Jambo House pool closure??

[kristenrice]

What are the planned dates for the upcoming closure of the Jambo House pool? I am 99% sure it will be closed for the duration of our trip, which bums me out because this is the first time I actually booked a 7-day trip and only bought 5-day park tickets with the purpose of spending at least one day at the pool. I'm trying to plan out some alternate activities for myself and my daughters for our non-park days in case we have poor weather or we don't feel like trekking over to Kidani to swim.

 

[aoconnor]

I'm pretty bummed too - going to be at Jambo over Thanksgiving. The Disney site just says September 1 through "Winter 2018". Some people have said when they called they were given dates of September 4 through December 4. FWIW, I have not received an email about the pool closure for my November 20-25 stay...

 

[jerseygal]

First I heard of this....Going in October 2 nights, AKV, BLT 3 nights. Have not received an e mail either. Wanted to hang at the pool, I enjoy this pool. Guess we will have to use Kidani pool as an alternative.

 

[DenLo]

Uzima Springs Pool- Jambo House, Uzima Springs Pool and Uzima Springs Pool Bar closed 9/1/2018- Winter 2018. During this time Samawati Springs Pool and Maji Pool Bar in Kidani Village will be available. A shuttle will be provide to and from the Animal Kingdom Villas to Jambo house. Guests may see or hear construction but noise should not be heard between dusk and 9 AM. http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/rehab.htm

 

[jerseygal]

Thanks for the information!

 

[rg35]

It's certainly less convenient, but it's not a trek to the Kidani pool. It's about a 7-10 minute walk for an able bodied person, and there's also a shuttle bus that travels between each building.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Ugh!

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Dang dang dang this is the second trip,in a row, that the main pool will be under construction. This is getting old.

 

[carlbarry]

A British reviewer on TripAdvisor wrote a review that their trip was already ruined before they got there, because they just learned the Jambo pool will be closed during their stay. They also mentioned that the "other" pool must be very far away, as they were told a bus would take them there.

 

[jerseygal]

No phone call or e mail from Member Services yet, that is disappointing! I booked this resort about 10 months in advance of our October F&W trip. Yes, we all are disappointed when we find out that the pool to the resort we booked many months ago will be refurbished, but on the flip side, I am happy that Disney takes great pride in their properties and refurbish the pools, etc. I personally think it would be worse if people complained about resorts being run down with no upgrades! Guess that is an advantage to a SPLIT STAY! Chances are both pools will not be on a refurb schedule. FYI, I read that it is a "shuttle" that will run between the pools. We have definitely walked between both resorts, but for those that have mobility issues, a shuttle will be provided supposedly.

 

[CMNJ]

I’ve never stayed at AKL (going to in 2 was) but I thought I read there is always a shuttle running between the two resorts

 

[carlbarry]

I’ve never stayed at AKL (going to in 2 was) but I thought I read there is always a shuttle running between the two resorts

Yes there is.

 

[rlduvall]

I am so disappointed to hear this- even though I'm sure I'll survive the angst.

I fought hard to get my AKV Value Studio 12/1 - 12/8 [and forget trying to move a reservation this late in the game for early December]. I love sitting at that pool and have no interest in going over to Kidani. While I know that Jambo House is partially a regular Disney resort, I wish they would get these dates out quicker for DVC properties in light of how hard it is to book with points anymore.

 

[mickey&minniealways]

It is not far or difficult to get to the other pool. I'm just bummed because it means it will be crowded.

 

[aoconnor]

It is not far or difficult to get to the other pool. I'm just bummed because it means it will be crowded.

Exactly. It's not that the Kidani pool is that far, but there are nearly 2,000 rooms between Jambo and Kidani. That's a lot of people for one pool.

I'm just surprised that it's going to take them THREE full months to do this refurb? Not sure what's involved in a pool refurb but I just envision draining it, power washing it, etc. I suppose they could be resurfacing the whole thing but even for that it seems like an awful long time.

 

[melissa723]

Exactly. It's not that the Kidani pool is that far, but there are nearly 2,000 rooms between Jambo and Kidani. That's a lot of people for one pool.

I'm just surprised that it's going to take them THREE full months to do this refurb? Not sure what's involved in a pool refurb but I just envision draining it, power washing it, etc. I suppose they could be resurfacing the whole thing but even for that it seems like an awful long time.

I read somewhere that a cast member said they were "re-imagining" the pool area. Whatever that means. I also read that people believe they don't contact DVC members because we can easily take a Disney vacation whenever we feel like it. We're going from November 11th-18th and were lucky enough to snag CL, so it's impossible for us to reschedule to a different week since you need to book exactly at the 11-month window for even a shot at getting one of those rooms. That's also not taking into account plane tickets, work schedules, and life in general. Kidani is fine to use, if the crowds are at a minimum, but it's the fact that they chose not to make their members aware of this impending inconvenience that bothers me the most.

 

[carlbarry]

"Re-imagining" sounds good to me. I think the way the fence was put up really diminished the pool area. Maybe they'll figure out a less intrusive way.

 

[com_op_2000]

Some options other than the pool depending upon what you are into:
sports: golf, mini-golf, fishing, marathon, bowling, ESPN Club, WWS/ESPN Zone, etc
shopping: DTD, area outlet malls, large scale malls
drinking: Jellyrolls, Raglan Road, monorail tour of resorts, walking tour of resorts in the Boardwalk area
movies: DTD 24 screen theater some with meals served by waiters
night clubbing: Jellyrolls, Atlantic Dance, Raglan Road, Citywalk
resort tours: monorail tour of resorts, Boardwalk around the lake tour of resorts, horse drawn tour of FWC, AKL/AKV
offsite: Gaylord Palms Resort, Citywalk, swamp tour
eating: Formal GF 5* Chef's Table @ V&As

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Some options other than the pool depending upon what you are into:
sports: golf, mini-golf, fishing, marathon, bowling, ESPN Club, WWS/ESPN Zone, etc
shopping: DTD, area outlet malls, large scale malls
drinking: Jellyrolls, Raglan Road, monorail tour of resorts, walking tour of resorts in the Boardwalk area
movies: DTD 24 screen theater some with meals served by waiters
night clubbing: Jellyrolls, Atlantic Dance, Raglan Road, Citywalk
resort tours: monorail tour of resorts, Boardwalk around the lake tour of resorts, horse drawn tour of FWC, AKL/AKV
offsite: Gaylord Palms Resort, Citywalk, swamp tour
eating: Formal GF 5* Chef's Table @ V&As

Those are all great.

But for us, we are looking for down time that doesn't cost anything extra. And other than the walking tour of the Boardwalk area or the monorail tour of resorts (which are both listed twice), everything is yet another $$ add on. And you can't possibly think that someone would book V&As instead of hanging out at the pool.

 

[jerseygal]

Just phoned MS. MS researched it and said that they "thought" that letters went out to DVC members regarding the Jambo pool closure directly from the resort.
I expressed my disappointment that I have not been notified yet. I also e mailed DVC. Hopefully, I will get a response.
Hopefully, someone at MS will follow up with Animal Kingdom Resort and begin notifying members immediately who have reservations made. In our case, we are traveling in October; lots of luck trying to make a change now! Almost impossible, getting any availability in October anywhere with popularity of F&W combined with Toy Story Land opening end of June.