Resort Thread Jambo! Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

[creamhearts]

Just hope they fix the carpets in the hallways during the refurb. Why are they always wet lol?

 

[pwdebbie]

I'm scheduled to be there in December. 2BR Savannah view. Now I'm a little concerned.

 

[FarmBoy78]

Dumb question -- is the Kidani refurb mainly interior? If I stay at Jambo during this timeframe, and let's say my Savannah view has Kidani behind it...will I be staring at construction?

(First world problem/question, I know.)

 

[vinotinto]

Sooo, has the Kidani refurbishment started?

 

[Dave006]

Sooo, has the Kidani refurbishment started?

No it is not scheduled to start until October, and is expected to run until Mid-2026.

Dave

 

[vinotinto]

No it is not scheduled to start until October, and is expected to run until Mid-2026.

Dave

Thank you!

Separate question, I usually do not put in room requests, but I'm wondering if I should put anything for Kidani along the lines, of a "non-sagging sofa bed mattress, please and thank you." Or will they bring a mattress pad?

And do all the savannah view 1BRs have a good view of the animals?

 

[Dave006]

Separate question, I usually do not put in room requests, but I'm wondering if I should put anything for Kidani along the lines, of a "non-sagging sofa bed mattress, please and thank you." Or will they bring a mattress pad?

Not going to happen in advance for your room but you can always request a mattress pad for the Sofa bed once you get to your room.

And do all the savannah view 1BRs have a good view of the animals?

I would decide which Trail you want, North or South trail. The animals are free roaming so that is somewhat random. There are 100+ Savanna view 1 bedroom Villas.

Dave

 

[Goofy4]

Thank you!

Separate question, I usually do not put in room requests, but I'm wondering if I should put anything for Kidani along the lines, of a "non-sagging sofa bed mattress, please and thank you." Or will they bring a mattress pad?

And do all the savannah view 1BRs have a good view of the animals?

As of about 2.5 years ago... We asked and they brought not just a pad but a mini mattress.

They position food around the savannah specifically to draw the animals to a reasonable viewing distance from all rooms. You never know where they will be at any given time or given weather but it usually works out.

2nd floor rooms tend to see under the tree line better. The top floor can see more of the savannah.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Would love it if the Club Level rooms on the 6th floor got a little extra loving a little early.

 

[mrsap]

Would love it if the Club Level rooms on the 6th floor got a little extra loving a little early.

I’d love for the rooms/resort to be a lot brighter, and for whoever is charge of the music, to please flip to the B Side of the AKL Jambo House Christmas Greatest Hits tape. Please.

 

[Dave006]

Would love it if the Club Level rooms on the 6th floor got a little extra loving a little early.

Define early since they are not scheduled until sometime in 2026 after Kidani in Mid-2206.

Dave

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Define early since they are not scheduled until sometime in 2026 after Kidani in Mid-2206.

Dave

meaning first and in time for February!

 

[mastermind307]

We stayed at Jambo from June 1-6. We rented pointed and stayed in a savanna view studio. We did see some animals from our balcony, but the trees blocked a lot of our view. The pull out sofa is awful, our daughter slept (or tried sleeping) on it. I did ask about if anything could be done and they sent up 2 mattress toppers. They even said they could sent up an extra mattress. The bed my husband I slept in was comfortable in my opinion.
The buses were ok for the most part. The Mara has good food and was very accommodating to my wheat allergy.
Overall AKL is a lovely resort, but it would not be my top choice to stay at again.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We stayed at Jambo from June 1-6. We rented pointed and stayed in a savanna view studio. We did see some animals from our balcony, but the trees blocked a lot of our view. The pull out sofa is awful, our daughter slept (or tried sleeping) on it. I did ask about if anything could be done and they sent up 2 mattress toppers. They even said they could sent up an extra mattress. The bed my husband I slept in was comfortable in my opinion.
The buses were ok for the most part. The Mara has good food and was very accommodating to my wheat allergy.
Overall AKL is a lovely resort, but it would not be my top choice to stay at again.

The current sleeper sofa beds are definitely the biggest negative of the AKL resort. They're old and used/abused. Very much looking forward to those being replaced with the Murphy Beds over the next 9 months or so. The sofa beds were also the biggest negative we found in the Beach Club Villas, and the new Murphy Beds were a huge improvement! I'm sure other DVC resorts that had sofa beds are similar.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We stayed on rented points (used someone on the boards) in a standard view room on 5/13-5/21. We had room 5384 which is the very last room in the hallway. It was on Kudu Trail so we had a nice savanna view for “free” so it was worth the long walk. Honestly the walk only felt long after a long night. Leaving in the morning it wasn’t a big deal. It was about .2 miles from the lobby.

We absolutely loved our stay. The food was amazing, we enjoyed the pool, we liked that the resort isn’t overly crowded and busy like other deluxes (looking at you Poly), the room setup was good for us. My daughter (19) slept on the sofa bed and we got an egg crate but it looked like an extra mattress and she said it was comfortable. She’s one that hates sofa beds so that means a lot coming from her.

The staff there was so nice. Anytime we needed something it was taken care of so quickly. At one point my MB wasn’t working right and they couldn’t figure out why so they gave me credit for two new ones! I was not expecting that and was prepared to buy a new one.

We felt the buses were great. We never waited long at all. We also don’t feel that the bus rides are long at all.

We ate at Jiko and Boma for both meals. Jiko was our best meal of the trip and the wild boar appetizer is probably the best thing I’ve eaten at Disney. We also had Mara and found it to be great too.

We would not hesitate to stay here again!

 

[leebee]

Kidani question: Are there animal viewing trails here, like at Jambo? We have time to kill between dinner at Sanaa and our safari, and are wondering what to do with ourselves!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Kidani question: Are there animal viewing trails here, like at Jambo? We have time to kill between dinner at Sanaa and our safari, and are wondering what to do with ourselves!

There's a beautiful outdoor viewing area right outside the doors at Sanaa (at the bottom of the stairs from the main lobby).

 

[leebee]

I'm reading that the Uzima pool is open 24 hours, although life guards go off-duty at 10pm. Is this true, or am I reading something "old?" If the info isn't correct, what are the pool hours? Are the hot tub hours the same?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I'm reading that the Uzima pool is open 24 hours, although life guards go off-duty at 10pm. Is this true, or am I reading something "old?" If the info isn't correct, what are the pool hours? Are the hot tub hours the same?

I don't recall the Uzima pool ever being open 24 hours, but maybe it was at one time. For years now I'm pretty sure they open around 10AM and close as late at 11PM during the hotter weather. I don't use the hot tubs, so I cannot answer your other question - but I do know there's at least one hot tub outside the gated area of the Uzima pool, so it's possible that could be used anytime.

 

[CarolynFH]

Kidani question: Are there animal viewing trails here, like at Jambo? We have time to kill between dinner at Sanaa and our safari, and are wondering what to do with ourselves!

In addition to the viewing area outside Sanaa, there are also several viewing windows along the guest room hallway on the other side of the lobby. At least one of those windows, between the Rafiki and Pumbaa elevators, looks onto the Pembe savanna, where the Red River Hogs, certain antelope, and other animals are, different from the ones on the Sunset savanna. I don't think you can see the Pembe savanna and those particular animals from any other location, so to me it's worth the walk down that hallway.