Animal Kingdom Lodge Worth It?

[PawleyPlatoon]

I am considering a trip in June (hot, ugh) for my nephew's birthday. We always stay at Port Orleans Riverside - it's our home away from home and love it. However, nephew loves animals and I think AKL would be a blast for him. I have the following questions:
1. Is a standard room (the least expensive) adequate to get the full effect of the resort?
2. Are savannah rooms worth the extra?
3. Are the concierge rooms and services worth it?

THANKS everybody!:mickey:

[lawgirl]

We love the AKL. We almost always stay there. I love the whole property...its a very rich experience.

We've never done concierge, so I don't know if its worth the extra $. I have stayed in Savannah view rooms, and it is really cool. But, we also stayed in standard view rooms, and were on the Sunset Savannah. We saw more animals from our balcony in the standard room, than in the savannah view room.

I would definitely ask for room 4120 or 4122; or 5120 or 5122. These are perfect rooms. We paid standard prices, but had amazing views of the sunset savannah, and had zebras, giraffes, and ostriches right in front of our balcony the entire 6 days we were there.

[dmosher]

We stayed at AKL once and decided that for us it was NOT worth it. Yes we had a great room, and a great view and sure it was cool to wake up to the giraffe just outside our window... but honestly.. still not worth the extra $$. We prefer the WL to AKL anytime.
For starters, it takes longer to get there from pretty much anywhere by bus (accept AK of course) and back. The views are great (if your willing to pay for it) however, unless you are the types to stay at the lodge over the parks for a good percentage of your trip, how much time will you actually be spending looking at the animals? If you are the types to get up early and hit the parks and stay till the fireworks I can tell you right now that the 15-20 minutes you spend staring at the animals out side your room will not outweigh the $$ you paid for it. But that's just my opinion. Given the option we always prefer the WL, so much so ion fact that we recently bought into a DVC plan with WL as our home base, despite having AKL as an option.
:pipes:
D

[ThanxForNoticin]

We stayed at AKL once and decided that for us it was NOT worth it.

Sorry, but we have to respectfully disagree - AKL has become one of our two favorite resorts at Disney. A quick answer to your questions, if I had a choice of rooms at AKL, I think the savannah-view rooms are worth a few extra dollars. Concierge is something you probably don't need. But the 'feel' of AKL is unmistakable, and the animals are a big part of that - I say it's especially fun when you have kids. Hope you have a great time!

[BigRedDad]

Savannah rooms are nice. However, you can go see the animals at Arusha Rock. It is convenient to sit on the balcony and see them. We saw more of it because we were on out honeymoon. If that was not the case, then the balcony would have been little benefit.

If you wanted to save money, plan dinners at AKL, go there after AK, and look at the animals. If you really like POR, then that may be your best bet if money is a concern.

[missymouseworld]

We love POR also and have stayed at the AKL once. The AKL is beautiful however, we didn't like the hallways, upon hallways that you have to walk thru to get to your room and then back again to get to restaurants. It seemed never ending. We would rather walk outside and enjoy the beautiful surroundings before stepping into your room. Seeing the animals outside your room was nice, but you can see them at the park also. If you spend alot of time in your room, that may be a benefit for you.

[joanna71985]

I stayed at AKL in Aug. It was beautiful! I would definitely stay there again.

[lawgirl]

I have to add something. We 've stayed at WL too, and I liked it. It just didn't have the unique atmosphere and rich, exotic mystery of the AKL. And, honestly, when we stayed at WL, it seemed like we were always waiting on the bussess to arrive...whereas at AKL, we've always had good luck with the busses.

I've never been at a resort like AKL...I've stayed in some 5 star hotels in Europe, which were awesome; but I've always loved the AKL. To me and my family, Disney went all out on the decor, the fragrances, the animals, the lighting...its the whole package.

We recently took our 6 year old nephews, and they absolutely loved the "safari" hotel. They loved the animals out the balcony, and they loved the architecture! It made quite an impression on their 6year old minds!
It would be worth alot more money to us!

Hope that helps!

Oh, and Jiko is one of our all-time favorite restaurants...in the world.

[Cheloconnell]

Love, love, love AKL. WL is nice also, but I would pick AKL above WL and POR. The atmosphere is great and if you love animals, this is the place. We are currently in the midst of buying an AK DVC just so we can have the 11 month window to get a savannah view :thumbsup:

[DreamFinder2]

I definitely think AKL is worth the extra money, as compared to any moderate. I do not, however, think the concierge is worth the money. AKL is all about casual, and the concierge level doesn't really add much, aside from some snacks and cans of pop during the day (I know they'll do other things, but we never take advantage).

We were on the 4th floor, savannah view and loved it. I'm kind of a science nut, but even my "artsy" wife thought it was pretty cool. It's not like we sat out there for 6 hours a day watching the animals, but it's fun when you do have a couple minutes to relax...mornings at AKL are especially nice, sitting on the balcony, waking up with the animals :thumbsup:

[Dopey's Girl]

I stayed at AKL in October with a 7 year old who is obsessed with Giiraffes. While she thought it was cool to wake up and go see them, she didn't like the pool (since there is only one, it was always crazy busy), the food (aside from typical fast food stuff, everything else was too ethnic for her young taste buds.), or the fact that it took forever to get to the other parks. After the first day, we ended up driving to the parks...that long ride back to the resort wasn't fun with a tired 7 year old! (We also had horrible housekeeping, and a really bad experience with multiple CM's which would keep me from returning. But that isn't typical from what I hear about AKL.)

If it was my money (and I know I'm in the minority) I would stick with POR, and save the cash for fun while you are there. You can go visit AKL, maybe have dinner, and get the best of both worlds.

[megustamex]

We love AKL. I have never paid for a Savannah room so I can't say if it's worth it- I guess I just have never felt it is worth it to try! I've always seen tons of animals by leaving the room and going out "exploring" throughout the hotel on all the incredible outdoor patios and viewing areas. Some of the best sightings have been on the staircases where the animals seem to be finding their own quiet areas to eat. So you really do feel like you're going "on safari" to go and hunt down the animals if you trek through the whole hotel. We love to do that. I have had all types of standard view and pool view rooms and it wouldn't matter to me - I love this hotel.

[PawleyPlatoon]

:blush:
Holy cow and thanks everybody for some excellent points. I'm still thinking about which resort to choose. :cool:

THANKS!!!:mickey:

[mom2morgan]

I've never stayed at AKL but love to visit. I love Boma's, and the gift show is so unique, and I could just hang out on that outside terrace all evening. I'll stay there if I can ever afford it, and I think with the terrace being so great I wouldn't even need a savannah view room. (BUT I have heard that if you book standard you have a chance of getting upgraded to savannah - much less likely if you book a water view.) If I go I'll book standard and keep my fingers crossed that someone sprinkles a little pixie dust my way ;-)

[TiggeRia]

The AKL is by far my favorite resort to stay at. If I had the money I would stay there every time. I pay the extra money for the savanna view--for me it is worth it to be guaranteed to have a balcony overlooking the savanna. It is very relaxing. I could spend hours sitting out there just reading a book or watching the animals go by. The lobby is the most beautiful one on Disney property, IMO. I also love sitting out in the rocking chairs around the camp fire at night. I thought the pool was very nice and did not find it to be too crowded (I went in October, tho). I was not fond of the dinner at Boma--too exotic spices for my taste. The breakfast there was pretty good, though. The Mara has pretty standard quick service food and we never had trouble finding a place to sit.

Both my parents prefer the AKL over any other resort we've stayed at or visited. My brother enjoyed it, but preferred the Poly because of it's location to the monorail. It's not for everyone, but you don't know until you try it! :mickey:

[mouseketeer mom]

AKL is about unique as any resort can get. In that sense, it is "worth it", even if to just try even once.
Getting that Savannah view room was not worth it to us. We barely saw animals from our balcony on the Kudu trail, but we saw tons from the windows and viewing areas around the resort. Next time, we would book a pool view instead. It is brighter and would give a nice balance between the safari feel, and also feeling like you are in Florida!
We stayed club level and it was worth it in the sense we were then able to book and participate in the sunrise safari. That was completely worth it. However, to just book club level for the sake of the lounge or preplanning would not be worth it to us again. The lounge was sooooo far from our room we barely used it. I also prefer to do my own preplanning, so club level wasn't needed for preplanning for us.
Hope I helped!

[cindchan]

I just looooooooove AKL!! It's been my favorite so far! I loved the Savannah room and wouldn't dream of getting any other kind of room! I loved sitting on my balcony, eating breakfast, and watching the animals graze!I have pictures of the animals from my balcony. But it wasn't done with a digital, so I don't have a way to get them on my computer. The funniest event was watching a crowned crane, who thought it's reflection was another crane. I don't know if it was trying to come on to the reflection or pick a fight with it. ^_^

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

:thumbsup:To AKL - DH especially chose this resort for us to spend our 23rd wedding anniversary trip. It was perfect. Upon check in we were lucky enough to be given a Savanna view room on the sunset savanna. It was so much fun and so relaxing to sit out on the balcony at different times of the day to watch all the different animals that grazed and played around on our savanna. We were on the main floor right off the lobby & we had absolutely no complaints. We loved all the activities around AKL and all the different viewing areas around the resort, especially using the night vision goggles to view the animals. The pool was great....we spent many of the afternoons cooling down and relaxing in the pool. It was never crowded.

We ate dinner at BOMA our first night and it was unique. We ate breakfast most mornings at the Mara and found it good and about equal to Roaring Forks at WL.

We had no issues with the buses. They were quite quick to all the parks. Actually took less time to get to most of the parks than it does to go from any of the values. We never ever use our car once we get to WDW. We always rely on WDW Transportation and haven't had any issues in over 25+ stays onsite.

We have stayed at the WL in a couryard view room, but only chose that resort as it had the cheapest AP rates for a deluxe at that time and we were mainly going to the MK & Epcot and wanted to be close to the monorail.

Whichever you choose, you'll be at Disney, so enjoy!! :mickey:

[EmmMOM2]

We LOVE it their! Our fav resort.
Our children almost 2 and almost 5 have loved it.
My son went when he was 2 and again at 4 and its great to be able to sit on the balcony and watch the animals.

The money to upgrade it is well worth it in my opinion. Though every time we go we have paid for a NORMAL room and been upgraded upon arrival, though we've NEVER gone in June which is very busy.
So to get a savannah room in June i would pay for it to ensure you get one.

The africans who are setup in the lobby soemtiems have skulls and such the kids can guess what they are, and they tell neat sotries.

It's a great resort, LOVE the big pool.

[sneezyone]

I love the AKL...and if you get a savannah view room....when it's hot, you can lay on the bed in your room (or sit by the doors in a chair) in the AIR CONDITIONING and watch the animals.

we went at the end of september and when we'd get hot or tired (or both) we didn't feel like we were really missing out because we could lay on the bed closest to the balcony and watch the animals.

It was absolutely wonderful.

we liked everything about it..we felt like we never had enough time at the HOTEL more than in the parks! there's tons of stuff to do...animal watching in the dark with special nightvision glasses, talking with people from africa...the food...even the souveniers were cool.

My husband and I hope to visit all the deluxe resorts...but since AKL was our first...we're not sure we ever want to stay anywhere else!

[RedSoxFan]

We had pool view rooms when we stayed at AKL. We loved it there. We would view the animals from the big picture window outside our room and walk the grounds with our morning coffee to see the animals. Lovely resort and would stay there again.

[baldburke]

AKL is a great resort. Just for the animals and the environment alone it is so worth it. A savannah view room is a must. The architecture and styling of the resort are great. The only down side is that aside from AK, there are no bus trips less than 30 minutes. But think we would definitely stay there again.

[Disney5Mom]

We absolutely loved it there. Although we spend most of our time in the parks, every miute we were there we sat on our balcony and marvelled at the animals. We paid for and enjoyed a savannah view. This is the only deluxe we have stayed in. We also found the bus transportation was convenient. We did not feel too far out at all.Hope to go back some day soon !

[SAHDad]

We just got back from AKL on Thursday, and I am pushing hard for it to become our "normal" resort. (The home one for the in-laws DVC is WL, but I'm pushing for them to try and get AKL rooms for our Oct trip.)

We had a savanna view, and although we could not see giraffes from our window, we still could see zebra, spoonbill, ankole cattle and several other animals.

Concerning transportation: AKL to AK is about 5 minutes. Without counting the time to wait for a bus, and ignoring Downtown to AKL (since it seems Downtown to any resort is always a hit-or-miss), our average bus trip was about 20 minutes*. Even with factoring in the wait for the bus, we still averaged about half an hour - which is pretty much what we have found to be the case for WL. YMMV, but for our trip, we had bus problems only twice - once to DHS, and the early morning bus to MK for Crystal Palace ressies. In both cases, we missed the bus, and had to wait for some time before another arrived - but that's pretty much always the case in those circumstances.

* Anywhere from 15 to 22 - I'd check the time as soon as we got on the bus, and again as soon as we arrived. DW and I were the first in our family to stay at AKL, so we had to scout out everything.

[Pagan]

This thread really made me feel good! Heading back down in May, and for the first time in 15 years, actually straying on property and....you guessed it, AKL.

Reading all these posts REALLY has me excited!

[King Triton]

I like AKL too, but for the same money I'd usually pick Wilderness Lodge, but thats just personal preference.

It sounds like cost might be an issue for you, so what I might suggest would be to experience AKL for a couple of nights, then do Riverside the rest of your trip. I think AKL is fun to experience, but I also think a couple of nights there is plenty. The one drawback of AKL for me is that it isn't an especially great resort to explore the outdoors. After all, a lot of the outside area of the resort is taken by the savannah. You feel a little more closed in there than at other resorts.