Resort Thread Jambo! Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

[vinotinto]

OK, how bad are the sofa beds at Kidani? Specifically the queen and twin in the living room of the 1 bedroom?

 

[Hubalorian]

OK, how bad are the sofa beds at Kidani? Specifically the queen and twin in the living room of the 1 bedroom?

When are you planning on staying there? The refurb is happening later this year and the Murphy bed will be installed

 

[thanxfornoticin]

OK, how bad are the sofa beds at Kidani? Specifically the queen and twin in the living room of the 1 bedroom?

Having experienced them a few times in the past couple years, I'd say some are tolerable and some are really not so good. The last one we had I actually slept on the sofa, not the pullout!! As Hubalorian says, they are starting a refurb later this year where they're going to replace the sofa beds with Murphy beds, but that refurb is likely to take several months and will run into 2026 before they've completed all the rooms at Kidani.

 

[vinotinto]

When are you planning on staying there? The refurb is happening later this year and the Murphy bed will be installed

July.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

July.

I sincerely hope you get one of the fairly comfortable sofa beds!!

 

[vinotinto]

I sincerely hope you get one of the fairly comfortable sofa beds!!

Ha, me too! Not a big fan of sofa beds in general and I was viewing a video walk through and they looked like they were in rough shape 1-2 years ago. But I love AKL and it’s cheaper than 2 separate rooms, so we may take the gamble.

Will they be replacing the pull out twin with a daybed and replacing the queen sofa beds?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Ha, me too! Not a big fan of sofa beds in general and I was viewing a video walk through and they looked like they were in rough shape 1-2 years ago. But I love AKL and it’s cheaper than 2 separate rooms, so we may take the gamble.

Will they be replacing the pull out twin with a daybed and replacing the queen sofa beds?

It sounds like the queen sofa beds are being replaced for sure - they've been doing that at other resorts. I don't know what, if anything, they'll do with the twin/single sleepers. Not all the DVC rooms have them.

 

[elvispursley]

It sounds like the queen sofa beds are being replaced for sure - they've been doing that at other resorts. I don't know what, if anything, they'll do with the twin/single sleepers. Not all the DVC rooms have them.

Maybe they’ll put in the twin sleeper under the tv console like other rooms that sleep 5–would be nice

 

[chicagodisneygoer]

I know some of the DVC pools open at 7am. Does the Kidani pool open at 7am? Hoping to get some pool time before check out at 11.

 

[WendyLovesPeter]

Last time we were to WDW was before DoorDash and instacart. We want to order some basic things for the room.
Which grocery service would you use for AKL or would you use Walmart or Kroger delivery.
Do I tell to deliver to bell services? Must I be there to receive the order? Will bell services deliver to our room? Would not be a lot of items. Water and some breakfast foods.
Thank you for helping

 

[summerlvr]

Last time we were to WDW was before DoorDash and instacart. We want to order some basic things for the room.
Which grocery service would you use for AKL or would you use Walmart or Kroger delivery.
Do I tell to deliver to bell services? Must I be there to receive the order? Will bell services deliver to our room? Would not be a lot of items. Water and some breakfast foods.
Thank you for helping

As long as you don't order alcohol, you do not have to be there to receive, it will be left at bell services. You can pick the order up from bell services or they will deliver to your room, but there is a $6 charge for them to do so. I usually order from Walmart and have not had any issues.

 

[WendyLovesPeter]

As long as you don't order alcohol, you do not have to be there to receive, it will be left at bell services. You can pick the order up from bell services or they will deliver to your room, but there is a $6 charge for them to do so. I usually order from Walmart and have not had any issues.

Thank you. Do I simply enter the address that shows for AKL resort in my Disney app.

Also, how do you make sure your refrigerated item are kept cool if you aren’t there to receive the delivery.

 

[Best Aunt]

Last time we were to WDW was before DoorDash and instacart. We want to order some basic things for the room.
Which grocery service would you use for AKL or would you use Walmart or Kroger delivery.
Do I tell to deliver to bell services? Must I be there to receive the order? Will bell services deliver to our room? Would not be a lot of items. Water and some breakfast foods.
Thank you for helping

I haven't had grocery delivery to AKL. You could get a driver who doesn't know the difference between Kidani Village and Jambo House; you might want to message the driver to make sure they know where they are supposed to deliver.

Many people use Instacart to order from Publix. I had a bad experience where I got to the hotel (not AKL) and discovered that Instacart had cancelled my order.

I ended up ordering from Target; you can do a free limited term membership to get free delivery, but you need to remember to cancel it on time to avoid them charging your credit card for a full year membership. You could do the same thing with Walmart+.

I don't read about people using Kroger delivery as often.

Where I live, Doordash will go to convenience stores. I haven't tried that at Disney.

If you search, there are threads dedicated to grocery delivery.

 

[summerlvr]

Thank you. Do I simply enter the address that shows for AKL resort in my Disney app.

Also, how do you make sure your refrigerated item are kept cool if you aren’t there to receive the delivery.

Yes, I always use the address that is in the app. With Walmart, there is a box where you can add additional information. I always ask them to please bag refrigerated items separately and to label them as such. You could also add info that you want the items delivered to Jambo House.

 

[Doingitagain]

I haven't had grocery delivery to AKL. You could get a driver who doesn't know the difference between Kidani Village and Jambo House; you might want to message the driver to make sure they know where they are supposed to deliver.

Also ask them to be careful to select Animal Kingdom Lodge, I have read people having issues getting their groceries because Google Maps sent them to AK park.

 

[Headless]

I'm glad I stumbled into this conversation. I'll be there in August and tend to order Amazon. Has anyone had issues with Amazon delivering to the correct location? I've had zero problems with other resorts so far.

 

[Doingitagain]

I'm glad I stumbled into this conversation. I'll be there in August and tend to order Amazon. Has anyone had issues with Amazon delivering to the correct location? I've had zero problems with other resorts so far.

It really depends on your driver. If they use something like Google Maps for directions, and it sends them to the wrong place...that being said, we have used Amazon successfully multiple times, at AKL Jambo and CC.

 

[mrsap]

Work Set to Begin on Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas Refurbishment​

According to a newly filed Notice of Commencement by general contractor Barton Malow, work on Kidani Village is imminent. This filing signals that all systems are go for construction to begin shortly, with a listed expiration date of May 28, 2026—perfectly aligning with the previously announced project timeline.

This work marks the first phase of the full hard goods refurbishment for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas, with Jambo House slated to follow in 2026.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Hopefully a little pain in exchange for the future improvements at our favorite resort!

 

[Wings3496]

This makes me just a biiiiit nervous. Really hoping there isn’t any of the “de-theming” we’ve seen at some other resorts with recent refurbs. The AKL theming is the best and I’d be sorely disappointed if they removed it.