Best location for AKV Jambo House studio Savannah view?

[madelyn]

Made a ressie yesterday for 7 nights in July for 4 persons (2 kids ages 11 and 8). Need to add room requests and other than mentioning "close to the lobby" I'm not sure what else to add. Family won't have a car and will be swimming at the pools (Jambo and Kidani) but will be in the parks more than at the pool. More the type to stay out at the parks late and sleep in. Any suggestions for good locations to request?

 

[TSMIII]

Asking for the room to be close to the lobby is a good idea. We once stayed at the end of the Zebra Trail in a 1BR and the walk to the bus stop was 1/3 of a mile per DW's pedometer.

You can also request a dedicated studio which will give you a closet where the lockoff door would be. Below is some info I gave in a different thread to a person wondering about anyone's experiences with dedicated studios at Jambo. Other people may have different advice on where the best place is for a studio but for my money being close to the lobby, in a dedicated studio, on the Zebra Trail overlooking the Arusha Savanna is about the best it gets.

Here's the info from the other thread with pics:

...yes, I have direct experience with dedicated studio #5421 - stayed there last April for 6 nights. Loved it - it is close to the lobby, being a dedicated studio it had a closet where the lockoff door would normally be which stored the vacuum cleaner, port-a-crib and suitcase valet allowing more storage space in the armoire not to mention the additional space in the closet.

This studio, due to its proximity to the lobby, has a view that also includes Arusha Rock - this may be a plus or minus to you or like us you may not care either way. We saw plenty of animals from the balcony on all days both in the early morning, late afternoons and evenings. Also the thatched roof overhangs the balcony in this area - not significantly in our opinion but if you're looking for more sky then it might intrude on that view a bit.

Additionally, though we didn't use it while there, this studio is right near the DVC laundry room - so a quick trip back and forth if you're using it.

I will try and get some pictures up for you when I get home of this villa.

November of 2008 we stayed further down Zebra Trail also overlooking Arusha Savanna that was a 1 BR however. It was the last 1BR on that side #5579 so it was in the same area as dedicated studios #5583 & #5585. Good views but a long walk to the lobby if that concerns you. DW had a pedometer for that trip and clocked it at roughly 1/3 of a mile to the bus stop.

I'll try to put up photos of that villa as well so you can get an idea of the view.


Also, here is better map showing villas and types AKV map of villas AKV Jambo map from parkinfo2go.com

The bank of elevators you reference [he was asking about the elevators located half way down the Zebra Trail] are a good way to get to Mara & the pool, arcade, etc. if you are on the Zebra Trail. You will still have to go outside to get there but it drops you down on the ground level right outside Simba's Clubhouse - very convenient for the return to the room also if you are bringing back a tray of food from Mara rather than having to go through the foyer by the restaurants and up through the lobby. Also good for coming back from the pool while wet. There are stairs near there that we also used at times and these are a great help if you're in a hurry and don't wish to wait for the elevators or if the elevators are crowded.

If I can think of any other things I'll post them with the pics later on.

Here are the pics of the dedicated studio #5421

This from inside the studio looking back at the door to the hallway - the door you see on the left is the closet

Another shot showing the kitchenette and better view of where the closet is

Inside the closet

Kitchenette straight on

Living/Sleeping area - note the green seat next to the armoire also has storage underneath

And the bathroom which is directly across the entryway from the kitchenette

The noise from Arusha Rock - ZERO. If there were kids yelling out there or something you'd probably hear them but normal conversation is undetectable.

Likewise noise from the laundry was non-existent - likely too far away and if you've seen the setup of the laundry room the washers and dryers are more toward the back and not against the wall that abuts the hallway. Also we had no noise from the hallway itself.

Here are some balcony pics from #5421


Looking Left

Looking straight out

Looking Right - note the gap in the second picture between the balcony and the next one - this studio is the last one in this section and so has no next door neighbor on the right.

For comparison purposes, here are some balcony shots from the 1BR #5579we had way down the end.

Regarding requests - when we had the 1BR in Nov 2008, we requested Arusha Savanna and got this one. When we went last April, I reserved a studio savanna view - and forgot to put in any requests - and we got a dedicated, close to the lobby, and Arusha Savanna again!!!

I don't know how detailed they'll let you get with your requests but I would do them in order of priority. So if Arusha Savanna is most important, or having a dedicated studio, let them know that.

Hope that helps - Good Luck!

 

[puente0629]

Hijacking an old post...

Was wondering if anyone had anymore suggestions on room requests for a studio savannah view? Pictures would be greatly appreciated. It's our first time staying this November and we want to enjoy the animals but we want to be close to the lobby or an elevator.

Thanks!

 

[drusba]

No pictures but agree mostly with poster above. Best is along Zebra Trail facing Arusha but disagree close to lobby is the best choice. A little away from lobby and up to about halfway down the hallway is better (there is actually a second elevator halfway down). Those rooms not only have good views but also face west (front entrance of Jambo faces south), meaning you do not get blinding sun coming in the door windows in the morning but you do get to watch a very pleasant sunset.