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

[BCV23]

Hi! We will be staying in a SV Studio in July at AKV Jambo House, and are wondering if someone can tell me where the laundry room will be?? Also wondering if there is a good room location to request?Thanks! Would love any info or tips you can share!

The laundry room is on the 5th floor near the beginning of Zebra Trail. You will need your room key for access.

I had a room down the little hallway near the elevators. It faced Uzima savannah and was the best view of the animals I've had (this was 3rd floor though not a villa).

I'm not sure if that is called Zebra Trail or not.

 

[lauradenise4779]

The laundry room is on the 5th floor near the beginning of Zebra Trail. You will need your room key for access.

I used the laundry room during my last stay. It's tucked out of the hallway just a bit, so it's easy to walk right past.

There are 2 washers and 4 dryers. They are free, of course, but they do sell the little packs of detergent and such. There is also a TV in the laundry room, and a few chairs, if you decide to wait with your laundry.

Since there are only 2 washers, I went late one evening and there was only one other person in there. His wife had sent him to do some laundry and he had accidentally used WAY too much soap. He had to run his clothes thru 4 rinse cycles!!! Poor guy! He was super sweet and had a good attitude about it!

 

[BCV23]

Since there are only 2 washers, I went late one evening and there was only one other person in there. His wife had sent him to do some laundry and he had accidentally used WAY too much soap. He had to run his clothes thru 4 rinse cycles!!! Poor guy! He was super sweet and had a good attitude about it!

 

[Caitymackie]

Thanks Mmmears and PirateMomma! It doesn't make much sense that they would move all of the activities out of the lodge...I guess we'll know for sure before too long! You all have soooo much knowledge!

Caity

 

[PirateMomma412]

Good news! Not to worry-we will still have all of our bead activities at Jambo house! The only activity that has changed is the Bush Camp-which has moved to Kidani. She assures me that all of the activities I loved from before will still be there when I arrive! If you have time on your trip, try to plan a day just to hang around AKL. We didn't do that last trip & we regreted it! Such a wonderful place to hang out!!

 

[mmmears]

Good news! Not to worry-we will still have all of our bead activities at Jambo house! The only activity that has changed is the Bush Camp-which has moved to Kidani. She assures me that all of the activities I loved from before will still be there when I arrive! If you have time on your trip, try to plan a day just to hang around AKL. We didn't do that last trip & we regreted it! Such a wonderful place to hang out!!

Great! That's the same information I got when I called IPO -- it's always good to have a confirmation from several sources.

We didn't spend enough time at AKL last time, so I'm hoping to spend more time there on our upcoming trip. That was good advice you were giving!

 

[PirateMomma412]

Thanks! You learn from your mistakes, right? This time we have scheduled an entire day for AKL fun! Including a fabulous leisurely breakie at Boma!! mmmmm.....

 

[mmmears]

Thanks! You learn from your mistakes, right? This time we have scheduled an entire day for AKL fun! Including a fabulous leisurely breakie at Boma!! mmmmm.....

That sounds wonderful... We don't have any free mornings, but we're planning a few afternoons there, from lunch until we go to bed, so hopefully we'll get plenty of AKL time this time around... or I'll want to go back again!

 

[PirateMomma412]

Oh-and going back will be sooooo horrible, right? I just got thru checking the codes boards, checking out the details on the bounceback....I haven't even gone on my upcoming trip, and I'm already trying to plan a trip at Halloween!

 

[Lindsaygirl27]

Hello Everyone:

I have two questions that I wanted to ask due to conflicting information.


1. Are zebras found on all three savannahs or are they isolated to only one?
I have reservations for a room with a savannah view and I would really like to be able to see them from my room.

2. Do guests at the AKL have to share the bus transportation service with other resorts or is the service exclusive to AKL guests? I have heard that the buses do not make stops in between the routes from the lodge to the parks.. Was just wondering if this was correct.


Thanks again! I am so excited for vaca it's my first time ever staying at the AKL.

 

[mmmears]

Hello Everyone:

I have two questions that I wanted to ask due to conflicting information.


1. Are zebras found on all three savannahs or are they isolated to only one?
I have reservations for a room with a savannah view and I would really like to be able to see them from my room.

2. Do guests at the AKL have to share the bus transportation service with other resorts or is the service exclusive to AKL guests? I have heard that the buses do not make stops in between the routes from the lodge to the parks.. Was just wondering if this was correct.


Thanks again! I am so excited for vaca it's my first time ever staying at the AKL.

I can't confirm the zebra thing, but I would say that if you can't find out or if they aren't on all the savannas, you could make that your room request: zebras!

As for the busses, AKL doesn't share with any other resort, but they added a bus stop at Kidani this month and now all the busses stop there as well. IMO it's still better than sharing with another resort, but I haven't stayed there since the change, so I'm not sure.

 

[johnsonet]

1. Are zebras found on all three savannahs or are they isolated to only one?
I have reservations for a room with a savannah view and I would really like to be able to see them from my room.

You can see zebras on both the Sunset and Arusha savannahs

 

[mamasha]

As for the busses, AKL doesn't share with any other resort, but they added a bus stop at Kidani this month and now all the busses stop there as well. IMO it's still better than sharing with another resort, but I haven't stayed there since the change, so I'm not sure.

How long does going to Kidani add to the trip?
Thanks

 

[TheWog]

Hello Everyone:

I have two questions that I wanted to ask due to conflicting information.


1. Are zebras found on all three savannahs or are they isolated to only one?
I have reservations for a room with a savannah view and I would really like to be able to see them from my room.

2. Do guests at the AKL have to share the bus transportation service with other resorts or is the service exclusive to AKL guests? I have heard that the buses do not make stops in between the routes from the lodge to the parks.. Was just wondering if this was correct.


Thanks again! I am so excited for vaca it's my first time ever staying at the AKL.

No, zebras are not on all three savannahs. They are not on the Uzima savannah. We just returned May 2 and had Uzima and did not have zebras. Plenty of animals to watch incuding giraffe. We could go right our door and see the Arusha savannah and have access to the rocking chairs to watch zebra, but nothing from our balcony. Request Arusha Savannah, Zebra trail, 3rd or 4th floor and you won't be disappointed - the usual disclaimer about it only being a request applies.

Also, make sure you take advantage of the night vision goggles for animal viewing 8:30-11:00 p.m.

Yes, AKL is the only resort serviced by the AKL busses. As noted service began on May 1 to the Kidani DVC, but that only added about 2-3 minutes or so to the trip. We thought the bus service was very good.

 

[dizfan]

How long does going to Kidani add to the trip?
Thanks

We just returned from a stay at AKL.

I would say the Kidani portion drive (dropoff and pickup) adds 2-3 minutes.

For trips to the four parks, the buses stop at Kidani first and then the Jambo lodge. It doesn't add any time to your trip to the park because it has already been to Kidani. The buses rarely had many people at Kidani.

For trips from the parks to the resort it added 2-3 minutes for the drive to Kidani, dropoff, and pickup, then drive to Jambo.

From 5/7-5/14, we only had one long wait (about 25 minutes) for a bus to MK. The rest of the time, we had great bus service to/from the parks and Downtown Disney.


On a side note, we rode the bus from BC one night to DTD. It took 45 minutes for the bus to get there. The bus was packed and the air conditioner didn't work. Pretty miserable on a day when Orlando sets a new record high temp in the mid 90's.

 

[jacksmom]

The laundry room is on the 5th floor near the beginning of Zebra Trail. You will need your room key for access.

I had a room down the little hallway near the elevators. It faced Uzima savannah and was the best view of the animals I've had (this was 3rd floor though not a villa).

I'm not sure if that is called Zebra Trail or not.

Thanks for helping with the laundry room location! Does anyone know the ages for the kids activities??

 

[Lindsaygirl27]

Thanks Everyone!

I appreciate your quick and helpful responses sooo much!


Does anyone have a picture of the AKL map? I would love to be able to see how the lodge is mapped out and I think it would be a great tool to use when determining my room request.


Does anyone know if no concierge guests can book the safari? My DBF really wants to go but we are only staying at savannah level.

Thanks again!! xoxo

 

[miatamel]

We have a split stay between AKL and BC. The ONLY thing my daughter has asked to do while at Disney is go to Lego store at DD. Would it be better to go there from the BC or AKL so I can plan my day? (We aren't on a long trip)

 

[mmmears]

Thanks Everyone!

I appreciate your quick and helpful responses sooo much!


Does anyone have a picture of the AKL map? I would love to be able to see how the lodge is mapped out and I think it would be a great tool to use when determining my room request.


Does anyone know if no concierge guests can book the safari? My DBF really wants to go but we are only staying at savannah level.

Thanks again!! xoxo

There's a picture of the AKL map on allears.net under the AKL photos. I've used that before to figure out my room request.

As for the Sunrise Safari, AKL's IPO office says that only club level guests can book it. It was completely full when we went on it in April -- I don't think there was even enough room for all the club level guests to participate in it. It really was a wonderful experience, and the main reason that we were set on staying club level at AKL.

However, the evening, or Wanyama Safari, is available to all guests at AKL. That one is more expensive, though. I actually think it's less expensive to switch to a CL room and do the morning one (depending on how long you are staying there, of course).

 

[BCV23]

Here's photo Simba's Mom took of the activities (and some other things) scheduled at Kidani Village during her stay:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31770372&postcount=1