Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Also, it appears that first half dozen studios at the AKL opened this week ... pics can be seen on Deb Wills' site (wdwig.com) ... but, as I suspected, the changes aren't very major from when they were deluxe rooms. One bed replaced by sofa. Other bed upgraded. TV/armoire replaced by bureau with flat screen TV on top. In area where there used to be a bureau, there's now a very small wetbar/microwave area. Bathroom, vanity area, most furnishings remain exactly the same as when it was a regular room.
Originally Posted By pheneix >>>I'd much rather stay at AKL as BC is one of the worst run, worst maintained resorts on property.<<< Ha. It is not "one of" the worst, it is THE WORST resort on property. The Yacht and Beach club is just a car wreck of an operation. I'd rather take a ride on Space Mountain then spend a night in that dump!
Originally Posted By jmuboy Wow, I've never been a fan of the YC/BC hotels. Way too bland and stuffy IMHO. Didn't realize people saw it as such a bad operation to boot. Glad I've avoided it.
Originally Posted By smctopia I didn't know the Y&BC was so bad. Can you supply more info why? Visit Walt Dated World <a href="http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com" target="_blank">http://waltdatedworld.bravepag es.com</a>
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Where do I start? Should I talk about the laundry room door that has been rotting for over a decade to the point where now you could literally stick your fingers thru the wood with a little push? Should I talk about all the lightbulbs that ring the roof of the resort that have been burned out for years and are never replaced? Should I talk about how dirty and poorly maintained the hallways are? Should I talk about how the resort's signature dining location has been closed since the late 1990s? Should I talk about the fact the CMs there (especially management) act like they should be working at a Days Inn on the OBT instead of a four diamond Disney resort?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip The Beach Club has the reputation of being poorly maintained. I've never stayed there so I can't comment from personal experience. But the Beach Club is EXTREMELY popular with families, and families mean children, and children mean trashed rooms. I stayed at the Yacht Club once and thought it was very well maintained. It didn't seem very 'Disney', but more like your generic 'fancy hotel'. We were given a free upgrade to concierge, and I thought the people there were WAY TOO impressed with themselves. Talk about LA-DI-DA!!
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 "But the Beach Club is EXTREMELY popular with families, and families mean children, and children mean trashed rooms." As the mother of 4, grandmother of 3, I take offense at that remark. If the parents are any good, the children will not be the type to trash rooms. Blame the parents, not the kids.
Originally Posted By smctopia I've only been to the Beach because we wanted to try the Kitchen Sink. That Beaches and Cream place could easily be made bigger. I walked into the Yacht and while I didn't really care for the nautical decor, I thought it was quieter than the Beach Club. Visit Walt Dated World
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<If the parents are any good, the children will not be the type to trash rooms. Blame the parents, not the kids.>> I ALWAYS blame the parents ... over and over and over and over and over and over again.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< The Beach Club has the reputation of being poorly maintained. I've never stayed there so I can't comment from personal experience. But the Beach Club is EXTREMELY popular with families, and families mean children, and children mean trashed rooms. >>> That's really no excuse. Is the fact that it's been popular with families over the past 10 years somehow escaped Disney's notice?
Originally Posted By DWlover We are booked into the AKL for July 8 to the 15th. Disney called our travel agent a week ago!! and offered us three villas at Saratoga Springs. We flatly refused to be moved. We have had this vacation booked for months. I will keep you posted on what happens to us when we arrive. Disappointed in Disney.
Originally Posted By xrayvision ^ I'm not sure that it's a good idea refuse to move to another preferred location while there's still reservations available. Similar to the airline industry, hotels do bump or "walk" guests to another hotel upon arrival if they overbook and rooms are not available in their inventory. Due to last minute availability, guests are often walked to a lessor quality hotels while still being charged at the higher room rate of your originally chosen hotel. If Dinsey knows in advance that they won't have the inventory of sleeping rooms to guarantee your room(s) upon arrival, it's best to change your accommodations ahead of time to avoid headaches/disappointment of being relocated to a lessor property after arrival. Saratoga Springs and other desirable alternatives may not be available by the time you arrive. That's just my opinion based on being a front desk rep for an Anaheim/Disney convention hotel that had to "walk" disappointed guests upon their arrival due to our reservations department overbooking rooms (including during our hotel's renovation).
Originally Posted By xrayvision If I could choose an alternative to DAK Lodge for the same price, I'd choose Grand Floridian, Boardwalk or Wilderness Lodge DVC.
Originally Posted By frdeb1999 Thing is though they're not offering these places in most cases. A coworker who's going end of July was offered the same basically as in #31 and did the same thing. When he inquired about the others such as Poly, GF ect..was told this was their only option. I'm sorry I would be extremely upset if they did this to me after choosing the hotel of my choice nearly 8 months ago. I just think this is extremely poor planning on WDW's part.
Originally Posted By dshyates I would love to be behind the scenes in this one. The reason people want to stay and are willing to pay the extra bucks for AKL is they want to stay in a HIGHLY themed exotic rather remote environment. Saratoga Springs has an almost non-existant theme and is in the mall. Not anywhere close to an equal exchange. If to you it is not a fair exchange, simply cancel your ressies, politely demand your money back because this simply IS NOT the vacation you paid for, and ask for the number up at Universal. While Disney is really only interested in taking your money not makeing it right, you have the ability to make it right. And be sure to politely express your disappointment in very poor management and customer service. If they really don't have comparable accommadations then they should stall the construction until a less busy time. This is not beyond Disney's control, like say there was a guest started fire in a room and they had to move an entire wing of people. No, this is Disneys managements mess, and they are trying to solve the problem once again with Disney arrogance. "I'm sorry but the African Safari that you paid for is not available because we screwed up, but we have moved you to a lovely hotel in a mall in upstate New York. Thank You for using Disney Travel Services. Where your money is all we want."
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<The reason people want to stay and are willing to pay the extra bucks for AKL is>> Do you guys live in a fog or what? Animal Kingdom Lodge is the least expensive of the Disney Deluxe Resorts. Now I agree that WDW should have done much better planning on this whole thing. But it is not like they are being able to move from the Grand Floridian to the All Stars. People who absolutely refuse to work with Disney deserve whatever they end up getting. Which may be a Motel 6 down on Hwy 192.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip ^^^ Dang typos... should be: <<But it is not like they are being ASKED to move from the Grand Floridian to the All Stars.>>
Originally Posted By juicer I never have seen the new Saratoga Springs Resort - But I'snt DVC resorts in general very nice properties with large rooms with lots of extra ammenities that standard deluxe resort rooms don't have?
Originally Posted By jmuboy The Saratoga Springs rooms are very nice and a Saratoga studio is as nice or slightly better than a standard AKL room. The main difference is the Saratoga theme is really bland when compared to AKL....but so is the GF! AKL is just a great themed resort and its a shame poor planning on Disney's part has resulted in all this ill will and messed up plans for people planning thier dream trips. People like us go to WDW all the time. I feel bad for the families who are making that rare WDW trip and these changes at AKL are messing up their plans.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<But I'snt DVC resorts in general very nice properties with large rooms with lots of extra ammenities that standard deluxe resort rooms don't have?>> DVC Studios are typically about the same size as Disney Deluxe rooms, but have a small refrigerator, microwave and wet bar in them. The DVC One Bedrooms are HUGE; contain a full kitchen, living room, whirlpool tub, in-suite washer and dryer, etc. No deluxe property, aside from a few of the executive suites, could compare with them. Saratoga Springs is a beautiful property, and while not themed in the garish manner of an All Star, are at least as themed as the Yacht and Beach Clubs. People dislike the resort because it is not real close to any of the parks. On the other hand, Saratoga Springs is closer to both Epcot and MGM Studios than the Monorail Resorts are, so I think people are exaggerating the supposed inconvenience. Saratoga Springs does not share transportation with any of the other resorts, in comparison to the Epcot resorts where every bus stops at the Boardwalk AND the Swan AND the Dolphin AND the Yacht Club AND the Beach Club. Saratoga Springs also has high speed internet access in every room as well as the only Spa on property other than at the Grand Floridian. But some guy who's never stayed there is telling people it sucks, and I suppose most here will believe him.
