JAMBO! The UN-official AKL Thread ~ UPDATED(short film/pg 8 & slideshow/pg 12) Part 2

[luvfigment]

Hey all! Sorry I have been such a stranger but a lot has been going on since I got back 1 month ago...planning a wedding, working, and finding a job. I am actually getting out of the Air Force in Aug so I need a new job! Sadly I have not gotten to a trip report but I have uploaded some more pictures so I can post them. I am still trying to catch up on what I have missed. But the one thing that caught my eye is the DVC rumor...say it isn't so!!!!! Well here are a few photos. Enjoy!

My bed after turn down service.

 

[luvfigment]

The pool!

Zebra's getting some dinner!!

 

[kimmar067]

Hey all! Sorry I have been such a stranger but a lot has been going on since I got back 1 month ago...planning a wedding, working, and finding a job. I am actually getting out of the Air Force in Aug so I need a new job! Sadly I have not gotten to a trip report but I have uploaded some more pictures so I can post them. I am still trying to catch up on what I have missed. But the one thing that caught my eye is the DVC rumor...say it isn't so!!!!! Well here are a few photos. Enjoy!

My bed after turn down service.

....sa-WEEEEET! More, MORE......

 

[mmmears]

A few words about the DVC AKL thing:

A month ago I tried to book a concierge room for next March. CRO said they had a standard CL room available, but that all the deluxe CL rooms were sold out. I asked on the resorts board about standard CL rooms, because I thought I had read that all CL rooms were deluxe. After calling CRO, AKL and AKL CL a few times each, I basically go this info: As of March (or earlier) 2007, there will be no deluxe CL rooms at AKL. There will be some renovation, we cant talk about it, etc.

Here's the thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1139136

They keep promising that the standard CL room we booked is indeed a CL room. We dont care about the size of the room we booked so much, but wanted to make sure it was a CL room with access to the lounge and the safari. Based on the many vague conversations, my best guess was that they are turning the 5th floor into DVC. We have not stayed at the AKL yet and really hope it will be nice when we are there.

I have been waiting for someone else on this thread to confirm the "Standard Concierge" reservation, but no-one has yet, until now. I'm sorry if this comment is long and confusing -- our reservation process and calls to Disney have been long and confusing as well!

 

[kimmar067]

Okay, here is MY take on the whole thing:

ALL CL guests get access to the CL lounge by way of the 'special' room key they receive....'regular' guests get blue (I think) keys and CL guests get the 'gold' ones. These are the ones that, when you put them into the slot in the elevators, will give you access to the lounge, located on the sixth floor. The deluxe rooms are a TINY bit larger - however, they only have the extra couch (which opens up into a single bed for the fifth person) if the room has a queen/bunk configuration, NOT a queen/queen config......

I am thinking that construction will begin in 2007 on the 5TH FLOOR ONLY, because that is probably where most of the deluxe rooms are located....

 

[mmmears]

Okay, here is MY take on the whole thing:

ALL CL guests get access to the CL lounge by way of the 'special' room key they receive....'regular' guests get blue (I think) keys and CL guests get the 'gold' ones. These are the ones that, when you put them into the slot in the elevators, will give you access to the lounge, located on the sixth floor. The deluxe rooms are a TINY bit larger - however, they only have the extra couch (which opens up into a single bed for the fifth person) if the room has a queen/bunk configuration, NOT a queen/queen config......

I am thinking that construction will begin in 2007 on the 5TH FLOOR ONLY, because that is probably where most of the deluxe rooms are located....

This was what I was given to believe by the AKL CMs I spoke to.

 

[kimmar067]

This was what I was given to believe by the AKL CMs I spoke to.

.....

 

[AKLGoofy]

Bob-so glad you had a great trip and I look forward to seeing your photos and hearing about your day to day experiences...

Secondly, ok please excuse me everyone if I start to get hysterical but when is the AKL going to be "gutted"-Bob did you get any dates..........


Patricia

I do apologize... I should have asked about timing, but the sense that I got was some time in the next 12 months or so.

I'm not usually one to start "rumors" as I know what they can cause, but I, too, was concerned because I really like the place the way it currently stands. I had a very sad feeling inside when he told me this... I was firmly under the AKL spell and it was jarring to think that they would make it into just another time share...

I know the place is special to a lot of folks... and I also now know why. Maybe I thought it would hurry someone along that might be delaying their trip... or perhaps solidify the questionable "Can we afford to go this year" thing for others... I would hate for anyone who felt as I did about the place to end up missing their last chance to go there "the way it used to be"... It would truly be a shame for them to make any drastic changes and I can only hope that I was misinformed.

You see... I, too, am now a fully certified AKL addict. Susan and I could not dream of staying elsewhere on the property. Don't care... Grand Floridian concierge suite.. .bah, who needs it? Contemporary top floor, end room? Wouldn't bother. No, it's going to be AKL or nothing for us. I suppose if that means I have to get gouged even deeper for a Vacation Club membership, so be it.

I wish I had further information for you. I'm going to try and wheedle something out of the contacts I have made over the last three months, though, to try and find out. I don't want to plan another trip and end up with a nasty "surprise" when I get there...

Will post if I find out anything more.

Bob

 

[mmmears]

Bob,

Thanks for the info. I am glad to have confirmation on what I had heard, but also didn't want to spread rumors. We fell in love with AKL a few months ago when we went to Boma for dinner and are really excited to try it out on our next trip!

 

[gems_smiling]

I have two specific points of what I believe to be bad news, however. I was told by a somewhat reliable source as we were leaving that the AKL is going to be converted to a DVC resort. It is due to be "gutted" (their term, not mine) in the not-to-distant future and the 5th floor will be entirely converted to "suites".

NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[AKLGoofy]

...well, what-are-ya doin' HERE??!?!? Get to work, dude......

Heheh, OK, pics downloaded. Trimming and such in progress. Here's a few for you till the website is up (which will take some time as I plan on going through minute detail with my thoughts about various aspects of things included... as you can imagine, the "thoughts" portion will take awhile...).

During the Sunset safari we got to get really close to the two month old baby giraffe they have. Even though the rain had backed off to a very light sprinkle, she was still hiding under the edge of the giraffe barn. Our guide said that the giraffes hate to stand in the rain... Susan was very excited as the baby and mother seemed to sleep under our balcony each evening (at least, they were there when we returned each night to go to sleep):

Our mousekeeper was Gladys and she seemed to be just as excited about our anniversary visit as we were. I had heard about "towel animals", but she went waaaay beyond that as you will see when the website goes up. This was a part of the menagerie we accumulated throughout the week:

Susan ended up with so many flowers that they wouldn't all fit on the table. She was most excited about the replica of her bridal boquet (peeking out at the top right) and the glass slipper/tiara/flower pillow (bottom edge, kind of rounded with a blue trim). I was truly impressed by the DIsney florist. I've bought a LOT of flowers in my life but these folks are truly artists:

Victoria and Albert's was... well.. magnificent. Isreal (maitre'd) was only perfect. Don and Anita (our "Victoria and Albert") did a fabulous job of making us at ease and adjusting the "pace" of the presentation to allow us to make it down to the marina on time for our private boat afterward while never making us feel rushed. Yes, I got food pictures, too (have to wait for the website for those). If you look really closely in the lower right corner of this picture, you can just see the "upgraded" engagement ring in the white chocolate slipper:

Needless to say, Susan is a bit "misty" in the above photo...

OK, back to the image editor... then the word processor. This will take me some time just to go over everything we accomplished in such a short time so please bear with me.

Bob

 

[kimmar067]

Bob ~
We can't see your pix...what you have to do is change the word "image" into img in all of the brackets....

 

[kimmar067]

Heheh, OK, pics downloaded. Trimming and such in progress. Here's a few for you till the website is up (which will take some time as I plan on going through minute detail with my thoughts about various aspects of things included... as you can imagine, the "thoughts" portion will take awhile...).

During the Sunset safari we got to get really close to the two month old baby giraffe they have. Even though the rain had backed off to a very light sprinkle, she was still hiding under the edge of the giraffe barn. Our guide said that the giraffes hate to stand in the rain... Susan was very excited as the baby and mother seemed to sleep under our balcony each evening (at least, they were there when we returned each night to go to sleep):

Our mousekeeper was Gladys and she seemed to be just as excited about our anniversary visit as we were. I had heard about "towel animals", but she went waaaay beyond that as you will see when the website goes up. This was a part of the menagerie we accumulated throughout the week:

Susan ended up with so many flowers that they wouldn't all fit on the table. She was most excited about the replica of her bridal boquet (peeking out at the top right) and the glass slipper/tiara/flower pillow (bottom edge, kind of rounded with a blue trim). I was truly impressed by the DIsney florist. I've bought a LOT of flowers in my life but these folks are truly artists:

Victoria and Albert's was... well.. magnificent. Isreal (maitre'd) was only perfect. Don and Anita (our "Victoria and Albert") did a fabulous job of making us at ease and adjusting the "pace" of the presentation to allow us to make it down to the marina on time for our private boat afterward while never making us feel rushed. Yes, I got food pictures, too (have to wait for the website for those). If you look really closely in the lower right corner of this picture, you can just see the "upgraded" engagement ring in the white chocolate slipper:

Needless to say, Susan is a bit "misty" in the above photo...

OK, back to the image editor... then the word processor. This will take me some time just to go over everything we accomplished in such a short time so please bear with me.

Bob

...I for one, will be waiting on pins and needles......

 

[kimmar067]

OOOOOhhh, I see'em NOW.......

AWESOME, dude!

 

[AKLGoofy]

Okay, here is MY take on the whole thing:

ALL CL guests get access to the CL lounge by way of the 'special' room key they receive....'regular' guests get blue (I think) keys and CL guests get the 'gold' ones. These are the ones that, when you put them into the slot in the elevators, will give you access to the lounge, located on the sixth floor. The deluxe rooms are a TINY bit larger - however, they only have the extra couch (which opens up into a single bed for the fifth person) if the room has a queen/bunk configuration, NOT a queen/queen config......

I am thinking that construction will begin in 2007 on the 5TH FLOOR ONLY, because that is probably where most of the deluxe rooms are located....

I think you're probably right, Kim. At least, I'm hoping so. I couldn't imagine them redoing the entire place. That would be waaay too much downtime and the property would lose too much money in the process. I'm betting the "other building" he was talking about will be DVC only and may well not have the nice view the 5th floor rooms in the "original" building has.

You are somehwat correct about the difference between concierge and non-... we had a slight problem when we arrived and I got to see the difference clearly. We were originally taken to a room on the 5th floor right beside the Presidential suite (NOT the room Don had intended for us) which was non-smoking. As I had been very clear through the entire process that we required smoking, we went upstairs to straighten things out. This was my first experience with one of the less-then-magical things I mentioned before (the concierge person's attitude).

Apparently, Don had set us up in a perfect room for our needs... deluxe size, smoking, savannah view. BUT.... the Moroccan ambassador had called the place a couple days before our arrival and required a "block" of 20 rooms together for his family and entourage begining halfway through our stay. So... we got moved at the last minute. I give them kudos for trying their best to give us a decent room... but minuses for not paying attention to our addiction as our first priority.

What I found odd was the concierge person's perspective on things. I had the feeling right from the start that she was doing me a favor by not yelling at me since I was creating a problem for her. She (who will remain nameless) implyed that "I" could resolve the problem if I just wanted to upgrade to a suite... at a LOT of extra money. Now, as some of you may know, I am NOT a penny pincher. BUT, I felt like this wasn't my fault and that I shouldn't have to pay more just because they had to suddenly kow-tow to some self-important muckity-muck. She made a couple calls and eventually found us a smoking room on the 4th floor, all the way at the end of one of the wings. As you can guess, they were quite full since it was 4th of July week and this freakin' ambassador had just sucker punched them so, even though Don came down to pick up the ring and try to help, this was going to be the best they could do apparently. I was NOT going to get milked for an additional $3,000-4,000 at the last minute so we took it. She did assure us that we would have access to the lounge and the turn-down service, etc.

When we arrived at the room, the size difference was quite obvious to me. Where we had had plenty of room to walk around in the other room, this one was just big enough for the furniture. Granted, it had two queen beds instead of one king like the first one, but still, the size difference was obvious. I'm still debating on whether or not to engage in what would most likely be a futile attempt at some kind of rebate on the room due to the difference in size.

Bob

 

[wendypooh]

someone please tell me something so I don't start crying

SOS

Patricia

Hey Patricia!!!! Don't cry ~~

Seriously, I may be dense here, but what would this mean, If they do change it over to a DVC place??? Can someone elaborate for those of us who don't really understand. I'm certainly hoping it doesn't mean ONLY DVC people can stay there??? Thanks

 

[wendypooh]

Hi Everyone It's been a few days since I've been here, WOW, so much going on!!!!!!!! Finally got all caught up.......

congrats on the extra days at akl, maybe we will see you there

What are your dates?? Maybe we will see you!!! Scoutsmom will be there too during that time, tinknme was going, but is now going in Feb. ( Maybe I'll see her there then!!) We are trying to finalize dates so we can book!!!!!

Wendypooh, congrats on the two extra days at AKL.

I am happy to report that my Mom seems tlo be getting stronger each day and doctors are hoping she will be well enough to come home with some help the end of next week.

Thanks!!! Glad to hear your mom is doing well!! And very glad to hear she is going home soon!!!

Wendypooh, Congrats on your extra days. Hope to see ya if February! Does anyone know when AKL will be on Great Hotels again?

Thanks~~~ Also, We are def. going in Feb.!!!!!!! We are deciding on dates now, but probably the end of Jan. beginning of Feb. I'm sure we'll see you then!!!

Our meeting went well - we ARE going to WDW AND I added one day [at the beginning], although there were NO avilabilities at AKL. So we will check IN at Pop Century for the 12th and switch on the next day....

YEAH!!!! Glad your trip is ON!!!

Greetings all,

First and foremost, the website with all the pics and the day-to-day, blow-by-blow won't be ready for awhile. Since everyone here was so kind and helpful, however, I felt obligated to at least post something as soon as I could.

Bob

Hi Bob, Sounds like it was an amazing trip ~~ your pictures are great, waiting to see more!!! Let us know when the site is ready!!!

Hey all! Sorry I have been such a stranger
Well here are a few photos. Enjoy!

My bed after turn down service.

HI Stranger!!!! Glad to see you here!! Thanks for the pics they are great!!!

 

[AKLGoofy]

Hey Patricia!!!! Don't cry ~~

Seriously, I may be dense here, but what would this mean, If they do change it over to a DVC place??? Can someone elaborate for those of us who don't really understand. I'm certainly hoping it doesn't mean ONLY DVC people can stay there??? Thanks

I'm hoping that as well. After Kim's comment, I tend to agree that they'll most likely keep the "original" lodge as primarily open to everyone with only the 5th floor being converted. They'll most likely make the "new" building exclusively DVC, though, I'm guessing.

Already tried to look up rates and such for a much less elaborate (and cooler) return trip in January. Darned Disney site won't let you check availability or anything for arrival beyond Dec. 30, 2006 though!

One good thing (maybe) is that for those folks that can get a chance to come to AKL for an annual trip, the whole DVC thing might be a good idea. I'm going to be looking into that myself, although I have a knee-jerk aversion to ANYthing that smells of "time share"...

Got another picture ready. The ring presentation... man, are these guys good or what?

Bob

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Bob-great photos ...keep the info coming...sorry for your inconvience with your room...If he hadn't been an inconvience to you-it is kind of cool that the Morrocan Ambassador was staying at AKL... wonder if he was just on vacation...lol and I'm glad you mentioned the rennovations/construction-better to have knowledge and decide how to handle something than to be blindsided... ...and so ...

When I mentioned this to DH he saw how upset I was and being the far more logical of the two of us, he called the AKL and asked the CM who answered the phone that he had heard from a friend who just returned from AKL that there were plans for some type of construction to take place at the Lodge. The CM asked when we were coming and then proceeded to tell DH that they would be doing renovations during the time we were going to be there but the guests would be unaware of them and they would in no way be effecting the public areas either... -so what does this mean? Who knows for sure...

Kimmar-since you are going so soon... maybe you can get the inside scoop from a CM

So Wendy thanks for your hug and I am no longer crying...I'm going on the assumption that everything is going to be ok and the Lodge will be the same lovely place it has been by the time we get there in December unless I hear otherwise. I have really been looking forward to staying there and I'm really pretty hopeful it will work out...

 

[Nancyg56]

Just checking in and did I miss a lot!

Luvfigment: Thanks for the pics. I can't get enough of them and enjoy this thread because there are always new ones here.

AKLGoofy: First, I'm sorry that there was such a glitch in your stay. You invested so much time to make sure that this was the perfect trip, so a room relocation can be a disappointment. You are an honest man, I know that some people would have simply disregarded the non smoking room, and lit up.

Now I can't wait for your website! Thanks for sharing some of your trip with us. Both of you look so happy in your picture.

Kimmar: I am one who would not mind if AKL is DVC because we are going to attend a presentation in Jnauary. We were just talking about how we love the lodge and would enjoy haveing it as part of a DVC plan. I'll be looking for an update if you can find anything out.