What is the appeal of Animal Kingdom Lodge overall?

[RiversideBunny]

In looking at whether to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, the question of whether the idea of being able to see animals from your room is worth the cost, say versus a moderate resort.

Do you quickly get over the effect of seeing giraffes and gazelles?
It's not like you can see all the Animal Kingdom animals, only the tamer ones.

Is seeing the animals the appeal of Animal Kingdom Lodge or is it more of an overall effect and enjoyment of the hotel itself?

Also, could you stay in a standard room and still enjoy the AKL?

Thanks,

 

[k.hunter30]

I have never been to the AKL, but my extended family (10 of us) and I are going to Boma's for dinner at 7:30 on a Saturday night. Is it worth going to the lodge early to look around (if so how early) while we wait for seating? What is there to do if you aren't staying there? It looks so beautiful, but can you spend a couple of hours just looking around, or just a few minutes.

We always make reservations for Boma's - it's our favorite restaurant in WDW - and we always make them for 7:30 or later to catch the night viewing of the animals in the savanah. When you're done eating, make sure you walk out to the main viewing area. A CM will be there from 9-11 most days with "night vision goggles" to check out the animals. I have to say, it's pretty neat - and a different way to enjoy the animals other than what you can do any day in AK.

 

[fredtom]

All you have to do is visit AKL and you would know... And yes, it's definitely worth it. I can't say enough about the beauty of this resort. Of course, you could still appreciate staying there in a standard room, but you can't beat the advantage of a savannah room view. You'll be amazed.

Boma and Jiko are fantastic restaurants, and always on our must do list.

Have a great time whatever you decide.


"An Adventurer's life is best!" :lol:

 

[figmentmom]

My daughter and son-in-law were there for a week last summer, and absolutely LOVED AKL. The thrill of seeing the animals every day from their balcony was worth it - and didn't lessen at all as the week progressed. The lobby of the place is amazingly beautiful, and the restaurants are great. They can't wait to go back.

Hope this helps! :wave:

 

[Christi22222]

We stayed at AKL for the first time last year and loved it. For comparison, we have stayed at Contemporary, POR, CBR, and two All-Stars. The AKL converted my husband to a Disneyphile!

We actually did not stay in a savannah view room, and still feel like we got the total animal experience. However, that isn't why we now love this resort (and I'm even a zookeeper). We have one kiddo, 8, and he has been to Disney lots. He loves the parks, but the AKL added a dimension we never imagined. It is a self-contained resort of its own that treats children wonderfully. There are SO MANY kids activities and they are really unique and fun. My son had days when he simply did not want to leave the resort to go to the parks as he had too many things he wanted to do at the lodge. And he made tons of friends doing these activities, which made pool time that much more fun. They gave us a schedule when we checked in, and told us about collecting the beads, and that was it - Robby was on his own vacation that had nothing to do with Disney! And we had multiple fantastic experiences with CM's who were very interested in telling Robby all he wanted to know about their native land. It was a special and unique experience that we can't say enough about.

This is very different, though, than - for example - a monorail hotel experience. It definitely depends on what you are looking for in a resort experience for your family. It also changes, in my experience, as your kids get older. I'm also sure we are affected by mine being an only child who is looking for kids to do stuff with. But the AKL, in my opinion, is not about the animals or dining. It's the immersive, full service resort experience geared towards kids.

Hope you have fun.

 

[scottnj1966]

In looking at whether to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, the question of whether the idea of being able to see animals from your room is worth the cost, say versus a moderate resort.

Do you quickly get over the effect of seeing giraffes and gazelles?
It's not like you can see all the Animal Kingdom animals, only the tamer ones.

Is seeing the animals the appeal of Animal Kingdom Lodge or is it more of an overall effect and enjoyment of the hotel itself?

Also, could you stay in a standard room and still enjoy the AKL?

Thanks,

Are you planning on being at the hotel room long or spending more time at the parks?
If you are going to be at the parks alld ay and evening then stay at a moderate and go to animal kingdom lodge for a visit and maybe have dinner.
You can walk around and go to there little area to see the animals.

 

[KodiakPA]

If you get the chance it is a great experiance. I did it once and want to go back. My parents love the hotel for the fact that is is far removed from the parks. The only people that are at the hotel are usually the guests and people who are eating at the resturants. The theming is great and the rooms are nice. The atmosphere is great as is the pool.

 

[Pixiedust1393]

AKL is a beautiful resort, and it's my favorite. You won't be disappointed if you stay there. The theming is awesome, there's a lot of fun activities to do there (definitely try the night vision goggles-it's really cool!), the pool is great. Food's excellent, and I'm sure you can spend a while in the lobby. They also have a wonderful gift shop. I love animals so that's why my family and I stay there, but for me I didn't spend too much time looking out at the animals. When I would get up I'd check them out for about 5 minutes then maybe once more throughout the day. It's a very exciting hotel. Oh, and the cast members are marvelous. If you run into a guy named Cliff (I don't know if he still works there- he was from S. Africa) have a chat with him. You will learn so much by talking to the cast members (they are usually out by the pool area). Have a great time!

 

[palmage]

It's not as remote as you might think.
AKL is as close to MGM, EPCOT as WL is.
I think if AKL was a monorail hotel it would be number two behind GF.
We love all the deluxe hotels but like the AKL the best.

 

[PinMadness]

I stayed at AKL in January. I don't get why everyone likes it so much. :shrug:

I didn't think it was worth the price. The rooms themselves aren't any larger than any of the Moderates I've stayed at. I was expecting so much more!

We had giraffes and cattle on our savannah, but they never got close enough to our balcony to even take a decent picture of them.

The Mara (the Quick Service Restaurant) was in a rather inconvenient location and their menu was limited. There were no pancakes at the Mara, but you could order them through room service.

The resort wasn't as remote as I has expected it to be, but it still seemed to take ages to get to Downtown Disney. We go to DTD every night on our trips, but when we stayed at AKL, we rarely went...the bus ride was too long.

I felt we paid far too much for what we got. I found myself wishing we had saved our money and stayed at a cheaper resort.

 

[iheartdisney91]

AKL is very fun,awesome! but its also pricey youre only at the hotel in the morning and at night time so i think its sorta not worth it but what ever just my oppinion....if you stay there it isvery funbut like i said pricey.

 

[LifeLongTails]

I love the AKL ive stayed there for about 2 weeks on a trip a few years ago and it was great!!! Waking up and looking at the animals is wonderful and the buses are not bad at all, they are very on time!

Boma is amazing i think we ate there 3 times during our last stay, my finance and I are going this year in september for our honeymoon and staying again, its worth it, I've stayed at every resort at least once except saratoga springs and it is one of my favorites!!!!

 

[MPitzen]

my finance and I are going this year in september for our honeymoon and staying again

When are you going in September? We're going to be there on our honeymoon from the 8th - 16th!!!

 

[Nicole220]

My family and I stayed at the AKL this past November and loved it! We all love animals, so staying there was a no brainer. The resort is absolutely lovely and remote. We loved being away from everything. However, it's not that far away from everything as most people say. We never had any problem with busses or the length of time to get places. We had a savannah view on the zebra trail and let me tell you, the animals never get old! It's so exciting seeing them right outside your room! There were always animals outside, especially the giraffes! Boma was one of our favorite restaurants! It is amazing and different. We had such a hard time leaving, we loved it so much! My family and I want to go back real soon, and the two things that are pushing us to go back aren't really the parks, but are AKL and the food!

EDIT: Forgot to mention the room size. Many complain about how small the rooms are. Honestly, how much time do you spend in your room at WDW? Not a lot, so room size, imo, doesn't matter.

 

[Nicole220]

You will really have to ask yourself and your family/group how much time you will be spending at the AKL during your trip. Do you plan to take the afternoons off from touring for a dip in the pool, naps, and relaxing at the resort? If price is a consideration and you don't see yourself spending some quality time at the resort, then I suggest you should go for a moderate resort and just visit AKL for dinner at Boma's.
I found the Savanah view rooms to be as awesome as advertised. You get two chairs to sit out on a small balcony and watch nature pass by. It really is relaxing. Its a great view to wake up to in the mornings. I'm sure the standard rooms are fine... but as Tiki said... they could be seem a little small without the balcony.

Staying at AKL is an experience, not just a room... if you don't plan to enjoy some of it, or have members of your group who would be completely indifferent... then go to a well themed moderate resort and save the money for dining out or souviners.

That is so true!! We always spend the afternoons back at the resort to enjoy the pool and hotel. AKL is the perfect place to do that! There is so much to see and it really feels like you are in a totally different world.

 

[Space Ranger]

My wife and I have stayed at AKL 2 times and are going again in Sept. So far it is our favorite resort. We have also stayed at WL and CBR. One thing about transportation that I haven't seen mentioned: if you are taking the buses, the time to get from AKL to the parks is "similar" to what I experienced at WL and CBR. The reason is the the buses run directly from AKL to the parks without other stops. At CBR there were so many stops within the resort itself, that the trip really got slowed down. From WL, the bus stoped at 2-3 other resorts which really added time. If you plan on using the buses, I don't think you will find it significantly longer to get to a park than taking a bus from any other resort because other resorts tend to have multiple stops.

Also, we really enjoy the dining choices, pool, and hot tubs. Depending on the room you get at a Moderate Resort - such as CBR - you can end up with a 5 - 10 minute outdoor walk (or wait for the internal resort bus) to get to the dining. Dining at AKL is a fairly close indoor walk from about any room. Can't say enough good things about AKL.

 

[summergirl32]

My family loves the AKL! The atmosphere is great. Our vacations are always spent in Florida but AKL makes us feel like we have really travelled. The pool is the best by far. The rooms are small but we have come to expect that with Disney hotels. Boma and Jiko are our favorite restaurants on property. When we stay in other resorts we always visit AKL. Now that they are adding vacation club, we won't stay anywhere else.

 

[chake]

Close your eyes at night and just listen to all the different sounds. it was fantastic. check out my pics from the lodge and the view from out balcony.

AKL Pics

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Like all places there are good points and bad points. First the good.

Theme is well done.
Pool is decent with nice splash pools for little kids
You can see animals (only it might only be at dawn or dusk)

The bad.
It is far removed and you will want to use your own car not the buses, especially if you care about maximizing your fun time.
The animals aren't that easy to see, in a week my daughter saw giraffes from our balcony once because she got up real early, otherwise we never saw anything from out room.
Very pricey for what you get.
You have limited space to walk around outside, most of the outside is reserved for animals so you only get an area with the pool and one that goes around a concrete hill type thing.


The bottom line is that if you want to see animals go to the animal kingdom you'll likely see more in the first 2 minutes of the safari ride than you will in a week at the lodge. If you want to see the "cool" theme of the lodge just go there. Better yet take your swim suits and sneak into the pool too, they provide free towels so you'll get the best the place has to offer and avoid the steep price. Now if you want a peaceful place to sleep, I will admitt that it was quiet and seemed more peaceful than other places.

If your still dead set on going there you should know that their are really only two options for where you stay, the ones with a view and the ones without. It doesn't really matter which as there are common areas to view the animals so if your on a budget go for the parking lot view. If you are dead set on a savanah view then get the deluxe view the standard isn't really a savanah view. The standard just gives you the view of a mini-savanah area that is used by animals when they go to and from their barn and the real savanah. In other words you might get some animal smell from you balcony but the only animal you'll likely see is one going to and from and only very early or very late.

I should caveat what I have said by explaining that I was expecting to see lots of animals and completely taken in by the marketing pictures of the place. The reality was much below the expectations.... kudos to the marketing photographers that made it appear like animal heaven, and shame on them for not showing only empty fields like you'll mostly see.

 

[MaxsDad]

We stayed there once in January last year for a long weekend(3 nights), and loved it enough to go back again in October for another long weekend (4 nights).

January: we were upgraded to Savannah View after booking a standard(parking Lot) view. I told the desk CM we had never stayed in a Deluxe before, and she said she could upgrade us. We regularly saw Giraffes, small gazelle-like creatures, and large wilder-beast-like animals from our balcony. We were blown away by the lobby's decor and architecture, and the rest of the resort was not a let down either. You do feel submersed in another culture there. The food at Boma's is awesome. Pool was nice, hot tubs were good too.

October: we booked pool/water view. That's what we got in their eyes. I wouldn't call it pool or water view unless you can see the pool or water myself, though. (you win some ...) Anyway, we still had ample access to near-room viewing areas with telescopic lens. They also have night-vision goggles for use.

Buses: to and from AK park: excellent
MGM/Epcot - usually OK
Magic Kingdom - can take awhile. Like 45 minutes a while.

Would it have gotten old if we stayed longer? Maybe. But if it tells you anything, I have decided purchasing DVC with AK Villas as my Home Resort is definitely in my future.

 

[Nicole220]

Like all places there are good points and bad points. First the good.

Theme is well done.
Pool is decent with nice splash pools for little kids
You can see animals (only it might only be at dawn or dusk)

The bad.
It is far removed and you will want to use your own car not the buses, especially if you care about maximizing your fun time.
The animals aren't that easy to see, in a week my daughter saw giraffes from our balcony once because she got up real early, otherwise we never saw anything from out room.
Very pricey for what you get.
You have limited space to walk around outside, most of the outside is reserved for animals so you only get an area with the pool and one that goes around a concrete hill type thing.


The bottom line is that if you want to see animals go to the animal kingdom you'll likely see more in the first 2 minutes of the safari ride than you will in a week at the lodge. If you want to see the "cool" theme of the lodge just go there. Better yet take your swim suits and sneak into the pool too, they provide free towels so you'll get the best the place has to offer and avoid the steep price. Now if you want a peaceful place to sleep, I will admitt that it was quiet and seemed more peaceful than other places.

If your still dead set on going there you should know that their are really only two options for where you stay, the ones with a view and the ones without. It doesn't really matter which as there are common areas to view the animals so if your on a budget go for the parking lot view. If you are dead set on a savanah view then get the deluxe view the standard isn't really a savanah view. The standard just gives you the view of a mini-savanah area that is used by animals when they go to and from their barn and the real savanah. In other words you might get some animal smell from you balcony but the only animal you'll likely see is one going to and from and only very early or very late.

I should caveat what I have said by explaining that I was expecting to see lots of animals and completely taken in by the marketing pictures of the place. The reality was much below the expectations.... kudos to the marketing photographers that made it appear like animal heaven, and shame on them for not showing only empty fields like you'll mostly see.

I think seeing the animals depends on your room location. During our trip, there were animals outside our room every time we looked, and they were very easy to see.