Resort Thread Jambo! Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

[HooperSnag]

We stayed at Kidani about 10 years ago and it was fine. However, the lack of a quick service restaurant was challenging. Walking with young children over to The Mara is the reason we prefer Jambo.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Note that you can Mobile Order from Sanaa for take-out. For whatever reason (I asked, but didn't understand their answer) their Mobile Order menu is more limited than their "regular" menu, but they told me that you can order any item that exists on their regular menu to go, but for the items on their regular menu that aren't on their Mobile Order menu, you have to come to the restaurant and order, then wait for it.

 

[Tinksmom6575]

We are excited to be back at AKL for a couple of days at the end of our Aril trip. We are splitting between the Poly and AKL. Our AKL dates are April 16-18. We decided to do annual passes this year and are trying new things and revisiting favorite places. My kiddo is about to graduate college, and still remembers fondly the trip we had Savannah view here when she was 7.

 

[pwdebbie]

Is Stevia (green packets) available in the tower rooms or dining areas?

 

[Simba's Mom]

Is Stevia (green packets) available in the tower rooms or dining areas?

I'm pretty sure they're in the dining areas, or at least they were 3 years ago. I don't know about in any rooms. And if you don't see Stevia in the dining areas, ask. At BC Marketplace, I didn't see any Stevia, but when I asked if they had any, they got a bunch of packets from the back. It seemed they'd run out.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

My adult daughter and I just stayed at AKL Jambo for the first time. Previously we have stayed at the GF, the Poly, YC, BC,
Contemporary and CBR. I just want to say how impressed we were with AKL.

I had stayed away from AKL because I kept hearing how hard it was with the only transportation being busses.

We would stay there again in a heartbeat. We had a standard room booked but had a partial savanna view and woke up
to giraffes and zebras every morning!

 

[Peaseblossom36]

Do any of the Savannah rooms at Jambo have bathtubs or are they all showers? We had a shower when we stayed before so just curious if we were just unlucky or they are all showers.

 

[kristennn]

I don't understand your quote. Please explain.

She is saying, - It's even worse if you are staying offsight and you have to pay to park at the theme parks, as opposed to resort guests who can use disney transportation.

 

[kristennn]

We stayed at Kidani about 10 years ago and it was fine. However, the lack of a quick service restaurant was challenging. Walking with young children over to The Mara is the reason we prefer Jambo.

We just stayed one night at Jambo, and walked over to Kidani to check out the pool/savannah. I peeked at the menu at Maji out of curiosity - and because we are new AKL DVC members, i thought it would just be standard pool food for the most part - but the menu looked so good that we ended up eating there. We got some pork nachos with African spices and a fancy goat cheese grilled cheese sandwich with African spices as well. For what we got I thought the prices were reasonable too.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Hello everyone! It has been quite a while since I have been on the DIS Boards. I do have a question. I have had MANY vacations to WDW, but I have never even seen AKL at all. I have a Dec. 1st reservation for Kadani Village. I am 72 years old, and will be totally solo, as most of my vacations have been. I am concerned about the long walk to my room. I will have a DVC studio room. Should I request a room closer to the lobby? I am aware that requests are not guaranteed. Also, .... I like the typical American breakfast of eggs, toast, sausage, juice, and tea. Is there a good breakfast place for me that is close to Kadani Village? Thanks SO Much!

 

[Gary Stocker]

Hello everyone! It has been quite a while since I have been on the DIS Boards. I do have a question. I have had MANY vacations to WDW, but I have never even seen AKL at all. I have a Dec. 1st reservation for Kadani Village. I am 72 years old, and will be totally solo, as most of my vacations have been. I am concerned about the long walk to my room. I will have a DVC studio room. Should I request a room closer to the lobby? I am aware that requests are not guaranteed. Also, .... I like the typical American breakfast of eggs, toast, sausage, juice, and tea. Is there a good breakfast place for me that is close to Kadani Village? Thanks SO Much!

I would definitely request a room close to the lobby. Our last trip staying there...also our first staying there ..we requested building 2 when we arrived and got room 7406...savannah view (which was worth the extra $). Close to the elevator to the lobby and to the parking garage if you will have a car (which is bonus for AKL if you don't want to rely on the bus all the time)
As for breakfast this is a meal we usually skip there until we get something quick in the parks however Sanaa had a breakfast...i think it was walkup ie no reservations. We checked the menu and they have a bounty platter with all the food you named. However it might be worth it to take the internal bus over to Jambo and get a reservation for the Boma breakfast buffet at least once on your trip
Have a great solo trip. Did one of those (stayed at French Quarter) and had a blast!

 

[Best Aunt]

Hello everyone! It has been quite a while since I have been on the DIS Boards. I do have a question. I have had MANY vacations to WDW, but I have never even seen AKL at all. I have a Dec. 1st reservation for Kadani Village. I am 72 years old, and will be totally solo, as most of my vacations have been. I am concerned about the long walk to my room. I will have a DVC studio room. Should I request a room closer to the lobby? I am aware that requests are not guaranteed. Also, .... I like the typical American breakfast of eggs, toast, sausage, juice, and tea. Is there a good breakfast place for me that is close to Kadani Village? Thanks SO Much!

Regarding room requests:
Will you have a car? If you will have a car at Kidani, people can tell you the best area to request to be near where the elevator(s) are that you will use when you get out of your parked car. "Close to lobby" might not be the best request if you have a car.

Regarding where to eat breakfast:
How are you planning to get to the restaurant?
Do you want table service, or quick service?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Hello everyone! It has been quite a while since I have been on the DIS Boards. I do have a question. I have had MANY vacations to WDW, but I have never even seen AKL at all. I have a Dec. 1st reservation for Kadani Village. I am 72 years old, and will be totally solo, as most of my vacations have been. I am concerned about the long walk to my room. I will have a DVC studio room. Should I request a room closer to the lobby? I am aware that requests are not guaranteed. Also, .... I like the typical American breakfast of eggs, toast, sausage, juice, and tea. Is there a good breakfast place for me that is close to Kadani Village? Thanks SO Much!

Hopefully, you are aware that Kidani is in the early stages of a major refurbishment, which could impact your stay a bit. I understand nearly half the rooms at the resort is closed at this point. But definitely request close to the lobby. And I'd also highly recommend the walk-up breakfast at Sanaa - it'll be very convenient (downstairs from the main lobby) and will offer food options you appear to want. You walk in, order, pay, grab a seat in the restaurant (or take it back to your room), and enjoy.