Call me crazy but... AKL Jambo or OKW (studios)??

[Goldilocks07]

Hi all, I'm planning a trip in March, myself and my 12 DD. I am trying to save on points. Would you choose a standard view studio at AKL Jambo House or OKW?
There is a decent chance I will invite one of my daughter's friends, so that makes one adult and two 12 year olds. We have stayed at AKL numerous times, and love the main lodge vibes and the pool/food at Jambo house. (Noting: we've never stayed at Kidani Village). We have never stayed at OKW.
Point usage is the same at both resorts. The girls LOVE to pin trade. We will likely use the pool at night.

I'd love your thoughts in comparing, as I feel they are wildly different. Assume that my daughter is bringing a friend. It seems OKW may be better because they offer 2 queen beds? How do the room sizes compare? Bathrooms? Any insight is welcome!

 

[Best Aunt]

Hi all, I'm planning a trip in March, myself and my 12 DD. I am trying to save on points. Would you choose a standard view studio at AKL Jambo House or OKW?
There is a decent chance I will invite one of my daughter's friends, so that makes one adult and two 12 year olds. We have stayed at AKL numerous times, and love the main lodge vibes and the pool/food at Jambo house. (Noting: we've never stayed at Kidani Village). We have never stayed at OKW.
Point usage is the same at both resorts. The girls LOVE to pin trade. We will likely use the pool at night.

I'd love your thoughts in comparing, as I feel they are wildly different. Assume that my daughter is bringing a friend. It seems OKW may be better because they offer 2 queen beds? How do the room sizes compare? Bathrooms? Any insight is welcome!

Will you have a car? If not, make sure you understand the bus situation at OKW before you make a decision. It's spread out enough to have its own internal bus system.

The website www.dvcnews.com generally has a lot of information about the different resorts.

 

[Marionnette]

Hi all, I'm planning a trip in March, myself and my 12 DD. I am trying to save on points. Would you choose a standard view studio at AKL Jambo House or OKW?
There is a decent chance I will invite one of my daughter's friends, so that makes one adult and two 12 year olds. We have stayed at AKL numerous times, and love the main lodge vibes and the pool/food at Jambo house. (Noting: we've never stayed at Kidani Village). We have never stayed at OKW.
Point usage is the same at both resorts. The girls LOVE to pin trade. We will likely use the pool at night.

I'd love your thoughts in comparing, as I feel they are wildly different. Assume that my daughter is bringing a friend. It seems OKW may be better because they offer 2 queen beds? How do the room sizes compare? Bathrooms? Any insight is welcome!

AKV Jambo studios 365 sq. ft. vs OKW studios which measure 390 sq. ft.

Both studios have only one bathroom. Neither is split. AKV Jambo has 2 bathroom sinks. OKW has one.

If evening pool time is high on your list of priorities, I would choose Jambo just for the convenience.

 

[Goldilocks07]

Will you have a car? If not, make sure you understand the bus situation at OKW before you make a decision. It's spread out enough to have its own internal bus system.

The website www.dvcnews.com generally has a lot of information about the different resorts.

Yes, I have a car, but we have never driven to the parks and use the buses out of convenience. Though, sounds like OKW is an inconvenience.
We stayed at SSR once and it was shockingly different in terms of the vast size and for us, no real central 'lodge' or main hotel entrance. It was like we were staying in an apartment complex. It took us a few days to get used to, but in the end enjoyed our stay there.
I feel like OKW would be similar.

 

[Goldilocks07]

AKV Jambo studios 365 sq. ft. vs OKW studios which measure 390 sq. ft.

Both studios have only one bathroom. Neither is split. AKV Jambo has 2 bathroom sinks. OKW has one.

If evening pool time is high on your list of priorities, I would choose Jambo just for the convenience.

Hmmm. Sounds like this may be the right move. Plus staying in Jambo would allow me to let the girls go down to the lobby solo to trade pins or get their own food from the Mara.

 

[leebee]

AKL Jambo, no question. We've stayed in both. OKW is huge, you need to take an internal bus through the resort, and if you aren't near a pool this could be an issue. At AKL, everything is right there; Mara, pool, lobby, BOMA!, etc. OKW reminds me of every Florida timeshare resort we've ever stayed in; AKL is special. Maybe ask for an obstructed savanna view room- it's worked for us every time, we've always had some sort of animal view!

 

[Goldilocks07]

AKL Jambo, no question. We've stayed in both. OKW is huge, you need to take an internal bus through the resort, and if you aren't near a pool this could be an issue. At AKL, everything is right there; Mara, pool, lobby, BOMA!, etc. OKW reminds me of every Florida timeshare resort we've ever stayed in; AKL is special. Maybe ask for an obstructed savanna view room- it's worked for us every time, we've always had some sort of animal view!

Done and done. I booked AKL for March.
And thank you for the tip, when we arrive I will definitely ask!

 

[MonaMN]

My kid (now 13) still talks about how lovely AKL was and we stayed there probably five years ago. OKW seems lovely but the kids will love the atmosphere at AKL. That first view of the lobby… amazing!

 

[sndral]

Done and done. I booked AKL for March.
And thank you for the tip, when we arrive I will definitely ask!

Love Jambo
Don’t wait until you get there, they assign rooms several days before you arrive. Make your room location request now via chat, email, or a phone call to MS.
I request Kudu trail when I have a standard view booked because I’m afraid the person assigning rooms won’t know which standards are/aren’t ‘partial’ savanna views. All of the standard views on Kudu trail abut Sunset savanna. There are a few standards w/ savanna views on Zebra trail, but most of the Zebra trail standards are on the pool side.

 

[matt and beth]

We’ve stayed at both a few times. I’d slightly lean AKL but we actually like OKW also. It’s a little quieter yet fun. Boat ride to Springs

 

[drusba]

Do not wait until you arrive to put in a room request. Put in a request through MS (via phone, chat, or email) now for a room location if you want a chance to get savanna view. A little more than half the standard views at Jambo have savanna view, the rest are pool views). The best request to make is not for a standard view room with savanna view (uniformed MS employee you might be dealing with could respond that such a request cannot be made because you need to reserve savanna view room to get one) but instead request a room on the Kudo Trail side of the building, without mentioning savanna view. That is because all standard view rooms on the Kudo Trail side of the building (the left side of the u-shapped building) have savanna view.

 

[Goldilocks07]

Love Jambo
Don’t wait until you get there, they assign rooms several days before you arrive. Make your room location request now via chat, email, or a phone call to MS.
I request Kudu trail when I have a standard view booked because I’m afraid the person assigning rooms won’t know which standards are/aren’t ‘partial’ savanna views. All of the standard views on Kudu trail abut Sunset savanna. There are a few standards w/ savanna views on Zebra trail, but most of the Zebra trail standards are on the pool side.

I had no idea they assign rooms so early?! How is that possible? Either way, THANK YOU for the tip. I will definitely request Kudu Trail. And I'm hoping some rooms are designated DVC rooms, but I'll have to ask on my DVC board about that. I have definitely stayed on the left side of the building/units- but it was a while ago.

And honestly, I don't mind a pool view. Though I realize how amazing the Savannah view is- we have enjoyed it many times!

 

[CarolynFH]

I'm hoping some rooms are designated DVC rooms,

If you book a Deluxe Studio, that's a DVC room, and as long as no unforeseen event takes your studio out of service, that's what you'll get. So requesting Kudu Trail will be the best way to get a savanna view.

I had no idea they assign rooms so early?! How is that possible?

Yes, reportedly they assign them 5-7 days in advance. It's like Tetris! But the assignments aren't set in stone, which is why requests aren't guaranteed. The earlier you submit your request, the better.

 

[Goldilocks07]

If you book a Deluxe Studio, that's a DVC room, and as long as no unforeseen event takes your studio out of service, that's what you'll get. So requesting Kudu Trail will be the best way to get a savanna view.

Yes, reportedly they assign them 5-7 days in advance. It's like Tetris! But the assignments aren't set in stone, which is why requests aren't guaranteed. The earlier you submit your request, the better.

AMAZING. Thank you!