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

[tarak]

That same child just got a pin code in the mail from Disney. Not once have I gotten a pin code from the Mouse. But my five-year-old got one.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

I have the MBs, gotten my FP+s & FP+ for Wishes & Illumination. Our trip starts September 9.

 

[tarak]

I have the MBs, gotten my FP+s & FP+ for Wishes & Illumination. Our trip starts September 9.

How exciting! I'm really hoping to be able to schedule a FP+ for illuminations.

 

[Rendar]

We checked into AKL two days ago, so far the magic bands and FP+ are working great.

 

[snowmanlover]

Has anyone gotten Magic Bands for AKL?

YES!! We ordered our MB on Aug. 20th in the evening and they arrived at our front door at 10:10 am on Aug. 22nd via Fed Ex. Talk about FAST!! We did reserve some FP+ times but need to finish that. So far no problem getting FP's when/where we want them.

We checked into AKL two days ago, so far the magic bands and FP+ are working great.

Glad to hear they are working great!

We are at AKL PV Sept. 15th - Sept. 22nd.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

When did you get the bands? After you did online check in? At 30 days? I have an AP and I wonder if I have to have a package or will I get them with room only

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

I have a CL RO ressie for our Oct trip. I didn't realize it, but when a friend mentioned it I checked. We are eligible for magic bands. I couldn't get a straight answer about adding out APs though.

 

[Wicket's Mom]

When did you get the bands? After you did online check in? At 30 days? I have an AP and I wonder if I have to have a package or will I get them with room only

I haven't checked in as yet, didn't need to to get the bands. I was following the BOG lunch thread which got me to start checking MDE. Voila stuff started appearing, ordered bands, made FP+s & Wishes & Illumination FPs. About a week later I received the invitation after bands were already in my hands!

 

[PNO4TE]

I'm cautiously optimistic the bugs with the magic bands will be worked out before we go in January. I'm hoping I can link my park passes (purchased a few months ago from undercover tourist) to the MDE site and have them on the magic bands. I'll trade in my tyvek tickets for the RFID ones when we get there if we have to, but it seems like the point of the magic bands is skipping that step, right?

I have an AP that I traded in for one of the RFID versions in April. It is tied to my reservations on MDE but I cannot "turn it into" a Magic Band.

My DH has a hopper from Undercover Tourist that we have successfully linked to our reservations and, according to the MDE site he is supposed to be able to customize his Magic Band. We haven't done it yet since MDE is really messed up for both of us.

Bottom line is that you ought to be able to link those UCT tix on your MDE without any trouble.

 

[KTCK1310FanGrl]

Hi, love reading the all of the information about AKL from you experts.
Silly question - we are going in December, kids are so excited. They love animals. But, I am a little worried the resort will smell like a big zoo. We love Disney and have stayed at many resorts but this is our 1st stay at AKL. Please tell me I am being silly.

Also - a little worried about the bus transportation. We are going in early December so hoping for light crowds and hoping to not have any long bus waits.

Seems like a lot of people love AKL and spend a lot of time there and not as much in the parks - we are park people - open to close. So, should we switch resorts?

Thanks

 

[Pinkocto]

That same child just got a pin code in the mail from Disney. Not once have I gotten a pin code from the Mouse. But my five-year-old got one.

That's too funny. I've never gotten one either

 

[Pinkocto]

Hi, love reading the all of the information about AKL from you experts.
Silly question - we are going in December, kids are so excited. They love animals. But, I am a little worried the resort will smell like a big zoo. We love Disney and have stayed at many resorts but this is our 1st stay at AKL. Please tell me I am being silly.

Also - a little worried about the bus transportation. We are going in early December so hoping for light crowds and hoping to not have any long bus waits.

Seems like a lot of people love AKL and spend a lot of time there and not as much in the parks - we are park people - open to close. So, should we switch resorts?

Thanks

No animal smells, no worries. They keep it meticulous.

The only problem with being open to close people is that you'll miss out on a lot of the animals . Are you planning any stay at the resort days?

I've never had a problem with wait times for the buses. I'm not crazy about the transport time to MK or DTD, about 20-25 minutes, but never a long time waiting for one.

 

[KTCK1310FanGrl]

Pam,
Thanks for the response and for squashing my worries.
No resort days planned - but I may have to work one into our plan since I know the kids would love the AKL activities - maybe we will let them decide.

Good news on the bus transportation.

Appreciate the advice.
Thanks
Amy

 

[Mommy2Corinne]

Hi, love reading the all of the information about AKL from you experts.
Silly question - we are going in December, kids are so excited. They love animals. But, I am a little worried the resort will smell like a big zoo. We love Disney and have stayed at many resorts but this is our 1st stay at AKL. Please tell me I am being silly.

Also - a little worried about the bus transportation. We are going in early December so hoping for light crowds and hoping to not have any long bus waits.

Seems like a lot of people love AKL and spend a lot of time there and not as much in the parks - we are park people - open to close. So, should we switch resorts?

Thanks

Oh gosh, no. It doesn't stink at all. In fact, the Lodge itself has this amazing sort of smokey (like a subtle, clean woodsmoke, not cigarette, lol) smell that I wish I could bottle.

We have never had any issues with the buses. The wait times are short, they are not overly crowded, and while the bus to MK is longer than some, it's really not that bad. We stayed a the Poly in 2011, and I swear we waited longer for the monorails sometimes than we did for AKL bus rides.

AKL is amazing.

 

[pArKsFaN]

When did you get the bands? After you did online check in? At 30 days? I have an AP and I wonder if I have to have a package or will I get them with room only

I also have an AP and booked room only....haven't done online check in yet. We are going at the end of Oct and in MDE I was able to personalize our MBs...but am unable to link my AP. It says we can customize up until 30 days before our arrival so I imagine they will ship soon after that cut-off date.

 

[lshaff3]

New to the thread. Been to Disney many times but this will be our first time staying at AKL. We have a 1BR villa with a standard view at Jambo house book. Does anyone happen to know where these are rooms located or where to make a room request.

 

[RapunzelsGoodMom]

I have a CL RO ressie for our Oct trip. I didn't realize it, but when a friend mentioned it I checked. We are eligible for magic bands. I couldn't get a straight answer about adding out APs though.

I just got my Magicbands too. Never got an email about them but checked and there they were. It looks to me like MDE linked both my undercover tourist tix and my annual pass...but got a note saying to bring all tix, just in case! But so fun to have...and love the FP+ options/system! Was hoping for Wishes but looks like the fireworks options are only available on the weekends so far.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I agree with the wonderful smoke smell.. I parked on Sunday when I went to get my domes and I smelled that awesome linger... It smells so yummy

 

[tarak]

Hi, love reading the all of the information about AKL from you experts.
Silly question - we are going in December, kids are so excited. They love animals. But, I am a little worried the resort will smell like a big zoo. We love Disney and have stayed at many resorts but this is our 1st stay at AKL. Please tell me I am being silly.

Also - a little worried about the bus transportation. We are going in early December so hoping for light crowds and hoping to not have any long bus waits.

Seems like a lot of people love AKL and spend a lot of time there and not as much in the parks - we are park people - open to close. So, should we switch resorts?

Thanks

I agree with the others. The only place I've smelled the animals is by the flamingo pond past the pool at Jambo House. I can't recall if there are rooms near there or not - but honestly, you don't even smell the flamingos until you're practically on top of them.

 

[JessiMommy]

When did you get the bands? After you did online check in? At 30 days? I have an AP and I wonder if I have to have a package or will I get them with room only

I have a RO reservation and old style paper passes. I did online check in about two weeks ago and was then able to customize bands. They arrived last week. I could not get the passes to link properly but after 3 calls to IT they were able to make it happen and I've now booked my fastpass + times.