AK Lodge Pros and Cons??

[jaredkari]

My wife and I are considering a trip to WDW in September or October of this year. We are looking at a lot of resorts but AK Lodge is one we are seriously considering. Never have stayed there so what are some of the pros and cons of the place...distance from parks, transportation, accomidations, food, pool, etc....???? :mickey:

[DizneyRox]

AKL is my first choice whenever I'm on property. I don't mind the distance to any of the parks, not really sure if there is a huge difference to tell you the truth. Time on the bus seems to go by pretty quick.

They have one of the best QS locations of any resort, and Boma is also one of the best TS locations (but you need to give it a shot).

The pool location at Kidani is second to only Beach Club, although that's only because of the pool slide at BC.

Remember you're staying at a deluxe for less than the cost of the others. Jambo can get a little hectic, seems most of the rest of the world seems to realize it's benefits. Kidani is usually very quiet, although it's still has grown in yet. Give it two years and the landscaping will fill in and it will be quite the sight.

[luvdiznee]

My wife and I are considering a trip to WDW in September or October of this year. We are looking at a lot of resorts but AK Lodge is one we are seriously considering. Never have stayed there so what are some of the pros and cons of the place...distance from parks, transportation, accomidations, food, pool, etc....???? :mickey:

Boma and Jiko's both have great food. Love the resort as well especially having that view of the animals. Distance does not bother me either. Can't wait to go back, September! :secret:

[BugeyedMuggy]

We love AKL. We will be staying there again in May this year. Pros... Saana, Jiko and Zebra Domes and Indaba Chardonay sitting by the fire in the lobby @ Jambo House. The authentic african artifacts & lobby are beautiful. The secluded hot tobs are so romantic. The pool is one of the best. We love to look at all of the animals and fill in the check list you get at check-in. The African storytellers and the night vision goggles are a must do. There is so much to do for adults and children you can spend hours exploring both Jombo & Kadani you may find little time for anything else. The only con and I can say is location. You have to be bussed to everything. The busses were never a problem as far as time for us. P.S. It is only my husband & myself staying here (as our DD has never stayed here with us) and we find it a romantic, quiet and energetic resort. Hope you enjoy!

[faline]

We've stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge several times and will be staying there again on our next trip.

Distance to Parks and Transportation: In my book these are both cons. All the parks, except for Animal Kingdom are quite some distance from this resort. All of the transportation is via bus. Before Kidani Village opened, buses were generally never crowded and were decidated only to Jambo House so, while there is only one additional stop, it's still a negative in my book. Also, if you go out the front door of the building, you need to walk through the smoking area to get to the bus stop.

Accommodations: The resort itself is lovely. Jambo House has soaring ceilings and a very dramatic feel. The rooms are average in size and a bit on the dark side. I've had Savannah View rooms on several occasions and,mostly, have been pleased with the ability to see animals from my balcony. I say mostly, because on our last visit, there was very little to be seen from the balcony in the area of our room (We were placed in a different section of the resort than we have usually stayed in.) In fact, the main draw of this resort is the ability to see the animals right from your room (in my opinion).

Dining: Jiko's is very good. Although I'm not a big fan of buffets, Boma is also quite good. I've not yet tried Sanaa but have heard good things about it and am looking forward to trying that on my next stay.

[AllDisney]

Of all the resorts we've stayed, so far, it's our favorite. We find the resort tranquil. The rooms feels rich, with all the warm colours. It was great waking up in the mornings and seeing the animals on the savannah:cloud9:

We absolutely love Jiko.

I think you'll love it:thumbsup:

[megustamex]

It's our favorite resort too. It has the most transporting lobby - it really makes you feel like you are in an African lodge (well, the one in my imagination, anyway). The music and decor instantly relax you after a day in the park. The animals are amazing to view throughout the resort, even with a standard view room, thanks to the amazing public spaces. Staff comes from Africa and adds to the realism of the resort. Take time to talk to them, they always have an interesting story about why they are in Florida and life back in Africa.

It has 3 of the best restaurants in the "world" in Sanaa, Jiko and Boma. Mara is one of the most interesting food courts. Pool area is calm and quiet at Jambo House, fun and tropical at Kidani. Best of both worlds.

The rooms are beautiful but are a little smaller I suppose than some of the other deluxe resorts. Never bothered us, though, and we've been there with 2 kids, a stroller and a pack and play. We don't take the bus - you can usually get a car for under $200 a week and it's worth every penny to be able to drive to the parks, IMO.

I've stayed at all the deluxe resorts in Disney, and AKL is the best at transporting you to a completely different place. Last year, we had the opportunity to stay at any of the deluxe resorts as my husband had a paid business trip and we tagged along. Once again we chose AKL. You won't regret it!

[Darbylew]

We have stayed at the AKL. It is a beautiful
resort. I didn't care for the food. The bus stop
is on an incline. Not bad when leaving in the
morning but walking back up it kind of tiring
after being in a park all day. The lobby is really
something to see. The AKL is the further away
from the parks but not a bad ride on the bus.
I think you would enjoy staying there. We had
a room overlooking the pool. The rooms are
very nice but the lighting is kind of dark.

[Stickey]

AKL Pros:

1) Animal viewing, especially with a savannah view room.
2) Resort theming
3) Restaurants- Jiko, Boma, Mara
4) Unique resort gift shop

Cons:
1) Jambo house shares buses with Kidani Village

[JPL]

AKL is my favorite resort :thumbsup:

Pros

Animals
restaurants
Theming
Pools
resort activities
Cast Members
Art Work


Cons

Location (although can be considered a Pro)
Bus Sharing
Price ( for some)

[darthmacho]

Having visited and dined, but not stayed, here is my opinion:

Pros:

Boma.
They have Animals.
They have Flamingos, my favorite bird. :flamingo:


Cons:

Flamingos, though my favorite, are smelly. :pig:
.

[DizneyRox]

Cons:

Flamingos, though my favorite, are smelly. :pig:
.
That's sugar coating it! We watched them for a bit at Jambo House one day and I can still taste the stench if I think about it.

[waymickey]

PROs; animals, the outside fire pit, the night goggles and the pool.

CONS; The smell, the bugs, and don't forget everyon looking at the animals from th eoutside are looking directly at your windows, Keep the blinds closed at night .

[pamickeys]

Every destination is a bus ride and after a while they seem to take forever.

[ShinynewJB]

I was going to create a thread, but I think I'll just chime in on this one instead. :)

We have rather spontaneously decided to plan a trip to WDW in late August/early September due to the promotions they're offering to UK travellers.

We're seriously considering Animal Kingdom Lodge, due to it being the least expensive Deluxe resort as we'll be getting the dining plan for free which makes it worth it. However, we've never stayed there before or even visited so I'd like to add a couple of questions, which are just elaborations on the pros/cons:

Journey time. Exactly how long are the bus journeys in terms of duration? I've read Magic Kingdom is the furthest park at around 12 miles. But I remember when we stayed in CBR last time the Magic Kingdom bus took a while (can't remember how long it took exactly).

"Bad" views. If you don't pay extra for a "savannah view" at about £350 extra per adult ($600) what kind of view do you get? I don't really consider cars "wildlife" and I was wondering what experiences people had had with different views.

Thanks in advance. :mickey:

[DizneyRox]

There are pool view and then standard view (parking lots or other maintenance type views).

Of course I prefer the savannah view, however at $600 a person, I'd settle for whatever room I am assigned. There are a number of places not far from each room you can watch the animals, plus a lookout point, etc. All accessible to the public.

I'm not sure about distances, but the bus transportation has always been great for us. Never had to wait a long time at the parks or at the resort for a bus to take us away. The travel time I've never really thought about, although yes, it takes longer than say walking from the Beach Club to Epcot.

[jonahbear2006]

I, personally, dont care for animal lodge or wilderness lodge. I was happy at wilderness lodge but I'd be perfectly happy never staying there again. The style of lodge just doesn't do anything for me and AKL is too far from things for me. It costs us about $7000 to take the family to disney world for the week and if I am wasting 2 hours a day on transportation to stay deluxe then I feel I am doing something wrong. Id rather camp or stay at contemporary to be close to Magic Kingdom or stay at beach club or boardwalk and be close to Epcot.

[IloveDisney71]

We've also been considering a stay at the AKL. We had diner at Boma a few years ago and we really loved the feel of the resort. The cost is what's making me question if I really want to stay there or not. I was thinking of going in October and it's a little over $400 a night to have the savanah view - I'd really want to have that view if I was going to splurge anyway. This trip is for my 40th birthday but I have to decide how much I want to "treat myself". :mickey:
The pools would be of no interest to us. We don't mind driving ourselves to the parks. I do think we'd enjoy seeing the animals and hearing the storytellers and eating at the restuarants. I guess I need to start a bigger Disney savings jar. :D

[ShinynewJB]

Thanks for the replies. We decided to go for it in the end! I laid out the pros and cons and it was still unanimous.

It will be our first deluxe resort. I can't wait. :mickey:

[snowflakegirl]

I hope you enjoy it! My boyfriend and I stayed here in August and we fell in love with it. I can't even imagine staying anywhere else again.

As far as bus rides go, I'd say our longest was about a half hour and it was to the MK. The ride time never seemed too long either to start or end the day with. And the pros of the rest of it more than outweighed any concern about the bus travel time for us.

[magicalmom]

Since we stayed off-property for our first several trips - we figure the bus ride from AKL is shorter than waiting in line to get into the parking lot, parking, and catching a tram to whichever park we are visiting. We also use the time for studying park maps, or Disney trivia games. We loved AKL, and loved the bus rides. Our only Con was the distance from our room to the front of the building; POR seems shorter, but maybe that's just because AKL is all inside?