Animal kingdom lodge advice.

[Georgia&Dani]

I can't believe we have just returned from getting a few quotes for our hols next year in August (not having been on this years yet!).

My DD's are desperate (in their own words!) to go to the animal kingdom lodge and would love to stay in a room with a view of the animals.
However, I have been quoted £900-£1000 more for these rooms, compared to the standard rooms. It seems quite a lot and was wondering if you think it is worth it?

Also, got quoted for the Rosen centre on international drive. This was around £900 cheaper and looks really nice. Has anyone been and is it worth going here and saving a bit of money?

Thanks for any help. Mark.:)

[debs2028]

I'm sorry I haven'y stayed at either. I have visited AKLfor a look around and meal and it was very impressive although a little dark.

Why don't you split your stay that way you would save some money and get the best of both worlds

Debs

[Cannavar]

Is it worth it? Good question! :) The Savannah view is priced high becuase most US visitors only stay for a few days where as us Brits stay for 2 weeks at least. So over 14 nights its a lot of money. We did the full 2 weeks and if they had left us with the room that as a Virgin guest we were given I would have been fuming! Its possibly worth the money IF you get a very good room indeed. If we stayed there again? I'd not book the extra.

[K Walshe]

Only stayed in the rosen center for 1night as villa was not ready,Huge hotel , Rooms where nice and a fair size great view if on a high floor, 24 deli in lobby which served great food, praticaly empty pool as most guests where there fo business. Nice buffet breakfast for around$10, only about 5-10 min walk to point orlando i think ya call it with a few shops a bars. Would def stay again

[jlbf06]

Is it worth it? Good question! :) The Savannah view is priced high becuase most US visitors only stay for a few days where as us Brits stay for 2 weeks at least. So over 14 nights its a lot of money. We did the full 2 weeks and if they had left us with the room that as a Virgin guest we were given I would have been fuming! Its possibly worth the money IF you get a very good room indeed. If we stayed there again? I'd not book the extra.

Oooh - now you have me worried - we have booked AKL Savannah Room for the first five nights of our hols with Virgin, did you get a poor room allocation booking with them? :omg:

[MrB]

Booked thro VH when we stayed at AKL. I do not know if the room we were first given was because we booked thro VH but it had a poor view - looking into a pen. A quick return to reception explained we were not happy and staying 14 nights (that suprised them) and we were moved to a great room.

Its a good hotel and I did enjoy breakfast (coffee) while siting on the balcony - bot to be honest we spent very little time in the room.

[Treacle44]

If I stayed there I'm not sure I'd bother with a Savannah room, don't think it's worth the extra that could be spent elsewhere. I'd choose AKl over I drive though.

x

[redwoodysoup]

Its a good point with regards to room allocation as the Brits seem to get the poor rooms sometimes. if your staying in disney property complaining will normally get you what you want especially when you tell them how much the holiday is costing you. Have you thought about a pool view room at AKL- meant to be quite good and don't cost as much. I have heard that there are hardly any standard rooms at AKL and they tend to overlook the car park or delivery areas which tend to be a bit loud. If not what about Port Orleans Resort, a lot cheaper, and a really scenic resort- trust me!

[loadsapixiedust]

Personally I wouldn't pay extra for a savannah room, only around 5% of the rooms at AKL have no savannah view so the odds are you will get the view regardless. If your room view isn't great there are plenty of places around the resort to get a great view so you can still see the animals.

If you plan to stay 14 nights it may be worth investigating AP rates, the room discount can pay for the extra cost of the AP and there are other benefits too.

I don't know if I'd spend 2 weeks at AKL, although it is lovely, it's quite remote and further from all the parks than most other resorts. We split our stay with POFQ which worked well, maybe look at doing that and having time to sample 2 different resorts as well as cutting costs a bit.

[Disneybunny]

We've booked a standard room hoping for a parking lot or bus stop view as they look closest to the bus stop and reception. DH can't walk very far so we don't want to be stuck out at the end of one of the savanah views. Also we live in the countryside anyway so can see animals most days looking out the window.

[MrB]

We live in the country too but have never seen a giraffe or zebra or wilderbeast here !

[Bartswife]

We live in the country too but have never seen a giraffe or zebra or wilderbeast here !

LOL give it time with global warming and all that. We have wallabies (sp???) roaming around Staffordshire that escaped from a zoo years ago!

[emzy]

we booked through my travel, they were the cheapest quote for what we wanted last year. we looked at the AKL as dh really wanted to stay there but MT only 'book' standard rooms, after much deliberating we decided to do grand floridian as it was the same price with MT as a savanah view room was with virgin and other holiday companies

[Harry]

We have just come back from a 24 dayer and we finished off with a three night stay at the AKL... we had a Savanah view (2nd floor Kudu Savanah) which was probably one of the best in the Lodge (right beside the water hole)... was it worth it?? Yes I suppose it was... the animals do seem to keep a distance (and rightly so) but you do have some magical expeiriences at night time (when the animals become a bit braver). The AKL was excellent but after previously having a week at the Wilderness Lodge it was very very hard to live up to that place.

ps. There are plenty of rooms that are NOT savanah rooms (hundred around the large pool, overlooking parking lot etc) so unless you are willing to gamble IF you want a Savanah room I would book one for your own piece of mind. Cheapest we found when booking was Attraction Direct (about £165-00 a night)

[Mulan]

If I was booking I would at least book a pool view, I would not want to stay in a beautiful hotel and risk having a view over rubbish bins.

[pinkypominnie]

We paid extra for a savannah view room for 16nts over our honeymoon and it was worth every single penny! The views of the animals are amazing, and its very different sitting on your own private balcony watching the animals then at one of the public viewing areas.....it is very expensive but maybe have a split stay? I wouldnt stay there unless upgrading to a savannah view, as you can overlook a pool in any hotel - its truly magical overlooking the savannah and watching the animals :) xx

[Cannavar]

I've posted on here before about my view of rooms us Brits get. Its nothing to do with the country we come from, its the fact that we stay so long. They are not going to block book good rooms for Virgin if they can have 4 or 5 happy Americans staying there for the two weeks. We too were placed over the fire exit pen with about 2 square metres of 'savannah'. It cose about £1000 extra for the two weeks and there was no way we would accept that. We were moved the next day to possibly the best location in the hotel. At the first location we were surrounded by Brits...in the new room there was not a Brit in sight. You can understand why they do it and its one of the reasons (apart from saving a LOT of money) that I book everything myself now.

If you have booked through Virgin and go for a Savannah View, I could almost pick the room number you will get. Make a point checking the room location you want before you leave and email them in advance and repeat your room request when you check in. They have no problem moving you.

[jlbf06]

Cannavar - thanks for your advice, we are staying there for five nights at the beginning of our trip in May 09 (thru Virgin) - would you mind advising me which area to request please?

thanks :grin:

[Disneybunny]

We live in the country too but have never seen a giraffe or zebra or wilderbeast here !

We have some weird farmers up here :pgig::pgig::pgig:. Seriously the farm down the road has a camel and monkeys no giraffes though (kept indoors most of the time).

[wayneg]

If its August you want next year its low season and AP rates are usually good. I have just booked 3 nights in Std room for this August $144/night. Don't know what Savanah room would be but might be worth one of you getting AP.
Personally I don't think staying onsite for a full holiday is worth the money(even AP rates) We stay in great hotels offsite like Courtyard By Marriott LBV for around £25/night but for us a hotel is just a bed and don't use any facilties or get the 'Disney magic', for others its more important to be onsite.

[Jools2]

Hi Mark

It was my daughter's dream to stay a AKL. Since we are DVC members last October we booked an AKV room with a savanah view for 4 nights as a surprise for her. She spent the first 2 hours or so after we checked in on the balcony watching all the animals - result! -so we thought, but no, she never really went out on the balcony again after that. When asked she said she had seen them all now :erm:

We did enjoy the room with a view and yes i would book one again, but with kids the novelty wears off pretty quickly. If I was you I would book AKL as a treat for a few days and then book some where else for the rest of the stay, saving $$$$s in the porcess.:D

[Cannavar]

Cannavar - thanks for your advice, we are staying there for five nights at the beginning of our trip in May 09 (thru Virgin) - would you mind advising me which area to request please?

thanks :grin:

I can't remember the exact room number but I have seen it on other sites as being the best rooms in the resort and I would agree. If you look at the attach linked resort map we stayed on the Zebra Trail 3rd floor 3436 or something. its over looking the savanna with endless views while also close to the lifts which take you to the pool/restuarants and games room etc. The 3rd floor is in my opinion the best height for a good view while still being low enough to get a good close up of the animals. Its also the main entrance floor for the hotel too as you just walk though the lobby and don't need to worry about lifts.

All in all the best combination.

http://new.disneyecho.emuck.com/pics/AKLMap.jpg

[wayneg]

she never really went out on the balcony again after that. When asked she said she had seen them all now :erm:



Just like us when we got free upgrade to Verandah cabin on Disney cruise, went out for 10 mins the whole cruise, once you have seen 1 wave you have seen them all:pgig:

[BevS97]

We have also stayed at AKL, but only for 3 nights. i liked the hotel but I wouldnt' stay there for the full 2 weeks, it's expensive for what it is (or more specifically for where it is). We booked a regular view and were upgraded, not that we asked for it. It was lovely to have the view of the animals and I think we would have been disappointed with a regular view, but I wouldn't pay Savannah view rates for 2 weeks.

I'd look into a fly-drive and booking your own hotels, then you can easily mix and match and also take advantage of special offers and AP Rates.

[jlbf06]

I can't remember the exact room number but I have seen it on other sites as being the best rooms in the resort and I would agree. If you look at the attach linked resort map we stayed on the Zebra Trail 3rd floor 3436 or something. its over looking the savanna with endless views while also close to the lifts which take you to the pool/restuarants and games room etc. The 3rd floor is in my opinion the best height for a good view while still being low enough to get a good close up of the animals. Its also the main entrance floor for the hotel too as you just walk though the lobby and don't need to worry about lifts.

All in all the best combination.

http://new.disneyecho.emuck.com/pics/AKLMap.jpg

Thank you :)

That's a great help, will contact AKL closer to the date to put in my request. The savannah view is so important to us, I hope they allocate a good room. :(

[TiggCat]

We are staying the full 2 weeks in AKL! Oh no! So many warning that it's not worth it! I was really looking forward to it and while I don't really care if we get a savannah view upgrade or not I certainly don't want to be looking out onto bins and the like.....

What should we do, complain, ask at reception before we even get to our room? Any advice gratefully recieved.

Last year our room at ASMusic was ok. I didn't mind but DH v. let down he thought it would be better than it was. In the end we spent so little time in it that ultimately it didn't matter. This year we were planning to enjoy the hotel as well as the whole onsite thing....

:erm:

[wayneg]

Last year our room at ASMusic was ok. I didn't mind but DH v. let down he thought it would be better than it was. In the end we spent so little time in it that ultimately it didn't matter. This year we were planning to enjoy the hotel as well as the whole onsite thing....

:erm:

Exactly how we felt after staying at ASMovies 8 years ago. Taken us 8 years and 13 offsite visits to try onsite again, personally would stay offsite rather than value onsite. Hoping we enjoy AKL this August but only booked 3 nights to try it, I know it will be a bit of a waste as we are out from sunrise to bedtime.

[lov2dis]

We are staying the full 2 weeks in AKL! Oh no! So many warning that it's not worth it! I was really looking forward to it and while I don't really care if we get a savannah view upgrade or not I certainly don't want to be looking out onto bins and the like.....

What should we do, complain, ask at reception before we even get to our room? Any advice gratefully recieved.

Last year our room at ASMusic was ok. I didn't mind but DH v. let down he thought it would be better than it was. In the end we spent so little time in it that ultimately it didn't matter. This year we were planning to enjoy the hotel as well as the whole onsite thing....

:erm:

I am sure it will be worth it :thumbs-up

Try and check in as early as you can that way if you don't like the room it gives them some time to find another one for you. Usually they show you on a map where your room will be but its difficult to know what the view is like until you look out the window. Even if they can't find a better room straight away- they should be able to change it the next day. I think they will be used to people asking at check in.

Last year we had a few days at the Polynesian (garden view) and got a free upgrade to Lagoon view (didn't ask - it was just offered) but it was ground floor - I felt a bit cheeky but asked for a higher floor and got it no trouble.;)

[TiggCat]

(Trying to master the quote and failing miserably...)

I think the wait and see approach is the only way to go given the countdown....will keep and open mind and hopes up for a good allocation and basically take it from there...:)

Still can't wait.....:D:D

[SMAX]

WE had a savanah room at AKL but when we got into the room we were overlooking a people pen. I just rang through to reception and said I wasn't happy and they sent someone to the room with new keys and a bell hop to move all the suitcases for us.

The new room was great.

[hiddenmickey94]

We have stayed at the AKL for 14 nights July/Aug for the last 2 years. We have been very luck both times to have received a free savannah room upgrade.As others have said there are many viewing platforms around the hotel from which to see the animals and to be honest the animals seem to be territorial and keep the the same parts of the Savannah all the time so when you look out of the window you see the same 3 giraffes and 4 Bongos that you saw yesterday (and the day before etc etc....). That said ,we were grateful for the free upgrade as the hotel is amazing and a wonderful place to stay.I`m not sure however if I would part with my hard earned cash and pay for a savannah view....I`ve got plenty of other things to spend it on ;)