DMandDD
Registered: November 2009
Posts: 16
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Review Date: Fri November 20, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Beautiful rooms, Wonderful views
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Cons:
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By far mine and my DD's favorite resort to stay at. Had a SVR and the view was just breath taking. The room was plenty big, and very clean, and had cute african themes everywhere. Bathroom was plenty big enough, and so was the closet space. The pool was very nice, as well was the workout room. The lobby is just breath taking. Its awesome, and just an amazing place to stay at. I would always highly recommend this resort to anyone !!!!! We went last june, and are going again this july! Best way to top a magical vacation 
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IdahoMom
Registered: December 2007
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 18
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Review Date: Wed October 14, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Wonderful African theme, beautiful resort
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Cons:
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DH & I stayed here for our 20th anniv. 9/27 - 9/30. The lodge is absolutely gorgeous. Upon check-in we were upgraded from a standard room to Savannah view which was very nice, tho with so many nice viewing areas, I'm sure a standard room would've been great too. With the animal viewing, great pool area, and many special activities available here, I could've spent a few days here without leaving for the parks at all. Be sure to talk with the CM's from Africa in the viewing areas. They have so much interesting information to share if you have time to listen. Enjoyed talking with a very nice young man named Innocent who has a passion for chimpanzees and conservation education. Will bring the kids back here for sure!
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scottdrb
Registered: October 2009
Location: West Texas
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Fri October 9, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great atmosphere and service, awesome pool
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Cons:
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None? Cost, Smokey smell in Lobby
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7 Night stay at the Jambo House 29Sept-6Oct. Exceptional service and politeness from the entire staff. Great atmosphere and attention to detail. My Me, my wife and 4 yr old son enjoyed the views from our savannah view room most days, but some days we saw none to little animals outside our balcony. My son and I enjoyed an entire day at the pool and with (usually free or $5) activities for children poolside. Pumbaa's gameroom is fun too. For a small daily tip (with a thank you note), my son was rewarded with little surprises from housekeeping everyday- a nice touch. Spent many early mornings in peace in quiet in the lobby and outside viewing areas. Grab a refillable mug- we used it for a nice cup of coffee every morning, plus a soda poolside occasionally. The pool area wasn't too rowdy, and the water slide is great for kids. Free lifejackets are available for children. Pool was "heated" so they say, but tolerable for early October. The gift shop has a decent supply of drinks and snacks, but the usual ad-nauseum supply of Disney stuff. Mara (quick service restaurant poolside) proved to offer surprisingly tasty food (chocolate pastries were awesome for bkft, chicken flatbread/pizza super). Only slight issue was a little bit of a strong smokey smell in lobby during most the day and evening from the restaurants on the first floor. We'd stay there again, no problem. Little bit of a haul to MK, 15min drive to Epcot, DD, and DHS. Thumbs up in our book.
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SnowWtch
Registered: April 2009
Location: G-ville, FL
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Mon October 5, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Lots to Do
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Cons:
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Everything is Spread Out
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We went to Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first time on Oct 3-4, 2009. I did online check-in and were told when we got there we were upgraded from Standard to Pool View with 2 queen beds. Those queen beds look smaller than the one we have at home. We're going to measure them next time. The only problem we had was that the first time we tried the keys they didn't work. Got that problem fixed quickly. Everyone was quite friendly. We were in room 4452 which was next to the elevator. It was super quiet there. When you got off the elevator you were right by the pool and just down the walkway from Mara. It was great except for being so far away from the buses. We spent most of our time at the resort watching the animals and going swimming. It was a great weekend and can't wait to go back in December.
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bkfree
Registered: January 2006
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Sat September 26, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very Unique, lots of activities, Great Castmembers
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Cons:
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None
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We loved every minute of our stay here. It is the most unique resort we have ever stayed at and it almost like a park itself. There were so many things for our kids to do and see. The restuarants were wonderful and the counter service was great and also had many of the specialities that are from the Boma restaurant. Even the gift shop had many one of a kind items. The bus service was wonderful. This is now our favorite resort. Our children are 7 and 9 and were in awe the entire week at the resort. We were upgraded to a Savannah room without asking and with no extra charge.
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big_red_s
Registered: September 2009
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 15
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Review Date: Mon September 21, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge mid-September and had a great time. The décor is wonderful, the rooms are comfortable (albeit small) and clean, the pool is amazing and the staff is friendly and helpful. All of those are important, of course, but the real treat is seeing the animals and appreciating the vegetation surrounding you, as well as the attention to detail.
Heck, any place where simply the path to the water slide is breathtaking is a place worthy of spending a few weeks of your life.
There are many public places to view the savannah and the animals, most of them are easily accessible from the rooms and have chairs and some have binoculars. There is nothing better than having your morning coffee looking at zebras, giraffes, antelopes and ankoles. Also, every morning, before hitting the parks, I took our daughter (4.5) to say good morning to the animals and along the way we always learned something new from one of the friendly staff members who were manning the overlooks. A small price to pay for a bit longer ride to the Magic Kingdom (about 20 min.).
We stayed in mid-September and there was rarely a time when we walked in front of a public viewing area and didn’t see some sort of animal.
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BoomNLeon
Registered: July 2007
Location: SC
Posts: 128
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Review Date: Tue September 15, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great resort!
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Cons:
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None
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This was our third stay at AKL in 2009 - can you tell we love it! We were in room 3470 from 9/11 to 9/13/09. We had an okay view of the Uzima Springs pool. The service at this resort has remained high for us and the theming is some of the best on property. The room can be dark and the resort interiors are not the best lit, but that adds to the ambience for us. Love this resort and will be back!
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GaryHarry
Registered: September 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sun September 13, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Views of the Savana,pool,staff
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Cons:
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Walk from Lobby,bus service to disney parks
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Just returned from Jambo Lodge. Stayed for 14 nights from 23/8/09 to 6/9/09. Booked a standard room Queen and Bunks. Kids are 16 and 11. We were upgraded to a savana view, which was a great bonus. every morning and evening we had either Zebra/Ostritch,giraffe to look at. I would not recommend paying the extra for this view as we were not in the room due visiting the parks. Pool was excellent and the Hot tub was Just what you needed after a hard days walk.
We had the use of a hire car and decided to use it for all our journeys after trying the buses. One evening, we visited the Animal Kingdom and it was a 4 min journey from door to door, however we had to wait 45 mins in for a return bus (we left at closing time).
I would recommend stopping at this hotel to all my friends and would definitely return. I would recommend a Hire car. If stopping at the hotel and only visiting Disney parks, I would also recommend the dining plan.
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disneysthebest
Registered: August 2009
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Tue August 25, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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beautiful hotel, view from balcony
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Cons:
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long wait for buses
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We stayed at the lodge in early August. We loved staying here. The staff were wonderful, the rooms were small but comfortable (our children loved the bunk beds) and the view of the animals was spectacular. We loved the pool and enjoyed eating at the Mara and Boma. Our only complaint was the sometimes long wait for buses in the very hot weather. As a result of this, we have decided that we will probably stay at a hotel on the monorail or closer to the parks on our next visit. I feel disappointed in a way by this decision as the hotel was so beautiful but the long waits at times really were difficult, and made taking an afternoon break at the hotel difficult as there ended up being very little time to get to our scheduled dinner reservations. I do not regret staying here once and would recommend it to everyone provided that they are aware of the transportation difficulties.
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lblancha
Registered: August 2009
Location: USA
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Mon August 24, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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We just returned from 5 nights and found the Lodge to be excellent. We found all of the staff to be very friendly and helpful. The view of the savanna from the room on the third floor was amazing, although located near the end of the wing it proved to provide wonderful opportunities to view the animals at all times of day. We would definitely stay here again.
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BearBear
Registered: June 2009
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Thu August 20, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Animals, service
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Cons:
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none
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We just got back from a 7 night stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Everything there was excellent. The staff was very helpful and the animal keepers were very knowledgeable about the animals, both the exotic animals and the native animals, answering all my son's questions. The balcony view was terrific, and it was amazing to sit on the balcony in the morning and see giraffes and zebras right outside. The decor is beautiful. The beds were very comfortable. The pool is large, and we were always able to find lounge chairs. We would definitely stay there again.
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grdwfans
Registered: August 2009
Location: Northern New Jersey
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Mon August 17, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Cast, animals, activities
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Cons:
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none that I can think of.
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My wife, 2 sons (12 and 15) and I returned from a week at the AKL (8/8 - 8/15). Great people and a great property. We stayed on the 3rd floor savanah view with bunk beds. We were constantly amazed by the amount of animals in view. NOTE - request a 2nd or 3rd floor room because the higher floor that you get the less that you can see through the trees.
Other posts complained about the amount of walking that is needed in this resort, but based on our previous stays at POR and the Coronado, this was not a problem.
Food was good and I agree with a prior posting that Mara could be bigger.
There was always room at the pool, but we were disappointed in the small slide.
Buses were great. We always seemed to get one in a few minutes.
Overall a great place to stay.
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CarlaJ
Registered: August 2009
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Fri August 14, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything
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Cons:
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Nothing
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My husband and two daughters ages 2 and 4 stayed here from August 2-8. We were a little concerned with some of the negative reviews we had seen, but were pleasantly surprised! A few days before arrival, I faxed a letter requesting a third floor room on the Zebra Trail. We checked in very quickly through the on-line check-in line and we were granted our request. Our room was right off the lobby, about 30 rooms down. We had a savanna view and even though it was awesome I don't think I would pay the extra money for the view again. We only did it because we got in on the buy 4 get 3 nights free deal. It was nice to experience it once though. We were not far from the pool or Mara QS. The pool was great, nice and big. My girls loved the entry to the pool. It was like walking into the ocean! The food at Mara was very good too!
The bus stop wasn't that bad either. It was worse when you were tired at the end of the day! Only a few times did we have to wait a little longer for the buses, but maybe it seemed long because every other time we were spoiled at having the bus come so quickly. The travel time to and from the parks was not bad at all.
This resort was so great. Everyone was so friendly. We never encountered a rude cast member. We are definitely planning on staying here again.
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Fitzman
Registered: August 2009
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed August 12, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Savannah view, theme, ambience, cleanliness
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Cons:
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size of the quick service restaurant
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Our family of four arrived at AKL on saturday, Aug. 1 and stayed till August 8. We had a good idea of what to expect from reading previous reviews and studying information posted on the internet. However, we were still extremely impressed with the beautiful lobby, grounds, and service.
We had a savannah view on the fourth floor/zebra trail. We chose the queen size bed with bunk beds. The room was clean and quiet. The walk to the lobby and the buses was not a problem for us. The pool was large enough to accomodate the crowds at any given time with plenty of seating for the sunbathers in our group.
The bus issue was a concern for us initially based on previous reviews, however, we did not have an issue what so ever with the buses. We found the buses to be consistent and the ride over to the parks to be shorter than we had feared. No more than 20 minutes did it take to get to Magic Kingdom. Actually, because there is only two stops between the main lodge and Kidani village, it seemed to be less of an ordeal than say Caribbean beach which had four or five stops before you even headed to the parks. We would ride the bus to a park in the morning, come back in the afternoon for a snooze or swim and then go back to a park in the evening. This process did not seem to monopolize our limited time and indeed was very relaxing way to spend the day.
The only slight disappointment would be the size of the quick service area (Mara). Much smaller than we are used to seeing with fewer options than Port Orleans Riverside or Caribbean Beach resorts.
I would recommend spending a day or two just at the resort to take advantage of their programs and story telling opportunites. I would also recommend asking for a fourth floor room since the third floor has more foot traffic since the lobby is on the third floor.
All in all, a wonderful experience for our family.
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wdwamanda
Registered: August 2009
Location: MA
Posts: 15
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Review Date: Mon August 10, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Cast members, animals, restaurants, activities
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Cons:
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Distance to/from parks
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We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge from July 29-August 1, and we could not have had a more positive experience! We got a good deal on a standard view room (it cost about as much as we would usually pay to stay in a moderate resort), so we decided to give AKL a try.
Our expectations were exceeded from the moment we entered the lobby, which is simply gorgeous. It is enormous, comfortable, exotic, and homey...a difficult blend to achieve. Check-in was very fast; we waited about 5 minutes until someone was able to assist us. Our 2 queen bed, standard view room was much better than we expected! While our balcony looked out on a parking lot, there was so much foliage in front of it that you could barely even tell what was there! This created a really nice, relaxing sense of privacy and we spent a little time each evening enjoying a thunderstorm from the balcony. The best part about our room, though, was the location. The resort is huge, but we were approx. 10 rooms down on the first hallway. We got to walk by an observation window each time we went to and from our room, but we got there very quickly and it was close to everything. We were near the bus stop, the lobby, and even the pool was fairly close.
We took advantage of a few of the resort's MANY activities and really enjoyed them! We particularly enjoyed the Culinary Tour...it lasted around 35 minutes and really was not to be missed. There were only 3 of us on the tour, and we received a lot of attention. The cast members were so helpful and knowledgeable about the restaurants' meals and architecture. We got to try three different foods: mushroom soup and zebra domes at Boma; a bread/spread appetizer at Jiko. The latter had so much food that the three of us couldn't even finish it. We also enjoyed night vision animal viewing, though that was pretty quick.
We ate many of our meals at the Mara, which has a good selection for a quick service location. It has a different kind of pizza than those individual pizzas served around the rest of Disney World. The pizza at the Mara is thin crust and quite good, especially in comparison to the alternative! I also LOVED the couscous - the hot version that came with dinner, that is! I was not nearly as fond of the couscous that was served cold with lunch.
The best thing about the resort, though, was the friendly, welcoming attitude of the staff. We only spent one day of our trip at a park. We enjoyed the rest of our time simply relaxing at the resort. We had a number of wonderful conversations with cast members who were excited to share about their countries and experiences. They remembered me by name, too! I was impressed that when we were relaxing with drinks in the Mara (on multiple occasions), cast members cleaning up tables nearby would stop and ask how our day was and if we needed anything. We were touched by their care and courtesy. In the midst of how chaotic Disney World can be, it is easy to forget that the cast members have their own passions and stories to share. This was the highlight of our vacation, and I hope it will be the highlight of yours if you stay at AKL!
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