We already had the CBR booked when I decided to upgrade to a standard room at the AKL. My DH is "deluxe snob" and my brother was coming to visit for Dive Quest so I wanted to show Disney off to him and the AKL was the most affordable deluxe available. I tried and tried and tried for the WL, but availability never opened, but my DH told me to never fear, that we had already stayed at the WL, it was time to try someplace new.
The resort is as gorgeous as all have previously mentioned. Check-in was easy, the package I pre-mailed was waiting for me, and when I went back to the front desk to tell them that I haaaaaated my room on the Ostrich Trail (small, bunk beds, first floor
close-up valet/parking lot view....ugh, not magical!) and asked if I could have something on a higher floor and with 2 queens, the CM returned after a few moments in the back room with new keys to our new room, which was quite the hike down the Kudu Trail and had a bit of a construction view, 2 queens, and something she hadn't mentioned...a Sunset Savannah view!
WOW! The room was decently sized, the toilet/shower room was a wee tight but the shower pressure and temps were excellent. The shampoo/conditioner were nice, but it was difficult getting them out of the bottles. Mousekeeping was great, decor was great, but with a 18-month-old climber extraordinaire we were a bit nervous of the balcony railing and both kept picturing him becoming Eland food. We appreciated the sliding door would double lock from the inside.
The Christmas decorations were gorgeous and we really enjoyed that there was a Photopass photog in the lobby each night, we were able to get some good Christmas photos of DS for his grandma. DS preferred the homey aspect of the resort and enjoyed being there over anywhere else in the parks. The nooks and crannies are endless, and of course, *night vision goggles* at Arusha rock can't be beat. I believe AKL had the most active lobby of any resort I'd ever been in...anywhere I'd ever stayed, including outside WDW. I liked the action and the low lighting, it's just my speed.
Since we had to cancel
many dining plans I had booked 6 months in advance due to DS's wellbeing (he couldn't be in the parks/outside the AKL too long) the Front Desk concierge CMs were most helpful snagging me last-minute ADRs (and many of
those we still had to cancel due to DS....but that's another story....)
The Mara was sort of bad. Bad service, bad options, bad food, and DH was disappointed that the refillable mug wasn't an AKL print but a generic Disney one. We had one Boma breakfast...I felt that I had better ones in the past. I ordered one drink at Victoria Falls, an $11 glass of Merlot which is something I would normally never pay for, but after one sip I realized why I spent $11 plus tip on it. Whoooooo!!!! That wine was strong! My face went flush very quickly and I enjoyed the glow.
Alas, we were not able to complete our beverages in the lounge as DS was growing antsy, but I was able to tote it around with me as we explored the resort. There were also reasonably priced bottles of wine at the Mara and Zawadi Marketplace that I was happy to enjoy on our balcony as DS slept inside.
Beyond those wonderful aspects, things fell apart. My DH simply was not happy with the transportation system and felt that Walt would never allow a Deluxe resort be so difficult to reach, he felt no connection to the rest of WDW and labeled it the "red headed stepchild of the deluxes" due to it being so inaccessible, so reliant on unreliable bus transportation (there was one night Jimmy and I were nearly trampled since the crowd was so crazed for a Magic Kingdom bus. They had been waiting a looooooooooong time) and he was especially disappointed that the Epcot bus stop back to the AKL seemed to be the farthest one to walk to. He wished there was an old refurbed train available to ride instead of busses, busses, busses. I kept reminding him that the AKL is so revered by so many on the boards and the ambiance and the animals made up for the location and the transportation, but he just wasn't seeing it.
: It really was a real shame and we have agreed that unless new transportation options arise that it was our final visit to the AKL. He doesn't even want to go back to Boma or Jiko, he just didn't feel the magic there at all. Normally his lack of enjoyment would have yanked me down with it, but I genuinely did enjoy the resort (mainly because it kept my DS calm!) and my brother was completely swept away by the giraffes outside our room, so to me it was
but I do admit to painful longings for the WL and its location.