The All-New "unofficial" AKL/AKV's Jambo & Kidani FAQ thread.....

[jess20k]

Sorry, I posted on wrong thread.

 

[lauradenise4779]

Here's a link to LisaS's map which will show you where the Savanna View studios are located.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25724805&postcount=483

You will be on the 5th floor - that is for certain. When you look at the map you will see the majority of rooms are Savanna View. You might want to ask the DVC owners you're renting from to add a request such as "Zebra Trail" to your reservation.

Thanks RachelTori!

 

[fatdaddy68]

If you are staying in the grand villa can you use the concierge lounge? I am staying there Sept. 14th thru the 20th so I am excited and curious, thanks

 

[Donald is #1]

If you are staying in the grand villa can you use the concierge lounge? I am staying there Sept. 14th thru the 20th so I am excited and curious, thanks

I don't believe so. My understanding is that only the 10 DVC rooms on the 6th floor can use the lounge.

 

[sissybells]

I have a question about the luggage carts. We will have valuables in our luggage and just had a few questions. Can we pull up and ask if we can just use a luggage cart without any help to take our stuff to our room? Or is you let them handle your luggage and your room isn't ready where do they put your stuff? Can you ask to lock up your valuables? Do they bring it to your room when your room is ready? Also how many people do you have to tip? We have been before and it seemed like there were 3 different people handling our bags before we even got inside, do you tip all of them or just a main one? Thank you for any help you can give me.

 

[Donald is #1]

I contacted AKL this past weekend to find out what options that there are to have a surprise delivered to my room in order to surprise the rest of the people traveling with me. In case anyone is interested, here is the list that they sent me:


Cookies and Milk: $29.50
Fresh baked Chocolate Chip Cookies with a carafe of milk.

Honeymoon: $49.80
A cold bottle of house champagne served with zebra striped strawberries.

Indaba: $49.80
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Chocolate logo with brownies and chocolate animals.

Karibuni: $80.93
Fresh and dried fruit with deluxe cheese and crackers.

Kwa Heri: $61.01
One dozen of our assorted truffles in a customized Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge box.

Jambo: $31.13
A fruit basket with an African flare. Apples, oranges, bananas, mango, kiwi, and a bunch of grapes.

Apparently you order these through in-room dining. So, I will probably order something a couple of days before my trip to have delivered the first night.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

I contacted AKL this past weekend to find out what options that there are to have a surprise delivered to my room in order to surprise the rest of the people traveling with me. In case anyone is interested, here is the list that they sent me:


Cookies and Milk: $29.50
Fresh baked Chocolate Chip Cookies with a carafe of milk.

Honeymoon: $49.80
A cold bottle of house champagne served with zebra striped strawberries.

Indaba: $49.80
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Chocolate logo with brownies and chocolate animals.

Karibuni: $80.93
Fresh and dried fruit with deluxe cheese and crackers.

Kwa Heri: $61.01
One dozen of our assorted truffles in a customized Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge box.

Jambo: $31.13
A fruit basket with an African flare. Apples, oranges, bananas, mango, kiwi, and a bunch of grapes.

Apparently you order these through in-room dining. So, I will probably order something a couple of days before my trip to have delivered the first night.

GREAT Info! Thanks for letting us know. I ordered a cake for my son's 17th birthday. Not that a Disney birthday isn't enough right? lol They sure make it easy to feel spoiled!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

If you are staying in the grand villa can you use the concierge lounge? I am staying there Sept. 14th thru the 20th so I am excited and curious, thanks

How exciting!!! Come back and tell us about it ok?

 

[Donald is #1]

GREAT Info! Thanks for letting us know. I ordered a cake for my son's 17th birthday. Not that a Disney birthday isn't enough right? lol They sure make it easy to feel spoiled!

If you need the phone number to order something from the list, just PM me and I will reply with the number.

 

[pperfectmom]

I have a few questions about the Club Level rooms. We may do a split stay and just check in for 3 nights at AKL and I hope to get CL. Are there different types of CL rooms? I know in the first post it now says all have Arusha Savannah views and are on the 4th floor. Are they all the queen/queen type or do some have the bunkbeds? If so, is there an additional cost or is it just a request you add to your ressie? Also, would we look like the Beverly Hillbillies carrying food & drinks from the lounge if we wanted snacks in our room at some point? Do they keep the lounge well stocked(especially the alcohol portion) during the day? And one more question, if we are on a low budget after spurging on the room, which should we choose to celebrate our wedding anniversary, Jiko dinner and leave kids at Simba's Clubhouse or the Sunrise Safari for all 4 of us? If anyone can answer any/all of these I would be most thankful.

 

[ang38]

We just stayed in a room with bunkbeds..didn't request it either, In fact I thought it was odd since it was just the 2 of us. You can request it. Don't think since it's CL that you'll be charged for it..
Tell them it is your anniversary, you may get a nice surprise like we did. The food is well stocked for the most part. The beer, when not out can be asked for as can wine. The cordials come out at night or around 4 or so. The only time I saw them run out of food was the evening portions. If you didn't get there w/i 30 minutes I noticed that once they ran out, they ran out. Same thing with the nighttime deserts. This was the only CL that I noticed this. It's almost like they only had so much of each thing to put out and once it was gone, it was gone!
Look like hillbillies? NO. Though it is a long walk back to your room. We would take soda or chocolate milk or beer and some deserts back to eat later. As for the food, we ate when we got there and like I said, too far to carry food back to the room.
Now celebration...that all depends on what you want...do you want a quiet dinner for 2 or do you want to share it all together? You can also feed the kids in the lounge then do an in room dining for 2 . Just a thought....

I have a few questions about the Club Level rooms. We may do a split stay and just check in for 3 nights at AKL and I hope to get CL. Are there different types of CL rooms? I know in the first post it now says all have Arusha Savannah views and are on the 4th floor. Are they all the queen/queen type or do some have the bunkbeds? If so, is there an additional cost or is it just a request you add to your ressie? Also, would we look like the Beverly Hillbillies carrying food & drinks from the lounge if we wanted snacks in our room at some point? Do they keep the lounge well stocked(especially the alcohol portion) during the day? And one more question, if we are on a low budget after spurging on the room, which should we choose to celebrate our wedding anniversary, Jiko dinner and leave kids at Simba's Clubhouse or the Sunrise Safari for all 4 of us? If anyone can answer any/all of these I would be most thankful.

 

[Rhonda922]

So I booked AKL for next month. I didn't think about the Savannah-view rooms until after I got off the phone with the Disney TA. I don't know how much the Savannah-view rooms cost per night but is it worth it to call back and request one? I have to admit that I'm already cringing at the price of everything as it is with airfare, hotel, park tickets, etc. I just can't stop thinking about how much my DH would enjoy seeing the animals from our room.

 

[ang38]

It depends on what you can afford~ I personally think a savanah room is worth it or even a pool side room. There are plenty of places to see animals from the resort though for free. If you do go with the view then I would request Zebra trail, Arusha Savanah, Arusha rock for the best rooms!

So I booked AKL for next month. I didn't think about the Savannah-view rooms until after I got off the phone with the Disney TA. I don't know how much the Savannah-view rooms cost per night but is it worth it to call back and request one? I have to admit that I'm already cringing at the price of everything as it is with airfare, hotel, park tickets, etc. I just can't stop thinking about how much my DH would enjoy seeing the animals from our room.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Just added another day to our trip next week------ DH is being so special since this will be our last vacation for awhile, and last trip to Disney for quite while. Cannot wait to get there - we sat down this morning & decided what to do which days right there at AKL since so many of you have pointed out that there's so much to do & see right at the lodge.

Thanks so much for all the pointers........................

 

[eeyoresnr]

Just added another day to our trip next week------ DH is being so special since this will be our last vacation for awhile, and last trip to Disney for quite while. Cannot wait to get there - we sat down this morning & decided what to do which days right there at AKL since so many of you have pointed out that there's so much to do & see right at the lodge.

Thanks so much for all the pointers........................

have a great trip and take lots of pics
and Happy Anniversary!!!

 

[pperfectmom]

Thanks ang38 for the quick answers. I think I will request a bunkbed room and see what I get. My DD is always asking "Can we stay in a room with the up and down beds?" I think I am going to keep the AKL part of the trip a surprise for the kids and DH if I can find a way. We may just be able to stay 2 nights after a week at Pop, but I think it will be worth it. I think I will go with the Sunrise Safari and take the kids. We can eat at Jiko on any trip but can only do the Safari when staying CL. I can't wait!!!!

 

[sissybells]

Do you have to walk through the lobby if you are in a Dedicated value studio on the giraffe or Ostrich trail to get to the laundry room on the 5th floor Zebra trail or is there a way to get to it another way? I hope that makes sense.

 

[RachelTori]

Do you have to walk through the lobby if you are in a Dedicated value studio on the giraffe or Ostrich trail to get to the laundry room on the 5th floor Zebra trail or is there a way to get to it another way? I hope that makes sense.

You walk along the hallway that opens to the lobby - but you're 2 stories above it. So I'd say you walk "above" the lobby, not through it!

 

[ang38]

2 nights is good. Get there early. When you make the reservation, let the IPO staff know that you are transferring from another hotel.We did that 4 times in May and every time our room was ready before 10 am. They told us that they try to get the rooms for transferring guests done first so you wouldn't be homeless!
You can spend one of those days exploring the resort. We spent around 3 hours walking the floors and going out the fire doors to the back stairs and seeing the animals. Never knew you could do that! We saw more animals than ever before. There are a lot of separate cages out back that you won't see from the various rooms but can see from the stairs. It was great! Book that safari as soon as you know you're going to stay CL as it books up fast! You will love your stay!! Oh and make sure you make use of the lounge..it's one of the best on property.....

Thanks ang38 for the quick answers. I think I will request a bunkbed room and see what I get. My DD is always asking "Can we stay in a room with the up and down beds?" I think I am going to keep the AKL part of the trip a surprise for the kids and DH if I can find a way. We may just be able to stay 2 nights after a week at Pop, but I think it will be worth it. I think I will go with the Sunrise Safari and take the kids. We can eat at Jiko on any trip but can only do the Safari when staying CL. I can't wait!!!!

 

[buzz1fan]

It is nice to read a post that is all for a split stay, we plan on staying at CBR for 4 nights, than AKL for 3.