My beloved wife and I plus the kids (4 year old girl and a 2 year old boy) are going to Disney, FL on Sept 12 - 19, 2009.

We are staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, participating in the standard dining plan and have tickets to 4 parks but no "hopper" plan.
We plan to bring oatmeal and snacks from home to be used as breakfast, grab a quick lunch and have our main meal at around 18:00.

We read mixed reviews about AKL, but we’re not picky people and are used to stay in cheap lodgings because we see it as a necessity not a luxury. As long as the room is clean, has a shower and a bed it’s OK with us.

Anyone has been recently at AKL?

Here is our itinerary so far:
Sept. 12 – Arrival, check in, explore the lodge and pool, character meal dinner
.
.
.
Sept. 19 – Go home

We figured most of the time we’ll be at the Magic Kingdom, and probably take a day to do Animal Kingdom.

Standard day will be:
Morning - park
Noon / afternoon - hotel
Evening - park

So far for planned spontaneity.

Dining we figured on:
Breakfast in the room with stuff we brought from home
Lunch – quick service meal
Snack
Sit down dinner

We are already training the kids to eat only every other day so we can save some money

We also have a question about the character dining meals.
We certainly want to do dinner at the castle and the rest we'll do as character meals.
Any suggestions as to days, breakfast or dinner, etc?

You also might put Epcot on the list as well. There are some wonderful things to see there for the kids as well, and the fireworks there are spectacular. There are some restaurants all around the "lake" and worth taking in some of the "country" exhibits.

I LOVE DISNEY, and have been to all the parks several times, although I usually stay off grounds, and have a car, staying at AKL you really won't need a car, you have buses and the tram to get you around.

I would suggest a stroller because there is ALOT of walking and the little ones will get tired quickly.

I'm sure you will get alot more info from others, but I'd suggest going to one of the Disney websites, www.disboard.com for all the ins and outs and ideas on how to get the best for the money spent.

Have a GREAT TIME.

Don't know any details but I bleive that you need to reserve character meals - and esp those at the castle far in advance.

Separately, in my experience little ones need to be prepared for the size of the characters. We stayed at the Hilton across from Downtown Disney and had (no choice) characters at breakfst. Some of the little ones werre shy and some frankly terrified. I beleive they may have expected the characters to be child size - not adults often with giant heads.

Are you getting Free Dining during your visit? You don't really say, so I want to be sure you have looked into that since Free Dining is offered while you are there -- beginning August 16th through October 3, 2009. It must be booked by June 21st!

Yes, the dining plan was free.
Thanks for the heads up.

I don't mind saying, for around $2,600 we got 8 days at the AKL lodge + 8 Day Base Tickets + dining plan for 4 people.

nytraveler - our boy was a bit freaked by the first character he saw at an event we went to a few weeks ago (it was Elmo, his favorite) but he warmed up to him and Cookie Monster got a hug

Being there that long, there are all kinds of things you might want to hear details about. Read all the WDW on this Fodors' site and buy the Fodors' book for this year. You will see why and understand why I suggest it, once your arrive. There are options you just might not obviously see or bypass, especially since you are not park hopping.

I do think there is another new park now too, something about virtual reality.

With the buy 4 get 3 days free thing going on- it is a FABULOUS deal. My DD who rarely, if ever, travels, is leaving soon too, for 7 days. She has the meals/food plan, park hopper for the entire thing, Port Orleans, pools and everything for a total that is unbelieveabie. I don't want to tell you. Her boys are 7 and 9- so they are SO set to go. I think she and her husband are just as excited.

There may be some other options you have missed out on but may still partake or book ahead at www.mousesavers.com

There are good places to eat in EPCOT and along the lagoon too- in the vicinity behind EPCOT near the Boardwalk, Yacht Club area. That's a lagoon transfer ride too- that the kids might like. They also might like the Hoopdedoo Revue as a dinner/show. Very, very little kid friendly.

Do the Animal K. Lodge safari very early or late, late to see the most animals. It's right at your place and is very doable.

Just know that mid September is still very much summer for Orlando and it doesn't cool off at night.

Plan on doing the parks early in the morning then heading back to the hotel mid day to hang by the pool or for indoor activities between noon and 4PM.

Take good sunblock and plenty of sunblock.

Buy the refillable drink cups upon arrival.

Bring a cooler as you may want to keep water and other things in the room.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of our favorites, just can't afford it all the time. Especially if you are in a Savannah room with direct views of the animals and their feeding areas. There is a buffet in the hotel called "Boma" (I think) that is really a wonderful experience; things for kiddies, but more adventursome choices for parents, with a great S.Africa wine list. There is a behind the scenes tour of the Animal Kingdom area looking at the animal nursery, animal health, etc. kind of stuff, but requires early booking.

Everything GoTravel said and adding that a Christian music festival called Night of Joy will be ending on your first night there, and then crowds will be much lighter than in the summer. Also, Mickey's Not Scary Halloween Party will be going on during the time you're there on several nights. Magic Kingdom may close early on those nights.

321, do they really start MNSSHP that early now? Wow!

Thanks for all the great info folks, keep it coming. I'll buy the Fodor's book today.

JJ5 - I know we could have stayed for much less, the wife and I NEVER spend money on lodging (bed, shower and AC is all we want) because we rarly spend time in the room. This time however we decided to spoil ourselves because we don't think we'll ever see this kind of prices again and / or be able to afford to stay at the AKL again.

That's our logic / excuse and we're sticking to it

ditto the advice to check out Epcot. Our daughters (2 and 4 at the time) really liked going through the different countries around the lake. Also, for Princess fans, Mulan (hangs out in China) was far more accessible than the other princesses -- she spent 5-10 minutes walking our daughters around the Chinese temple and showing them things. It was easily the best character experience we had during our 4 day trip.

When my youngest was about 7 and on his first trip to WDW, he actually liked EPCOT the best. I think it was because of something similar to sg92's experience.

In Italy there were "statues" that came to life and he was part of a show. He woke up the statue- made her smile- and she gave him her gilded flower.

In less crowded times, (this was mid-October and they were waiting for us to arrive to start the ride or show, at times)-EPCOT especially has a lot of other "stuff" going on that may be intriguing for little ones to watch. Especially in the street performer category.

GoT, they've been trying all sorts of things with the "Mickey" parties. For a while they were closing the park around 5 and trying to get all the guests out before they let the party guests in at 7; for a while they tried letting the party guests in early and shoo-ing out the day guests. There have been a number of variations on those themes.

Have you checked out any of the Disney specific travel boards? When planning my WDW trip last year, I got a lot of information from www.disboards.com.

Not that you're not getting good information here, but disboards are Disney specific and there are people that post there that (literally) go to Disney every year and know all of the tips/tricks of maximizing your visit and use of the dining plan.

You can look at www.allears.net for current menus at the various restaurants and counter service places at each park. If you want to eat at a specific restaurant, you should make reservations, and I believe you may make reservations 90 + 10 days in advance. The extra 10 days is for guests at a Disney hotel. The free dining plan has made it necessary to make advance reservations at certain restaurants.

"We read mixed reviews about AKL, but we’re not picky people and are used to stay in cheap lodgings because we see it as a necessity not a luxury. As long as the room is clean, has a shower and a bed it’s OK with us"

Zlaor,

Rest assured that these are not cheap lodgings! While maybe not luxury by some standards, the rooms are very nice and I have never stayed in a Disney room that was not extremely clean. The hotel itself is pretty amazing and from the moment you step in the lobby you will realize that this is far from a budget hotel. You are going at a good time of year for crowds, just keep your eye on the weather for any hurricanes that may be headed our way (rare but just keep it in the back of your mind since this time of year is still prime hurricane season). Hope you have a great time.

Yes, I hope you do too, Zlaor.

I have stayed at A.K.Lodge- and it is farthest from others- and as such give yourself some time with the Disney transport. But it may be more tiny one quiet at certain times. Much more so than All Sports or one of those.

But, honestly- every single level is in good shape, IMHO.

My favorites are all behind EPCOT by the lagoon.

Coronado Springs and Port Orleans French Quarter specifically are FABULOUS for the money. My DD is in the second of those, this June trip.

Oh, I forgot. AKL had exceptionally good room service. Boma and the other higher end restaurant both- have excellent room service. Appetizer portions may be enough for two, as well.

On the meal plan and if it works, with two little ones, you might appreciate that option.

I've stayed in most of the Disney hotels and I'll say this, whether it was All Star Music or the club level of the Beach and Yacht Club, you can definitely tell it is a Disney hotel!