Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

:rolleyes:
Just booked our first trip at a deluxe resort.. Animal Kingdom Lodge! 10 magical days! We've been loyal guests of Coronado Springs but the construction and tower are a real turn off for us. Very excited for a new Disney experience.

We were scheduled to stay at Coronado in November, but I was getting concerned that the construction would be less than magical...so we switched to AKL. I am super excited! AKL was a bucket list resort! It is only money right? :rolleyes:
 
Quick question for the Kidani veterans - we'll be staying in a 2 bedroom villa and will have a couple of toddlers with us. We'll be bringing some snacks and breakfast items (cereal bars, small boxes of cereal, pop tarts, etc.). Will we be able to buy items like milk and water at the Kidani gift shop to stock the refrigerator or should we plan on putting in a grocery order from somewhere? Thanks!
 




Just a quick report from my quick 4-night trip to AKL.

We (myself, and daughter's family) were there to celebrate my granddaughter's 3rd birthday. She only wanted to "see the animals". As she put it "the Lion King wanted her to come to Disney World".

I have been to this resort many times to eat or just take in the scenery. I have never stayed there until this visit (June 16 - 20). I love most everything about this resort. The beauty alone is worth a stay/visit.

The afternoon we all arrived the resort had a major snafu with our reservation. I won't get into all of it, but by 6 pm, we still didn't have a room. We got our requests (standard room, adjoining king with 2 queens), and a little bit of an upgrade...a partial savannah view which was nice.

Long story short, Animal Kingdom Lodge made it right. Sarah at the front desk said "we didn't deliver as promised", and so they took care of our situation for us.

We got a partial credit on our rooms and they even had a gift in the room for my granddaughter (a nice one, too). We also got chocolates and zebra domes delivered (although, I was under the impression that they do this for first time guests? not sure about that). They truly went above and beyond to make sure that we were happy. Earlier, on 4 occasions, I had complained very nicely to the front desk, and believe it or not, they were thanking ME for not getting upset, yelling at them, being disrespectful, etc. Honestly, I never see ANY reason to go crazy at the front desk in order to get a problem resolved. They actually went above and beyond to fix their mistake.

Just an FYI: when Disney messes up, just be patient and give them time to do what THEY need to do in order to fix a problem. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that we don't know about.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Mousekeeping was great, the room was always very clean. Boma was delicious (we had the breakfast buffet). The pool was fun. Mara was decent, although for the life of me I don't understand why they only have one cast member taking orders for a resort that size! Insane! Sometimes the line would snake out of the building. Mara needs a major revamp in that regard; too much congestion all in one place.

I would definitely stay here again.

My husband and I had our first deluxe stay for 3 nights during our honeymoon in 2015. As soon as we got to AKL, I had a huge issue at check-in. The front desk CM credited us with an extra dining credit to use at a TS. That night, we had a dinner reservation at Jiko. Our magic bands were not working so we stood at concierge for over 2 hours to try to resolve the issue. The kind CM took us up to Club Level to show us around.

The next morning, we were brought chocolate covered strawberries and champagne along with other pastries. The following evening we received a bottle of wine, zebra domes, rice treats, and other little snacks.

Everyone at AKL was so friendly. We enjoyed chatting with the staff. We had an amazing stay despite our few snafus. I agree with you about the customer service. I'm glad they worked so diligently to resolve your issues.
 
We have rented a studio, standard view for a week in January in Jambo. Does anyone have suggestions for a room to request that has a decent view? Thanks. I had a hard time searching through 200 pages of information.
 
We have rented a studio, standard view for a week in January in Jambo. Does anyone have suggestions for a room to request that has a decent view? Thanks. I had a hard time searching through 200 pages of information.
You will be on the 5th floor on Zebra or Kudu trail or in one of the villas in the short walkways above the lobby. If you want to be close to the QS restaurant, Mara, and the pool, then pool view would put you on that side of Jambo. If you don’t mind a bit of a walk and want a partial savanna view, then Kudu trail villa is a good choice. Neither of those options show up in online check in - so call to have them noted on your reservation. If you’re renting points ask the DVC owner to note your request. Some have reported success w/ faxing requests.
The good news is that Jambo DVC standard views are pretty decent, the worst IMO being the rooftop/pool views which aren’t too bad. You won’t have a parking lot/street view (only a few value villas at Jambo risk that.)
 
Seeing @shells4 post, I thought I'd ask as well:

We have two rooms: 1 bedroom villa and a standard room, both in Jambo House. We're not necessarily concerned about being super close to each other, but would like rooms close to Mara as we plan on getting the kids some breakfast before heading to the parks each morning.
Of course we'd love to find a room that isn't necessarily Savannah view but has something besides cars outside.

If we don't get a partial view, we're fine with that too. We plan on taking 1 - 2 rest days so we'll be able to take in the sights and sounds of the resort.
 
Thinking of going to AKL August 2019.

I have heard that the rooms have motion sensor activated thermostats and when you come back to the room after a long hot day in the park your room will be hot and also while sleeping the A/C goes off.

I don't want to spend all that money to wake up nightly covered in sweat.

Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks

Bill
 
Thinking of going to AKL August 2019.

I have heard that the rooms have motion sensor activated thermostats and when you come back to the room after a long hot day in the park your room will be hot and also while sleeping the A/C goes off.

I don't want to spend all that money to wake up nightly covered in sweat.

Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks

Bill

How to override this:

Soft Bypass® To cancel Soft Bypass mode, press the Power and Fan buttons at the same time. At times it may be necessary to bypass the energy management features of the SensorStat. Typically this is done when a guest complains that the room temperature is not kept at the set point when not in the room. To bypass the unit, press the Power and Cooler buttons at the same time. The display will show ‘BP’ which means bypass. The SensorStat will act as a thermostat only for 48 hours. To cancel Soft Bypass mode, press the Power and Fan buttons at the same time. The display will show ‘CA’. The SensorStat will automatically cancel soft bypass mode after 48 hours.
 
Is this for the newest thermostats? I have read that the latest thermostats were locked.

As long as there is a workaround available I'm good.

Bill
 
You will be on the 5th floor on Zebra or Kudu trail or in one of the villas in the short walkways above the lobby. If you want to be close to the QS restaurant, Mara, and the pool, then pool view would put you on that side of Jambo. If you don’t mind a bit of a walk and want a partial savanna view, then Kudu trail villa is a good choice. Neither of those options show up in online check in - so call to have them noted on your reservation. If you’re renting points ask the DVC owner to note your request. Some have reported success w/ faxing requests.
The good news is that Jambo DVC standard views are pretty decent, the worst IMO being the rooftop/pool views which aren’t too bad. You won’t have a parking lot/street view (only a few value villas at Jambo risk that.)
Thank you!!
 
Thank you everybody. I have very limited time in Epcot that day so i was trying to maximize it but looks like ill have to carve out a few minutes to upgrade and pick it up.
I am not sure when you arrive, but you might be able to go to guest services at AK the night you get in. That is what we are doing since we have to show our passports for our Canadian tickets.
 
I am not sure when you arrive, but you might be able to go to guest services at AK the night you get in. That is what we are doing since we have to show our passports for our Canadian tickets.

I land at 10am and was planning on being at Epcot by 1PM if I can. So basically, I have from 1 till about 9 because i want to get over to Trader Sams for a drink then Disney springs for more drinks and dinner.
 

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