Animal Kingdom Lodge staying next month - any tips? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Animal Kingdom Lodge staying next month - any tips?
Hi,
Our family of four is travelling to Florida in mid-March and tacking on a quick stay at Disney. We have reserved a standard room at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I'm wondering what is the best section to request for our room? We like to be not too far from a bus stop and close to food options.My kids (both age 11) and husband are animal lovers and I want to make sure we make the most of what this resort has to offer in our short stay. Any of your favorites from this resort I'd love to hear about!
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
We have stayed in DVC rooms on our past several visits to Animal Kingdom Lodge (including this past weekend), so I can’t help with location requests. With a standard room, it shouldn’t matter which savanna you’re on, so you may want to simply request a room near the main lobby. That will give you the easiest access to the bus stops (which are still a bit of a hike) and the restaurants.
You should receive a paper at check-in that lists the events each day. If you are in the resort at 4 pm, I recommend the tour of Boma and Jiko, which may include samples.
In the evenings, cast members are often at the overlooks behind the lobby with night vision goggles to help you spot animals.
There are special tours in the morning and evening that include meals. They are expensive, but sound great. (We haven’t done them because we couldn’t justify giving up park time.)
I agree with Melissa....request a room near the main lobby. You'll have much easier, faster access to food and buses. The layout of AKL can make the walk seem like an eternity after a long day at the parks.
I recommend the night vision goggles to spot the animals. I did this with my nephew (11yo) and he loved it! I also recommend a breakfast reservation at Boma.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Beware the rooms on the path to bus stop. The ones on main floor right off the path to busses look really awful. Solid wall balcony, and as I said right above sidewalk. I’d ask for a high floor.
We love the pool, there’s a flamingo area behind pool. Walk around Arusha Rock. There’s always CMs stationed there to answer questions. There’s a board in the lobby that lists activities of the day and times.
The night goggles are fun. We really like the evening Cultural Safari. It’s very well done. Each night a CM gives a presentation about their country. Highly recommend.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
Giraffe trail is the wing that is near the pool and the buses. You want to ask for a high floor as 3rd floor is on the walkway (if I'm remembering right) and would be busy with people. We stayed in a queen/queen on the 4th floor near end and it was nice. We found if you run the ceiling fan it helps cover any noises from the buses. The elevator in that wing takes you down to the pool and near the restaurants. We thought it was a good section if you do a standard room.
Giraffe trail is the wing that is near the pool and the buses. You want to ask for a high floor as 3rd floor is on the walkway (if I'm remembering right) and would be busy with people. We stayed in a queen/queen on the 4th floor near end and it was nice. We found if you run the ceiling fan it helps cover any noises from the buses. The elevator in that wing takes you down to the pool and near the restaurants. We thought it was a good section if you do a standard room.
2nd floor is perfect. Rooms face the pool and no bus noise and you can walk out and in the stairwell exits for the bus. Saves going all the way through the lobby each time.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtd771
2nd floor is perfect. Rooms face the pool and no bus noise and you can walk out and in the stairwell exits for the bus. Saves going all the way through the lobby each time.
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
That is if they have a pool view. If they have a standard view...they are facing the drive and parking. Better to be up higher then.
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
The original poster said she was getting a standard room, so I was letting her know which standard rooms were available and best bets. This is the map of the Giraffe trail. The standard rooms face the driveway. The lower level for standard rooms is floor 3...level with the walkway.
See this map. Down at the bottom is the Giraffe Trail with many of the standard rooms (which is what the OP has reserved....not a pool view). The 3rd floor is level with the walkway on the side with standard rooms. That's why I say it's best to try for floor 4 or 5. Standard rooms are also on the Ostrich Trail but those are less convenient to the pool, food, and buses.
See this map. Down at the bottom is the Giraffe Trail with many of the standard rooms (which is what the OP has reserved....not a pool view). The 3rd floor is level with the walkway on the side with standard rooms. That's why I say it's best to try for floor 4 or 5. Standard rooms are also on the Ostrich Trail but those are less convenient to the pool, food, and buses.
Missed the standard view part of the reservation. Very sorry.
This is a lovely resort so try to deficate some time to enjoy. As others have said, ask at check in about the scheduled events. And consider the Bona or Jiko tours- they are very interesting and you can sample the delicious foods.
This is one of the unique Disney resorts. The Savanna‘s are amazing and there is nothing like watching Giraffes from your balcony while sipping morning coffee. There is a lit to savor at this resort - a great place to relax and savor the moments.
Maybe try to visit AK Villas - it is a quick walk and is also lovely. Sanaa is an excellent restaurant if you can fit it in.
Enjoy!
__________________
"Disneyland has that thing - the imagination and the feeling of happy excitement - I knew when I was a kid."
--Walt Disney
Last edited by thinkpink; 03-23-2018 at 07:16 PM..
About This Page: 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
Linear Mode
