Well, unexpectedly, we will be staying at AKL this August! I say unexpectedly b/c we were looking to try CSR (it was full) and the only other option was a pirate room at CBR. We weren't that interested and when I figured out that with the military discount it was only about $30 less than a standard at AKL, I went ahead and booked AKL. We are very excited. We stayed there about 7 1/2 years ago and loved it, but that was without kids. So I have several questions. I've been pouring through the threads, but haven't seen answers to everything.
-Is the culinary tour something it would be appropriate to take a 7 1/2 year old on? Or is it adult only?
When I did the culinary tour 2 weeks ago a brother and sister were doing it with their mom. I didn't ask their ages but I'm guessing about 11 and 12. The girl enjoyed it all. The boy is a picky eater and only perked up when offered a Zebra Dome. I'm not sure if all guides would offer this "adult" dessert to a 7 year old
The boy left the group when we entered Jiko. I guess it all depends on your child. There are so many other activities that I'm sure he'll like there.
-When do they typically do the story hour? After sunset? I'm trying to figure out a good time for Boma reservations so we don't miss the story time. Also, isn't there a time when they do a dance through the lobby with drums etc? (we happened upon it a few years ago when we were there for dinner)
In February the following were some of the activities and times:
9:15 am - Flamingo Activity - Jambo House - Flamingo Pond. Learn about the feeding strategies of pelicans and flamingos.
10:30 am to 12:30 pm - Animal Tracking - Jambo House - Arusha Rock Overlook
12:30 pm - Medallion Rubbing - Jambo House Lobby - Leave your "impression" and show off your artwork.
1:00 pm Cookie Decorating - Boma - Flavors of Africa
1:00 pm - Animal Enrichment (Mon, Wed, Fri) Jambo House - Asante Lobby Terrace. Help Animal Experts as they prepare and present interactive objects to the animals on the Savanna. (Sun, Tues, Thurs this is done at Kidani Village.)
2:00 pm - African Face Painting - The Mara Dining Room
African Folktales - 6:30 pm - Jambo House-Arusha Savanna Overlook Area
7:30 pm Cultural Safari - Jambo House - Sunset Lounge. Meet a Cultural Representative for a virtual tour of their homeland.
7:45 pm - Drum Cafe - Kidani Village - Palace Library. Learn to play African drums from a Cultural Representative.
8:15 pm - Join the "Primal Parade" - Zwadi Marketplace (Adjacent to Jambo House)
Sundown to 9:30 pm - Night Vision Animal Viewing - Jambo House - Uzima Overlook. I'm sure that in August this will go later into the evening.
-How much of a trek is it from Jambo house over to Kidani to go to the pool? Is it worth the trip? (I see from the pictures they have a water play area) Would you *have* to take the bus?
-We have never stayed in a standard room there and I realize that it could be a view of the parking lot. Is there anything I can say that will make it less likely to be a view of a loading dock or something? Is asking for "close to the lobby" a bad thing?
I've heard some reports of liking a room close to the lobby and others that complained of hearing too much noise from deliveries by Bell Services.
We are chilling out before our eastern Caribbean cruise
, and will be hanging out at the resort rather than going to the parks. So any suggestions for things we can do at the resort are appreciated.
There are so many places where you have excellent opportunities to view the animals on the savannas. Animals are taken off of the savannas each day for feeding, cleaning, check-ups etc. But only one savanna is done at a time.I'm not sure of others experience but I've always seen the greatest number of animals on Arusha in the middle of the day. When we had a savanna view room on Zebra Trail in Dec. 2010 we saw plenty of animals before 9 am and again beginning about 11 am. On this last trip we were just in a pool view room but I took lots of great animal photos from the overlook area. .
Thanks for your help! Getting really excited about the trip already!
I'm fine.
I remember watching the Monkees when I was little and I swear it was one of my first albums. So glad I got to see him at Epcot a few years ago.
Hope to see you around here a little bit more - 
hahaha 
