We Booked, now need info on AK Lodge

[slowbee]

YEAH!!!!! We booked last night for our December Trip to WDW. This time we're staying at the AK Lodge.

My question is to those who have stayed there... is it worth upgrading to a Sevanah View room.. I'm currently booked in a standard room (Only room available thru AA last night). I heard that it can be one long walk if you're out along one of the wings back to the parking lot. I have three girls, with two of them being younger than 3, so having to carry two young ones back to a room that's on the other side of the country can be a hassle.

Any advice would be helpful.

 

[kirksheppard]

I prefer the standard rooms for location purposes. You can see the animals from various places in the hotel; unless you're dying to see them from your balcony, I say stay with the standard view and enjoy the short walk from you room to the lobby, gift shop, and bus stop.

 

[slowbee]

I prefer the standard rooms for location purposes. You can see the animals from various places in the hotel; unless you're dying to see them from your balcony, I say stay with the standard view and enjoy the short walk from you room to the lobby, gift shop, and bus stop.

Is it really as far as they say it is? What about the pool view rooms?

 

[kirksheppard]

Even some of the deluxe pool views can be a haul; it just depends. The AKL is a HUGE hotel and some of the rooms are farther than I'd want to walk at the end of a long day of touring the parks. The standard view rooms are almost all very close to the lobby.

 

[Disney MDACK]

Anyone know how far the savannah rooms are from the lobby and do you really get a good look at the animals from your balcony?

 

[kirksheppard]

Again, it depends on the particular room. SOME of them are quite far away. Others are not as bad. I've never stayed in one, but I have heard that the animals are also hit and miss.

 

[palmage]

Anyone know how far the savannah rooms are from the lobby and do you really get a good look at the animals from your balcony?

We've had some Savannah rooms that are just off the lobby, and we've had rooms that are 6 miles from the lobby.
Just depends on where the put you.

The animals are great to watch from your room, but there are tons of great viewing areas.

Concierge pool view is our favorites.

 

[ThinkTink721]

YEAH!!!!! We booked last night for our December Trip to WDW. This time we're staying at the AK Lodge.

My question is to those who have stayed there... is it worth upgrading to a Sevanah View room.. I'm currently booked in a standard room (Only room available thru AA last night). I heard that it can be one long walk if you're out along one of the wings back to the parking lot. I have three girls, with two of them being younger than 3, so having to carry two young ones back to a room that's on the other side of the country can be a hassle.

Any advice would be helpful.

I have not stayed at the AKL, but everything I have read about the Savannah rooms are that they are great!
I have also seen them on TV - beautiful!!!

Here is a description that I found on-line:

Savannah View Room has a view of the animals and Savannah and only sleeps 4 people plus one infant (under 3). This is the most popular room at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge because the view is just amazing! This room features 344 square feet with (2) Queen Beds or (1) Queen Bed and Bunkbeds or (1) King Bed. This room also features a TV, table and chairs, ceiling fan, hair dryer, iron/ironing board, crib, in-room safe, phone with dataport and voice mail, private balcony, vanity area with two sinks and a separate bathroom.

This web site has a map of the AKL:
www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/aklmap.htm

Hope this helps!
:wave:​

 

[slowbee]

thanks all... Think I'm going to, no matter what room grade we end up with.. just requesting something close to the main lobby....

 

[pacochran]

We stayed and had savannah view rooms and you can really see the animals it is really great.

But we were way down I believe it is Zebra trail and it was a walk and a half, but I think there are some savannah view rooms that look out on Arusha Savannah, that are close to the lobby.

Have fun the atmosphere is great there.

 

[maelstrom]

We just got back from an AKL savanna view room. We were on kudu trail and while our room was on the same floor as the lobby (3rd), our room was a hike & a half from the lobby, and even farther from the Mara (where I requested to be close to). We saw the giraffes here and there outside our room, along with some ostriches, cattle, and something else (kudu, perhaps?). If you're going to bother with a savanna view room, get one on the main Arusha savanna. That was across the hall from us and out the windows in the hallway we could see more animals on that side than ever came near our room. Personally, though, I think the poolside rooms are great, if you like to feel like you're a part of the resort (same with courtyard view at the Wilderness Lodge).

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Dont waste your money on a savanah view.

You should know there are actually two savanah views a savanah view and a preferred savanah view. The standard savanah view lets you see a very small pathway where teh animals go to stables or out to the large savanah. You will be more likely to smell the animals than see them in the standard view. The preferred savanah view is the only shot at the actual savanah.

In short the AK is shaped like a giant U with the ends spread further apart. THE PRIME area is the one inside the U and that is the preferred Savanah view... the standard Savanah view is are the room on the outside of the US where you see animals going past only on there say in or out of the stables that are at bottom part of the U.

DO NOT believe the people at Disney travel when they say that their is no real difference between the two. There is a huge difference, no while I would save my money and use the public viewing areas in either event, IF I were going for a Savanah View, I would go preferred only. The standard not only gives little view of animals but is so close to rooms on the other side that you might as well be looking out a window in a hotel in the city... My idea of a savanah view is to see the outdoors not a large building with a little park between me and the building.

 

[ThinkTink721]

thanks all... Think I'm going to, no matter what room grade we end up with.. just requesting something close to the main lobby....

I bet any room in the AKL would be great!
Have fun!!!
:wave:

 

[AkiraRaptor]

AKL is great, don't let anyone say otherwise

Ok, I'll chime in here. I'll say I'm sorry this will be a long post, but I have to step in a say my part. Some long time members here know me, and my love for AKL, so I'm sure they know what's coming next.

I've stayed at the AKL every year since it's been open. We've stayed in Savanna rooms, deluxe rooms with Savanna view and conceiage rooms with savanna view.

There are three different savannas. We've been on all three. They are called Sunset, Arusha, and Uzima. The Arusha savanna is the one that has the walking area that jets off from the main lobby in the middle. The other two are to either side of Arusha.

They are all great. They all have different animals. They also all have some animals that are the same. Any room you get is not going to be a bad view. There is no special, prefered, or any such savannas. Every room with a savanna view gets to see the savanna they are on. No one can see the barns from the rooms. They are all at the back of the property and hidden from view.

The animals stay on the savanna all the time except for bad weather and when they clean the savannas. And that happend durning the day when you are normally in the parks. They are all left out all night. They even have special "moon" lighting to let you see them.

We like Zerbas, so personally I like Arusha 'cos they they are only on that one, but if you want to see an Ostrich, you need to go over to one of the lookouts for the other savannas to see them.

So lets dispell some myths here. It doesn't smell bad. If it did, it wouldn't be one of the most popular resorts, and be getting the DVC treatment to boot. The resorts only 6 years old and they are already spending more money on it and expanding it.

It has two of the best Disney restaurants available, Jiko and Boma. Not much more on that, the food speaks for itself. And Jiko has an award winning wine selection, so if you like to try new wines of the world, please give it a try.

If you stay in conceiage, you have access to several add-on tours you could take, all of them are great.

I'm personally not a pool person, but everyone says its a great pool with a zero depth entry. I personally like the bar by the pool.

It is the only Disney resort with its own bus route. It doesn't share its buses with any other resort. And you can check my sig bellow for the bus times. It's not as "far away" as you may think.

Plus there are a host of other resort activites available for the whole family like resort tours, sing a longs, story telling, night vision goggle viewing, cooking, culture discussions, and many other weekly activities. You could spend all your time at the resort and never get to a park if you really wanted to.

You will be impressed when you step into the lobby, and you will not want to leave when you reach the end of your trip. You will have a good time.

Now, some people have made complaints about the resort, as mentioned above, and other such things like, buses take too long, too far away, too much walking, too dark, etc.

That's there opinion, I respect it, but its not mine. I've never had any major busing issues, and when I did have delays, they were nothing short of issues I would of had at any other resort anyways. It's not AKL's fault.

The lighting is subdued throughout the resort, but that's because it's themed to be. So I never understood why people say that one?

We've stayed on the lowest floor the first year they opened. We had a small herd of antilope that slept out below our balcony every night. They were only a few feet away. Never smelled a thing. And we never smelled a thing on any of our trips. And that included the tour that took us out into all three savannas for several hours. NO SMELL AT ALL.

So in closing, and I'm sorry I rambled on, but you will have a great time at AKL. Enjoy your stay. I personally would get a savanna room, but it's been known that if you have a standard room and there are alot of open savanna view rooms you could get a free upgrade at check-in to a savanna view. Lot's of people on here have had it happen. But don't expect it, especially since the deluxes are being converted to DVC rooms.

In the end, just have fun!

Edit: I'm adding some phots I took a few years ago from our savanna rooms.

http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/data/500/medium/AKL_3.jpg

http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/data/500/medium/AKL_2.jpg

http://photoalbums.wdwmagic.com/data/500/medium/AKL_View.jpg

 

[disneydudette]

Slowbee...

We booked a standard room, and upon check in, was upgraded to a pool view and we loved it.
I'm sure it doesn't compare to seeing animals from your balcony on a regular basis, but we were able to see a giraffe or two in the early evening believe it or not.

We were on a higher floor and the view was amazing.

We loved the location, right by a set of stairs that led down to the bus stops, pool, and a short we walk across the pool area to the food court. You'll notice that the bus stops are not directly infront of the lobby, but rather 400 feet to the left (if just walked out of the lobby)

Someday I'll stay in a savanah view room, but I was perfectly content with my pool view! For the same price of a savanah view, I can book the contemporary... so I struggle with the idea of "getting more for my money" especially with how much time we would spend in the room.

Either way your staying at the AKL... woot!:sohappy:

 

[TwoTigersMom]

I have stayed in rooms with the Arusha view and Uzima view. Both were great! We preferred the Arusha because there seemed to be more animals. Just make sure to close your curtains when changing clothes :lol: . The Uzima view was great too. At no point did we ever smell anything either. Neither view had any area that we couls see that was used for getting the animals to the barn. As mentioned before, they only go to the barn for certain reasons, they don't call them all in at "bedtime" or anything like that. When we woke up in the morning, the 1st thing my son did was run out to the balcony and that was the last thing we did each night. Everytime, there was always many animals to be seen. On the "too much walking" aspect. The farthest we've been out, was about halfway on the Kudu trail. It was nothing to walk it several times a day. We would go out to the pool every night for a swim, which was even farther but it was no big deal at all. With small kids you'll probably be bringing a stroller right? If not you can purchase an umbrella stroller on property reletively decently.
A previous poster mentioned about being immersed in the atmosphere in the lobby. The only thing I can add to that is that the total "Africa" immersion for us began on the walkway leading up to the resort. As soon as you step foot on the walkway, your surrounded in beautifully landscaped theming and the sound of drums and animals. No matter which view you decide on, I'm sure you won't be dissapointed with your decision to stay at AKL. We'll be there in December in a Savannah View 2 bedroom villa. :sohappy:

 

[Iakona]

Hi, we have stayedat AKL multiple times and AKIRA is right on. I have never heard of the "preferred" savannah view room. The animals roam throughout the savannah. Sometimes they are close to room, sometimes they are not. I will say that Arusha Savanah seems to be the best (we really enjoyed the Zebra trail room). There was a thread recently about Pros and cons of AKL that had some good info.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=181925

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Okay, its possible they called them deluxe savannah rooms and not preferred. To me preferred and deluxe amounts to the same thing. All I can say is that according to the map we were located very close to the head of the Marabou Stork and had a great view of the building by the East African Crowned Cranes feet. I might add that when I call the front desk on realizing our savannah view was as savannahy as a park in the city, I was told that we could upgrade to a preferred/deluxe room and get the view of the Kudu Trail/Zebra Trail rooms. I didn’t think the price would be worth it as I was assured that we would see animals in our room.

Well during the time we were there we saw one Giraffe being moved into some area by CMs and zero anything else. That’s right all you people that swear you had great views of animals no matter where you stay. I can attest that that is just not always true. 5 days and 4 nights and from out window we saw 1 Giraffe. And that was with two kids that were always on the lookout for any sign of life. So again, maybe some people were lucky and maybe my family was just unlucky, but for the price they charge and you see one blasted animal I can only say it wasn’t worth it.

And we did get the whiff of animals on two different times we opened the doors to the balcony. So they probably did exist, they just didn’t come around during the daylight hours.

 

[AkiraRaptor]

Sorry about not seeing any animals, and I know exactly the location you are speaking of. Usally the Ostrich stick around that area all the time. They like to "nest" back in there alot. One of them even will find a rock and turn it into an egg and nest on it from time to time. But of the three Savanna's, Sunrise is more of the bird type, where Arusha has the Zerbras and Uzuma has the Ankole cattle. They all have Giraffe.

During the day is the worst time to view animal at AKL. What time of the year did you visit? When it is really hot, most of the animal during the day will retreat to the backs of the savanna's where there are alot of trees and more shade. Plus they clear out each savanna one at a time to clean it out.

The best viewing time is the evening. It's cooler, and they start the feed trucks. I've had some of my best viewing at 10PM-11PM. It's fun to watch the animals follow the feed trucks from one feed location to the next. My photos were from the morning, like right after sunrise, you can see the feed truck in one of them.

Again, sorry about your experiance. I have noticed in the past when others have said they haven't seen many animals is was usally a hotter time of the year, and the animals tended not to come in toward the buildings, but instead spend there time out in the rear of the savannas to get some reliefe from the sun.

Personally, if it was real bad in spotting animals, I would have asked to be moved to another standard view room. Use the point that the kids are very upset in not seeing any animals ever. If they could accomadate you, they would have.

Also, the deluxe rooms tend to be higher, which is not always a good thing as the trees over the years have grown up to meet that view and at times can obscure the view of the animals on the ground. The best view is usally the 3rd and 4th floors now, where the it used to be 2nd and 5th when it first opened.

But because of the DVC construction and change over, most of the deluxe rooms have been converted over, so their avalability may be severily limited.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Sorry about not seeing any animals, and I know exactly the location you are speaking of. Usally the Ostrich stick around that area all the time. They like to "nest" back in there alot. One of them even will find a rock and turn it into an egg and nest on it from time to time. But of the three Savanna's, Sunrise is more of the bird type, where Arusha has the Zerbras and Uzuma has the Ankole cattle. They all have Giraffe.

During the day is the worst time to view animal at AKL. What time of the year did you visit? When it is really hot, most of the animal during the day will retreat to the backs of the savanna's where there are alot of trees and more shade. Plus they clear out each savanna one at a time to clean it out.

The best viewing time is the evening. It's cooler, and they start the feed trucks. I've had some of my best viewing at 10PM-11PM. It's fun to watch the animals follow the feed trucks from one feed location to the next. My photos were from the morning, like right after sunrise, you can see the feed truck in one of them.

Again, sorry about your experiance. I have noticed in the past when others have said they haven't seen many animals is was usally a hotter time of the year, and the animals tended not to come in toward the buildings, but instead spend there time out in the rear of the savannas to get some reliefe from the sun.

Personally, if it was real bad in spotting animals, I would have asked to be moved to another standard view room. Use the point that the kids are very upset in not seeing any animals ever. If they could accomadate you, they would have.

Also, the deluxe rooms tend to be higher, which is not always a good thing as the trees over the years have grown up to meet that view and at times can obscure the view of the animals on the ground. The best view is usally the 3rd and 4th floors now, where the it used to be 2nd and 5th when it first opened.

But because of the DVC construction and change over, most of the deluxe rooms have been converted over, so their avalability may be severily limited.

We were there in mid-June, and yes it was hotter than blazes. We were told the animals didn't like the heat and would retreat to someplace away from where people could actually see them. Even in the main savannah from public viewing areas we saw animals only twice and it was so dark we could barely see them.

My thought is if you are assured of seeing animal and you still want to stay at AKL you should get a parking lot view. At least then you can watch cars go by.