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

[s&k'smom]

I am wondering if you are booked for a deluxe they would put you in one of them, HOPEFULLY!!!???

 

[mmmears]

Do you mean a deluxe room at AKL? Because you cant book them anymore since they are all DVC. I think you'd have to book at AKLV to get one of those rooms...

Or did I misunderstand what you were saying?

 

[JanineandMike]

any updates on the construction? we'll be staying in AKL in december and i'm curious if the construction is still an issue. thanks.

 

[TheresaNY]

We stayed 4th floor CL in July and LOVED it. Will we not enjoy as much our "standard room" in November ? Any chance of getting a bunk bed ? We are suppose to (hopefully) be adjoining my parents in their handicapped "standard" room. Any chance of seeing any animals from our balconies ?? Where are all the seated viewing areas around the resort? We also never got to try the night vision goggles ...any details on where they are and when we may try it would be appreciated !

 

[AndyBlizz]

I know AKL is not an old resort but just wandering if any refurbishment had ever been done on the rooms. I read that the top floors recently received refurb when they were converted to DVC. Just curious.

When i stayed at AKL during October. There were refrubing floor 3 of the Zebra Trail. As i was staying in a room right underneath. As when we complained as our TA had not informed us of the work at AKL. (they had done about the seperate AKV building) we were told by management that it refrub work would continue for another 8 months. As most rooms were being done.

There were also painting the outside of most of the rooms with a pool view. and the viewing areas on the Zebra trail. They were using bright orange high reach cranes.


Regards

Andy

 

[Flossbolna]

We stayed 4th floor CL in July and LOVED it. Will we not enjoy as much our "standard room" in November ? Any chance of getting a bunk bed ? We are suppose to (hopefully) be adjoining my parents in their handicapped "standard" room. Any chance of seeing any animals from our balconies ?? Where are all the seated viewing areas around the resort? We also never got to try the night vision goggles ...any details on where they are and when we may try it would be appreciated !

In my opinion any room at AKL is great as you get to enjoy the beautiful resort. Also, keep in mind, if the room you are asigned at check in is in a location you don't like, it is always possible to politely ask whether a different standard view room is available.

You might be able to see animals as there are some standard view rooms looking out over the savanna - generally those which are really bad savanna views. But don't count on it. Buth then there are several possibilites to see animals: The Arusha rock outlook (straight outside from the lobby), the Uzima overlook (behind the pool on the left side coming from the lobby, this is also where the night vision goggles are in the evenings), the Sunset Room balcony (the Sunset Room is to the right of the check-in-desks). Besides that you can walk along the trails around Arusha Savanna, there are outlooks on the 2nd floor. You can even exit onto the stairs at the very end of each trail.

More information on the night vision goggles and the other activities are available from the information boards, I know that one is close to the entrance to Boma and Jiko and another one is close to the place where you can leave your luggage.

 

[RachelTori]

When i stayed at AKL during October. There were refrubing floor 3 of the Zebra Trail. As i was staying in a room right underneath. As when we complained as our TA had not informed us of the work at AKL. (they had done about the seperate AKV building) we were told by management that it refrub work would continue for another 8 months. As most rooms were being done.

There were also painting the outside of most of the rooms with a pool view. and the viewing areas on the Zebra trail. They were using bright orange high reach cranes.


Regards

Andy

This was what it looked like one month ago. It's better now!

 

[AndyBlizz]

This was what it looked like one month ago. It's better now!

Yeah that was while i was there.

3rd to 17th October.

 

[Donald is #1]

This was what it looked like one month ago. It's better now!

Which savanna were you on last month?

 

[RachelTori]

Which savanna were you on last month?

I stayed in a "value" studio on Giraffe Trail (with an awesome pool view!); Room #5020. These pictures were Zebra Trail.

And when I stopped by AKL about 10 days ago, most of the scaffolding and cranes were gone.

 

[Donald is #1]

I stayed in a "value" studio on Giraffe Trail (with an awesome pool view!); Room #5020. These pictures were Zebra Trail.

And when I stopped by AKL about 10 days ago, most of the scaffolding and cranes were gone.

Excellent thanks! I will be at AKV Friday and I requested Arusha Savanna. During my May trip, the scaffolding was on the Sunset Savanna.

 

[kaffinito]

I stayed in a "value" studio on Giraffe Trail (with an awesome pool view!); Room #5020. These pictures were Zebra Trail.

And when I stopped by AKL about 10 days ago, most of the scaffolding and cranes were gone.

We were in 5018 in August. We did love the pool view! They had some work being done across the resort on the balconies, but no cranes at that time. We got lucky!

 

[JHarveyTN]

So is refurbishment being done on the inside & outside of AKL? Does anyone know the specifics of refurbishment? Just wandering if they will be changing out the TV's to the flat screens like they have at WL, Poly, etc and like CSR rooms are getting as part of their current refurb.

 

[johnsonet]

I'm dying to get back to AKL

 

[TheWog]

Ok, I think I know the answer to this, but want to hear it from others. I have read some posts from people on these "which do you recommend" threads that AKL is off in some remote outpost which only gets water and food deliveries every 3 months. It takes about 2 weeks by mule to get to and that's only if the weather is nice. The only other time I have been to WDW that I count we stayed at CBR and went to Animal Kingdom several times and don't recall having the painful where are we going, did the bus driver make a wrong turn because I think I just saw the Blair Witch project being filmed feeling. It took roughly what it probably took to get to Magic Kingdom from there.

So I guess the question is... is AKL really that far removed from everything else? Is it probably really just an additional 2-3 minutes to get somewhere (meaning parks) and not going to ruin my WDW vacation forever? Should I post this in the general area and not just on this thread to get all the responses? I'm confused as to why someone would not stay at a place they really want to because it may take an additional 3 minutes to get somewhere. My understanding is that the buses are all AKL dedicated and don't stop at other resorts. Is this correct? If so, doesn't sound so bad to me. We are going to stay here regardless, but I was wondering if it was really all the sky is falling as some make it out to be. Thanks.

 

[eddieras]

we've stayed at AKL 3 times - the last time in October. I was thinking the same thing = about how some people complain its 'so far' away. I clocked it to MK and it was 15 minutes - and that's the furthest park from AKL. AK is only 5 minutes away. also, while i thought they had dedicated buses, i did experience them also stopping at blizzard beach- but in all the times we've stayed there i think it was only twice-- that over three trips - that the AKL bus stopped elsewhere!
i have no problem with the 'distance'! we love the AKL and i'm sure you will too!!

 

[johnsonet]

It's not far at all. It's worth it.
18-20 minutes to MK and that's the longest trip.
Epcot and Studios are about 8 min. AK of course is very close. About 3 min. by bus
Yes, the buses are dedicated to AKL only. I spend big bucks to stay at the GF all the time and when I want to take a bus to the Studios or AK it takes time and there are stops on the return. It's all a give and take. If you are only visiting MK then maybe you should choose an MK resort but other than that AKL has pretty great transportation!
It's divine , in my experience, and I've stayed there at least 10 times

 

[Disney1976]

we've stayed at AKL 3 times - the last time in October. I was thinking the same thing = about how some people complain its 'so far' away. I clocked it to MK and it was 15 minutes - and that's the furthest park from AKL. AK is only 5 minutes away. also, while i thought they had dedicated buses, i did experience them also stopping at blizzard beach- but in all the times we've stayed there i think it was only twice-- that over three trips - that the AKL bus stopped elsewhere!
i have no problem with the 'distance'! we love the AKL and i'm sure you will too!!

Agreed! I never understood this argument, I mean, all of the hotels are "far" from somewhere. From an MK resort, you'd be "far" from the AK. But that doesn't stop people from staying in the MK area! I guess if you are only doing MK, it might not make sense to stay at AKL, but otherwise, the distance argument is silly.

 

[Flossbolna]

I never felt too far away from anything. Actually, I felt the bus rides to and from POR were longer, but this was just my personal feeling.

But I can to a certain degree understand what people mean, AKL feels further away: AK is close, but it is in a certain way very hidden in greenery. There aren't any hotels close by and AKL is kind of at the end of the road leading there. The rest of the WDW property feels much more "densely" populated. I actually like this - there is nothing around to spoil the theming, but some people might not agree.

 

[GeminiAngel]

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