out of 3 things that they were supposed to stay on top of or take care of for us that they messed up or just didn't do so I had to fix those things (forget exactly what at the moment but recall I was mildly irritated by it.. LOL!). Once there, the club level concierge staff were wonderful & really went above & beyond to take care of us. There were a couple things that we didn't like about our stay. First, the room location. We weren't very far from the elevator on the 4th floor compared to people who had rooms all the way down at the end of Zebra Trail but it would've been nice to be on the same floor as the club lounge. It's my understanding that the rooms on the 6th floor (same as the lounge) were converted to DVC units. Why would they impede on they resorts "Club/Concierge Level" for timeshares??? Why couldn't they do that on the 5th floor? Or 4th? Second, was the room size. I realize we're totally spoiled by the room sizes at The Contemporary (& me at the Poly). When we walked into our rooms they both felt very, very tight. The bathroom/vanity arrangement is pretty much like staying at a Hampton Inn or something. To get into the room where the tub & toilet are and shut the door you have to either scoot to the side of the toilet or take a step into the tub. We muuuuuch prefer the arrangement of the baths at the Poly or Contemporary. For those reasons, even tho we enjoyed our stay & are glad we did it once, we wouldn't stay at AKL again. Also, considering that the Wilderness Lodge & Grand Californian resorts were both designed by the same architect & the room arrangements/sizes appear to be quite similar we would be highly unlikely to stay at either of those if we had other options available. We're spoiled. I know. :lol:
Oh! And if you haven't thought about it already, I totally recommend the Sunrise Safari! That was one of the highlights of our trip! It's the one thing that would make me want to book another club level room at AKL for a night. For more details & pics you can click on my link to my most recent trip report in my signature. :wave:
Oh! And if you haven't thought about it already, I totally recommend the Sunrise Safari! That was one of the highlights of our trip! It's the one thing that would make me want to book another club level room at AKL for a night. For more details & pics you can click on my link to my most recent trip report in my signature. :wave:
Upvote
0
mickeysshoes
Well-Known Member
Been there, done that, will go back to the Wilderness Lodge!! But I am sure you will have an awesome time. Congrats on the Honeymoon!!!
Upvote
0
Pippa
Well-Known Member
The tour starts at 4pm and you don't have to be staying at AKL. They explain the theming behind the restaurants and then talk you through the menu. At Jiko we got flatbreads and dips to eat and at Boma a bowl of soup and a Zebra Dome each. Pretty much a meal in itself!
Upvote
0
sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
Yeah, location is another big perk at the Contemporary & Poly. Walking to AK would've been cool!
Upvote
0
DisneyFan1003
Active Member
We stayed at AKL on our honeymoon and loved it! The pool/hot tub area is great, especially later at night when things quiet down. Rooms are fantastic. Definitely plan dinner at Jiko - it was one of the best dinners we've had.
Congrats and enjoy!
Congrats and enjoy!
Upvote
0