Animal Kingdom Lodge - let's hear your reviews

[luvisgirl]

We are going to stay at AKL for 6 nights at the beginning of October - then a Disney Cruise for a week - tell me all about it!

 

[JSparrow]

Me and my wife stayed at the AKL in April of 2002 for our 10 yr anniversary. ( 7 nights ) I have nothing but good things to say about this resort!! We found the staff and cast members to be be friendly and helpful, always going out of the way to make our trip enjoyable. The 2 restaurants they have (JIKO and MARA ) were very good because they were a tad different than the normal fair, but done very well. DO request a room overlooking the safaris! It is well worth the little xtra money ( sometimes they will upgrade you for free though The roomswere very nice, comfortable, and roomy. The lobby is really something to see. Hope you enjoy !!!!

 

[webray]

AKL is beautiful. The lobby is like a small museum of African art and crafts. Make sure to take time and look around. The smell of the fire outback is wonderful. When we were there...we could hear the kitchen staff singing in their own language before they opened up to serve dinner.

The pool area is beautiful. Tan bottom pool instead of the usual blue. Made to look like a animal watering hole. Two hottubs, great pool bar, nice kids play area.

We love Jiko's, we have dined there many times for dinner. Jiko's has an exceptional wine list. The little bar right outside Jiko's has excellent drinks and great bartenders. Try the honey liquor...it is great. Also the Zebratini...yummy. We also enjoy Boma for breakfast and dinner.

Don't forget to walk around the savannah outside, even if you get a savannah view room. At night they let you look through night vision goggles...very cool if you have never seen anything that way before.

 

[Montana Minnies]

My sister and I stayed at the AKL 7/23-30/03. It was our first time staying on property and we were not disappointed. I had originally thought we would be at the POR, but it was filled so we were booked with AKL instead.
I have heard people complain about it being so dark, but it did not bother me that much. The archtecture is African so the darkness I take to be part of the theme. We were just so excited to be at WDW that we loved about everything. I do think that if we stay there again we would want a room closer to the lobby. We were on the Kudu Trail rm 4372 and it was quite a hike from our room to the elevator. We had a savannah view which was cool!
No complaints about the food from us. We arrived around 6:00pm Wednesday so got to the hotel around 7:00pm and ate at Boma's about 8:00pm. We also ate at Mara's, but never made it to Jiko's. Most of our evenings were booked with other things to do, so maybe next year when we go we will try it then.
Had no problem with the bus transportation. The AKL had its own so it was never that crowded other than one night coming back from MK. We never had to wait long. I would say 5-15 minutes at the most. Maybe we were just lucky.
We plan on going with a larger group next year so we will probably give one of the other resorts a try.
"Enid" The younger Montana Minnie

 

[wdwtheplacetobe]

AKL was fantastic!!!! We were "bumped up" from POR in Dec 2001. We stayed in rm 3006. Altho it overlooked the pool, not a savannah, it was a great room. Located about 50 ft off the lobby, after a LONG day at the park, it was quite welcome to get to the Lodge and practically 'fall' into the room. The very last day, while waiting for Mears, we explored and saw the animals. There was a nice little nook of comfy chairs and a big window to watch the animals. (I think there was an outside balcony, too)
Definitely, HAVE A BLAST AT WDW AND AKL!!!

03,00,97,95,93--DIXIE
02--WL
01--AKL
98--CBR
94--PO
87--offsite

 

[Simba's Mom]

I also stayed there as a result of getting bumped from POR, in January, 2002, on a solo trip. I thought it was a beautiful resort. What amazed me was that as much as a Disney lover as I am, I actually found a resort where I'd rather be there than go out to the theme parks. One evening I sat on my balcony for over an hour, fascinated by just watching the animal caretakers "making their rounds". Only 2 disadvantages-1.Found the lights in the room too dim for reading, so I went to the lobby to read 2. Was rather unimpressed with the fast food place-Mara-had the worst meal ever there, the sugar cane chicken.

 

[DocRafiki]

loved it! loved it! loved it! definitely get a savannah view-- get the main savannah if you can. eat at all 3 restaurants (i even got a kick out of eating the african-themed pizza out by the pool). take time and explore the entire hotel. there are lots of interesting museum pieces scattered about, several nice lounges, and of course the savannahs and pool outside.

of course, i love the african theming -- i'm a lion king nut! i could spend days exploring the animal kingdom and never get bored.

 

[epcotfan]

This is my least favorite Disney hotel. I will say the theming is terrific and the hotel is beautiful though. I had some problems with my room and found the resort to be very crowded with no escape from other guests.

I posted some thoughts in this link:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=370030

 

[katypop]

hi,
i spent my 1st solo trip at AKL in may, and just loved it. was upgraded from standard to pool view. although i'm sure a savannah view would be great, i enjoyed the view outside from the viewing areas with my coffee, so peaceful that i was a little late getting to the parks every am LOL boma was wonderful for breakfast and dinner. i did not care for the sugarcane chicken at mara either. they have night vision goggles you can try out at night to see the animals on the savannah, very cool the pool is very large and relaxing. i was able to book a massage at the spa just a couple days in advance, heavenly i think you will enjoy this resort.
katypop

 

[Little MerGirl]

I took my DH to AKL for his birthday - a surprise trip.

The resort is, without a doubt, beautiful. We loved the theming and decor and thought it had a very comfortable feel to it. Boma and Jiko are two of our favorite restaurants. We cancelled some PS's just to go back to Boma! The transportation is great because the AKL doesn't share with any other resort and there is only one bus stop. The hot tubs and pool were wonderful. That might have been because we were the only ones in them. February in FL is cool at night, but still warmer than NJ - we didn't pass up the chance to swim.

What we didn't like was that there was no outdoor recreation (besides the animals, of course). We always spend part of our vacation renting boats and bikes and just walking around. I missed that. Also, when we checked in, they put us in a room that had not been cleaned. They moved us right away, though. The only significant problem was the bugs. There were little mites all over the wood furniture (tables, dresser, nightstand). I told DH that they were imported from Africa and part of the theme. Very authentic.

I'd go back every trip for the food and the atmosphere, but will be staying elsewhere.

Have a great trip!

 

[mhelsley]

Let me just say that you have a great vacation planned i'm what you would call a WDW/Cruise addict(i've been on the Magic & Wonder). I have been to WDW 4 times(5th trip in Dec.)and i have a goal to try every hotel so right now repeating a stay is not high on the list. I now have to say that we stayed in a savanah room last year and picture this i woke up very early before sunrise and as the sun was coming up i watched 3 giraffis(2 adult and a smaller one not quite a baby)running around and playing tag and i could hear african music being played as i enjoyed the sunrising this was my first day at the AKL. I will never forget it and with that said will return on our up and comming trip it was that good. We are not big on buffets but would do Bomas again(food was that good and i had the flu). We're not only coming back but have book concierge level just to go on the sunrise safari and will go to Jiko it is so far our favorite hotel. Best wishes on your trip.

 

[Lisha7]

I don't like bugs! Has anyone else seen these "mites"?

 

[nativetxn]

I enjoyed our Savannah view room at AKL. The theming is marvelous throughout the hotel. I must say, though, that I wouldn't stay there <i>without</i> a savannah view room

 

[bunnyfoo]

I stayed at AKL for 4 nights in May and thought it was great We paid for a standard but we were lucky enough to get a complimentary upgrade to a savanah view! It was lots of fun to watch the animals from your own room, just remember if you book a savanah room, keep your drapes closed when you're getting dressed ... there are cameras all over... Even if you can't afford a savanah view, don't worry, there are a ton of places around the resort to look at the animals! If you have the time, go on a culinary tour of Boma and Jiko! I also thought the transportation was great! Never had to wait more than 15-20 minutes for a bus ... at the resorts or the parks.

Let us know what you decide to do

 

[EKThomas]

AKL is not to be missed. We have stayed at the Grand Floridian and the Grand Californian, and visited all the other luxury resorts, but none come close to this one. We are doing a 7nt land/sea package next month at the Poly, but added 2 add'l days at AKL just because we loved it so. Prepare not to sleep - and that's not a complaint! We splurged on the savannah view and couldn't sleep because we were so afraid we'd miss another amazing animal wandering under our balcony! Dozed off one night to the snorts of a herd of zebra - very, very cool! Jiko and Boma are, in our opinions, two of the best restaurants at WDW. Service at this hotel was outstanding. I recommend for anyone. Only one complaint - some families allowed their kids to stand on the balconies and scream to hear their own echoes on the savannah. Very rude to the other guests and the animals, we thought. This is probably an ongoing problem.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We had a good price for a standard room in Dec. '02 and so we tried it. The animals and decorating details are spectacular. The CM who were there to tell about the animals were very friendly and knowledgeable. The pool was heated, I loved the pool and the whirlpool.

There was plenty of places around the hotel that you could go for some quiet time to absorb the experience and wonder at it all. It was great. Hubby liked it too, but I'm the animal person. He liked the short walk to the pool!