drusba
I went to Iowa once, and it was closed.
- Joined
- Aug 19, 1999
- Messages
- 14,853
Made our first trip to AKV, Jan 1-8; had savannah view 2BR with Arusha view, meaning looking over the main savannah inside the U of the U shaped-building. We are long-time BWV owners and added on at AKV:
1. Room sizes at Jambo are comparable to BWV, meaning they are also comparable to all other DVC resorts at WDW except OKW. Living room/kitchen area was somewhat narrower than BWV but longer. Double doors between 1BR and studio are right near the front doors. Porches are good size. Nice decor and all rooms have flat-screen HD TV. Others have reported that the rooms are dark. They are correct. All lighting seems low level and it is difficult to read at night with any light in the place particularly if your eyesight is not that great. However, this all seems in line with the resort itself -- the whole place is dark although pleasantly so. One disappointment: they have internet (ethernet) hook-up only in the bedroom of the 1BR; my preference is the living room and cannot understand why they would not have put it in both.
2. As previously reported, closet space is not that great. These are stand alone closets and not built-ins. Not enough hangars provided but they readily provide more upon request. No real place to store luggage.
3. We were close to the end of the right arm of the U just short of the GV's at the end. Walk to rooms was comparable to BWV. They make it seem shorter here by placing an additional elevator about midway down so you can walk half the way on one floor and then take elevator and walk the other half. Main floor here with the lobby is 3d floor. There are no first floor rooms, pool and restaurants are on first floor level.
4. AKV/AKL really is a place "way out there and isolated on its own" or at least it creates that sense. You see the drawings here on this site showing the outline of the resort and where DVC rooms were being created but those create little sense of what it is really like. The savannas are unique and somewhat open and then everything else is heavily wooded -- from those standard or values that might face the parking lot, you really won't see much of the parking lot but instead mostly a thick wooded and bushy area outside your window.
5. Bus transportation was good and it is nice, unlike BWV, to go directly to a park rather than stopping at multiple resorts. That will 'slow" a bit once the Kidani is done and the busses will make two stops at Jambo and Kidani.
6. There was no construction noise. You can see the cranes for the Kidani but you really cannot hear anything and little was going on at Jambo, which is almost done -- almost all of the rest of Jambo is opening for occupancy end of this week according to a manager at the Jambo.
7. Interesting comment from a bellman: "Since we opened for DVC members we have been busy all the time, unlike before." It was the "unlike before" that made the comment interesting.
8. CM's on site did not know whether Kidani would be done this year.
9. Boma is an excellent buffet restaurant, lots of variety (even five different soups at dinner) and able to please all tastes. Also, don't assume something there is the same as at another buffet -- example, "mediterranean chicken" at others is usually chicken with some tomato and spices and here it was an extremely good chicken with a blue cheese mix. We give Jiko's mixed reviews-- very nice place but food a bit too exotic for us and the wine was greatly overpriced even when considering you are at a place where you expect it to be overpriced.
10. Animals were usually around particularly most mornings. I do not know the names of all of them but obviously all here are non-predators.
11. Weather was a bit unlucky. Jan 2 and 3 were, as the local weathermen repeated often, the two coldest days Orlando has had in five years. Highs in 40s and lows in the mid-20s -- if you want an experience you may have never had before in WDW, ride Test Track or Expedition Everest when the temperature is 30 degrees. Rest of week was fine, warming to 60s on the 4th and the high 70s thereafter. On the morning of the 3d, we saw wildebeasts outside our window just standing there still for the longest time and thought maybe they had frozen in place; if nothing else, they were defintiely having second thoughts about having left Africa. Also on the morning of the 3d, when the temperature was about 30, we saw a family (or group) of 8 in the pool, adults and kids. All I could think was that they came to WDW with a set daily plan and today's plan was to be in the pool and no matter what they were going to follow that plan.
12. As we suspected, park crowds were huge (close to Christmas-size) until Jan 6 when they tapered somewhat and then went down significantly the 7th (Monday).
13. For those wondering about the Four Seasons resort: essentially nothing is going on yet in construction. The Eagle Pines golf course is closed; the Osprey remains open. Info from a golf pro: when done there will be only one course which will combine some of the holes of the Osprey with some of Eagle and some new ones with the intent that you return to the clubhouse at the 9th and the 18th holes (unlike now where it is only the 18th). There will be a new clubhouse area where the Eagle's 17th and 18th holes were and apparently the "old" clubhouse will be removed (it is actually only 17 years old and one of the best there is). And, most important, Disney will still own and control the course. He did not know but that could mean the DVC discount will remain for play.
1. Room sizes at Jambo are comparable to BWV, meaning they are also comparable to all other DVC resorts at WDW except OKW. Living room/kitchen area was somewhat narrower than BWV but longer. Double doors between 1BR and studio are right near the front doors. Porches are good size. Nice decor and all rooms have flat-screen HD TV. Others have reported that the rooms are dark. They are correct. All lighting seems low level and it is difficult to read at night with any light in the place particularly if your eyesight is not that great. However, this all seems in line with the resort itself -- the whole place is dark although pleasantly so. One disappointment: they have internet (ethernet) hook-up only in the bedroom of the 1BR; my preference is the living room and cannot understand why they would not have put it in both.
2. As previously reported, closet space is not that great. These are stand alone closets and not built-ins. Not enough hangars provided but they readily provide more upon request. No real place to store luggage.
3. We were close to the end of the right arm of the U just short of the GV's at the end. Walk to rooms was comparable to BWV. They make it seem shorter here by placing an additional elevator about midway down so you can walk half the way on one floor and then take elevator and walk the other half. Main floor here with the lobby is 3d floor. There are no first floor rooms, pool and restaurants are on first floor level.
4. AKV/AKL really is a place "way out there and isolated on its own" or at least it creates that sense. You see the drawings here on this site showing the outline of the resort and where DVC rooms were being created but those create little sense of what it is really like. The savannas are unique and somewhat open and then everything else is heavily wooded -- from those standard or values that might face the parking lot, you really won't see much of the parking lot but instead mostly a thick wooded and bushy area outside your window.
5. Bus transportation was good and it is nice, unlike BWV, to go directly to a park rather than stopping at multiple resorts. That will 'slow" a bit once the Kidani is done and the busses will make two stops at Jambo and Kidani.
6. There was no construction noise. You can see the cranes for the Kidani but you really cannot hear anything and little was going on at Jambo, which is almost done -- almost all of the rest of Jambo is opening for occupancy end of this week according to a manager at the Jambo.
7. Interesting comment from a bellman: "Since we opened for DVC members we have been busy all the time, unlike before." It was the "unlike before" that made the comment interesting.
8. CM's on site did not know whether Kidani would be done this year.
9. Boma is an excellent buffet restaurant, lots of variety (even five different soups at dinner) and able to please all tastes. Also, don't assume something there is the same as at another buffet -- example, "mediterranean chicken" at others is usually chicken with some tomato and spices and here it was an extremely good chicken with a blue cheese mix. We give Jiko's mixed reviews-- very nice place but food a bit too exotic for us and the wine was greatly overpriced even when considering you are at a place where you expect it to be overpriced.
10. Animals were usually around particularly most mornings. I do not know the names of all of them but obviously all here are non-predators.
11. Weather was a bit unlucky. Jan 2 and 3 were, as the local weathermen repeated often, the two coldest days Orlando has had in five years. Highs in 40s and lows in the mid-20s -- if you want an experience you may have never had before in WDW, ride Test Track or Expedition Everest when the temperature is 30 degrees. Rest of week was fine, warming to 60s on the 4th and the high 70s thereafter. On the morning of the 3d, we saw wildebeasts outside our window just standing there still for the longest time and thought maybe they had frozen in place; if nothing else, they were defintiely having second thoughts about having left Africa. Also on the morning of the 3d, when the temperature was about 30, we saw a family (or group) of 8 in the pool, adults and kids. All I could think was that they came to WDW with a set daily plan and today's plan was to be in the pool and no matter what they were going to follow that plan.
12. As we suspected, park crowds were huge (close to Christmas-size) until Jan 6 when they tapered somewhat and then went down significantly the 7th (Monday).
13. For those wondering about the Four Seasons resort: essentially nothing is going on yet in construction. The Eagle Pines golf course is closed; the Osprey remains open. Info from a golf pro: when done there will be only one course which will combine some of the holes of the Osprey with some of Eagle and some new ones with the intent that you return to the clubhouse at the 9th and the 18th holes (unlike now where it is only the 18th). There will be a new clubhouse area where the Eagle's 17th and 18th holes were and apparently the "old" clubhouse will be removed (it is actually only 17 years old and one of the best there is). And, most important, Disney will still own and control the course. He did not know but that could mean the DVC discount will remain for play.
It sounds lovely!
thanks for sharing.
Have to be able to read in bed.
That's pretty funny 'cuz we're going down next weekend & will only have 3 full days - so it will be a "squeeze" for some pool time & by golly that weather had better cooperate on the day I have it "scheduled"!
