Question about AKV + Any Tips or Suggestions?

[disney_mommy]

I will be in the half marathon in January and am also making it a solo vacation for myself. I have chosen a studio in Jambo House, AKV, now I just have a few questions.

I know Jambo House is the main AKL building, but where are the actual DVC rooms? Are they on a separate wing, or a separate floor, or just spread throughout the lodge? Any place I should request?

I have stayed at AKL before and loved it, so I am familiar with the basics. This is the first time I have rented points, and stayed DVC (thanks Johnny Quest!!) though, so any pointers or suggestions would be most welcome.

 

[dianeschlicht]

AKV includes two seperate buildings...the main lodge (Jambo house) and the new DVC only lodge (Kidani village).

At Jambo House, the DVC rooms are on the entire 5th floor and the concierge rooms are on the 6th floor near the concierge lounge. Both Jambo and Kidani have savanna view rooms and standard view rooms. At Jambo, the standard view is pool view, and at Kidani it can be pool or parking lot view. Jambo also has some "value view" rooms that are small. There are NO concierge rooms at Kidani.

The rooms at Jambo are definitely smaller than the ones at Kidani. The reason is that they had to take the footprint of the old hotel rooms and convert them to DVC units. That is why there is an extra bathroom in the Kidani 1 and 2 bedroom units that is missing in the Jambo ones.

 

[LisaS]

Since you have stayed at AKL before, you will feel right at home in a Jambo House studio. The only difference you will notice in the layout of the room is that they converted the closet space into a kitchenette with a small sink, a microwave, toaster and a small under-counter refrigerator. There will be two glasses and two coffee mugs. Everything else is paper or plastic: you get four paper plates and four paper bowls and some plastic knives, forks and spoons. The furnishings are a bit different: there is a free standing wardrobe for your clothes and the large TV armoire/dresser has been replaced with a smaller dresser with a flat screen TV above it.

As Diane said, your room will be somewhere on the 5th floor.

 

[hakepb]

Jambo is somewhat shaped like the bottom of a letter U. To the right there is the Uzima Savannah (and below it, the pool) In the center is the Arusha Savannah (It used to be the largest, I'm not sure if the new Sunset is similiar), and to the left is the Sunset Savannah.
The Sunset savannah now overlooks Kidani, and of course is best for watching animals while the sun is setting over Kidani (that savannah's feeding time). Uzima may have sunrises and some have mentioned, the possibility of seeing distant tops of MK fireworks, and I think Expedition Everest..
I think Arusha is most likely to have animals at more times of the day.
Aside from Savannah suggestions, you could request close to the pool or close to lobby (though I doubt walking is a problem for you). Close to an elevator works, but there are several elevator banks through Jambo.

 

[disney_mommy]

Thanks for the info., everyone. I have stayed at AKL before, so I familiar with it. I remember having to walk forever to get from the elevator to our room, so I know this time to request a room near elevators.

I'm excited about the automatic high-floor room.

LisaS, when you say paper, do you mean the thin paper plates you can buy at grocery stores? So I will definitely need to bring some more of my own, right? I do plan on saving money by making simple meals in the room.

hakepb, thank you for all the info. about views and savannahs. Sounds like you've really done some studying! I can tell you right now I won't be enjoying any sunrises (I would be walking around looking like if I got up that early) so I don't need to worry about getting Uzima.

But am I correct in thinking that the standard only gets pool views? So I won't be seeing any savannahs?

Also, is there a map that can show all of this in detail, so I can familiarize myself with the views and savannah names, as well as the location of the standard rooms, etc.?

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[LisaS]

LisaS, when you say paper, do you mean the thin paper plates you can buy at grocery stores? So I will definitely need to bring some more of my own, right? I do plan on saving money by making simple meals in the room.

They are not the super thin ones. If you're using the plates to hold an English muffin, you could dump the crumbs and reuse the plate a few times. Some have reported being able to use the paper bowls more than once even for cereal. What we do is pack some of those plastic disposable plates and bowls so that we can wash them and reuse them all week.

But am I correct in thinking that the standard only gets pool views? So I won't be seeing any savannahs?

In Jambo House the Standard View rooms face the pool area. You might be able to see a little corner of the Uzima Savanna from your room but then again your view might be totally obscured by trees!

Also, is there a map that can show all of this in detail, so I can familiarize myself with the views and savannah names, as well as the location of the standard rooms, etc.?

Here is a wonderful map showing the Jambo House AKV rooms. The rooms along the Giraffe and Ostrich trails at the front of the building are Value rooms. The rooms facing the pool (except those on the Giraffe Trail) are Standard View. Everything else is Savanna View. The Concierge rooms are not shown on this map. They are on the 6th floor and run along either side of the lobby above rooms 5202-5209 and 5401-5406.

http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-akv/floor5.php

 

[disney_mommy]

Thanks, LisaS! Excellent chart and website. That is exactly what I was looking for!

That's a great idea to bring the plastic "disposable" dishes. They are easy to wash and reuse.

You're just full of useful information, aren't you?

 

[hakepb]

But am I correct in thinking that the standard only gets pool views? So I won't be seeing any savannahs?

doh! forgot that when I mentioned the savannah's (it's the sort of thing you can repeatedly read, but never makes sense until you apply that knowledge there). As you can see from the map, I believe all standard view is relatively close to lobby (and on the same side as the free DVC laundry room -- there's a recent thread about the new Purex all-in-one detergent/softener sheets that would be easy to travel--, 5th floor right off the lobby) In fact, a Savannah view room can be much farther than standard...

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm excited about the automatic high-floor room.

I know what you mean about the automatic high-floor room. This is one BIG reason why, on a solo trip, I always book Jambo house instead of Kidani-knowing that I'll definitely get a high floor.