We just returned from our first trip to AKV Jambo house and it was just amazing. It was me, my DH and my DS (2). We arrived on Saturday around 2 and I had done online check-in which I was thankful for, the line for regular check-in was very long. It still took about 30 minutes for me to check-in but our line was shorter.
We had a great view, room 5522, saw lots of Giraffe- the animals were most active after about 9 or so. It was cold the first couple of days and still in the 40's and 50's in the am. The animals were no where to be found, I'm sure they were cold!
We went to AK on Monday, it was packed, jam packed, totally crowded. It was still great. The crowds really thinned out after the parade, which was amazing, by the way. We saw the next to last lion king with no FP and no problem and then ate at Pizzafari and had almost the whole place to ourselves.
None of the restaurants were that crowded except Yak and Yeti on Mon and Boma on Sat night. We ate at Sanaa (2x) which we loved and the views just amazing, esp. at dusk. We also ate at Wolfgang Pucks- the kitchen was very slow, the restaurant was practically empty and they had run out of sugar packets for the tables- we were told they hadn't had them for days. We were also told their Thanksgiving meal was a nightmare and that the turkeys stayed in the brine too long and were too salty.... But, in spite of that, my meal was excellent, my husband thought his wasn't that great.
Yak and Yeti was great, my hubby had a terrific Kobe burger, we highly recommend, I had steak and shrimp and it was also very good. At Sanaa the first night I had shrimp tandori- it was ok, my husband had lamb which was excellent. I would highly recommend asking how spicy things are- Indian food is our favorite cuisine and my husband is south asian and he thought the food was spicy so that means it really is spicy- he has an incredibly high tolerance for spice. The rice pudding is just amazing, really delicate and topped with toasted coconut- the texture combination is wonderful. The shrimp in green curry and chicken in red curry is fabulous. The bread service is also very, very good. I had the 3 salad appetizer and was totally impressed, a chickpea salad, a watermelon and radish salad, and a beet salad.
Overall the restaurants were not busy at all. I was very surprised by this.
I just loved Kidani Village, I thought it was beautiful, really well done and the Savanna there seemed more remote. I also thought the artwork and public areas were really well done- I especially loved the library. I had read other reviews saying it looked cheaper than Jambo but I didn't think so at all- granted, I didn't see their rooms. I really loved the feel of it and would like to stay there sometime.
The Christmas decorations were just incredible, especially at AKL. I would have loved to purchase some of the beautiful ornaments on the trees but they weren't for sale- gorgeous animal and African basket type decorations.
We also made it to Beach Club and checked out the gingerbread, really pretty. It also looked delicious
Beach Club, in comparison to AKL, seemed completely dead and the parking lot was empty. We stopped by the Captains Grille at lunch time and it was practically empty.
We checked out today and are really missing the Christmas spirit we were feeling- there was some type of Christmas music performance every night at Jambo, a Christmas ornament making activity and all the beautiful lights and decorations. It was truly magical!
We had a great view, room 5522, saw lots of Giraffe- the animals were most active after about 9 or so. It was cold the first couple of days and still in the 40's and 50's in the am. The animals were no where to be found, I'm sure they were cold!
We went to AK on Monday, it was packed, jam packed, totally crowded. It was still great. The crowds really thinned out after the parade, which was amazing, by the way. We saw the next to last lion king with no FP and no problem and then ate at Pizzafari and had almost the whole place to ourselves.
None of the restaurants were that crowded except Yak and Yeti on Mon and Boma on Sat night. We ate at Sanaa (2x) which we loved and the views just amazing, esp. at dusk. We also ate at Wolfgang Pucks- the kitchen was very slow, the restaurant was practically empty and they had run out of sugar packets for the tables- we were told they hadn't had them for days. We were also told their Thanksgiving meal was a nightmare and that the turkeys stayed in the brine too long and were too salty.... But, in spite of that, my meal was excellent, my husband thought his wasn't that great.
Yak and Yeti was great, my hubby had a terrific Kobe burger, we highly recommend, I had steak and shrimp and it was also very good. At Sanaa the first night I had shrimp tandori- it was ok, my husband had lamb which was excellent. I would highly recommend asking how spicy things are- Indian food is our favorite cuisine and my husband is south asian and he thought the food was spicy so that means it really is spicy- he has an incredibly high tolerance for spice. The rice pudding is just amazing, really delicate and topped with toasted coconut- the texture combination is wonderful. The shrimp in green curry and chicken in red curry is fabulous. The bread service is also very, very good. I had the 3 salad appetizer and was totally impressed, a chickpea salad, a watermelon and radish salad, and a beet salad.
Overall the restaurants were not busy at all. I was very surprised by this.
I just loved Kidani Village, I thought it was beautiful, really well done and the Savanna there seemed more remote. I also thought the artwork and public areas were really well done- I especially loved the library. I had read other reviews saying it looked cheaper than Jambo but I didn't think so at all- granted, I didn't see their rooms. I really loved the feel of it and would like to stay there sometime.
The Christmas decorations were just incredible, especially at AKL. I would have loved to purchase some of the beautiful ornaments on the trees but they weren't for sale- gorgeous animal and African basket type decorations.
We also made it to Beach Club and checked out the gingerbread, really pretty. It also looked delicious
Beach Club, in comparison to AKL, seemed completely dead and the parking lot was empty. We stopped by the Captains Grille at lunch time and it was practically empty. We checked out today and are really missing the Christmas spirit we were feeling- there was some type of Christmas music performance every night at Jambo, a Christmas ornament making activity and all the beautiful lights and decorations. It was truly magical!
