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

[kimmar067]

With 4 and a half months to go, I think we're all booked -
Room, livable ADRs, plane tickets + DME for sister, plane tickets and rental car for us, hotel room for night before we fly (6am flight). I think all that's left is FP+ in October.

....you're more ahead of the game than I am....STILL looking for the best airfare....

 

[kimmar067]

Good to know! I ended up switching to AKL shortly after I posted here. I cannot wait! It's our first time staying Deluxe I'm hoping I can snag a room on the 2nd or 3rd floor.

I hope the suite is nice enough to make you forget about your floor number!!

....trust me - it IS!

 

[think-like-tink]

....the travesty of it all...


[ ]

Giggles. I agree.

 

[PNO4TE]

We will be staying at Kidani Village for the first time in November. If we want to get over to Jambo House what is the easiest way to get there? The shuttle or just get on any disney bus that is going to a theme park ( I heard that Kidani is the 1st stop and then Jambo next) which form of transporation is the easiet the shuttle or the theme park bus?

We walk between the two (well DH uses his scooter ) but you can take the shuttle. Either way it is not far and the walk is pretty.

 

[kimmar067]

We walk between the two (well DH uses his scooter ) but you can take the shuttle. Either way it is not far and the walk is pretty.

....ITA.... weather-permitting, of course....

 

[jeffbear]

We will be staying at Kidani Village for the first time in November. If we want to get over to Jambo House what is the easiest way to get there? The shuttle or just get on any disney bus that is going to a theme park ( I heard that Kidani is the 1st stop and then Jambo next) which form of transporation is the easiet the shuttle or the theme park bus?

Couple of things:

1. As mentioned previously it's not a difficult walk unless it's raining or super hot. Maybe 10-15 minutes depending on pace.

2. The shuttle is a dedicated Mears van that does little other than run between the two buildings. It's generally no more than a 5-10 minute wait in either end. I used it four times back in May and only had to wait on the shuttle once ... for about 5 minutes.

3. The buses do typically stop at Kidani first and then Jambo but watch it because the Downtown Disney bus is the opposite. Also note that the bus option entails waiting all the way down at the bus stops and opens you up to the irregularity of the Disney bus schedule in general. You might catch a bus right away or wait for 5-10 minutes or blow 20+ minutes ... by which time you could easily have walked or taken the shuttle and saved the schlep to the bus stop area.

 

[kimmar067]

I. HATE. schlepping.

 

[Miranda]

....you're more ahead of the game than I am....STILL looking for the best airfare....

I've picked our flights but haven't booked them yet... should probably do that. We are going first week in December and hotel is the only thing I've done!

 

[The Sunrise Student]

Eternal Hold...

I made AKL CL standard ROOM ONLY reservations months ago via phone, today I am trying to change them over to a real package...

I was on hold for over two hours earlier this morning with no joy, had to give up for a while. Now I am back on... I love Disney music but I am on overload, and if I am told to board the train one more time or asked not to forget my death certificate again I might

Since the original reservations is for club level and I am just converting this over to a full package could I have done this through the IPO? (Even if I am thinking about moving it up a week?)

Trying not to go crazy on eternal hold, thanks for tips and/or listening!

UPDATE: I called in afternoon and was on hold for 34 minutes then had everything switched over including new dates in a matter of 15 minutes, this included canceling old room reservation, booking new package AKL CL standard room for the new dates, with 10 hopper passes for us and adding memory maker... now it's pucker time... waiting for the discounts to come out

 

[jeffbear]

I. HATE. schlepping.

Especially sweaty schlepping. Ammi right?

 

[VbChristy]

I just booked for my family for a pre-cruise stay in Kidani 1 bedroom for 2 nights this January. There are 3 adults and my son. I cannot wait for him to look at see the animals! I hope he loves it! He will be 1.5! I'm so excited

 

[Travellerman]

Hi, I'm hoping you all can help me with something you've undoubtedly been asked about a thousand times. I've heard people say that the bus rides are really long to and from the parks to AKL. I've stayed at most of the hotels at Disney but haven't yet stayed at AKL and would like to (would LOVE to see a Giraffe from my room - thinking about CL) Could you please help convince me that they are exaggerating (it shouldn't be too difficult cause I've not minded any of the rides from any of the other resorts and since I don't drive so I am used to taking Disney's buses when I stay there)

 

[DisneyDre]

Hi, I'm hoping you all can help me with something you've undoubtedly been asked about a thousand times. I've heard people say that the bus rides are really long to and from the parks to AKL. I've stayed at most of the hotels at Disney but haven't yet stayed at AKL and would like to (would LOVE to see a Giraffe from my room - thinking about CL) Could you please help convince me that they are exaggerating (it shouldn't be too difficult cause I've not minded any of the rides from any of the other resorts and since I don't drive so I am used to taking Disney's buses when I stay there)

I'd love to know as well, debating changing reservations for Sept to AKL

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[maryj11]

Ok so I know the halls can be a very LONG walk. What I wanted to know is if we book pool view and request Giraffe Trail we will avoid most of the walking down long halls ?

 

[maryj11]

This time tomorrow we should be relaxing in the lounge, maybe enjoying a cold beverage. With just enough maybe we'll even be in our own room watching animals!

Oh make sure you take some pictures to share

 

[DISNEY180]

Hi, I'm hoping you all can help me with something you've undoubtedly been asked about a thousand times. I've heard people say that the bus rides are really long to and from the parks to AKL. I've stayed at most of the hotels at Disney but haven't yet stayed at AKL and would like to (would LOVE to see a Giraffe from my room - thinking about CL) Could you please help convince me that they are exaggerating (it shouldn't be too difficult cause I've not minded any of the rides from any of the other resorts and since I don't drive so I am used to taking Disney's buses when I stay there)

When I stayed there the first time I realized very quickly to make extra time for the buses but that didn't stop me from booking again and will be there in 20 days

 

[jeffbear]

Hi, I'm hoping you all can help me with something you've undoubtedly been asked about a thousand times. I've heard people say that the bus rides are really long to and from the parks to AKL. I've stayed at most of the hotels at Disney but haven't yet stayed at AKL and would like to (would LOVE to see a Giraffe from my room - thinking about CL) Could you please help convince me that they are exaggerating (it shouldn't be too difficult cause I've not minded any of the rides from any of the other resorts and since I don't drive so I am used to taking Disney's buses when I stay there)

Here's the thing. The actual length of the bus trip isn't really a problem. Face it, AKL is only a mile or two past the AK park itself. So it takes what ... two minutes longer to drive from MK than Coronado Springs or AoA/All Star? No big deal in and of itself.

Problem being, since you are the furthest point out from the main hub of bus traffic (triangulate the TTC/Epcot/Studios area) it puts more pressure on your time whenever there are schedule deviations. Also factor in that both Kidani and Jambo stops are served by the same buses, which means that you're always adding a little time either coming or going.

I'd say the bus service at AKL is on par with all the other deluxe resorts ... it just SEEMS more annoying and the stakes are a bit higher when things get screwed up on Disney Transport's end.

 

[kimmar067]

I've picked our flights but haven't booked them yet... should probably do that. We are going first week in December and hotel is the only thing I've done!

....me too...

 

[think-like-tink]

Here's the thing. The actual length of the bus trip isn't really a problem. Face it, AKL is only a mile or two past the AK park itself. So it takes what ... two minutes longer to drive from MK than Coronado Springs or AoA/All Star? No big deal in and of itself.

Problem being, since you are the furthest point out from the main hub of bus traffic (triangulate the TTC/Epcot/Studios area) it puts more pressure on your time whenever there are schedule deviations. Also factor in that both Kidani and Jambo stops are served by the same buses, which means that you're always adding a little time either coming or going.

I'd say the bus service at AKL is on par with all the other deluxe resorts ... it just SEEMS more annoying and the stakes are a bit higher when things get screwed up on Disney Transport's end.

Best.Post.Ever.

We found out too, that we need to a lot extra time to get to the parks. Sometimes we were hard pressed, but, nothing to major. The longest we waited was a good 25 minutes.But, The bus had just pulled away.

I have said this a million times already, This was our first stay at AKL and We bought into DVC just because we LOVE it so much. I recommend staying just once, It is really a treat in itself. DH and I have talked about going next summer with no parks. Well, maybe 2 park days If I have my way.

 

[eschil]

We stayed at AKL Jambo in June. We all said never again. The bus stop for magic kingdom one morning was so long that we took a taxi rather than wait for 2 more buses which is what I think it would have taken to load everyone. Another afternoon we waited 45 minutes for a bus to the magic kingdom. We usually stay at OKW so I am used to multiple bus stops. I have read a lot of bad things about OKW bus service however AKL was definitely worse. The actual time spent riding the bus wasn't bad; the trouble was getting a bus.