~HELP~ A Couple More AKL Questions?

[MyTigger&Eeyore9698]

Really, honestly how bad is the transportation/bus from AKL to the parks? Also, I saw one poster state that the smell overtakes you when you enter the resort, on the outside obviously. Now, I"m smart enough to know you are going to smell animals, afterall it is ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE, duh? LOL but is it overpowering especially in like spring and summer that it would smell at the pool, when you are trying to relax, etc and how about when you want to watch the animals from the balcony? Sorry, I just had to have some clarification on a few things. THANKS!

 

[hollyintn]

We loved AKL. We absolutely did not smell the animals. We were on our balcony looking at the animals constantly and did not smell them. I think animal lovers enjoy this lodge a lot.

We thought the transportation was great. You do not share a bus with other resorts and that alone makes it worth while. we never waited longer than 10 minutes. The ride from AKL to Magic Kingdom is about 12 minutes. However you are not stopping at other resorts on the way. Also the lines for AKL were never long for the bus. Everybody boarded. We were there from Dec 22- Dec 27, a busy time.

Have a great time.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Honestly,In some ways I prefer AKL transport..All buses is easy. No matter where I want to go,there is a bus...From the BC/YC I have to walk to Epcot ot take a Boat..From the Poly I have to walk to the TTC or take 2 monorailsto go to EPCOT..From the GF I have to Take the monorail,walk down a ramp and up another,switch to another Monorail to get to EPCOT..
I still like the Poly/GF more,but I don't mind the AKL transportation

 

[Tiffany]

Really, honestly how bad is the transportation/bus from AKL to the parks? Also, I saw one poster state that the smell overtakes you when you enter the resort, on the outside obviously. Now, I"m smart enough to know you are going to smell animals, afterall it is ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE, duh? LOL but is it overpowering especially in like spring and summer that it would smell at the pool, when you are trying to relax, etc and how about when you want to watch the animals from the balcony? Sorry, I just had to have some clarification on a few things. THANKS!

Actually there is no animal smell. The only time that we noticed any sort of smell was during a trip during hot weather near the bird area of the Uzima Overlook.

The smell in the lobby is actually very nice to me it smells like someone is burning a fire. Some people do not like the smell though.

The transportation is very good. It is direct bus service to each park. You only have one stop at the lodge and then it is on to the park. Unlike other resorts you do not share buses with other resorts or have multiple stops at your resort.

Sitting/standing on your balcony looking out at the animals is very relaxing for us we will be back in just two weeks for I believe our seventh stay at the AKL since it opened in April of 2001.

 

[luvfigment]

My first trip to AKL was in the middle of August during record high's in the 90's and was H/H and we had a savannah view and we did not smell anything unplesant. The other time I was there in June and had a pool view but when we went to look at the animals we never smelt anything.

As for the buses it was the best transportation I have encountered. You have your own bus and don't need to stop anywhere else when going to a park (except when BB and MGM share a bus). Now when I stayed at the Yacht club, for example) we took a boat from YC to BWI then to the Swan/Dolphin and finally MGM and then same thing on the way back. Talk about taking a long time to get to a park. At YC/BC/BWI you share a bus this is just all as an example on what transportation can be like. I won't touch upon the monorail resorts since someone already did.

Now will there be some days when you wait 20 mins for a bus? Maybe there will be but that is going to happen no matter what resort you stay at. Sometimes it is the luck of the draw and you just missed a bus.

Now only YOU can decide what resort is best for YOU and everyone has their own opinions. Just go have fun and don't be in a rush or you won't enjoy yourself. The biggest thing with WDW is that you will not be able to see EVERYTHING and don't overplan. You will have a great time.

If you have any other questions just let us know!

 

[Disney5Mom]

We just returned from our first visit to AKL tonight. We really this resort. We found the bus service excellent, never waited more than 10 min. We spent a lot of time on our balcony enjoying the animals and never smelt anything other than the delicious foods cooking at the restaurants. You will love AKL!!

 

[McKeeFamily3]

We love AKL! We had a savvanah view also and never smelled the animals at all. You can hear the giraffs eating though That was amazing to me! Busses were fine. Never had a long wait. And the busses never seemed crowded.
You'll love it!

 

[louey]

We just got back and you cannot smell the animals. We too spent alot of time looking at them from our balcony, we loved watching them and gave a couple of them names. The buses weren't bad at all, it is a beautiful resort and I would go again in a heart beat

 

[dbarker]

The smells that hit you in the lobby are the smells from the different foods and spices at Boma. It is a very unique smell. (not a barnyard smell) At first I wasn't too fond of it b/c it was DIFFERENT. Then it kind of grew on me. Now, I look forward to that smell when we go back to AKL. It is one of those things that lets me know "we are here, and we are where we belong". (our family is totally an AKL family).

 

[Flossbolna]

With regard to the transportation, just keep in mind that it is public transportation. When reading these boards, I get the impression that people have varying ideas what a bus should be like. And many just have theit expectations set too high in my opinion. I travel frequently on public transport at home and found the WDW busses to be fantastic!

So, there will be others on the bus, too, and you will have to wait a certain amount of time in most cases. But then, the buses drop you off quite close to the entrance, you do not have to find your way around the roads of WDW and when you go to dinner somewhere you can drink as much as you like. I think the first step is to decide whether bus transportation is something for you or not.

Once you made up your mind about busses: the general opinion here seems to be that AKL busses are generally good. Even though the actual drive is somewhat longer to some parks (mainly the MK and DTD), there are no additional stops along the way.

 

[VAgal76]

The bus transportation has been nothing but FANTASTIC - all 5 stays!

What animal smells? They clean that place like nobody's business.

 

[Harambe]

No animal smells.

LUSCIOUS lobby smells - totally unique, simmering spices.

Busses are great, with the exception - on occasion - of the DTD bus, which seemed to show up less frequently than the other busses.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

A smell does overtake the lobby it smells like cinnamon or nutmeg from the restaurants. Not an animal smell. We never once have smelled an animal smell there.

The buses at AKL are the best on property. They dont share and short wait times for the most part.

You will love this resort is is really wonderful. They animals are so unique that no other resort compares IMO.

 

[dixiedizfan]

Just back today from a wonderful stay at AKL. First off, the smell you get when walking outside between the bus stop and the lobby entrance is the wood burning from Jiko's restaurant, which is why the smell is stronger in the evening. And it smells GREAT! The aromas inside the lodge come from Boma, and smell wonderful also. We never noticed any animal odors at all. But I now have to say that of all the resorts we stayed at, we did have our worst bus service at AKL. True, they don't share buses, but the wait times we had for the buses to arrive at our stops were horrible. We usually waited anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes for our bus to show up at the lodge, unless we got lucky. One night at Epcot we waited 40 minutes for the bus back to AKL. We waited 30 minutes one morning for a bus to DD. And they cram those buses full, too. Other resorts, particularly the values and moderates, had their buses running continuously, but not ours. And it takes a good 15 to 20 minutes to get to MK from AKL, depending on how fast your driver is. The bus service was the only thing about AKL we disliked, and it wasn't just us; we heard many other complaints about it as well. Considering the length of time it takes to get from AKL to the parks and back, they need to run more buses.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

As a family that has stayed at AKL four times I can state that you do not need to worry about either a "smell" ot the bus service. The only "odor" we have ever noticed at this resort is the *wonderful* scents wafting up from Jiko and Boma. Believe me , this is a GOOD thing !

As far as the bus service I have to give this resort an "A". Sometimes we get lucky and the bus we want is there when we walk up, other times we wait a little while. This is trie of any disney resort, but the fact that AKL does not share with any other resort does seem to reduce it. I can only think of one time in our stays that we had to wait for another bus to come because the one we were in line for filled up - and that was New Years Eve 2005 !

Go to the Lodge and enjoy ! You'll return with a wonderful set of memories and another place to call "home". I know we have, and do !

 

[Nancyg56]

The only smell I remember from the AKL was a homey delicious smell that reminded me of spices. No animal odors at all. The transportation was wonderful. I don't remember needing to wait at all.

 

[IHeartTink04]

You will love it!
Transportation isn't bad! It is surprisingly awesome actually.
I never smelled the animals! I want to go back!

 

[SharonLowe]

Agree with all the others - no smell and good transportation. No bus sharing and usually a close spot to the gates. We stayed at WL once and never again - transportation was horrible; always shared with some other resort and frequently backtracked to do it. Yuck! Only place convenient to WL was MK.

 

[WAHMto5]

We never smelled a thing We thought that the bus system at AKL was the BEST we have had on Disney property so far. We never waited for a bus longer then 5 minutes! I would stay there in a second!!!

 

[pilferk]

Hmmmm, I guess I should start by mentioning there's no animal smell?

Seriously, I think the previous posters in the thread have gotten that bit of info passed along!

And I won't mention the wonderful smell in the lobby (cardamon, cinamon, tumeric, burning wood....), either. Wait, I just did.

But the bus service deserves comment. It is great BUS service, that's for sure. It's not MAGIC bus service, though. You won't be sharing with any other resorts, and the buses come quickly. However, the travel times to the parks aren't "quick". They're not long, either....so don't let it discourage you from this awesom resort. But realize that it's not as quick as an Epcot or MK resort is (obviously) as the resort is a bit more remote.