Refurbishment Timeline Announced for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas!

[TheThousandthSoul]

What room type? The reburb could be done for most of the rooms at Kidani by then, but it's almost certain very little will be happening yet at Jambo. The refurbished rooms at Kidani would likely mean a Murphy Bed instead of a pullout sofa - which is a huge upgrade for people needing to sleep on it! But in the 1 and 2BR at Kidani units, we always prefer the extra bathroom at Kidani!

Deluxe Studios. We will need to use the secondary bed, and I'm concerned about the pullout sofa.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Deluxe Studios. We will need to use the secondary bed, and I'm concerned about the pullout sofa.

It's possible the Murphy Beds would be in place in most of the Kidani studios by then. Jambo will still be sofa beds based on the current schedule. Hopefully, they get started on time in the next several weeks.

 

[sndral]

Deluxe Studios. We will need to use the secondary bed, and I'm concerned about the pullout sofa.

I am one of Jambo’s biggest fans, but those sofa beds are brutal, they are so bad that several years ago I added on more points to enable booking 2 br.s in order to avoid having to sleep on the sofa bed . Thus, in your case I’d reluctantly lean towards Kidani - but there are so many unknowns - will they be done w/ Kidani by then & if not, do you risk settling for Kidani & ending up w/ a sofa bed anyway?

 

[TheThousandthSoul]

I am one of Jambo’s biggest fans, but those sofa beds are brutal, they are so bad that several years ago I added on more points to enable booking 2 br.s in order to avoid having to sleep on the sofa bed . Thus, in your case I’d reluctantly lean towards Kidani - but there are so many unknowns - will they be done w/ Kidani by then & if not, do you risk settling for Kidani & ending up w/ a sofa bed anyway?

.... which is exactly my concern .

 

[muppets3d]

You can either be at the resort you prefer and know ahead of time you're going to have to deal with a sofa bed, or book Kidani and hope you get a refurbished room. Me, I like Kidani fine so I'd roll the dice. It's up to you how important the murphy bed is to you and how much you prefer Jambo over Kidani.

 

[BigOnDis]

I don’t care how long they take at this point - AKV Jambo’s last refurb (soft goods) was in 2016, so starting in 2026 is well beyond the ‘usual’ 7 year timeline, as a result they’ve had an extra 3 years worth of time to build up the refurb fund from our MFs, so they have no excuse to cheap out.
I wonder if Jambo is going to require more extensive plumbing related changes - if they intend to take out the spa tubs (which I’d personally hate to see go) maybe they’ll need to do more plumbing & create a walk in shower + normal tub in the Jambo 1 br.s?
Having the huge spa tub that you have to climb into whenever you want to take a shower makes the Jambo 1 br.s an unattractive option for some, I’m ok w/ it because I’m mobile enough to step up & over into the huge tub & I’m willing to clamber into it for showers because I like throwing a bath bomb from basin into it for a jetted spa soak. If it were just a ‘soaker’ tub w/ no jets I’d not use the tub part & I’d be irritated at the gymnastics needed just to take a shower.

I am interested if the do anything to change the shower situation in the Jambo rooms as well. As someone who is not mobile enough to climb into that tub for a shower, I would appreciate a separate shower. If this doesn't happen, I guess we will have to go to Kidani for our 2 bedroom, but we prefer Jambo, mostly for sentimental reasons.

 

[CarolynFH]

I am interested if the do anything to change the shower situation in the Jambo rooms as well. As someone who is not mobile enough to climb into that tub for a shower, I would appreciate a separate shower. If this doesn't happen, I guess we will have to go to Kidani for our 2 bedroom, but we prefer Jambo, mostly for sentimental reasons.

Unfortunately, I doubt they’ll do the kind of extensive structural changes that would require. I won’t book Jambo because of that bathroom situation.

 

[Jonnnyap]

Just promise me we get to keep the chair-bed in 1+ bedrooms. It’s so much better than the under-the-tv thing. Not expecting it, since other refurbs point to no chair-bed, but I can hope, right?!?

 

[zackiedawg]

Biggest dislike for me with the under TV beds is the loss of drawers for the living room guest. After upgrading to the murphys, it made that a great option for 2nd or 3rd adults to have comfortable sleeping, but they only get some shelves to put away clothes and such. I'd take a sleep chair and retain a drawer anyday!

 

[BigOnDis]

Unfortunately, I doubt they’ll do the kind of extensive structural changes that would require. I won’t book Jambo because of that bathroom situation.

I might have to save up my points and do a Grand Villa then. I will say the last time we did that, while the room was very nice, I thought the amount of animals down at the end of the building to be lacking. First world problems right?

 

[toesmom]

Yay murphy beds!

They are more comfortable than regular beds

 

[TheThousandthSoul]

So... I just booked a Savannah View at Kidani for April 19 to April 24 2026 ... crossing my fingers it will be refurbished.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

They are more comfortable than regular beds

Absolutely agree the Murphy Beds are way more comfortable than the pullouts. But.... the sofa portion of the Murphy is like sitting on a concrete bench! The original sofas are better! But I'll take the Murphy Beds any day!!

 

[sndral]

The AKV pull out beds were especially uncomfortable IMO & it wasn’t just the fact that they had gotten to be really old - I first slept on one of the AKV sofa pullouts years ago when they were fairly new & could feel the bar even then, whereas I slept on the sofa pull out at the VGF a few times & they were far more comfortable & I never felt the bar even right before they were replaced.