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

[johnsonet]

Excellent thanks! I may have to try it during my December trips instead of going over to SSR.

Oh yes! I hope you will. It's wonderfully convenient

 

[Flossbolna]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question. Are there any restaurants nearby that are not on Disney grounds? We are going to have a rental car, and I was thinking about going out to try and keep some costs down. Any pizza places or even chain restaurants. Heck, even a McDonalds. Can you order a pizza and have it delievered to the hotel?

Thanks

The Uofficial Guide has extensive listings of restaurants outside WDW. If you are interested in that, I would recommend checking it out. If you don't want to buy one, you might be able to get one from your local library. But I personally think it is a great guide book for WDW, so absolutely worth the cost!

I know that others have ordered pizza from outside restaurants, but can't remeber the name. I would suggest to ask the question on the restaurant board as well, or on the Orlando Hotels and Attractions board.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

A pretty silly question I guess, but could anyone tell me what the drinks are offered at AKL for the refillable mugs? Do they happen to have Fanta? I know not all resorts have it, so just curious.

Also, I'm assuming that the lemonade offered at the CL lounge is the regular one, not the light one, correct??

 

[MinnieMom]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick question. Are there any restaurants nearby that are not on Disney grounds? We are going to have a rental car, and I was thinking about going out to try and keep some costs down. Any pizza places or even chain restaurants. Heck, even a McDonalds. Can you order a pizza and have it delievered to the hotel?

Thanks

There are tons of restaurants over on 192 and there is a really quick shortcut to get there from AKL, but I can't remember the name of the road that you take . . . if you go over to the offsite hotels board I'm sure someone there can help you with it. They often talk about the shortcut from Windsor Hills to AK and this is what you would use. Someone even had a map that I remember seeing a while ago.

As far as restaurants along that section of 192, there is an Outback Steakhouse, a Chick-fil-a, Denny's, Perkin's, Carabba's, Giordano's for pizza (YUM!), and tons of others!

 

[DCDisney]

Do they happen to have Fanta? I know not all resorts have it, so just curious.

Also, I'm assuming that the lemonade offered at the CL lounge is the regular one, not the light one, correct??

When we visited it was coke, diet coke, sprite, root beer, punch (instead of fanta I think) and lemonade. It was the light one but CL could be different. I swear though that a few years ago it was fanta instead of punch so I wonder if they switch those periodically.

 

[Nicole786]

reposting an unanswered question: do all the rooms have new flat screen TVs?

 

[spindoctors]

We will be staying at AKV CL in September. On our departure day, we will have our own car and don't plan on leaving WDW until the late afternoon. Will Bell Services hold our luggage until we are ready to leave Orlando? I don't really want to leave the car at a theme park loaded up with all of our luggage.

 

[momatater]

We will be staying at AKV CL in September. On our departure day, we will have our own car and don't plan on leaving WDW until the late afternoon. Will Bell Services hold our luggage until we are ready to leave Orlando? I don't really want to leave the car at a theme park loaded up with all of our luggage.

Yes they will! We do it all the time! Have a great trip!

 

[spindoctors]

Yes they will! We do it all the time! Have a great trip!

Is this what we do?
Call Bell Services and tip them when they pick up the bags.
Check out.
Head to the park for the day.
Swing by AKL and pick up the bags from Bell Services.

 

[pixie08]

Put the children at Simba's and go enjoy a massage one afternoon/evening. (FYI, Simba's doesn't open until 4:30 or 5pm...)
I've had several treatments at AKL's fitness center and it is small but very nice. The treatment rooms are nicer than the ones at the GF Spa. That's my opinion and the opinion of my friend who works at the GF Spa and comes over to AKL to give me massages there
They have a small sauna and a small steam room and a nice bathroom/locker area. No lounge. But the prices are lower since the amenities are not the same as at the spa. The convenience of not having to leave AKL for a massage or body treatment is GREAT Enjoy!

Thanks for the review. I think I am going to give it a try. I am a fan of the spa but the convenience of not leaving the lodge just sells me on this. Plus I like that they have different treatment times not just 50/80 min. Good to hear you enjoyed. i will let you know in June how my massage goes

 

[momatater]

Is this what we do?
Call Bell Services and tip them when they pick up the bags.
Check out.
Head to the park for the day.
Swing by AKL and pick up the bags from Bell Services.

I'm sure that will work. We always use Express check-out, so when we are ready to leave for the parks, we call Bell Services, they come get our bags and we are on our way. When we're finished for the day, we head back out to the resort, get our stuff and sadly drive away for the last time. HTH

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

When we visited it was coke, diet coke, sprite, root beer, punch (instead of fanta I think) and lemonade. It was the light one but CL could be different. I swear though that a few years ago it was fanta instead of punch so I wonder if they switch those periodically.

Thanks for the info.

Punch, hmm have to google that one. OK, that didn't help too much, too many variations of that drink.

Who knows if they're switching? All I know is that Fanta doesn't show up at too many pics of the dirnk island of the various resorts. I've noticed it at CBR (it's still there, or at least was in december) and one other resort that I forgot about. Oh well, looks like I'll just 'have to do' with the lemonade and african smoothie they've got up at CL.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

reposting an unanswered question: do all the rooms have new flat screen TVs?

I aksed this on another thread and I was told no by several people.

 

[sherry_car]

I noticed the information on the 2-bedroom villas lists states the villas in Kidani are larger. What is the difference in layout? The link to the room layout didn't work for me, but I have seen that elsewhere. It looks like the only value villas are in Jambo - is that true?

We are looking to stay in a 2-bedroom villa in September, and prefer the Jambo because they are closer to the lobby/pool/etc., but we like the extra room as well.

Thanks!

 

[Donald is #1]

I noticed the information on the 2-bedroom villas lists states the villas in Kidani are larger. What is the difference in layout? The link to the room layout didn't work for me, but I have seen that elsewhere. It looks like the only value villas are in Jambo - is that true?

We are looking to stay in a 2-bedroom villa in September, and prefer the Jambo because they are closer to the lobby/pool/etc., but we like the extra room as well.

Thanks!

Let's see. The 1 & 2 BR villas in Kidani have an extra bathroom. So at Kidani, you get 2 bathrooms in the 1 BR and 3 bathrooms in the 2 BR. Also, the kitchen is shaped differently. In Jambo, the kitchen in an "L" with an island while in Kidani it is a U.

 

[Flossbolna]

I noticed the information on the 2-bedroom villas lists states the villas in Kidani are larger. What is the difference in layout? The link to the room layout didn't work for me, but I have seen that elsewhere. It looks like the only value villas are in Jambo - is that true?

We are looking to stay in a 2-bedroom villa in September, and prefer the Jambo because they are closer to the lobby/pool/etc., but we like the extra room as well.

Thanks!

Just wanted to point out that Kidani will have its own pool and from the construction pictures it looks like it will have quite an impressive lobby as well. I think the only thing Kidani does not have is a quick service location. So possibly Kidani might still be an option for you.

 

[sherry_car]

Thanks for the great detail on the differences in the villas! Just what I needed! I think we would prefer the Jambo, since we don't really need 3 baths for 4 adults, and the walk to catch the bus/pick up our car is more important to me at the end of a long day in the parks. But, if Jambo is not available, Kidani should be fine as well.

Thanks again!

 

[mmmears]

Thanks for the great detail on the differences in the villas! Just what I needed! I think we would prefer the Jambo, since we don't really need 3 baths for 4 adults, and the walk to catch the bus/pick up our car is more important to me at the end of a long day in the parks. But, if Jambo is not available, Kidani should be fine as well.

Thanks again!

The busses will be stopping at both Jambo and Kidani.

 

[tink_lover]

How many standard rooms are there on CL? How many of those are held for DVC? When I called DVC they told me there were only 10 rooms and I don't know if that means total or DVC only.

 

[3for Me]

I am sure this has been asked and answered...can someone tell me if there is a more desirable location for standard CL rooms? Just curious if I should put in a request. THANKS SO MUCH!