Buses from AKV

[thr33boys]

Are the buses from Jambo House/Kidani really that bad?

Please share your experiences, not interested in the water parks.

We'll be going in November if that means anything.

Thanks!

 

[shannonstar]

I would love to know the answer to this as well.

 

[nvrenoughdisney]

We have had nothing but good experiences here. The hotel might be a little farther out than other hotels but because the buses aren't shared, you don't have to stop at other hotels to drop off/pick up passengers (only Jambo house & Kidani), I found the rides were not long. We found buses ran frequently. I thought it took longer to go through all the stops while staying at OKW than it did to ride the AKV buses or to stop at the Swan & Dolphin while staying at the beach club. Don't let the distance scare you away! It is a fabulous hotel.

 

[OKW Lover]

Bus service at AKL/AKV is no worse than any other WDW resort.

 

[kddisney502]

The buses take slightly longer to get to and from the other parks (MK, EP & HS), but I wouldn't say it is excessive compared to other resorts. What makes it longer is the more remote location of the resort and the fact that the buses stop at both Kindani village and Jumbo House. Just like any resort, you may have to wait during busy times (first thing in the morning and at park closing). For us, we tried to avoid these times and only got caught once for a long wait/travel home. But that was after fireworks at MK, needing extra time for ECV travelers, and a stop at kindani village before Jambo house. (so we can't really fault the bus system for that).

 

[dburg30]

They are obviously pretty quick to AKL, they will take longer to get to MK then say from PO or WL or those that are in that 'quadrant' They will be faster to DHS then say from CR/GF/Poly since again, the actual physical distance..

Now, what REALLLLLLLLY sucks.. is if you want to goto DTD from AK.. THAT ride sucks.. you are going from the far west of WDW property allllll the way over to the east side of WDW property.. So if you want to do DTD just be prepared.. If we know we want to do DTD we will do it after a park, ie: from MK goto CR and get on the DTD bus.. from epcot / dhs get on the BW DTD bus etc etc..

Other then that, it really, honestly isnt that bad.. I didnt really care for the buses from SSR to the parks myself, I thought they were horrid, but many people have no problems with them.. all personal perception / personal experiences I guess.

 

[Jestocost]

We just stayed at Jambo House last month and had great luck with the bus service the entire time. Only waited more than 10 minutes once (at a park heading back to AKL) and frequently had a bus pull up as we arrived at the stop or within a few minutes after.

Note that at Kindani Village you will be dropped off first returning from all of the parks and will make a stop at Jambo House before heading out to the parks. The DTD bus does the reverse.

 

[deegack]

We had no issues with the buses when we stayed there.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've stayed at Jambo twice and at Kidani three times. Never found the buses to be an issue. Yes, it does take a bit longer to get to most of the parks, but these resorts are the furthest removed from all by AK...so no surprise there.
Only one time did I have an issue. It took forever for the DHS bus to arrive. We had been waiting for about 30+ mins..had arrived just as the DHS bus was pulling away. And then? When the bus finally came, my friend and I moved to the loading area, only to have someone say 'Hey, they're cutting the line, we've been waiting here 45 mins!! We should be boarding first!!' Really? If they had been there 45 mins ago, they would have been on the bus that was leaving as we walked up, not to mention the fact that they were nowhere to be seen when my friend and I got there...and then stood beside the loading area!! But, other than the late arriving bus, I can hardly blame Disney for that experience!!

The buses at AKL/Kidani are not better, no worse than any other resort. And I've stayed at most of 'em.

 

[sb127]

We have stayed many times at AKL and Kidani. Most of the time the bus service was great but we had 1 very long wait for a bus at Epcot early in the afternoon. That was the only time.

 

[thr33boys]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I really appreciate your feedback. I was just wondering if it was necessary to rent a car which I was hoping to avoid. I'm super excited about staying at AKV and taking in the sites. Thanks for the tip about going to DTD via park - that hadn't occurred to me!!

 

[Jestocost]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I really appreciate your feedback. I was just wondering if it was necessary to rent a car which I was hoping to avoid. I'm super excited about staying at AKV and taking in the sites. Thanks for the tip about going to DTD via park - that hadn't occurred to me!!

I want to make sure you're hearing the right information, as there is no transportation between any of the parks and DTD.

A PP was saying that if they were at a park and heading to DTD, they had a plan to go to a nearby resort--not necessarily their resort--to catch the bus from there.

If you are at AKV, the fastest way to DTD using Disney transport (such as it is) will be to take the bus directly from there.