Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort (Disney Deluxe/Deluxe Villas Resort) Reviews and Ratings
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My family and I ( DH 2 girls 13 and 7) stayed at AKL August 17-22nd 2009. We like trying different resorts and got a great deal so we decided to try a deluxe resort for the first time. I am glad we did not pay full price. While it is beautiful and the animals are amazing it just did not have a Disney feel. We have previously stayed at Carribean Beach, Ft. Wilderness, POP and All Star Movies, so that is what we had to compare AKL to.

Pros:
Check-in was wonderful. We had requested a 3rd floor room , savannah view close to the elevators. We were assigned room 3527.

Animals: It was amazing to have the animals outside your door 24/7. We enjoyed viewing them from our balcony, but we can do this at any zoo and felt it did not justify the price ( thank goodness we got a discount).

pool: themed very well and tons of fun for kids and adults. The Spa is beautiful!

Cons:
Cost: We are glad we got a discount to stay here. Had we paid full price we would have been very disappointed

Size and getting around: this resort is large and we felt the walk especially from the bus to the room was quite a hike compared to other resorts we had stayed at.

Mousekeeping: only did a nominal job each day. They did clean but it did not compare to the other resorts we have stayed in.

Noise: this was the only time on Disney property that I have heard my neighbors on both sides. I could tell you when they showered, went to the bathroom , opened their balcony door etc...it was ridiculous. I expected more from a deluxe resort.

Overall: we liked the animals and the pool but other than that we really just did not feel at home here as we do at other resorts.

This was a problem for our room as well. Except we heard the people above us plus the next door neighbors hoity toity.

Knew as soon as the room above us had people check in. Could hear their sliding glass door everytime they opened/closed it.

They also had small children who loved to run and jump off the furniture (this is what it sounded like to us) and go in and out of the room onto the balcony from about 6:30 am til about 8am every morning.

We stayed in a 2BR Villa at Kidani Village. We spent 9 nights. There was 7 of us. My DH,Myself and our 5 boys ages 2-13. I wouldnt stay here again. I did enjoy the room and the animals. But the animals were never out in the morning which really bummed me out - for months I day dreamed about sitting on our balcony drinking my morning coffee and watching the animals. Well this NEVER happened. The CMs told me they bring them in to check around 8 am for about 2 hours. I was up everyday by 6 and never saw anything that early - I would guess they all hang out by where they go in. I did see the animals in the afternoon which I loved!! But we spent most of our afternoons in the parks. I was disappointed to find out that Kidani doesnt offer the night vision glasses - those are only at Jambo.
Also Kidani not having a Quick Service place to eat was terrible for us there were a few nights that we just wanted to hang in and grab a bite but we couldnt. We walked over to Jambo (which was a journey in itself!!) we asked how to get over to Jambo house and the CM told us to go to the end of the lot and walk - well we thought he meant the end of the lot by the street - we had a looonng walk down a super busy street and I feared for our saftey - lol. Once we got to Jambo house I asked a CM their if there is a easier way and Yes they do have a walkway that leads you there but it isnt marked anywhere that it takes you there. That was only a 5-10 minute walk but do it with a bunch of cranky,hungry,tired kids - lol. Anyway we ate at The Mara - it was way crowded and my burger was terrible!! None of us enjoy it.
The pool was nice but we had a long walk to it and had to walk through the lobby to get to it which was odd. Here I am prancing throught the lobby with my suit on dripping wet..
Housekeeping was fine except for the day they....LEFT OUR DOOR OPENED!!! I was horrified to come back from the parks to find our door jarred open - what happend was they have that little metal door locker flipped open so the door couldnt shut!! Yikes!!!
All in All yes it was a nice resort but I wouldnt stay there again I dont think.

Oh I should also say the as a pro - the bus service was Great!! We never waited more then 5 minutes to get a bus no matter what time of day we went.

AKL is one of my all time favorite resorts!
Whenever I walk into the lobby of this resort, I just get that WOW feeling!
The Disney Imagineers got this one very right as far as the theme is concerned!
I thoroughly enjoy sitting on my balcony and watching the beautiful animals at all different times of the day or night!
The food options at the resort are very good. Boma is one of my favorite places to eat on property. But, I enjoy eating at Mara as well.
The pool is beautiful. It can get crowded on a hot day!
The only thing about this resort is the transportation. You have to take the bus everywhere! And the resort is pretty far from every park except AK. So your ride times are long. You really have to plan for extra time to get anywhere.