Mini Review of AKV

[Pig Pen]

This is a bit late, but we stayed at AKV from 11/4-11/9. We were in a standard studio for 4 nights, then a one-bedroom for 1 night (due to lack of availability of studios).

We were in #5412, standard view. Just a few doors down the hallway from the lobby area. The furnishings and condition of the room were great as it is new. We had the infamous roof view but could see a lot of the pool area and really didn't mind it. I have pics posted on another thread.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1651379

There were three of us (DH, me, and DD27). We found the studio to be too small for three. No closet, just a wardrobe that was already packed full (vacuum, ironing board, bedding, playpen). There was a set of drawers under the TV (big flat screen...nice) but not enough storage for all our stuff and no place to store the suitcases (smaller suitcases could slide under the bed, but ours didn't quite fit). Once the couch was pulled out, we couldn't move at all! This unit would be fine for two people though.

Lighting was dim, especially in the foyer area.

Buses ran efficiently. No complaints about anything else. No construction noise...in fact we had a hard time finding a spot to view the construction site!We saw lots of animals near the pool viewing area.

The one bedroom was more spacious with a bit more closet space but cannot compare with the one bedrooms at BWV or VWL. I am sure the units in the new building will have a better layout. I now understand why the AKV units are less points.

 

[WolfpackFan]

We are staying in a AKV studio right now. I was also surprised at how little storage there is. Other than that the unit is fine. We have a great view of the savannah. In fact I'm sitting out on our balcony right now watching a zebra. The only other thing to comment about so far are the bus's. I had forgot how far away we are from everything. We have had some long bus rides.

 

[DVC Jen]

Yuck! There will be four of us in one of those studios for 8 nights. Will the studios on the new building have more storage? I certainly hope so.

Oh well - we are very cozy at home as well so I guess if we are going to be cozy doing so at WDW is the way to go.

 

[alldiz]

Glad you had a great trip....

Would you say the biggest difference in accomodations is storage space?
Thanks
kerri

 

[Pig Pen]

We love the AKL and our ONLY true complaint about the DVC studio was the storage. For two people it would be fine, or if you were able to stow suitcases under the bed (it's pretty high up off the floor). We probably could have stuck some of the extra bedding, etc., under the bed I guess.

We had alot of stuff with us as we were on a 15 day trip that included non-Disney stuff.

I am sure that the new building will have a better layout. They did the best they could with the space available within Jambo House.

I almost forgot about all the pillows! There were throw pillows EVERYWHERE! When we went to bed we couldn't figure out what to do with them all so we piled them on the table!

The roof view didn't bother us at all - as you only really noticed it if you were looking directly down.

 

[LisaS]

Yuck! There will be four of us in one of those studios for 8 nights. Will the studios on the new building have more storage? I certainly hope so.

The studios in Kidani will be very similar to those in Jambo House. They are essentially the same size (the Kidani studios are 1 sq ft larger) and will have a wardrobe rather than a clothes closet. The biggest difference is that the Kidani studios will have a broom closet to hold the vacuum cleaner, iron and ironing board so those things will not be taking up space in the wardrobe as they do in some of the Jambo House studios. Most (all?) of Jambo House's dedicated studios have a little broom closet and even a few of the lockoff studios in JH do, but most do not.

The one surprising thing is that, at least in the model studio, only half of the wardrobe could be used to hang up clothes. The other side was just a big empty space. It looks like it was designed to provide space for the vacuum cleaner, or maybe you're supposed to stash your luggage in there? I hope that when they build Kidani, they will fit out the other side of that wardrobe with more hanging space or a set of shelves.

Here is a photo of the model studio's wardrobe:

 

[dianeschlicht]

Are there no drawers??? I usually put most everything in drawers.

 

[LisaS]

Are there no drawers??? I usually put most everything in drawers.

I believe they are using the same dresser in Jambo House that they show in the model studio. It has four small drawers. Below the drawers are two doors. The space behind those doors houses the pack'n'play.

 

[WolfpackFan]

There are four drawers in the dresser plus the doors which hide the pack and play thing. There is also a big drawer under a seat. One side of the wardrobe is for hanging clothes. The other side is open space. Now we do have a regular closet that has a high chair and vacuum. We put all those pillows under the bed. We just got back from Animal Kingdom where we had to wait for a out 30 minutes for a bus.

 

[Pig Pen]

In our wardrobe the side with the hangers also contained the blankets and pillows for the sofabed (stacked on the floor under the hangers in a zippered plastic bag) and the hairdryer was on the shelf (not in the bathroom area). The tall side contained the vacuum cleaner and ironing board with the iron mounted inside. We also stuffed the play pen in there to free up the cabinet under the TV as well as some of the extra throw pillows.

We didn't have a big drawer under a seat (???). Maybe different studios have a different furniture selection. Here are more photos.

The bed with lots of pillows. Beyond the sofa bed is the wall with the safe in it...behind that wall is the kitchenette area. Directly across from the kitchenette is the bath vanity.

Here is a shot from the balcony looking at the wardrobe and tv stands. You can see our suitcases in the corner in front of the lockoff door. One more suitcase is on the coffee table which we pulled into the vanity area. With the sofa bed pulled out, we could barely walk around it. What you cannot see in the photo, closest to the bed, is the table and chairs in the corner next to the sliders.

 

[LisaS]

Here are more photos.

The bed with lots of pillows. Beyond the sofa bed is the wall with the safe in it...behind that wall is the kitchenette area. Directly across from the kitchenette is the bath vanity.

This is very interesting -- the location of the bed and sofa are "swapped" compared with other studios. Usually the bed is near the bathroom and the sofa is next to the sliders. I notice you were in one of the studios that has the connecting door in the living area rather than near the entryway. Perhaps that has something to do with the unusual furniture arrangement. I prefer it the other way around. I would rather have the sofa near the sliders where there is more natural light.

 

[WolfpackFan]

the big drawer is under a green seat against the wall between the wardrobe and the wall safe.

 

[3DisneyKids]

When I toured and added-on in August, I was told that Kidani layouts would be slightly larger that Jambo house. The points will be the same, but they figure it evens out as the smaller rooms are in Jambo house and that will be the preferred location (??) Not sure if others agree with that or not...time will tell.

Also, due to the fact that the rooms in Jambo house have been retro-fitted, they are not all the same shape, size, layout, etc.

In any case, we LOVED AKV and I am just getting ready to book concierge for next year!

 

[Jillpie]

WolfpackFan, can you do me a favor? Can you take a picture of the floor space for possible locations of a twin aerobed? thanks so much.

 

[LindaBabe]

Ho, boy, JillPie, you're going to need to do some serious reaarranging, especially if you intend to use the sofabed as well. I guess you could put the coffee tables on the balcony . . .

 

[Jillpie]

Ho, boy, JillPie, you're going to need to do some serious reaarranging, especially if you intend to use the sofabed as well. I guess you could put the coffee tables on the balcony . . .

ya, you'd be surprised what families do when they have 2 teenage boys that don't necessarily want to sleep in the same bed. KWIM?

 

[magicmommy]

ya, you'd be surprised what families do when they have 2 teenage boys that don't necessarily want to sleep in the same bed. KWIM?

I totally agree! My boys would rather stay awake than sleep in the same bed. We have had one stay in a BCV studio and did use the aerobed. We actually put it at the foot of the sofabed when it was open! Stored it against the wall during the day. It was a tight fit but OK for a few days. We now do a 2BR when we have the boys with us!

 

[Jillpie]

I totally agree! My boys would rather stay awake than sleep in the same bed. We have had one stay in a BCV studio and did use the aerobed. We actually put it at the foot of the sofabed when it was open! Stored it against the wall during the day. It was a tight fit but OK for a few days. We now do a 2BR when we have the boys with us!

yes, we've done that at BCV's too, my concern this time is that the AKV value studios are even smaller that those and we've got to fit that aero bed in there. Thank God we're moving over to BCV's after 3 nights into a one BR, but I cannot wait to experience AKL, we won't be in our room for very long anyway, its never bothered us before. I just want to make sure that there IS room for it.

 

[MEM]

We just came back from 5 nights at AKV, Sunset Savannah view. We moved the pack-n-play from the wardrobe to the space between the wardrobe and the bureau/TV stand. The umpteen throw pillows were stacked between the bed and the wall - DH used a few of them to elevate his disabled leg.

Actually, I have zero complaints about our stay in general and room in particular. Even the sight of construction cranes was no problem. The CMs worked very hard to spread the browse so that we had numerous animals stop by. I even saw for the first time the utterly adorable Red River Hogs.

There always seemed to be a bus waiting at the stop or just pulling up. We were actually sad to move to VWL for the last two nights of our stay. The Christmas decorations at AKL were just as spectacular, I thought, as the ones as WL.

Cannot wait until our AKV Concierge stay in August

 

[LisaS]

We just came back from 5 nights at AKV, Sunset Savannah view.

What was your room number? As far as I can recall, you are the first to report having a view of the Sunset Savanna! I'm just curious which sections of AKV are open now.