Advice: Animal Kingdom Lodge

[Jon84]

Advice: AKL/WL

All,

Thinking of staying here next year(standard room, savannah view just out of reach), Mrs Jon84 has fallen in love, and from first look, it looks like a good resort. This will be our 4th trip so we'll spend more time around the resort. Our travel agent is doing $200 Disney spending money, and Dining Plan when buying tickets with them, so there seems to be some saving on spending money there.

We'd be arriving on Thanksgiving for 14 nights, so we'll be prepared to take it easy, and go with the flow till y'all go back to work!

Any tips, reviews or advice much appreciated.

 

[UNIrd]

Honestly, that's not a bad time to go at all. But you'll definitely notice a drop-off after that Sunday and then the parks should be relatively smooth sailing. It's my favorite resort on Disney property. Even without a Savannah view room, there's plenty of opportunities to see animals around the grounds. Hoping you get an upgrade though.

 

[Hockeyman55]

I was lucky enough to stay there for the first time last September due to the awesome generosity of Mr Roodlesnouter and loved it. For starters I can't say enough how awesome it is to wake up to the animals on the savannahs, and I think staying in one of those rooms is a must. For me I don't think I would be able to justify spending the money to stay there and not get that view. Sure you can go down stairs and see them or even in the hallways but it is not the same.

A few tips though.

Beg, beg beg for a room as close to the lobby as you can. I can't tell you how many times we had to walk from the room to the lobby and it seemed like it took forever and we weren't even at the end of the building

Kidani Village pool area has a pretty cool water splash play area if you are traveling with little ones


One downside

Its a decent distance away from the other 3 parks, not that its a deal breaker but its a decent bus ride from MK.

 

[Brian G.]

It's a great resort, but I feel not getting a Savannah view is cheating yourself. Obviously budgets can get in the way of that. Either way, make sure to check out Boma. Buffet-style restaurant, but great food!

 

[Hockeyman55]

It's a great resort, but I feel not getting a Savannah view is cheating yourself. Obviously budgets can get in the way of that. Either way, make sure to check out Boma. Buffet-style restaurant, but great food!

I agree. If it was me and I couldn't swing a savannah view I would look next a Wilderness Lodge. Somewhat of a similar feel resort but without the animal or African theme.

 

[Jon84]

Because it's 14 nights, the upgrade cost is crazy money, I've been trying to get an idea of the public area's views too.

I did read about the distances to travel, this won't be a deal breaker for us as we want a slower paced vacation rather than every ride in every park packed into two weeks!

The restaurants do look good, I'll be sure to check out the menus beforehand.

Off to checkout Wilderness Lodge as an alternative now!

 

[UK-Trigg]

Because it's 14 nights, the upgrade cost is crazy money, I've been trying to get an idea of the public area's views too.

I did read about the distances to travel, this won't be a deal breaker for us as we want a slower paced vacation rather than every ride in every park packed into two weeks!

The restaurants do look good, I'll be sure to check out the menus beforehand.

Off to checkout Wilderness Lodge as an alternative now!

Could you not split your stay? a week at AKL and a week elsewhere?

For me AKL lodge is the best resort on property, the pool, bars, restaurants, animals and overall feel are all top notch, savannah view is the icing on the cake.

Be sure to say hi to my friends at the pool bar, Kim and Laura two great girls who I've become real good friends with over the years :wave:

As Hockeyman states the resort is huge and you can end up miles away from the lobby, the flip side of this is that the savannah views from close to the lobby are not as good. Best try and get mid way down on a low floor on the Kudu trail.

 

[rhino4evr]

wow 14 nights? $$$$$$$$.

 

[Hockeyman55]

Here is a question for you Jon84? What Disney resorts have you stayed at already?

 

[Jon84]

wow 14 nights? $$$$$$$$.

Yeah lol when you're spending so much on flights 14 days makes sense!

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Here is a question for you Jon84? What Disney resorts have you stayed at already?

We've done POR and CBR so far

 

[MrRoamer]

I strongly suggest looking into buying DVC points and going that route for getting your room. You can generally get the rooms much cheaper and like the others have said, staying on the savanna is a much different experience and is really quite excellent.

Wilderness Lodge is also one of my favorite Disney resorts and isn't to be missed especially at Christmas time.

 

[Hockeyman55]

I strongly suggest looking into buying DVC points and going that route for getting your room. You can generally get the rooms much cheaper and like the others have said, staying on the savanna is a much different experience and is really quite excellent.

Wilderness Lodge is also one of my favorite Disney resorts and isn't to be missed especially at Christmas time.

Good point on renting DVS points. We rented points for Boardwalk in 2013 and it worked out to costing us only $150 a night on average, you can't beat that price. In the end i had to cancel the reservation but due to some unforeseen circumstances but renting points might just be the thing to do.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah lol when you're spending so much on flights 14 days makes sense!

- - - Updated - - -


We've done POR and CBR so far

Reason I ask was to recommend what others have said about a split stay perhaps. Maybe stay half at the AK lodge with animal view and the get a moderate for the rest of your trip. That might offset some of the cost. POR is one of my favorites along with Wilderness Lodge

 

[MrRoamer]

I always thought there was no benefit to renting the DVC points but the wife proved me quite wrong. Our first stay using them was at Old Key West and we had a suite for about $75 a night, this was a big living room that slept 6, a big bed room, a hot tub, porch... it was decked out and was pretty awesome.

The only way we've stayed at all but 3 Disney Resorts is entirely because of the DVC points thing and even though it does bring with it some potential problems, in our experience the pros far far far outweigh the cons.

 

[UK-Trigg]

I bought into DVC a good few years back, I know its got its critics but for me and my family its one of the best things Ive purchased.

I only have 160 points but I manage to get a minimum two weeks onsite every year. This trip upcoming trip I will be staying 2 nights OKW, 4 Nights BLT, 8 nights AKL. The money I saved from not paying out of pocket is allowing me to stay an extra week at Uni - HRH 2 nights and CBBR for 5. Im also heading back to Orlando for 2 weeks in September for HHN for a 2 weeks stay at CBBR.

I work hard but am by no means rich and would never afford these trips without having bought into DVC, sure there are times when I want a different vacation, no problem. I can rent my points and use that money for a cruise or vacation elsewhere. It also has around 40 years left to run which means I can hand it down as a gift for my Daughter in the future.

DVC isn't for everyone and it has gone up in price drastically since I bought in (I paid around $100 a point when the rate was 2 to 1), but for me, my family and friends it has been money well spent.

Sure there are cheaper ways of getting to Disney but If you are a regular to Disney and enjoy the deluxe resorts it may be worth doing the maths.

 

[MrRoamer]

We aren't DVC members. We buy points from people when they are expiring on a website dedicated to it which to me is the best of both worlds.

 

[Hockeyman55]

I bought into DVC a good few years back, I know its got its critics but for me and my family its one of the best things Ive purchased.

I only have 160 points but I manage to get a minimum two weeks onsite every year. This trip upcoming trip I will be staying 2 nights OKW, 4 Nights BLT, 8 nights AKL. The money I saved from not paying out of pocket is allowing me to stay an extra week at Uni - HRH 2 nights and CBBR for 5. Im also heading back to Orlando for 2 weeks in September for HHN for a 2 weeks stay at CBBR.

I work hard but am by no means rich and would never afford these trips without having bought into DVC, sure there are times when I want a different vacation, no problem. I can rent my points and use that money for a cruise or vacation elsewhere. It also has around 40 years left to run which means I can hand it down as a gift for my Daughter in the future.

DVC isn't for everyone and it has gone up in price drastically since I bought in (I paid around $100 a point when the rate was 2 to 1), but for me, my family and friends it has been money well spent.

Sure there are cheaper ways of getting to Disney but If you are a regular to Disney and enjoy the deluxe resorts it may be worth doing the maths.

Renting points is one of the hidden gems right now There was a thread on here dedicated to it if your looking for more info

Perfect example, In your situation it pays to invest in the DVC and if you wanted to take a different vacation you just rent your points, easy breezey.

Is your DVC able to pass down to your family? For some reason I though they weren't but I haven't really done much research on it.

We looked into it a few years back but for us it didn't make sense for us.

 

[Jon84]

So we've booked Wilderness Lodge, very exciting, got a good deal so very happy! I think we'll look into DVC at some point in the future when we've some money to invest. Thought about it before.

Anyone know of anything special they do at WL during the Holiday period?

 

[UK-Trigg]

Renting points is one of the hidden gems right now There was a thread on here dedicated to it if your looking for more info

Perfect example, In your situation it pays to invest in the DVC and if you wanted to take a different vacation you just rent your points, easy breezey.

Is your DVC able to pass down to your family? For some reason I though they weren't but I haven't really done much research on it.

We looked into it a few years back but for us it didn't make sense for us.

Yes you can pass it over as a gift, i had it in my mind from the off that I wanted to pass it in to her and her family in later life. Presuming she would want it LOL

So we've booked Wilderness Lodge, very exciting, got a good deal so very happy! I think we'll look into DVC at some point in the future when we've some money to invest. Thought about it before.

Anyone know of anything special they do at WL during the Holiday period?

You should try and check out Whispering Canon Cafe and Artists Point Both are fantastic restaurants.

Whispering Canon Cafe has a real fun feel to it, the servers all help make sure of it. Pair this with some decent family style food and you will have an absolute blast there. I came out with stomach both from being full and laughing so much. Oh and dont forget to ask for the sauce

Artists Point is the total opposite end of the Scale, fantastic service in a elegant dining room serving some of the best food on Disney. My Daughter enjoys it too I think that AP gets overlooked at times but this place is one of my favourite Disney restaurants, my Daughter loves it too.

 

[Donald Razorduck]

We did a split stay at AK and WL by renting points. We had a standard room at AK but got room with some Savanah View. AK is a fabulous place to stay with great food.

 

[MrRoamer]

I want to second eating at Whispering Canyon, very good food and a really fun atmosphere. It is one of my favorite resort restaurants others including Cape May and Ohana.