AKV - opinions please! Thanks in advance!

[kvnchapman]

I posted this on the regular resort board and they recommended that I repost here. PLEASE feel free to give advice and experiences. For folks who have stayed at the AKVs recently (or have stayed at them during the 1st 2 weeks in November), we'd really appreciate your advice. What was Disney bus transportation like? We have 2 year old twins and will need to have about 2 1/2 hours of rest time at the resort each afternoon. For our 6 night stay, we have 5 full days of park time and we're visiting all 4 parks. The 2 other DVCs we are considering are BLT and BWVs, and I know the convenience to MK from BLT and DHS/Epcot from BWV. But, they do share buses and I don't think AKV does. It's so tough deciding! Help!!!
TIA!!!!!!!!

 

[jakenjess]

We stayed at Kidani in February and had excellent bus service. We rarely waited more than five or ten minutes, and the stops are only Kidani and Jambo, so it's very efficient. We were very pleased. It's a beautiful resort. Enjoy!

 

[hakepb]

I guess my trip was October a few years back, but I would highly recommend a savannah view experience.
The built-in entertainment of the animals made room time more enjoyable, and watching a young one (about the age meentioned) appear on the balcony (supervised), and yell something at the animals and run back into the room was priceless!

 

[DizDays]

We were there the last two weeks of October this past year. The buses were great. We stayed for 9 days and never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus to any of the parks - even for Mickey's Not So Scary. Staying at Kidani gets you on the bus first, so you have your pick of seats. On the way back, there was always a bus waiting at the parks. We never had to wait for that.

As for the rooms, we adored the extra bathroom at Kidani in the 1 & 2 bedrooms. That was a huge bonus. Savannah view was totally worth it - especially since we brought my family and it was their first time there.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your stay!

 

[kvnchapman]

BUMP

 

[Mndisneygirl]

We just got back on Saturday from AKV - Jambo in a studio with Savannah view.
No shared buses, but they go to Kidani before Jambo. We made it to AK in 6 minutes one morning. Other parks are a good 15 minute bus ride once you are on the bus and moving.

It's a great resort to escape to and relax at! It usually is very quiet too!

 

[BigEeyore]

No problems with bus service ever at AKV - as you mentioned, it does not share bus service with other resorts and that is a bonus. It is a long haul to all of the parks (except AK of course) - if you think you'll be spending a lot of your time at MK I would consider BLT (or maybe do split stay). When you have tired kids, and just want to get back to the room for a nap, it is nice to have just a short walk back to the room!

 

[DizGirl20]

If I were in your shoes, my first choice would be BLT. You can either take the monorail or walk from the MK. We stayed at the Grand Floridian when my kids were younger and being on the monorail was priceless at that age. You can also take the monorail to Epcot and the boat over to Ft. Wilderness for pony rides. Happy Planning!

PS: For what it's worth, we are staying at Kidani for the first time in a few weeks and I've done a lot of research on these boards. For the most part people seemed pleased with the bus service.

 

[UConnJack]

I personally like Jambo House best. I like having all the restuarants and activity at my fingertips, but the rooms themselves are still nice and quiet. An I just LOVE the way the entire place smells like Boma all the time.

 

[drusba]

AKV has two buildings, Jambo and Kidani. The busses going to parks stop at Kidani then Jambo, going to Downtown Disney, Jambo then Kidani. Bus system there is better than most but you can run into some delay once in a while. Travel time to MK, Epcot and Studios, is usually about 25 minutes, to AK, 8 minutes.

BWV: though you can walk to Studios and Epcot, you may not want to do that with 2-year-olds. The boat ride to and from Epcot (International Gateway entrance in Future World) is about 8 minutes and to and from Studios closer to 30 (it stops at YC/BC and Swan/Dolphin both going to and coming back from Studios). The boat ride to Studios is thus long but quite pleasant particularly in you can get one of the seats outside in the rear. The bus system to MK, AK and DD,is, to put it bluntly, worse than abysmal. It always shares with Swan and Dophin (2 stops) and sometimes also with YC/BC (also 2 stops). During every trip I have made to BWV I have always had more than the ordinary number of times of waiting forever for a bus -- have had return trips from MK where no bus came for 55 minutes to over an hour and that seems to happen at least once a trip. Every time we have stayed at AKV, in comparison, it is like we have died and gone to heaven as far as bus service is concerned.

 

[kvnchapman]

Dedicated bus service definitely has its perks. Thanks everyone!

 

[Silver Queen]

We just returned last night from a wonderful stay at Jambo. We have also stayed at Kidani. Simply put, we love them both. Bus service was convenient and excellent. I think the longest we waited for a bus was 10 minutes. The ambiance at both resorts was peaceful, beautiful and interesting. We loved having the opportunity to view the animals and did so frequently, even if just for a few moments before we went up to our room. We have stayed at Boardwalk and much prefer either of the AKL resorts. As PPs have mentioned, the bus service at Boardwalk and the surrounding resorts is annoying. We haven't stayed at BLT yet, but are in no hurry to do so. Aside from proximity to the MK we feel that it doesn't have much to offer. The monorail is really not that close by and the ambiance is a lot of glass and concrete with very few green spaces. We love both Kidani and Jambo and will definitely stay there frequently in the future.

 

[nickspace]

We stayed at Jambo and I have no desire to return to AKV. Many people like it but it wasn't for me. The music, the theming, and the distance were not to my liking.

 

[2binak]

OP - we've stayed at AKV when our DD was just shy of 2 and again when she was just shy of 3. Both stays were wonderful! If you can get to the firepit area in the evening, definitely go. The animals tend to congregate there so you get some excellent up-close views that your kids are sure to love!

Have you considered getting a rental car? I know it's a huge hit to a budget but we started getting one after our first trip with DD (staying at SSR) when we ran into some extremely long bus waits. We decided then that we prefer being in control of our transportation while traveling with a young child. It's so nice to be able to come & go as we please and not have to deal with hauling a child, or in your case, children & a stroller on and off buses, especially at the end of the night. The few times we did use the bus at AKV, the waits were very short & the rides to the parks were not long, but we just felt it went more quickly when we used the car. Just a thought...