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

[MYD714]

Flamingo Activity - great for 2 year old who is not afraid of birds, ok for adults if they are very interested in flamingos. Just takes 15 mins or so, out by the pool. So easy to work in.

What does the Flamingo Activity entail?

We'll be at AKL next week and I'm thinking of spending our first day exploring the resort. DH has never been there and I didn't get to really explore during my stay there.

 

[SRUAlmn]

ITA, JenniJ!!! I told my DH we could have saved $400 on our tickets and just spent the whole week doing stuff at the resort! Between Kidani and Jambo, there's more than enough I'm so sad that we missed a lot of it because we were at the parks (even though they're fun too )

 

[jjohnson]

SRUAlmn: Thank you SO much for listing the activities. I know they give it out at check in but we too spent too much time in the parks last trip and I'm hoping to do more this time. Also thank you for the input on the bus situation.Our last trip, Kidani was under construction and the bus service was excellent then. Happy to hear not much has changed. Though it seems all resorts have bad bus service to DTD.

 

[jjohnson]

Oh could you also let me know what time the movies at Kidani were playing and what was currently showing? TIA

 

[jjohnson]

Another question from my DD14. She would like to know if any age can do the activities such as the make you own T-shirt?

 

[SRUAlmn]

Oh could you also let me know what time the movies at Kidani were playing and what was currently showing? TIA

The movies were Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:00 at the Samawati Pool at Kidani. Since we were at Jambo I was never over at Kidani during that time to see which movies, and the actual movie title isn't listed on the info sheet. Sorry I couldn't help more!

Another question from my DD14. She would like to know if any age can do the activities such as the make you own T-shirt?

Some (very few) of the activities have marks beside them that list them as being ADULT FOCUSED. The rest are considered to be more for 'kids.' The note at the bottom says "the general age range for most activities varies from 4-12 years old, although everyone is invited to join in the fun." I think your DD will be fine as long as she's not embarrassed if there's a 4 year old next to her doing the same activity

 

[JenniJ]

WOW! Movies by the pool too! I am going to be SO spoiled after this trip I think I will never go back to a Mod. That happened when I went from value to Mod. We never went back.

DH will be glad he made me promise no trips (let alone Disney) for another 2-3 years....

 

[Kathy Z]

We'll be staying in a standard room at AKL from Dec. 2-9, and I guess my question is...are certain standard rooms better than others in terms of location? I've heard that the ones closer to the main building might be better. Also, we would prefer a king bed. Do we need to request that? Is the other option 2 queen beds? I'm actually not even sure how to go about making requests. It will just be the DH and I on our first trip to WDW. I know some of my questions might have been answered previously in this thread, but it's 191 pages long!

As has been explained many times, we can make requests but there are no guarentees. I've been advised that you should list your requests in the order of what is most important to you and to list no more than 3. So your request might read something like "King bed, near lobby, floor # or trail #.

 

[avarysmommie]

We will be staying at AK 9/25-28 and it will be our first "on property" experience Normally we rent a condo but we were able to snatch up a pool view for $149/nt (that's a good deal right?)

It will be me, DH, DD4, DS7months. Are there pool view rooms that connect directly to the pool on the first floor? Is there an area that I should request? What is the "daybed" is it a pull out couch or a regular twin bed? Are the activities like cookie decorating, etc free? Do we have to register in advance for this? Thanks I'm a newbie at this.

We will be getting in on Saturday afternoon, spending Sunday at resort, Monday at MK and leaving Tuesday.

TIA for any tips!!

 

[jjohnson]

Thank you. Hopefully, the movie schedule stays the same as Wednesday is our "down" night & the timing is perfect!

 

[HaleyB]

We will be staying at AK 9/25-28 and it will be our first "on property" experience Normally we rent a condo but we were able to snatch up a pool view for $149/nt (that's a good deal right?)

It will be me, DH, DD4, DS7months. Are there pool view rooms that connect directly to the pool on the first floor? Is there an area that I should request? What is the "daybed" is it a pull out couch or a regular twin bed? Are the activities like cookie decorating, etc free? Do we have to register in advance for this? Thanks I'm a newbie at this.

We will be getting in on Saturday afternoon, spending Sunday at resort, Monday at MK and leaving Tuesday.

TIA for any tips!!

Yes, that is a great rate. Well done!

I am 90% sure there are no ground level rooms even with pool view rooms.
Some activities are free others have a fee. Cookie decorating is free. All the "bead" activities are free. The crafts with a walk away product (ceramics, jewelry, tee-shirts, so on) have a fee. The culinary tour is free and if you happen to be on site around 5 pm (I think that is when they do the tour, maybe 4:45) it is a really nice way to sample a few items from Jiko and Boma and also talk to chefs directly if you either have diet restrictions or you like to cook.

 

[Flossbolna]

I am 90% sure there are no ground level rooms even with pool view rooms.

There are ground level rooms at the pool, but they don't have a real patio where you can walk away from, more like a ground level balcony. This picture might be helpful:

 

[sophie832]

Thanks for the helpful replies to my question about our room request. Lots of knowledgeable AKL vets on these boards! I'll make the request for the king bed, and hope for the best. I'm sure that anything will be great...we're just excited about staying at a deluxe resort!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks for the helpful replies to my question about our room request. Lots of knowledgeable AKL vets on these boards! I'll make the request for the king bed, and hope for the best. I'm sure that anything will be great...we're just excited about staying at a deluxe resort!

Just know that there is a VERY slim chance you will get a King room. We always request one and have never received one. In our past 9 trips we have received every other request every time, but never the king bed. Enjoy your trip

 

[rotlex]

Just couldn't help but post again that we are under the 30 day marker for our first ever stay at AKL. Can't wait!!!!

 

[jjohnson]

Look at mine!! SO excited!!!

 

[candeeapril]

In your personal opinion what is the best savanna view? We stayed at sunset savanna last year, and it was nice. The only issue problem was that we were very close to the area where are the air condition units were. It was kinda noisy when we went on our patio. Does Arusha have more animals, is it quieter? TIA

 

[SRUAlmn]

In your personal opinion what is the best savanna view? We stayed at sunset savanna last year, and it was nice. The only issue problem was that we were very close to the area where are the air condition units were. It was kinda noisy when we went on our patio. Does Arusha have more animals, is it quieter? TIA

Arusha is VERY quiet, unless (like us,) you are at the very end of one of the sections and you have the 'public' viewing area next to you. There was one night where the male giraffe was lying right outside our balcony and everyone around us was out on their balconies and we were all whispering and beign quiet so we could enjoy it and not disturb him. Then, a large group came out onto that balcony and they were SCREAMING and carrying on and I was so annoyed. This happened about 3 of our 5 nights.

As for animals, Arusha only has 1 male giraffe, but there are 4 zebra, a bunch of kudu, ankole cattle, red river hogs, a lot of hoofed stock.

We went to look out the Sunset Overlook and thought the Sunset Savanna looked dirty and 'industrial' in comparison to Arusha which looks a little more lush and 'savanna like.'

 

[John's Mom]

In your personal opinion what is the best savanna view? We stayed at sunset savanna last year, and it was nice. The only issue problem was that we were very close to the area where are the air condition units were. It was kinda noisy when we went on our patio. Does Arusha have more animals, is it quieter? TIA

We always stay on the Arusha Savanna, Zebra Trail. The pool and restaurants are located on this side of the lodge. Depending upon the time of day, there are plenty of animals on this savanna.

This guy spent about 20 minutes outside our balcony.

 

[jjohnson]

I'm having a box fan delivered again. If anyone is checking in the weekend of 8/14 & would like to have it, let me know & I can leave it at the front desk.