AKV Value Requests...?

[LisaS]

I have been maintaining a drawing of the declared Units and the number and types of villas each contains in this thread. The most recent drawing is in post #270.

 

[nboicepardee]

I would send an e-mail to MS and ask if it can be done. I have a 2 bedroom value ressie for June, and it does say "request savannah view." When I asked if I could, the CM hesitated, checked something somewhere, came back and said that I could.

Bobbi

The same thing happened to me.

 

[AKV707]

As I said in an earlier post, I was able to make the reuest a few days after booking our 1 br value for July. MS took the request without saying there were any issues except for the standard, "it is a request" and I know that it may not happen. But i will still be at AKV!

 

[Pennyguy23]

They have managed to make this so confusing that it is hard to explain, but here goes...

There are two defined views at AKV: Savanna and Standard. Savanna is obvious, Standard is "pool, garden or parking lot".

There are four booking categories at AKV: Value, Standard View, Savanna View and Concierge:

Value: (Jambo House only). Smaller rooms with either a Savanna view or a Standard View (which means pool, garden or parking lot) except that there are no "garden" views at Jambo House, just pool and parking lot. So a Value villa can have a view of the Sunset Savanna, the pool or the parking lot.

Standard View: Larger than Value, with a Standard view (pool, garden or parking lot). At Jambo House only, all of the rooms in this booking category have a pool view. All of the Jambo House rooms facing the parking lot are smaller so they are classified as Value rooms. At Kidani Village, the Standard View villas will have a view of the pool, a garden area or a parking lot.

Savanna View: Larger than Value, with a view of a savanna.

Concierge: (Jambo House only). Larger than Value, with Concierge services and either a Savanna or Standard View (but thankfully no parking lot or garden views, just pool view).

We are here right now but got a Sav view. Man I am glad we bought here. Its FANTASTIC!!!!

 

[bxmetfan]

What is the % of savanna view value rooms?

 

[dvcnewgirl]

I did add the request by e-mail.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I just booked a studio for our April WDW trip. I am not sure what view I was given at all as the CM never said anything. If I book Savannah View will it cost more points?

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Bump!

 

[LisaS]

I just booked a studio for our April WDW trip. I am not sure what view I was given at all as the CM never said anything. If I book Savannah View will it cost more points?

What category did you book? If you booked a Value or a Standard View studio then switching your reservation to a Savanna View will require more points. There is a point chart for AKV here. You can look up your dates and see the number of points required for each booking category.

 

[Simba's Mom]

All this is so confusing, that's why I decided to book the AKV the way I did for May. I've got 2 nites in a value, 2 nites in a standard, and 2 nites in a savannah (all studios). I know what view I'll get for the savannah, but I'm anxious to see what I get for the views from the other two kinds. I made no special requests, just "luck of the draw".

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Thanks, Lisa. I am not sure which it is, but when I went online and used the point calculator, it said 90 points for a studio with Savannah view. I am going to call them tomorrow.

 

[Ratpack]

They have managed to make this so confusing that it is hard to explain, but here goes...

There are two defined views at AKV: Savanna and Standard. Savanna is obvious, Standard is "pool, garden or parking lot".

There are four booking categories at AKV: Value, Standard View, Savanna View and Concierge:

Value: (Jambo House only). Smaller rooms with either a Savanna view or a Standard View (which means pool, garden or parking lot) except that there are no "garden" views at Jambo House, just pool and parking lot. So a Value villa can have a view of the Sunset Savanna, the pool or the parking lot.

Standard View: Larger than Value, with a Standard view (pool, garden or parking lot). At Jambo House only, all of the rooms in this booking category have a pool view. All of the Jambo House rooms facing the parking lot are smaller so they are classified as Value rooms. At Kidani Village, the Standard View villas will have a view of the pool, a garden area or a parking lot.

Savanna View: Larger than Value, with a view of a savanna.

Concierge: (Jambo House only). Larger than Value, with Concierge services and either a Savanna or Standard View (but thankfully no parking lot or garden views, just pool view).

Lisa, is this in print anywhere? Not only are they confused at MS, but when you check in and they see the request, they look at you like you are on drugs. We just returned from our value 1BR stay and we had requested Savannah but didn't get it which was fine because I know requests are not guaranteed. But what did get me was they saw the savannah request and told me that savannah was an upgrade not a request. I tried to explain this to them, but they did not understand. And today I changed my summer 1BR to a 2BR and asked for the request again and MS said that there are NO savannah view value rooms, ONLY parking lot.

 

[LisaS]

Lisa, is this in print anywhere? Not only are they confused at MS, but when you check in and they see the request, they look at you like you are on drugs. We just returned from our value 1BR stay and we had requested Savannah but didn't get it which was fine because I know requests are not guaranteed. But what did get me was they saw the savannah request and told me that savannah was an upgrade not a request. I tried to explain this to them, but they did not understand. And today I changed my summer 1BR to a 2BR and asked for the request again and MS said that there are NO savannah view value rooms, ONLY parking lot.

Yes it's posted on the AKV FAQs page on the public DVC website. Here is the information that is posted there. I bolded the text the describes the views available from Value rooms.

What views are available from the rooms?

• Approximately 80% of all rooms have a Savanna View.
• All Grand Villas have a Savanna View.
• Approximately half of the Value Accommodations and Kilimanjaro Club Concierge rooms have a Savanna View. The rest have a Standard View, which includes a view of the pool, garden or parking lot. While Savanna View or Standard View room categories are confirmed at time of reservation, please note that Standard View room view preference requests are noted but not guaranteed.
• Most Studios, One Bedrooms and Two Bedrooms have a Savanna View. The rest have a Standard View, which includes a view of the pool, garden or parking lot. While Savanna View or Standard View room categories are confirmed at time of reservation, please note that Standard View room view preference requests are noted, but not guaranteed.

 

[Ratpack]

Thanks Lisa, I think I will print that out so that it has the webpage visible as well and take that with me. Again, I know it is not guaranteed and doesn't bother me at all to not get a savannah, but when they say the request is invalid as it is not possible, that is when I want proof of what I am saying.

 

[LisaS]

Thanks Lisa, I think I will print that out so that it has the webpage visible as well and take that with me. Again, I know it is not guaranteed and doesn't bother me at all to not get a savannah, but when they say the request is invalid as it is not possible, that is when I want proof of what I am saying.

In addition to bringing the information from the website you can try pointing out the Ostrich Trail on the AKV map and ask about the rooms on that trail that do not face the parking lot. (That's where the savanna-facing Value rooms are located.) If they tell you those are Savanna View rooms, remind them that they are the smaller rooms, so they must be Value rooms. Maybe a light will go on at that point, though it's possible they will continue to argue that they are Savanna View rooms.

By the way, which view did you get on your recent trip and how was it?

 

[Ratpack]

We had a 1BR with a parking lot view which wasn't bad. We use our balcony more for fresh air than a view. The view is just an added bonus if there is one. I have to say I don't think I can go back to regular resort rooms now. Having the extra room was great. This summer we have a 2BR. My biggest fear is that will nix the 1BR's for us in the future once we have that much room.

 

[AKV707]

We had a 1BR with a parking lot view which wasn't bad. We use our balcony more for fresh air than a view. The view is just an added bonus if there is one. I have to say I don't think I can go back to regular resort rooms now. Having the extra room was great. This summer we have a 2BR. My biggest fear is that will nix the 1BR's for us in the future once we have that much room.

When you say it wasn't bad, what was it like? Does being on the 5th floor give you a look at the horizon and not so much at cars? We have a 1 br value booked for 11 nights in July. I have made the savanna view request, but just in case, I am curious about the parking lot view. Do you have any photos of the view?

Thanks.

 

[Ratpack]

Can't say for all parking lot views, but if you look straight out, you can see above the trees for the most part and see the horizon, but if you look down at all, you see a sea of cars.

 

[AKV707]

Can't say for all parking lot views, but if you look straight out, you can see above the trees for the most part and see the horizon, but if you look down at all, you see a sea of cars.

So it looks like if we get the parking lot view that we should keep our heads up!

How did you find the one bedroom value villa? Good for two people? Any comments would be welcome.

 

[Ratpack]

We liked the 1BR and had plenty of room for our family of 5. Really spacious, so if you only have 2, then it will be more than enough. Having the full size fridge and the extra TV were really nice. Our youngest is only 1, so we could get a full gallon of milk and anything else we wanted in there. The W/D was also a real nice thing. No more walking to the public one that is always the furtherest point from the room we are in. We were able to wash all our clothes and repack so that we did not have to worry with it when we got home. Just start them in the morning and dry them in the afternoon, fold in the evening.

We really liked the lodge as well. We were concerned since we have usually stayed near MK about transportation but it was probably the best so far. You knew when the bus left that the next stop was your destination and not another resort. The biggest drawback to the resort, at least for us, is when you need to go to Mara (counter service), pool or the bus stop, which are the three main places for us to go at the resort, you had to walk through a smoking area or take a much out of the way route. Why they practically force everyone through the smoking areas is beyond me, they should be "off" the beaten path. If you have specific things you would like to know, please ask. Not sure how much I can answer as we were only there for a few days and not a lot of free time to explore the resort, but I'll try.