AKL LITE unofficial FAQ thread#10 - I believe that's known as a 'Jambo Dozen'

[kimmar067]

My bad. Silly.

Yes we will be in a Studio standard view. A pool view would be supper...

...what about breakfast....and lunch?

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

I will be at AKL for my honeymoon in Feb and seriously thinking about the Night Safari. We are not staying concierge so the other safaris are out of reach. Has anyone been on it recently that can offer a recommendation to book or to just skip it? We are only staying at AKL for 2 days between hopping on to the Disney Dream so I don't want to waste time/money when I can be doing something else.

 

[staffieri]

A Jambo (or Jumbo! ) DVC Studio "Standard" view is way different than an AKL Resort "Standard" view!

Studio Standard views (at Jambo; not Kidani) are pool view or reclassified savannah views (views that didn't quite warrant the points for a true Savannah view! )

I doubt you would be assigned a room on either Giraffe or Ostrich Trail as those are the "Value" villas.

We have been in 5210 & 5214 - Standard Studios which are on Kudu Trail in the first pod off the lobby. Those rooms face Sunset Savannah and there will often be an animal or 2 within easy view!

5406 is one of the villas directly off the lobby: the door is at the end of the suspension bridge; the room has a pool view. We LOVED that room!

I'd request "near lobby" but that's just my personal preference!




I also took the liberty of correcting something within your quote. I do think you meant "super", not supper!

Super helpful. And yes I type way to fast. Thank you for your great information. I feel much better about those views. Very nice.

 

[thumper*]

I will be at AKL for my honeymoon in Feb and seriously thinking about the Night Safari. We are not staying concierge so the other safaris are out of reach. Has anyone been on it recently that can offer a recommendation to book or to just skip it? We are only staying at AKL for 2 days between hopping on to the Disney Dream so I don't want to waste time/money when I can be doing something else.

The Wayanama (?spell) Safari is wonderful and I would highly recommend it. It is followed by a great dinner at Jiko. We did this in 2010 (I know not that recent) you can read about it in my TR in my siggy. IMO this is somehting that fits in perfectly with a honeymoon. Congratultions and have a ball.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

The Wayanama (?spell) Safari is wonderful and I would highly recommend it. It is followed by a great dinner at Jiko. We did this in 2010 (I know not that recent) you can read about it in my TR in my siggy. IMO this is somehting that fits in perfectly with a honeymoon. Congratultions and have a ball.

Thank you ! We are getting super excited as we get closer to the wedding and the honeymoon. We would love to go on the W. Safari but since we are just staying in a regular savanna room, I don't believe it will be an option. I thought that this may be our only chance in a long time to stay at AKL that we can try the Night Safari (the one with the night googles).

 

[tiggrbaby]

Thank you ! We are getting super excited as we get closer to the wedding and the honeymoon. We would love to go on the W. Safari but since we are just staying in a regular savanna room, I don't believe it will be an option. I thought that this may be our only chance in a long time to stay at AKL that we can try the Night Safari (the one with the night googles).

Found this on wdwinfo:

Wanyama Safari: This tour is exclusively offered to guests staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. This three hour experience gives guests an opportunity to tour with members of the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge's animal programs team. You'll learn of the development of the resort's safaris and what goes into maintaining the animals in a resort environment. Bring your camera for unique photos taken from the resort's Savannas. Following your in-depth tour, you'll have dinner at Jiko - The Cooking Place, the Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge's award winning restaurant. This tour is limited to 12 guests and can be reserved 90 days in advance through the Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort Itinerary Planning Office at 407-938-4755

Note it only says AKL guests, not CL only. I believe it just costs a little more for non-CL guests. I went in '06 and '09 and thought it was fabulous! It might be worth checking into if you have the money - it would be memorable!

 

[thumper*]

Thank you ! We are getting super excited as we get closer to the wedding and the honeymoon. We would love to go on the W. Safari but since we are just staying in a regular savanna room, I don't believe it will be an option. I thought that this may be our only chance in a long time to stay at AKL that we can try the Night Safari (the one with the night googles).

I'm sure the night safari would be awesome too.

The Wanyama safari is doable even if not staying CL. We stayed in a Arusha Sav rm and did not pay any more then a CL guest to the best of my knowledge. If you find it in your budget you won't regret it.

 

[nadira36]

...what about breakfast....and lunch?

They'd need a safari view for those.

 

[laceyinwonderland]

We just returned from our first AKL stay! We rented DVC points, and I cant get over how much I LOVED LOVED LOVED this resort. We paid for a Standard Studio, but were actually put in room 5346 on the Kudu trail. We def had a view of a Savannah. Is this one of the rooms that is technically studio, but does have limited savannah view? Or did we get upgraded and not know it? We did the new self check in, requested close to lobby, but that we would be arriving at noon and would rather have our room ready over meeting room requests. By looking at the map, I thought I was not going to like being way at the back of the resort, but it wasn't bad at all. I did get lost quite a bit, but that says more about me than the resort. Im sure I never did figure out the most efficient way to get around. We always took the closest elevator down to 3, b/c it would say 1 was for CM only. Then from 3 we took another elevator down to 1 for the pool and Mara. Was this the best thing to do? And I did LOVE our view!! I will post pics tomorrow!!! I finally tried Zebra domes, and I see what the hype is about! YUMMMM YUMMMM YUMMM!!! And I've seen people on the boards talk about finding candles that remind them of Disney lobbys..... Is there one that anyone knows about that reminds them of AKL? Each time we stepped out of the room into the hallways, I couldn't get over how good the hallways smelled. And also, I remember someone saying give yourself extra time to get anywhere b/c I could hardly drag my girls off that balcony to go to the parks!!! We did both driving to the parks and the buses, and liked it both!!! I was there alone with my 2 dd's and a double stroller, so I was scared to do the bus, but my DD really wanted to try. My fellow bus riders were so helpful, and one gentleman even carried my stroller off the bus and unfolded it for me. Over all, it was an amazing trip!! We def look forward to staying here again! Sorry for the run on paragraph.... just got home after an 8 hour drive, but I couldn't wait to share with ya'll my AKL love!!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Found this on wdwinfo:

Wanyama Safari: This tour is exclusively offered to guests staying at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. This three hour experience gives guests an opportunity to tour with members of the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge's animal programs team. You'll learn of the development of the resort's safaris and what goes into maintaining the animals in a resort environment. Bring your camera for unique photos taken from the resort's Savannas. Following your in-depth tour, you'll have dinner at Jiko - The Cooking Place, the Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge's award winning restaurant. This tour is limited to 12 guests and can be reserved 90 days in advance through the Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort Itinerary Planning Office at 407-938-4755

Note it only says AKL guests, not CL only. I believe it just costs a little more for non-CL guests. I went in '06 and '09 and thought it was fabulous! It might be worth checking into if you have the money - it would be memorable!

Oh cool! That is definitely a consideration if we can squeeze it into the first day we are at AKL. Thank you!

 

[michellibell]

Hi, I'm renting DVC points for the first time, too. We're staying in a standard studio and doing online checkin. I don't think there's many request options. And no upgrades. But, I heard a rumor that there are some partial savanna views that were reclassified as standard, so I'm trying for one of those.

If you want additional services or supplies, I think these are the charges:
Additional Full Cleaning Rates: studio – $30.00 for each day requested
Additional Trash & Towel Rates: studio – $15.00 for each day requested
Laundry soap (single load box) – $1.00
Towel pack – $6.00
Toiletries (bar soap, shampoo, etc) – $5.00
Coffee service – $3.00

Replaced as needed at no charge: facial tissue, toilet tissue, paper towels, liquid dish soap, dishwasher detergent, trash bags and paper/plastic dinnerware.

We are first time DVC renters as well, and this is good info. Do you request these addition cleaning services at check-in, I assume?

Also, does anyone have the outdoor movie schedule for July? I've found June, but I guess they haven't released July yet...

 

[Stefy]

Hi there, sorry if this question has been asked already (I would normally go through the whole thread), but I was wondering if anyone could confirm the dates that Santa Stitch does his meet and greets at the resort? I read somewhere that he is usually out from Dec 19th, which would make me very sad as we are visiting WDW from Nov 30th to Dec 10th. Many thanks in advance

 

[alicia080979]

We just booked 4 nights at AKL Pool View before our stay at BCV and I had a couple questions.

First, in the regular (non DVC) rooms, if we have 3 adults and one infant, do you think we are better off requesting a king & day bed so that we have space to put the crib or will there still be plenty of room with 2 queens? When we stayed at a moderate, we were able to put the baby's pack n play next to sink/below the closet area, close the curtain and turn on her sound machine to give her a dark place to sleep. I'm not sure how the layout is at AKL and what my options are for giving her a somewhat private place to sleep and not be woken up by us.

Second, what extra safari/tour options are available (and prices) at AKL if you are non club level? I thought it might be nice to take DH to do something with just the two of us while my mom babysits for a few hours.

 

[ah10is]

I will be at AKL tomorrow afternoon and I finally got an email that my Magic Bands that were MIA will be at the resort when I arrive!

 

[thumper*]

We just booked 4 nights at AKL Pool View before our stay at BCV and I had a couple questions.

First, in the regular (non DVC) rooms, if we have 3 adults and one infant, do you think we are better off requesting a king & day bed so that we have space to put the crib or will there still be plenty of room with 2 queens? When we stayed at a moderate, we were able to put the baby's pack n play next to sink/below the closet area, close the curtain and turn on her sound machine to give her a dark place to sleep. I'm not sure how the layout is at AKL and what my options are for giving her a somewhat private place to sleep and not be woken up by us.

Second, what extra safari/tour options are available (and prices) at AKL if you are non club level? I thought it might be nice to take DH to do something with just the two of us while my mom babysits for a few hours.

I don't think that you will be able to give the baby a quite dark place away to sleep. A double queen would not give you much room a for a pack and play. You might be able to fit it in the area opposite the sink. I can't speak about a king w/ daybed room as I haven't been in that type of room. You can find pics of the interior of a double queen in my TR in my siggy.

Wanyanami safari is available to non CL guest it is followed by a great meal at Jiko. We loved it and I highly recommend it. I can't remember the cost if memories serves me right I think it was $165 pp. Enjoy.

 

[AngiTN]

Just got word that our Magic Bands shipped. One month from today we'll be waking up after our first night in AKL

 

[alicia080979]

I don't think that you will be able to give the baby a quite dark place away to sleep. A double queen would not give you much room a for a pack and play. You might be able to fit it in the area opposite the sink. I can't speak about a king w/ daybed room as I haven't been in that type of room. You can find pics of the interior of a double queen in my TR in my siggy.

Wanyanami safari is available to non CL guest it is followed by a great meal at Jiko. We loved it and I highly recommend it. I can't remember the cost if memories serves me right I think it was $165 pp. Enjoy.

Ahh bummer! I was afraid of that regarding the baby. Maybe we won't staying here after all . I was looking at pictures but having a hard time figuring out if A) the pack in play would fit in the closet area and B)if there was a sliding door or curtain to that area.

 

[DizDaD7]

We just returned from our first AKL stay! We rented DVC points, and I cant get over how much I LOVED LOVED LOVED this resort. We paid for a Standard Studio, but were actually put in room 5346 on the Kudu trail. We def had a view of a Savannah. Is this one of the rooms that is technically studio, but does have limited savannah view? Or did we get upgraded and not know it? We did the new self check in, requested close to lobby, but that we would be arriving at noon and would rather have our room ready over meeting room requests. By looking at the map, I thought I was not going to like being way at the back of the resort, but it wasn't bad at all. I did get lost quite a bit, but that says more about me than the resort. Im sure I never did figure out the most efficient way to get around. We always took the closest elevator down to 3, b/c it would say 1 was for CM only. Then from 3 we took another elevator down to 1 for the pool and Mara. Was this the best thing to do? And I did LOVE our view!! I will post pics tomorrow!!! I finally tried Zebra domes, and I see what the hype is about! YUMMMM YUMMMM YUMMM!!! And I've seen people on the boards talk about finding candles that remind them of Disney lobbys..... Is there one that anyone knows about that reminds them of AKL? Each time we stepped out of the room into the hallways, I couldn't get over how good the hallways smelled. And also, I remember someone saying give yourself extra time to get anywhere b/c I could hardly drag my girls off that balcony to go to the parks!!! We did both driving to the parks and the buses, and liked it both!!! I was there alone with my 2 dd's and a double stroller, so I was scared to do the bus, but my DD really wanted to try. My fellow bus riders were so helpful, and one gentleman even carried my stroller off the bus and unfolded it for me. Over all, it was an amazing trip!! We def look forward to staying here again! Sorry for the run on paragraph.... just got home after an 8 hour drive, but I couldn't wait to share with ya'll my AKL love!!

Glad you had a great trip lacey. AKL/V has a way of doing that to you. I'm sure you'll be back to book future visits here.

 

[figment41]

I read early on in this thread about getting to earn african beads at activities. Can anyone share more info about these? Are they still available ? How many are there? How long do the activities last to earn them? Are they also available at kidani or just jambo house?

Are there any other secrets or surprises we should not miss like this there? We are thinking about staying here for the first time.

Thanks

 

[kimmar067]

They'd need a safari view for those.