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

[ashleyrm]

I don't know about Jambo but it is gated & locked at Kidani - no access, not even with room key, after 11pm for both pool & hot tub.

That makes me sad.

There was no gate at Jambo last week, but there were signs saying pool area closed at 9 pm.

 

[Mousemommy1]

*****irrelevant*****

 

[thej]

Yippee... just snagged a Standard room with an AP discount for a Memorial day / Star Wars Weekend trip! I couldn't resist, it was only slightly more than POR/CSR, and we love AKL.

Last time we stayed at WDW for Memorial day weekend we didnt brave the parks on Memorial day itself. We just hung around the pool at the resort (CSR). Anybody know if they do anything special for Memorial day at AKL? TIA!

 

[mkellerman]

just curious what you paid for this room. I just booked for 6 nights in October for just over $1000 through the expedia.co.uk website. great rates. I looked up memorial weekend and it is $206 a night with voucher code happytravel10. just curious if this was a better deal than you got. We are all on another thread on the budget board getting over 50% on this website.

 

[MomofDisneyLoversx3]

I planned on hanging in the hot tub w a book late at night. I will check out the gate/fence situation and update you guys in Friday.

 

[Autumnslight]

When we stayed at Jambo House in December, the pools and hot tubs closed at 11pm. There was no gate, but it's not like you could have hidden the fact that you were in them, so I'm sure someone would have come and made people get out if they were in there. 11pm was too early for them to close, in our opinion. I'd be REALLY upset if they were closing even earlier than that.

 

[emilyann415]

Could we be added back to the list??? 8/16/14 - 8/26/14 - AKL CL!!!

Mousemommy!!!! Hello again....we stayed at WL CL shortly after you and got your same room (sweet view of fireworks) and now we are actually beating you to the punch at AKL CL. Great minds must think alike!!!!!

Have a fun trip!

Emily

 

[Mousemommy1]

Mousemommy!!!! Hello again....we stayed at WL CL shortly after you and got your same room (sweet view of fireworks) and now we are actually beating you to the punch at AKL CL. Great minds must think alike!!!!!

Have a fun trip!

Emily

Well Hello!!!!

That's too funny!!!! When is your trip??? Have a fabulous time!!!

 

[kimmar067]

I believe I read that the pool is now gated & there is no access after 11pm - correct? Does anyone know if the hot tubs are inside the gate, or can they still be used after 11pm?

Thanks!

...for Jambo or Kidani? There are no gates around Jambo's pool, or the hot tubs, for that matter...

 

[laceyinwonderland]

Hello!! We have a trip booked for the last of June, to stay at AKL, renting DVC points. We have a Standard view Studio. I understand the DVC rooms are on certain floors, and I know the standard view will dictate where our room is. Is there any reason to add room requests? I know most people request "close to transport" but we will be taking our own car to the parks this time... Could I request, close to elevator, or close to parking lot? LOL Anyone have any tips?

Also, is there a loading and unloading parking area? We have always taken DME, so this will be my first experience dealing with my own luggage.

I understand that you can use both pools and Jambo and Kanadi, correct? If so, is it within walking distance, or should we drive? I know alot of people think the walk between AOA LM rooms and buses are long, but we didnt think it was too bad. How does Jambo and Kanadi relate to that?

I know we MUST try Zebra domes..... any other MUST do things at AKL for us as first timers?? Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[nighttowll]

Hello!! We have a trip booked for the last of June, to stay at AKL, renting DVC points. We have a Standard view Studio. I understand the DVC rooms are on certain floors, and I know the standard view will dictate where our room is. Is there any reason to add room requests? I know most people request "close to transport" but we will be taking our own car to the parks this time... Could I request, close to elevator, or close to parking lot? LOL Anyone have any tips? Also, is there a loading and unloading parking area? We have always taken DME, so this will be my first experience dealing with my own luggage. I understand that you can use both pools and Jambo and Kanadi, correct? If so, is it within walking distance, or should we drive? I know alot of people think the walk between AOA LM rooms and buses are long, but we didnt think it was too bad. How does Jambo and Kanadi relate to that? I know we MUST try Zebra domes..... any other MUST do things at AKL for us as first timers?? Thanks in advance!!!!

Which are you staying at Jambo or Kidani?

The parking at Kidani in under the resort, a parking garage that runs the length of the hotel. Multiple elevators are spaced throughout the hotel with the rooms in between them. None of the rooms are far from an elevator. Requesting close to an elevator could put you anywhere. There is no close to parking lot as you are always above it. You will want to consider proximity to things like the pool, the fitness center, the lobby, the community center, the grill, or being close to the other hotel. Once you figure out what those priorities are, it should be easy to make your requests. I'd say you would have a pretty good chance of requesting being near the grill or Jambo or being on the far end by the pool as those are the farthest points from the lobby and bus stop, and most people without cars don't want them.

Yes, there is an unloading area, and they have luggage carts you can use as well.

Yes, you can use both pools. It is walking distance, but I'd just hop the bus or take the shuttle as swimming wears me out, and I wouldn't want to walk that far. Now I've heard if you request a room at Kidani on the end nearest Jambo that the walk isn't that bad at all. I'd say if you are down by the Kidani pool though or going from a room at Jambo all the way to the Kidani pool, it would be a very long walk. I haven't stayed at AoA so I can compare sorry. You could always look up the distance on a map to see which is longer.

Make sure to take some time to explore. There are animal overlooks spread out all over, night vision goggles you can get, and there is also a scavenger hunt you can do. The community center is fun for the kids, and there are also a number of CMs spread around who will tell you about their native countries and play environmental / conservation themed games with the kids who then get to collect beads for participating. I noticed quite a few adults who participated as well and had fun.

There are a number of different scheduled activities each day, but as far as a "must do" that really depends on what you are interested in.There is a wine tasting party one day, camp fire s'mores, pool side bingo and parties, movies under the stars, great restaurants, and educational lectures by the different CMs on their countries. On the theme of zebra domes, you must try the special juice. I can't remember what it is called, jungle juice maybe, but they have it at the African themed restaurants including Tusker House at AK and Boma at the resort. It's my favorite. Some kind of guava orange juice mix I think.

 

[laceyinwonderland]

Which are you staying at Jambo or Kidani?

Yes, you can use both pools. It is walking distance, but I'd just hop the bus or take the shuttle as swimming wears me out, and I wouldn't want to walk that far.

Thank you for the awesome tips!!! We will be staying at Jambo!! I guess that would have been helpful info to include!

How do we go about taking a shuttle/bus between the two resorts?
Also, Im really hoping to experience both pools, but say I dont get the chance, which in your option is best between the two?

Thanks agian!

 

[nighttowll]

Thank you for the awesome tips!!! We will be staying at Jambo!! I guess that would have been helpful info to include! How do we go about taking a shuttle/bus between the two resorts? Also, Im really hoping to experience both pools, but say I dont get the chance, which in your option is best between the two? Thanks agian!

Hopefully, someone can answer about Jambo parking and location requests. I'm not sure if they have the same garage style parking as Kidani or a separate lot. We didn't spend much time there, so I don't remember.

Taking the bus is easy. Any bus going to a park picks up at Kidani, and then goes to Jambo. So to go from Kidani to Jambo just hop on and off any park bound bus. Going from Jambo to Kidani is a little more difficult. You have to catch a DTD bus. Those don't come by as frequently. We waited 40 minutes one day for one to come by.

It's a little known secret, but there is a free shuttle that goes back and forth between the two resorts. I'm not sure how frequently it runs. We only used it a few times. We just didn't have a lot of need to visit Jambo. It usually sits right out front in the unloading area. You can ask at the front desk if you don't see it there. I'm not sure if there is a schedule for it or anything. I never would have even known about it except that a CM told us about it one night when we were on our way to catch the bus. The shuttle is much faster if available.

Awful rainstorms kept us from ever making it over to the Jambo pool, so I can't really compare sorry. I thought the Kidani pool was nice, but nothing special. There is a big splash area with fountains, water cannons, and waterfalls to play in. That is about the only extra feature that the Kidani pool area has that the Jambo pool area doesn't. If that would be a big hit with your kids, it might be worth a trip over to check it out. Otherwise I think both have slides, a spa, and animal overlook areas. One thing the guys liked about Kidani is that the pool bar is right there by the zero depth entry area, so they could watch the kids play from the bar. Not sure how Jambo is set up.

 

[laceyinwonderland]

Hopefully, someone can answer about Jambo parking and location requests. I'm not sure if they have the same garage style parking as Kidani or a separate lot. We didn't spend much time there, so I don't remember.

Taking the bus is easy. Any bus going to a park picks up at Kidani, and then goes to Jambo. So to go from Kidani to Jambo just hop on and off any park bound bus. Going from Jambo to Kidani is a little more difficult. You have to catch a DTD bus. Those don't come by as frequently. We waited 40 minutes one day for one to come by.

It's a little known secret, but there is a free shuttle that goes back and forth between the two resorts. I'm not sure how frequently it runs. We only used it a few times. We just didn't have a lot of need to visit Jambo. It usually sits right out front in the unloading area. You can ask at the front desk if you don't see it there. I'm not sure if there is a schedule for it or anything. I never would have even known about it except that a CM told us about it one night when we were on our way to catch the bus. The shuttle is much faster if available.

Awful rainstorms kept us from ever making it over to the Jambo pool, so I can't really compare sorry. I thought the Kidani pool was nice, but nothing special. There is a big splash area with fountains, water cannons, and waterfalls to play in. That is about the only extra feature that the Kidani pool area has that the Jambo pool area doesn't. If that would be a big hit with your kids, it might be worth a trip over to check it out. Otherwise I think both have slides, a spa, and animal overlook areas. One thing the guys liked about Kidani is that the pool bar is right there by the zero depth entry area, so they could watch the kids play from the bar. Not sure how Jambo is set up.

This is great info!!! Thanks so much! I would have never known these tricks!! Wohoo! We are so excited!!

 

[emilyann415]

Well Hello!!!!

That's too funny!!!! When is your trip??? Have a fabulous time!!!

We leave for vacation in about a month....can't wait!!!!

 

[Mousemommy1]

We leave for vacation in about a month....can't wait!!!!

Have a blast!!!!

 

[hill6]

Hello!! We have a trip booked for the last of June, to stay at AKL, renting DVC points. We have a Standard view Studio. I understand the DVC rooms are on certain floors, and I know the standard view will dictate where our room is. Is there any reason to add room requests? I know most people request "close to transport" but we will be taking our own car to the parks this time... Could I request, close to elevator, or close to parking lot? LOL Anyone have any tips?

Also, is there a loading and unloading parking area? We have always taken DME, so this will be my first experience dealing with my own luggage.

I understand that you can use both pools and Jambo and Kanadi, correct? If so, is it within walking distance, or should we drive? I know alot of people think the walk between AOA LM rooms and buses are long, but we didnt think it was too bad. How does Jambo and Kanadi relate to that?

I know we MUST try Zebra domes..... any other MUST do things at AKL for us as first timers?? Thanks in advance!!!!

We stayed at Jambo a few years ago and the parking lot was across the road from the main entrance. There was no parking garage. It took no more than 2-3 minutes to get to our car. The only reason we had a car was our daughter was a cast member and we needed to drive to get to her housing area.

 

[thumper*]

Jambo House has a covered entry area that they will allow you to pull up and unload your luggage then self park or valet.

Also when we were there in 2010 they had a very large golf cart that they used as a shuttle between Kidani & Jambo all you have to do is ask a CM, if it's not at your location they can radio the driver to have them come pick you up.

I would recommend the Chocolate croissants these were are daily breakfast prior to heading to the parks and we used our snack credits for them. If you have no problem with mocha flavor your gonna love the Zebra Domes. OH Yumm

 

[think-like-tink]

Has anyone who stayed CL, did you have bunk beds or 2 full bed?

My kids really want bunk beds and I was just wondering if I should put in a request for the bunks.

 

[kimmar067]

Has anyone who stayed CL, did you have bunk beds or 2 full bed?

My kids really want bunk beds and I was just wondering if I should put in a request for the bunks.

...we had bunk beds, but we loved our 4th floor room and requested to not be moved to a club-level location....