A little confused about AKL

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Planning on renting points for a Savannah view studio at AKL. This will be our first time at WDW and I'm overwhelmed. It seems there are 2 AKL resorts? Are all the savannah views the same? Any idea where our studio might be located?

Thanks, we are just in the planning phases.

 

[Capang]

There are different savannahs with different animals. The 2 resorts are Jambo and Kidani. Kidani is all DVC. They share a bus but each have their own pools, although if you are a guest at either Kidani or jambo you can visit either pool.

 

[DisBuckMan]

There are two resorts in one...Jambo and Kidani. If you rent points at Jambo for savanna view, you'll be on the 5th floor overlooking the savanna, as all the DVC villas are 5th floor (except for club level, which is 6th). If you rent Kidani savanna view, you could be on any floor, as that entire resort is dedicated to DVC villas.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Would I request one or the other, or am I more likely to be assigned to one or the other?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

They are booking categories. You have to book Jambo or Kidani. They are not assignments.

 

[TeresaNJ]

There's much less availability at Jambo House, since DVC is only one floor. If you are booking eleven months out, then you have a good chance of getting Jambo if that is your preference. They are both amazing resorts, and you can visit each, no matter which one you are staying at. It's a short ride (they provide an internal shuttle which comes very frequently) or you can walk it, prob around 7 minutes depending if you are a fast or slow walker. Kidani is a smaller resort, and has one table service restaurant, Sanaa, which could be considered one of the most popular restaurants on Disney property. There is no counter service restaurant at Kidani, but they do have quite a few food options at the resort store. I prefer Jambo over Kidani due to the fact that Jambo has a quick service restaurant, the Mara, and I like the fact that the pool is in closer proximity to the resort. At Kidani the pool is actually across from the resort. Both pools are amazing though. I suggest you read over the AKL thread on the DVC board to get a better idea, and check out the map of the resorts.

 

[Hopefully]

Planning on renting points for a Savannah view studio at AKL. This will be our first time at WDW and I'm overwhelmed. It seems there are 2 AKL resorts? Are all the savannah views the same? Any idea where our studio might be located?

Thanks, we are just in the planning phases.

I always worry when I read someone say they are "planning" on renting points. In actuality you are "planning on trying to rent points". DVC rentals have become so popular that demand often far exceeds supply. There has to be a DVC owner with enough points when you want to go, who doesn't want to use those points and is willing to rent them. This is not always the case. The vast majority of DVC owners actually use their own points.
Good Luck.

 

[Regan117]

Would I request one or the other, or am I more likely to be assigned to one or the other?

If you want to stay at Jambo, you have to book Jambo. And if you want to stay at Kidani, you have to book Kidani. They are two separate resorts.

 

[ArwenMarie]

There are different savannahs too. Some have giraffes and some don't.

 

[shellyj]

If this is your first trip to AKL I would highly recommend trying for a room in Jambo House. But Kidani is also wonderful so don't stress about it!
Whichever side you end up on, definitely make time to visit the other. Both pools are worth seeing. And have a meal at Boma!
The savannas are different, but all are impressive.

As others have mentioned, AKL points are popular. If you want a studio on DVC points you need to do it right at the 11 month mark because they go fast! If you already know an owner will to rent the points, make sure you have the details worked out so they can log in and look for a reservation on the first available day. If you are renting through a service I would suggest submitting your request forms a few days early so they can put you in their queue as soon as the 11 month day hits. If they come back and say that they can't get you a savanna view, don't worry about that, either. We paid for it once, and it was pretty cool, but not worth the price difference for us to do it again. There are plenty of places around the resort to view the animals

 

[iluveeyore]

When booking a savannah room, put a request for "Sunset Savannah" if you want to see giraffes (this one is shared by Jambo and Kidani), or there is also "Uzima Savannah" at Kidani. "Arusha" savannah does not have giraffes if that is important to you, although there are many viewing areas throughout the resorts in the hallways and at back of lobby for any animals you might be missing from your balcony.

 

[sndral]

When booking a savannah room, put a request for "Sunset Savannah" if you want to see giraffes (this one is shared by Jambo and Kidani), or there is also "Uzima Savannah" at Kidani. "Arusha" savannah does not have giraffes if that is important to you, although there are many viewing areas throughout the resorts in the hallways and at back of lobby for any animals you might be missing from your balcony.

You have your savannas confused.
There are 4 savannas at AKL/V.
Kidani overlooks two of them, Jambo three.
Pembe, which is the smallest savanna and is only visible from Kidani rooms, does not house giraffes, but does tend to have Okapi, a shorter giraffe relative.
Sunset is the largest savanna and lies between Kidani and Jambo house & can be seen from rooms/villas in both Jambo and Kidani. It has giraffes and usually several zebras as well as other animals.
Arusha is the savanna in the center of Jambo and is the savanna you'll see if you walk out to the Arusha overlook behind the center of Jambo's lobby. Arusha can only be seen from rooms/villas in Jambo (Kudu or Zebra trail,) it has giraffes and usually a pair of zebras as well as other animals.
Uzima is the same size as Arusha and is on the far side of Jambo, it can be seen from rooms on Zebra trail in Jambo. It's the savanna you'll see from Jambo's pool area. Uzima has giraffes (in fact my avatar - Gordon - was on Uzima savanna when this pix was taken, although he's since been moved to Arusha) as well as other animals. Uzima seems to be spotty re: whether they have zebras or not sometimes they do, other times they don't.
Keep in mind, animals are moved around (and to/from AK park) for a variety of reasons, and what was the norm a year or 3 ago may be very different from the situation now.

 

[iluveeyore]

Thanks for your correction sndral - I got my information from the actual DIS website, but I see I looked up an older website on Google - they have added giraffes to be included on all savannas now I see, since one (I believe Arusha) did not have giraffes when I visited many years ago. This was copied directly from DIS and then, I guess, they left out Pembe (although I see this just mentions AKL not Kidani) - no matter which one you choose, OP, the savanna view rooms are wonderful, and the atmosphere of the resort itself is amazing!

"There are three 11-acre savannas at AK Lodge. Sunset Savanna, Arusha Savanna and Uzima Savanna. Each savanna has its own set of wildlife and hoofstock as follows:

• Sunset Savanna: Male Giraffe, Bongo, Impala, Thompsons Gazelles, Ostrich, Ankole Cattle, Waterbuck, African crown cranes, stork and blue cranes.
  
• Arusha Savanna: Pelicans, geese, giraffe, ankole cattle, zebra, Wildebeast, eland, gemsbok
  
• Uzima Savanna: Giraffe, Impala, Kudu, Bongo, Blesbok, Thompsons Gazelle

 

[sndral]

Thanks for your correction sndral - I got my information from the actual DIS website, but I see I looked up an older website on Google - they have added giraffes to be included on all savannas now I see, since one (I believe Arusha) did not have giraffes when I visited many years ago. This was copied directly from DIS and then, I guess, they left out Pembe (although I see this just mentions AKL not Kidani) - no matter which one you choose, OP, the savanna view rooms are wonderful, and the atmosphere of the resort itself is amazing!

"There are three 11-acre savannas at AK Lodge. Sunset Savanna, Arusha Savanna and Uzima Savanna. Each savanna has its own set of wildlife and hoofstock as follows:

• Sunset Savanna: Male Giraffe, Bongo, Impala, Thompsons Gazelles, Ostrich, Ankole Cattle, Waterbuck, African crown cranes, stork and blue cranes.
  
• Arusha Savanna: Pelicans, geese, giraffe, ankole cattle, zebra, Wildebeast, eland, gemsbok
  
• Uzima Savanna: Giraffe, Impala, Kudu, Bongo, Blesbok, Thompsons Gazelle

Yeah, the info. on Dis is old too, I think it's circa 2008/2009 or thereabouts & when AKL originally opened they weren't putting giraffes on all the savannas so some of the info. on the web is really old. My first visit was pre Kidani, too, and I didn't have a savanna view room, w/ return visits and a few rooms on the savannas as well as taking some Wanyama safaris and doing lunch w/ an animal specialist (plus just being an animal geek) I've sort of soaked up info. along the way.
Pembe @ around 4 acres wasn't added until they built Kidani and I noticed when I took my most recent Wanyama safari that they were housing a couple of Hartman zebras on it along w/ the Okapi, don't know if they are still doing that. They enlarged Sunset when they built Kidani as well and it's now 18 or so acres. Uzima and Arusha are still the same approx. size @ 11 acres, but Arusha feels bigger because Uzima is more long & narrow.

 

[Best Aunt]

When booking a savannah room, put a request for "Sunset Savannah" if you want to see giraffes (this one is shared by Jambo and Kidani), or there is also "Uzima Savannah" at Kidani. "Arusha" savannah does not have giraffes if that is important to you, although there are many viewing areas throughout the resorts in the hallways and at back of lobby for any animals you might be missing from your balcony.

Keep in mind that if you are renting points, you have to ask the owner to put in requests for you. You cannot contact Member Services unless you are a DVC member.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Thank you all so much for your help!

 

[oceanmarina]

We stayed in a 1 bedroom villa in Kidani and I loved it. We had a sunset savannah view, and yes there were giraffes and zebras that could be seen very frequently from our balcony. (This was 5 years ago)

I loved kidanis pool and splash playground. The only negative was no quick service at kidani, but there is a constant shuttle between Jambo and kidani (2 minute ride if I recall correctly)