We have just returned from a wonderful time at WDW. We stayed for 10 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge followed by 4 nights at the Wilderness Lodge.
Both resorts are spectacular in design but for us Animal Kingdom Lodge wins hands down. We were lucky enough to have Savannah room. The view from our balcony was fantastic. We saw animals every day (giraffes, zebra, Ankole cattle etc etc) throughout the day and evening. Our room was on Kurdu trail (room 4219) and was well placed to overlook the pond where the pelicans congregated. Also we were close to one of the feeding tracks and were able to watch the animal keepers unloading food for the animals and placing branches in the wire baskets near the top of trees for the giraffes.
The hotel overall was an truly unforgettable experience. Sitting round the firepit listening to stories, the décor & artefacts, the cultural environment.
And lets not forget Boma. A restaurant of outstanding food. Yes, its a buffet but the variety and quality of food was outstanding. We ate three evenings and two mornings here and were never disappointed (well thats not strictly true I was disappointed that they didnt have the coconut curry seafood stew on every time we went, but we have asked for the recipe!)
The pool was great and there was plenty of space to relax. (we did go in May so Im not sure how crowded the pool etc gets during peak time)
No matter where we went for the last 4 nights of our stay we were going to be disappointed when compare to AKL.
Wilderness Lodge was spectacular (same architect) but it never lived up to AKL. The pool is smaller, there are less rooms anyway, but it seemed really busy and there wasnt a lot of space around the pool. Whispering Canyon was ok but not a patch on Boma. We did think that the Roaring Forks snack restaurant at WL was better than the Mara at AKL. The boat ride to Magic Kingdom was nice though.
The maid at the Wilderness Lodge made animals and things from face cloths which amused the kids. One day we returned to our room to find that she had tied long pieces of ribbon to the blades of the ceiling fan. At the end of the ribbon she tied the kids fluffy animals. The fan was turned on (slow speed!) and the animals flew through the air. The kids were in hysterics.
At both resorts the bus service (and boat service at WKL) was great. I didnt drive once and upon reflection the hire car was a waste of money.
The parks were great. No crowds when we went. The longest we queued was to get Anthony Daniels autograph at MGM Star Wars w/e. It was worth the wait though.
We ate at many restaurants, too many really:
Crystal Palace, Garden Grill, 1900 Park fare, Chef Mickeys, Storybook Princess, Ohana (breakfast and dinner), Donalds Breakfastosuarus
On the last morning we had breakfast at Cinderellas in the Castle. We went through the motions but none of us was hungry and we had all the autographs and took photographs mostly to humour the characters!
Highlights
AKL views of the animals from our balcony was wonderful
Boma restaurant at AKL fantastic variety and quality of food
Meeting Anthony Daniels (C3PO) at Star Wars w/e very nice chap
Riding up front on the monorail
Sons birthday Goofy singing Happy Birthday over the telephone and the Buzz Lightyear birthday card received from the WL
Chipn Dales Campfire at Fort Wilderness
Lowlights
Wife falling at Animal Kingdom and gashing both shins and knees- had paramedics called
Having to request (twice) for the carpet of our room at WL to be cleaned on the day of our arrival
Having to leave AKL
Thunderstorm and torrential rain meant we missed Fantasmic
Im sure the holiday wouldnt have been as enjoyable as it was if I hadnt picked up all the tips, advice etc from this board. So thanks to all.
Both resorts are spectacular in design but for us Animal Kingdom Lodge wins hands down. We were lucky enough to have Savannah room. The view from our balcony was fantastic. We saw animals every day (giraffes, zebra, Ankole cattle etc etc) throughout the day and evening. Our room was on Kurdu trail (room 4219) and was well placed to overlook the pond where the pelicans congregated. Also we were close to one of the feeding tracks and were able to watch the animal keepers unloading food for the animals and placing branches in the wire baskets near the top of trees for the giraffes.
The hotel overall was an truly unforgettable experience. Sitting round the firepit listening to stories, the décor & artefacts, the cultural environment.
And lets not forget Boma. A restaurant of outstanding food. Yes, its a buffet but the variety and quality of food was outstanding. We ate three evenings and two mornings here and were never disappointed (well thats not strictly true I was disappointed that they didnt have the coconut curry seafood stew on every time we went, but we have asked for the recipe!)
The pool was great and there was plenty of space to relax. (we did go in May so Im not sure how crowded the pool etc gets during peak time)
No matter where we went for the last 4 nights of our stay we were going to be disappointed when compare to AKL.
Wilderness Lodge was spectacular (same architect) but it never lived up to AKL. The pool is smaller, there are less rooms anyway, but it seemed really busy and there wasnt a lot of space around the pool. Whispering Canyon was ok but not a patch on Boma. We did think that the Roaring Forks snack restaurant at WL was better than the Mara at AKL. The boat ride to Magic Kingdom was nice though.
The maid at the Wilderness Lodge made animals and things from face cloths which amused the kids. One day we returned to our room to find that she had tied long pieces of ribbon to the blades of the ceiling fan. At the end of the ribbon she tied the kids fluffy animals. The fan was turned on (slow speed!) and the animals flew through the air. The kids were in hysterics.
At both resorts the bus service (and boat service at WKL) was great. I didnt drive once and upon reflection the hire car was a waste of money.
The parks were great. No crowds when we went. The longest we queued was to get Anthony Daniels autograph at MGM Star Wars w/e. It was worth the wait though.
We ate at many restaurants, too many really:
Crystal Palace, Garden Grill, 1900 Park fare, Chef Mickeys, Storybook Princess, Ohana (breakfast and dinner), Donalds Breakfastosuarus
On the last morning we had breakfast at Cinderellas in the Castle. We went through the motions but none of us was hungry and we had all the autographs and took photographs mostly to humour the characters!
Highlights
AKL views of the animals from our balcony was wonderful
Boma restaurant at AKL fantastic variety and quality of food
Meeting Anthony Daniels (C3PO) at Star Wars w/e very nice chap
Riding up front on the monorail
Sons birthday Goofy singing Happy Birthday over the telephone and the Buzz Lightyear birthday card received from the WL
Chipn Dales Campfire at Fort Wilderness
Lowlights
Wife falling at Animal Kingdom and gashing both shins and knees- had paramedics called
Having to request (twice) for the carpet of our room at WL to be cleaned on the day of our arrival
Having to leave AKL
Thunderstorm and torrential rain meant we missed Fantasmic
Im sure the holiday wouldnt have been as enjoyable as it was if I hadnt picked up all the tips, advice etc from this board. So thanks to all.
I liked your story about the animals tied to the fan! That's so cute! Do you have a picture of them flying through the air? 
I kept hoping that we would get a towel animal or two, but I guess Mousekeeping could tell it was just two adults *lol* ... we got lots of funny towel shapes though!
