Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE Information & Questions

[Princess Minnie321]

Hi! I am so happy that you had an amazing stay at AKL. We are staying there in January and I was wondering which floor to request. I understand that you stayed on the third floor. Am I correct in the assumption that the third floor is the floor that the lobby is on as well?

Thanks a bunch!

The lobby is on the third floor. We were in room 2467 last month which was a savannah view with bunk beds on zebra trail and I really liked the location. It was maybe a 5 minute walk from the lobby and we were right above the laundry, pool, and the Mara.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

That's interesting. For those who have stayed in a savanna view room...any advice on where to request a room that might have early morning animals? We're staying savanna view in 55 days (eek!) and my daughter is an EARLY riser. Am hoping that there will be some animals out as we try to keep her entertained at 6 am.

We were in a savannah view in Jambo house on zebra trail last month and also did not see much early in the morning. The birds were out at that time and then maybe by 8ish the cattle was out. The giraffes would be out a bit later, maybe 9ish.

 

[Dug720]

I do love me my AKL, but after number crunching and a lot of YOLO, I'm going with my heart and fulfilling a lifelong dream and staying at the Poly. Will definitely be back to AKL though.

 

[dgbg100106]

Here is the latest list of everyone visiting in 2016 & 2017

If you have any updates please let me know…

2016

December

Mickeyheart, Nov 26th - 10th, AKL CL

Saysib, Nov 26th - 10th, AKL

Pedinurse5207, 1st - 7th, akl

John's Mom, 3rd - 10th, AKV Jambo House

Crazedprincess, 6th - 9th, AKL

PamelaKay, 9th - 13th, AKL

Sunset7132, 9th - 18th, AKL

Nursejackie, 10th - 26th, AKL

LvsTnk, 11th - 21st, AKL

TaraPA, 13th - 15th, Jambo House

PNO4TE, 16th - 19th, POFQ

Wsmagee, 16th - 22nd, AKL

MichelleGray, 16th - 23rd, AKL

2017

January

Monacoplc, Dec 23rd - 10th, AKL

Nayoung, Dec 30th - 10th, AKL

Momof2gr8kids, 1st - 7th, Jambo House

Parismeow, 4th - 18th, AKL

Trishadono, 15th - 20th, AKL CL

Archdandy, 17th - 27th, kidani

Volne, 21st - 25th, AKL

Texans_loyal, 22nd - 25th, AKL

MKEgramma, 22nd - 29th, AKL

10MoreMinutes, 28th - 30th, AKL

10MoreMinutes, 30th - 31st, ASM

Maranara, 29th - Feb 5th, AKL

February

Ericar, Jan 30th - 6th, AKL

Jen4400, 4th - 1th, AKL

Bozley0621, 7th - 12th, AKL

Javamoma, 8th - 11th, AKL

March

Dwheaton, 18th - 24th, AKL

April

Momtwoboys, 17th - 24th, AKV

May

Xlsm, Apr 30th - 6th, AKL

Katriscari, 6th - 16th, AKL

PoohNFriends, 28th - Jun 3rd, AKL

June

Capang, 6th - 14th, AKL

Kamikazecat, 22nd - July 6th, Jambo House

July

August

OThopeful35, 1st - 12th, AKL

September

October

Bigskip, 28th - Nov 11th, AKL CL

November

December

2018

 

[mindeola]

Loving the info in this thread. We rented DVC points for a Savannah View Deluxe Studio May 1-4. Hubby does not love WDW and I just had him there this past May. His favorite park is AK and he has never seen the lodge , but I know he will love it. It will be just us celebrating our 25th anniversary. It will be a much different trip than we normally take- planning to really enjoy the resort. It feels like it is worlds away there and I know he is going to love it.

We are checking in on the 1st with no plans, except for dinner at Sanaa. I LOVE their bread service and can't wait for him to try it. Hopefully we can get an early check in, but if not we will just enjoy the resort porches and seating areas. The 2nd is our anniversary and we are planning to do the Wild Africa Trek. We will wake up leisurely and head to AK for that. I plan to spend several hours there. Have ADR for Jiko that evening, but if all of the night time stuff is good to go, we will ditch those plans if we have to. it is for six pm, so I think we can do both.

On the third we are planning to do 4 parks in 1 day. Crossing lots of stuff off the bucket list with this trip!

 

[dgbg100106]

Loving the info in this thread. We rented DVC points for a Savannah View Deluxe Studio May 1-4. Hubby does not love WDW and I just had him there this past May. His favorite park is AK and he has never seen the lodge , but I know he will love it. It will be just us celebrating our 25th anniversary. It will be a much different trip than we normally take- planning to really enjoy the resort. It feels like it is worlds away there and I know he is going to love it.

We are checking in on the 1st with no plans, except for dinner at Sanaa. I LOVE their bread service and can't wait for him to try it. Hopefully we can get an early check in, but if not we will just enjoy the resort porches and seating areas. The 2nd is our anniversary and we are planning to do the Wild Africa Trek. We will wake up leisurely and head to AK for that. I plan to spend several hours there. Have ADR for Jiko that evening, but if all of the night time stuff is good to go, we will ditch those plans if we have to. it is for six pm, so I think we can do both.

On the third we are planning to do 4 parks in 1 day. Crossing lots of stuff off the bucket list with this trip!

May

Xlsm, Apr 30th - 6th, AKL

Mindeola, 1st - 4th, AKL

Katriscari, 6th - 16th, AKL

PoohNFriends, 28th - Jun 3rd, AKL

 

[JohnDaleswife]

We have had a major change in our arrival time for February. We have a standard room booked for arrival on the 1st, but will now be arriving around midnight on that night, so I am thinking of upgrading to a pool view room.

This would guarantee me a room closer to the lobby. With such a late arrival time, I am afraid we could get stuck in the back of the resort.

 

[ELSA711]

I need some advice! Booked BB offer for 1 bedroom Kidani Villa and now I want to extend it. While online I saw that a 1 bedroom opened up at Jambo House. Should I switch? I know my kids would love staying in the main house. We will have our car so bus service isn't a deciding factor but it would be helpful for feedback on that as well. I will say Kidani's 2nd bathroom will help this family of 5 but we are used to CBR so the extra space may be enough to make us happy.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

Well I upgraded to a pool view room. Won't be worried about a terrible location now with such a late arrival.

 

[kimmar067]

We were in a savannah view in Jambo house on zebra trail last month and also did not see much early in the morning. The birds were out at that time and then maybe by 8ish the cattle was out. The giraffes would be out a bit later, maybe 9ish.

....we were located off Zebra Trail and had a 'people pen' view, along with a view of the savannah and there were plenty of animals out early in the morning....

 

[crostorfer]

We are booked club level February 14th-17th!!! It's our first AKL stay, I'm looking forward to it. The kiddo isn't sold yet, "Its so far away from everything" is her major complaint. I'm hoping that the CL offerings help sway her opinion.

 

[patty57]

I'm an Epcot resorts girl, with a couple of MK resorts thrown in very occasionally. However, DH and I are heading to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow for a couple of days, and then checking out some other towns in FL as retirement landing spots. We will end up in the Winter Park and Orlando areas next Thursday/Friday/Saturday. Somehow I was able to talk my husband into a one-night stay at Jambo with dinner at Jiko. No parks...just resort decorations, relaxation, and a great dinner. I'm excited!

 

[kimmar067]

I'm an Epcot resorts girl, with a couple of MK resorts thrown in very occasionally. However, DH and I are heading to Fort Lauderdale tomorrow for a couple of days, and then checking out some other towns in FL as retirement landing spots. We will end up in the Winter Park and Orlando areas next Thursday/Friday/Saturday. Somehow I was able to talk my husband into a one-night stay at Jambo with dinner at Jiko. No parks...just resort decorations, relaxation, and a great dinner. I'm excited!

.....that, my friend, is the way to go.....I am definitely JEALOUS that you will be dining at Jiko.....best. place. EVER.
[for us anyhoo....]

 

[kimmar067]

..... hmmmm....looks like I will be starting another thread pretty soon....Brandi, be sure to list all the folks going to AKL on the new thread when I start it, okay?

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hi we will be staying at AKL Jambo house in a studio from 2/16-2/23/17. It will be our first stay here, we are excited! It will be myself and DD 17. We stayed once at Kidani and really enjoyed it.

 

[ml sumner]

Staying at AKL Kidani Village Savannah view for the first time 5/20/17 - 5/25/17! It will be me, DH and DS who will be 6. My son is a huge animal lover who loves AK so we wanted to make it even more special this time. Hoping for a good location to see the animals.

 

[Somnia]

We're going back, officially booked

December 8th (my bday) to Dec 15th. Jambo House, Club Level this time.

We're also doing Universal for our first time ever Dec 6th and 7th then moving to Disney on the 8th. Staying at the Hard Rock.

 

[Jack & Monica]

I started out with the intent of checking out all of the deluxe resorts. I Chose Kidani Village as our first visit because it was new. We have not gone to another resort since. For what it is worth, we go to Disney almost yearly now, and we always stay at KV. We usually go during high volume time frames, and I have a specific strategy that always seems to work. #1 I never get a savannah view. #2 I always get us the room closest to the bus stop. It is WORTH it -- trust me LOL. If you like the animals, there are viewing locations within and without the hotel. There are countless opportunities to see the animals. I love the 1 monute and 30 seconds it takes to get to the bus. I have read many many complaints about Disney transportation. Most of the problems exist at hotels that share buses. AKL and KV have their very own buses and as others have stated, they start out at KV first. I have never had a problem with transportation -- ever (that wasn't my fault -- long story for another entry).
We have spent some magical time checking out the other resorts. We have walked the boardwalk and have rented the bicycles built for two and three and ridden the BW and BC resorts. I always check out the bus lines -- there is no comparison. We do the Disney Dining Plan and always hit at least 2 or 3 resort restaurant options -- nothing has dissuaded me from going back to the Village. Did you know it is slightly cheaper than other Deluxe resorts? I do not know why? It has bigger rooms -- better bathrooms and if you want to experience the grandiose lobby of the AKL catch the shuttle there.

 

[Jack & Monica]

Thinking about booking the wanyama safari for March. Does anyone know how far in advance it has to be booked? I would like to wait if possible bc of costs. Maybe I'm already too late though?

We went during the summer and we only had 1 couple join us mid week. We had a very bad experience -- my daughter has a cashew allergy -- very serious -- while every restaurant we went to was awesome and very attuned to my daughter's allergy, the restaurant at Jiko flunked in every possible way. First they had cashews out in the room which we waited for the safari. This could have easily resulted in a trip to the emergency room, but I checked out the restaurant before we were to enter. The restaurant staff did not remove the cashews. I was greatly disappointed by the staff of Jiko because of this. Disney has always been above and beyond when it comes to my daughters allergy.

 

[CaleCakes]

We are checking out tomorrow morning after a 3 night stay and I can honestly say I can't wait to leave. I know I am in the minority here but this is my honest opinion and I am posting it not to complain but to share my thoughts with others so it might help their decision.
I was so excited to get a room here even for a few days. We stayed 4 nights at another hotel.
1)We booked a pool view room and I did the online check in and called to confirm the 2 requests: upper floor and king bed. We spend the day at AK park and by 3:15 I still didn't get a text that the room was ready so we just showed up. When I got to the desk of course the room was 2 queens but the hostess was able to get us a king room. Very much appreciated. We are on the 4th floor zebra trail close enough to the elevator and convenient to the pool and Mara. Great location. But it ends there. I do love the feel of the lobby being dark and traditional, I do not like that the rooms are the same. The lighting is terrible. The room is small. The pillows are flat as newspapers. No counter space on the double sinks and what room is there is always wet. And the bathroom is so small it's almost impossible to close the door. The water pressure is amazing though.
2) something is making us itchy. It might be the detergent on the sheets or towels but my son has a rash and something bit him on the cheek in his sleep.
3) we've eaten at Mara 4 times. Twice for pizzas and twice for breakfast. It's quick and convenient at Disney prices.
4) we used the buses twice. Once to and from Hollywood studios and once to AK part. Both return trips stopped at KV first. No big deal they were easy to navigate. We have a rental car but the buses were easy.
5) I was suprised to return to the room today after 3pm to see it wasn't tidied up yet. We grabbed our bathing suits and headed to the pool. Housekeeping came by while we were gone.
6) After experiencing AKL I'm not in a rush to book again. I'd try some where else but I am happy I went pool view over Savannah view. There are plenty of places to see the wildlife around the resort
7) Finally, and not really a lodge comment but more of a AK park comment. We were there on Thursday and there was several large groups called Mezza Fun or something along those lines chanting and dancing in the streets. It was extremely annoying and disruptive. It totally ruined our day there and by 3pm we were running to the exit to get away from them. I don't see how security allows that behavior.