Staying at Animal Kingdom in May

[rayandjill]

My wife and I, along with our two daughters (9&7) are going to WDW in May. We've booked the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Any hints, tips or pointers about AKL. We've never been there before. I was on this board two years ago when we were going and stayed at the Carribean Beach. The advice was GREAT!!!! Hopefully, someone here can help me out again.

Thank you in advance.

Ray

 

[Master Yoda]

Hopefully you booked a Savannah view room they are the best. Allow some time for hanging around the resort. There are numerous places to view the animals, the pool is great and the dinning is spectacular. IMHO you wont find a better resort on property.

 

[rayandjill]

We did book a Savanah room

My girls are asking about "bunk beds". I'm not sure if that will take up too much space in the room.

How's the restaurant at AKL?

 

[Master Yoda]

We have stayed in a savannah room with the bunk beds and they actually rake up a little less space then the standard beds (I think they are queen size) With 2 girls I would highly recommend it. I have 3 girls and each of them having their own bed definitely helped at least until they decided to argue over the top bunk. :lol:

 

[barnum42]

I've never stayed at AKL, but I have made lots of visits there on trips. There are three great restaurants.

Jiko - I have not eaten at, it's the most expensive of the three but I hear nothing but good feedback from it.

Boma - I have been to more than once - all you can eat buffet with GREAT food.

Mara - The counter service option. I love the African Stew from here. Also this is where you can buy the refill for free mugs from.

 

[stitch1626]

I have stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge with and without the bunkbeds. The bunkbeds would take the place of your second queen bed and does not take any more space up in the room. The kids loved having their own level to play on and both sat up on top first thing in the morning to watch the animals come out. There are a lot of activities to do there for the kids. My two really enjoyed opening the pool in the morning and using the night vision goggles to see the animals at night. Hope you guys have a great time.

 

[Computer Magic]

I've never stayed at AKL, but I have made lots of visits there on trips. There are three great restaurants.

Jiko - I have not eaten at, it's the most expensive of the three but I hear nothing but good feedback from it.

Boma - I have been to more than once - all you can eat buffet with GREAT food.

Mara - The counter service option. I love the African Stew from here. Also this is where you can buy the refill for free mugs from.

I have to agree. I stayed there 2 years ago and had the best time. We had a savannah room and would recommend that. There is nothing like waking up or coming back to the room and viewing the animals eating or playing. The best is setting under the awning during a rain storm enjoying a nice drink or sit next to the fire pit and have a drink.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

And I'll second Yoda's sediments as well. We have been going every year since they opened AKL. We love it so much, we don't want to stay at any of the other resorts.

There are three places to eat.

Mara, this is a counter service place. Like a quick stop place to grab a bite.

Boma, this would be the "family" restaurant. It's a buffet style, with a wide assortment from African foods and drinks to American foods for the more timid eaters out there. The server only breakfast and dinner. Both are very good, but I prefer the breakfast myself.

Jiko, this is the "high end" restaurant. They serve African dishes and drinks. One of the more expensive places to eat on WDW property. The food and service is top notch. They only serve dinner. We love this place. We did it the first year, and last year, and we will be doing it again on our next trip in October.

There is also a general store off the lobby that has snaks and drinks available.

Here are the menus...

Boma Breakfast
Boma Dinner
Jiko Dinner
Jiko Kids Menu
Mara Breakfast
Mara Lunch/Dinner

Hope this helps, and have fun!

 

[Master Yoda]

There are 3 restaurants @ AKL Jiko, Boma and The Mara. The Mara is typical hamburgers, fries etc. Jiko is a very high end authentic African cuisine which can be kind of an acquired taste. Boma is a buffet style restaurant with a little more universally accepted menu. Boma also has a great breakfast buffet as well. (Best anywhere at Disney)

 

[Computer Magic]

There are 3 restaurants @ AKL Jiko, Boma and The Mara. The Mara is typical hamburgers, fries etc. Jiko is a very high end authentic African cuisine which can be kind of an acquired taste. Boma is a buffet style restaurant with a little more universally accepted menu. Boma also has a great breakfast buffet as well. (Best anywhere at Disney)

and walking through the lobby you can smell the food and makes you hungry, just thinking about it makes me hungry. :slurp:

 

[rayandjill]

Some helpful advice already

I knew I could count on everyone here for help.

Are the buildings any different at the hotel? One better than the other?

Should I call now for restaurant reservations throughout WDW? I heard that with the new dining plus plan (which we have) the "good" places get booked up.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

I knew I could count on everyone here for help.

Are the buildings any different at the hotel? One better than the other?

Should I call now for restaurant reservations throughout WDW? I heard that with the new dining plus plan (which we have) the "good" places get booked up.

I would always recommend a PS for any table service place to eat. You can call and reserve a PS up to 90 days before for most places.

 

[Computer Magic]

I knew I could count on everyone here for help.

Are the buildings any different at the hotel? One better than the other?

Should I call now for restaurant reservations throughout WDW? I heard that with the new dining plus plan (which we have) the "good" places get booked up.

I'm going in May with the dining plan. I started booking restaurant 90 days in advance, so I would recommend making PS. Worst case you can cancel.

Not sure of the "building any different at the hotel" question. Everything at the AKL is connected together in one large building.

 

[Master Yoda]

I knew I could count on everyone here for help.

Are the buildings any different at the hotel? One better than the other?

Should I call now for restaurant reservations throughout WDW? I heard that with the new dining plus plan (which we have) the "good" places get booked up.

Some Savannah rooms have a better view than others. The main buildings have a pretty symmetrical layout kind of like an “X” shape. (Man I’d kill for a map of the resort right now :hammer: ) On the right inside or the “X” is the pool on the left inside of the “X” is part of the Savannah about the size of the pool area. That particular area is not as good as the backside of the hotel but every room I have stayed in with bunk beds has been on the backside of the hotel. The only time we have been in the left inside of the “x” was when my wife and I came without the kids and got a room with a king size bed.

 

[Computer Magic]

Some Savannah rooms have a better view than others. The main buildings have a pretty symmetrical layout kind of like an “X” shape. (Man I’d kill for a map of the resort right now :hammer: ) On the right inside or the “X” is the pool on the left inside of the “X” is part of the Savannah about the size of the pool area. That particular area is not as good as the backside of the hotel but every room I have stayed in with bunk beds has been on the backside of the hotel. The only time we have been in the left inside of the “x” was when my wife and I came without the kids and got a room with a king size bed.

There is a Map of room on this link at the bottom.

http://www.kingdom-travel.com/Walt_Disney_World_Resorts/Disney_Animal_Kingdom_Resort.shtml

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks for the map. You will want to get a room with a view of the area that has the Zebra and the Kudu in it.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Thanks for the map. You will want to get a room with a view of the area that has the Zebra and the Kudu in it.

I belive that would be the Arusha Savanna. The other two are the Sunset and Uzima savannas.

 

[Sloan]

Dining @ AKL

You've already seen the responses identifying the various dining options at AKL - just wanted to add my suggestion for a special night at Jiko - perhaps a 'date' night with the wife - it's spectaular, romantic, and so worth it (admittedly expensive). And yes, you should make priority seating arrangements.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

If you really want some special things, and you got some extra money to spend, get a concierge room. Yea, it costs a heck of alot more, but you get access to the lounge with free food and drink all day long, the pampering and itiniary services, and the two special tours only available to concierge gueast. The Sunrise Safari and the Sunset Safari. Both of these tours are great.

We've don the Sunrise a few times, it's about $40 a person. But we just did the Sunset for the first time last October. Wow, a great tour. You get about 1 1/2 hours out in the AKL's savannas, then huge meal at Jiko. The chefs even comes out to talk to you. That one cost about $150 a person.

So if you want a little pampering, and can swing the cost, look into a concierge room for a little extra special Disney vacation.

 

[crazycalf]

I think the best savana view room we had was at the Uzima savana. We were right in front of the watering hole and the giraffes were there all of the time.
But you can only see zebras on Arusha.

If you go to Jiko's the filet and mac and cheese is awesome.