akl upgrade?

[mickey'sbud]

Please don't flame me for this question.
We have a ressie for July 17-21 in a FL resident rate standard room....great rate and I'm extremely happy with it. I couldn't see paying the difference of $85 a night for a Savannah view. We are not doing the parks since this is a wkend trip b/t jobs my DH is doing in central and south FL. We just want to enjoy the resort for 4 days!
My question...do you think there will be any extra rooms in July for an upgrade? And, how would I ask when we check in. Again, I'm not betting on a free upgrade, it's just always worth asking----but how? Would mentioning that we don't plan to go to the parks have any affect on their looking for an empty room?

 

[lizzie64]

I've read posts about being upgraded to Pool view. I haven't read any about getting a savannah view upgrade.

Just having returned from AKL, I totally believe the savannah view is worth every cent. I would not be happy with a standard view. Being able to sit on the balcony and watch the animals was a great experience.

My 4 year old and 2 year old couldn't wait to open the drapes and sit on the balcony every morning and night.

 

[kdibattista]

Although I have heard of people being upgraded to savannah view, I think you would have a better chance off season. I definitely would not count on it being that it is the busy season and I am sure the FT package is also filling up the resort. It never hurts to ask but I would say your chances are not good.

With that said, I could see staying in a standard room for a "park vacation" but if you are strictly staying around the hotel, $85 a night is definitely worth it. I can't see staying around the hotel looking at the parking lot. Yes there are plenty of places to view the animals but nothing compares to waking up, getting a cup of coffee and sitting on your balcony... just my opinion. Have a great trip!!!

 

[palmtreegirl]

If you're just staying at the resort with no parks, I HIGHLY recommend springing for the upgrade to savannah view! I can't imagine staying there just to enjoy the resort without one, it'll be well worth the extra money and I think you'll regret it if you don't do it.

 

[diznefreak]

Hi! I agree 100% that the $85 dollars a night is worth every penny. This coming from a poor college student who just graduated. My husband and I went to WDW for our first visit the week of may - the trip was a graduation/aniversary gift. We stayed at AKl for our first three nights at WDW. We had paid for a standard room but when we arrived we were upgraded to Savannah view. This isn't as busy as summer so i guess they upgrade more often-but usually to pool view. Anyways it was awesome waking up in the morning, resting in the afternoon and relaxing in the evenings sitting on the balcony with a BEAUTIFUL view of wildlife. It was so peaceful. My husband and I loved it so much. Next trip we will return and WE WILL PAY for savannah view b/c we wouldn't want to take the chance of a possible upgrade? - we would be dissappointed with anything else. I say go for it you, you will not regret it!!!!!

 

[Gillian]

You said this was a weekend trip? I don't know if this still holds true, but I was told in September that they are always very busy with thursday & friday check ins. Even in the off season when we went (the parks were amazingly slow!) the AKL check in was still busy on a Thursday.

I've stayed standard view as well as savannah, and while I think savannah view is wonderful, $85 per night is a lot of money!!

There have been tips posted here on faxing room requests, and how to ask for a better view, if available. I'm sorry that I can't remember what any of the posts said!

 

[AMClvsMKY]

We are checking in to the ASL on Friday so I just called to get info about being selected for an upgrade. I was told that faxing in a request ahead of time does not make a difference because they make the determination that morning based on availability if anyone will get an upgrade. So, asking for an upgrade during check-in is the way to do it.

 

[diathoney]

No flames here! I think we all wish for some magic to happen on our vacations!

We had a standard booked at AKL last October. Similar to you, 4 nights, no park passes (we did go to MNSSHP the first night) - just there to enjoy the resort. I requested bunkbeds for the kids which are available in standard rooms. When we checked in I asked if there was a standard room available where we would have a prayer of seeing something other than parking lot from the balcony (I was hoping for trees). I wasn't expecting an upgrade to a savannah room, but the wonderful CM gave it to me. It was fabulous! I don't know why we were picked for an upgrade, but I sure appreciated it.

Even if you don't get upgraded there are a lot of viewing areas on the 3rd floor and up to watch the animals, Walk along the hallway and they are tucked in between the buildings. The resort is magnificent - like no other!

Good Luck!

 

[csmommy]

We stayed at AKL May 11th through the 14th. We reserved standard view & were upgraded to Savannah view!

This is our favorite resort, hope you enjoy your stay.

 

[Sammie]

it does happen, as you can see from the other posts. Is it a guarantee you will be upgraded, absolutely not.


If you will be disappointed if you don't get a free upgrade, best to pay the difference.

With standard you might get upgraded to pool view and someone with pool view might get the savanna upgrade.

If the resort is full, very few will be offered and July is the peak of summer.

 

[CarrieAP]

We checked in on Monday with stay through Memorial weekend and were upgraded to pool view. Thought this was great luck as they filled up towards the weekend. Don't hear a lot about the pool view rooms, but we thought it was lovely and considered ourselves very fortunate.

 

[epcotfan]

The weekends are very busy at AKL. If you want Savannah view then you would probably be better off booking it, than hoping for an upgrade.

 

[MinnieGi]

We went during off season in Feb. and were upgraded to a pool view that we thought was awesome! We checked in on a Saturday. I tend to think July will be busier and they won't be able to upgrade as much. But if they do have the room AKL seems very generous about handing them out. Good luck!

We really loved the AKL and I think it will be fun to stay there and not do the parks. We spent every afternoon and quite a few evenings enjoying just the resort during our weeklong stay. It was fabulous!

 

[erinch]

I was just reading a report in USA Today predicting a summer resurgence in US travel, since folks are not willing to go to Asia, Canada (maybe) or other problematic destinations. They are predicting a much busier summer at WDW than last summer. If you can't do all days in the savannah view, you might split the difference, then if they upgraded you, great, otherwise you would have animals to look forward to.