Animal Kingdom Lodge Worth It?

[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.