[Joy J]

I'd originally stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge in August, 2003. My only complaint about AKL at the time was the rudeness and lack of knowedge on the part of some of the front desk staff.

This time around, I did not encounter any rudeness whatsoever but I did find the staff to still be less than knowledgable in important areas. For example, perhaps because AKL is new to the DVC family, the staff are not still fully aware of how DVC works. Whatever the reason, there was a tremendous amount of confusion regarding my room reservation when I checked in and it took a VERY long time to get it sorted out. Also, apparently Disney is having trouble with some of the new furniture they purchased for the DVC accommodations. For example, our sofa bed was broken and the only way they could get it to work for the night was to have someone from maintenance come up with a crowbar and actually pry it out of the frame. All of this was happening late at night and it took three separate Disney cast members coming one at a time to our room before the issue was eventually resolved. And they did change our room to a different one the next day so that ended our room woes. In my opinion, a lot of the problems with the staff at AKL and Villas stem from a lack of communication between their various departments. As a result of this, things get overlooked. For example, we didn't get our trash and towel service or full room cleanings on the appropriate days and each time, I had to phone in order to get any service at all. Perhaps the biggest complaint I have about AKL at the moment is the placement of one of their designated smoking areas. It is located just to the left of the front entrance as you exit the doors. The problem with this is that EVERYONE has to walk right through this area on the way to and from the buses. It is a highly unpleasant experience and could prove to be a health and safety issue for those guests with health problems such as asthma or guests with children who don't want to expose their kiddies to second-hand smoke.

Those glitches being said, everything else about Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas was as magical as it could possibly be. The bus service was the best I've experienced on property. Yes, the resort is a little farther away from most of the parks but I didn't find the travelling time to be even as long as the buses from other hotels mainly because of not having to share with any other resort or not having to make multiple stops within the resort itself.

The decor in the new villa rooms is stunning and there is a ton of room for clothing. We had a full size closet plus an armoire and tons more space in the drawers below the television unit. The flatscreen TV and DVD player are also welcome additions to the studio accommodations. From our room overlooking the Arusha savanna, animals were visible pretty much 24/7 and we spent a great deal of time on our balcony ooh-ing and aah-ing over them.

I was amazed by the wealth of activities available for folks of all ages. I tried their culinary tour and found it to be fantastic - much better than I had anticipated.

As always, their restaurants didn't disappoint, the pool and hot tub were wonderful and the grounds were as gorgeous as ever.

I will definitely stay here again but not until they resolve the issue concerning the placement of the designated smoking area.

Joy