***The Official AKV Owners And Lovers Thread***. Come And Chat

[blossomz]

11 days for us!!!

OOH! You will have to look for us! We tend to wear our EARS a lot! There will be a bunch of us! Cannot wait!!

 

[twinklebug]

Kidani, tonight Will post a pic or two for us all when I can wrangle the laptop from one of my teens. Any Kidani image requests?

 

[GoofyTraci]

Yes I know weird but I wanta see the gift shop in kidani? Any cool vinylmations? And what is the spend this and get this promo in the gift shop.

 

[dlm1017]

Hi,
I have looked and looked thru threads but have not found my answer.
My dd's (2) have decided to join us for our October trip. I only booked a standard studio (at 11months) for my husband and myself. I know we can all fit but I figured I would waitlist anyway for a bigger room. Trying to figure my best chance of getting a 1 br, Jambo or Kidani? Or should I waitlist in both? OR should I try for a 2 br? I have points for either. I do have a waitlist for BWV studio
(since 7 months) but I have very little hope of that coming in due to Food and Wine.
Thanks!
Dana

 

[floribr1]

Hi,
I have looked and looked thru threads but have not found my answer.
My dd's (2) have decided to join us for our October trip. I only booked a standard studio (at 11months) for my husband and myself. I know we can all fit but I figured I would waitlist anyway for a bigger room. Trying to figure my best chance of getting a 1 br, Jambo or Kidani? Or should I waitlist in both? OR should I try for a 2 br? I have points for either. I do have a waitlist for BWV studio
(since 7 months) but I have very little hope of that coming in due to Food and Wine.
Thanks!
Dana

Honestly, your options for switching your reservation this close to your travel date are going to be quite limited... I just did a quick search for 1BR and 2BR villas for multiple dates in October, and there were a few nights here and there but not many consecutive nights. Would you consider Saratoga Springs? You would probably have more luck there.

In terms of 1BR vs. 2BR, that is really a personal choice you need to make. For me personally, I always go for more space whenver I have sufficient points.

Good luck!

 

[taaren]

AKV owners! I'm super excited I get to stay at your resort in mid-November! We'll be spending a few of the days at Universal most likely, so the distance from the WDW parks didn't bother me, and we may or may not go to one of the parks in the evening since we have the PAPs from the member special last year ... but I'm so looking forward to spending a couple of nights on my Savannah view balcony!

I had booked a value studio at first, since it was open for 2 of the 3 nights we needed, but then decided the view really was that important since we won't get out to Florida that often, so went ahead and rented some extra points and upgraded the view and have a Kidani savannah view studio now.

The pool looks fabulous; I know my DS will love going there (although we'll be doing BCV for 5 nights prior to our AKV stay) ... is the pool over at Jambo? Or at Kidani? Or both?

What's your favorite part of your resort that I shouldn't miss checking out?

 

[psac]

Hiya. We haven't stayed at Kidani yet, but we did Jambo back in April. Both places have a pool. People say the slide at Kidani is better, but the pool itself at Jambo is HUGE, with lots of pools chairs all over, including in shady areas, which we like sometimes to take a break from the sun.

Keep in mind for the Savanna that the animals are mostly out between 3 and 6 pm, give or take. Try to spend some time in your room between those hours. They are out other times, but that's when we would see a dozen or more animals at once as opposed to one or two. enjoy!!

 

[RapunzelsGoodMom]

Thanks for the info. I'm just going to leave my request as is.

I did think of one other question. I was going to send the kids and our lone guy straight to the pool to get them out of the way while I checked in. Then I realized they may need a card to access the pool. If I can't send them to the pool, I'm sending them on a hidden Mickey hunt or something. There's no way I'm checking in with all them around, not after getting them all up at 4 in the morning. I don't think I can handle check in plus tired, grumpy, hyper excited kids running around.

Will I have issues with the pool? Or seeing that AK doesn't share grounds with any other resort, will it be open?

The pool at Kidani is great for early check-in. They have showers and changing areas, etc. so no worries. And they didn't ever check us for keys - I guess they figure only folks from Jambo will be coming over so no worries.

Tons for tweens to do. Lots of hands-on learning opportunities and fun activities. When you check in, you can probably grab some extras of the animal seek & find sheet (not sure what the real title is). Lists all the animals on the Savannah and you can look for them and try to check them all off. So fun for kids of all ages. And at Kidani, there is a Savannah right by the pool so they could start even before you can get into your room. Also, there is lunch by the pool there now but you can take the shuttle over to Jambo if you want more choices, check out the other side, etc. Runs about every 10 minutes and is so easy.

Have fun!

 

[mskayjay]

Hello and *help*!!!!! I am seriously trying to not be too concerned about this but I'm really getting frantic now.

I am not an owner and I was not able to rent a DVC rental for our trip but since this thread is for AKL(V) lovers as well I hope someone can help me out. We are going down in October for a very special trip that unfortunately was not planned out in time do to several illnesses. We are staying as standard resort guests and I booked Pool View rather than Standard View because I didn't want to stare at a roof or the buses. The pool noise didn't seem like it would be a big deal until I Googled and looked for pictures/videos of the rooms and the music from the pool is sooo loud in the room and makes sitting on the patio seem unbearable.

Can you offer some advice please. It is just the two of us traveling for our birthdays and to celebrate our 30th anniversary so we are looking for a quieter trip. Is there anywhere in the Pool Room views that is far enough away that you don't notice the noise and what are the hours that music is on? Am I better off booking a standard view room and trying to request a specific room where the view might now be of a roof/the bus drop-off and if so where/what room? I've only ever stayed in Savanna views at Jambo and have no idea what to do.

Thank you so much for any help.

 

[nighttowll]

Hello and *help*!!!!! I am seriously trying to not be too concerned about this but I'm really getting frantic now.

I am not an owner and I was not able to rent a DVC rental for our trip but since this thread is for AKL(V) lovers as well I hope someone can help me out. We are going down in October for a very special trip that unfortunately was not planned out in time do to several illnesses. We are staying as standard resort guests and I booked Pool View rather than Standard View because I didn't want to stare at a roof or the buses. The pool noise didn't seem like it would be a big deal until I Googled and looked for pictures/videos of the rooms and the music from the pool is sooo loud in the room and makes sitting on the patio seem unbearable.

Can you offer some advice please. It is just the two of us traveling for our birthdays and to celebrate our 30th anniversary so we are looking for a quieter trip. Is there anywhere in the Pool Room views that is far enough away that you don't notice the noise and what are the hours that music is on? Am I better off booking a standard view room and trying to request a specific room where the view might now be of a roof/the bus drop-off and if so where/what room? I've only ever stayed in Savanna views at Jambo and have no idea what to do.

Thank you so much for any help.

We are actually in the third bead near the Timon elevator, and if you don't have a car, its a great location. Just go down the elevator, and you are at the bus stop. We are right over the end of the bus stop, but our view actually isn't that bad at all. There are trees that pretty much obscure the buses. We don't even see them unless we go out on the balcony and look down, and even then, it's just glimpses. I actually think its kind of a pretty view. We haven't had any issues hearing the buses either. If it is totally quiet, you can just barely make them out, but otherwise, no problems. We did notice that you can hear the pool activities all the way over here if you are on the balcony though, so I'm not sure I'd want to be right over by the pool. The pool activities start about noon and go pretty much continuously until evening when they play the poolside movie, so I wouldn't except the noise to quiet down until late. They have a number of scheduled games from bingo to trivia on top of the scheduled pool party. These all involve microphones, and we could hear them calling out bingo numbers all the way over by the buses.

Also, as others have said, try to be close to the lobby. I wouldn't want to be any farther away from it than we are (3 sections) in either direction. We are right by the buses, but its still a little bit of a walk to the lobby, farther than I'd like.

It really doesn't seem to me like any of the standard views are all that great compared to Savana, but I'd rather be close than look out a window when we are rarely in the room anyway. Good luck figuring it all out. Hope you end up with a nice view.

 

[nighttowll]

If anyone is interested, we are checking out tomorrow and have a few groceries left.

Milk
Gatorade
Salsa
Ham lunch meat
A few other random things

I hate to throw it all out.
If anyone is interested, let me know, and I will drop it with bell services, with your name on it. We leave at 9, so let me know by 8:30, otherwise I'm trashing it all.

 

[franandaj]

If anyone is interested, we are checking out tomorrow and have a few groceries left.

Milk
Gatorade
Salsa
Ham lunch meat
A few other random things

I hate to throw it all out.
If anyone is interested, let me know, and I will drop it with bell services, with your name on it. We leave at 9, so let me know by 8:30, otherwise I'm trashing it all.

I would just post this as a new thread on the DVC resorts section. I did the same thing with our stay in February and it turned out that someone was staying in the room directly across the hall from us at BLT and they took almost all our leftovers.

 

[ddixon1]

Hello all;

I just received my closing docs in the mail yesterday. Purchasing DVC was one of the most foolish, most wonderful decisions of my life. I feel incredibly happy to know that I have just committed myself to yearly or every-other-year trips to DVC resorts. To cool for school!

We return to AKV-Jambo on rented points in December. This will be our 3rd trip to Jambo inside of a year. So the purchase seemed like a decent idea. We love this resort. It is so beyond relaxing and amazing.

Anyhow, just wanted to share my news.

 

[J and R's mom]

Congrats to ddixon1 above!

Confession time. My husband and I visited AKL right after it was built (and well before DVC/Kidani was built there). The lobby was nice but seemed too dark. We walked down the hallway (past Boma) towards the elevators to check out the savannah views and the hall REEKED of stinky animals and pooh (and not the honey-lover "Pooh"). Worse than an ill-kept zoo. We decided we never needed to stay there. (Please read on before you ignite the flame thrower).

Flash forward 10+ years and a DVC contract. My oldest was turning 10 and we decided to take her to WDW for her birthday. We let her pick the resort. She picked AKL. We decided why not? We'd give it a try and were only staying four nights anyway.

WE LOVED IT!!!! One of our BEST TRIPS EVER!!!!

We stayed at Jambo house and LOVED our room. The resort was awesome. NO STINKY SMELLS!!!!! (I guess they fixed that in the past 10+ years ).

We liked it SO MUCH that we're headed back there (voluntarily....no coercion from a soon to be 10-year-old) in December (9th-15th).

All that back-story and confession aside, I have a question. We were able to book a savanna view for that May trip, but only had the option of a Jambo standard view this time around (we just booked yesterday--only two months out--so we're thrilled to even get any room). I have seen the map of the layout of the resort (see map here). Can anyone enlighten me on which sections house the standard views? My guess is anywhere it doesn't say "---- Savanna". Is there an advantage to requesting a certain area within the standard views? If so, where?

We are converts. We hope to stay at Kidani one of these days. They seem to get the better bus advantage, plus the rooms seem really nice. We walked over and checked out the Kidani lobby and pool (and I was zeroed in the back by one of the spitting flowers--probably pay-back for my original negative thoughts about the resort ).

 

[princessap]

I am so glad I found this thread. We are renting points for akv next year for a one bedroom. I cannot decide whether to pick jambo or kidani?! It will be me, dh and three kids ages 2,5,7.

It is the second half of our split stay after BLT so it will be the more relaxing part of our stay if that helps

thanks

 

[SamSam]

I am so glad I found this thread. We are renting points for akv next year for a one bedroom. I cannot decide whether to pick jambo or kidani?! It will be me, dh and three kids ages 2,5,7.

It is the second half of our split stay after BLT so it will be the more relaxing part of our stay if that helps

thanks

With the age of your kids, I would pick Kidani. They have a wonderful Splash area next to the pool that little ones love. We had twin almost 3 year olds with us last week and took them down there every day...favorite thing for them.

 

[CTdaizy]

I would say Kidani for a family of 5, as there's a second bathroom in the one bedroom.

 

[ddixon1]

Congrats to ddixon1 above!

Confession time. My husband and I visited AKL right after it was built (and well before DVC/Kidani was built there). The lobby was nice but seemed too dark. We walked down the hallway (past Boma) towards the elevators to check out the savannah views and the hall REEKED of stinky animals and pooh (and not the honey-lover "Pooh"). Worse than an ill-kept zoo. We decided we never needed to stay there. (Please read on before you ignite the flame thrower).

Flash forward 10+ years and a DVC contract. My oldest was turning 10 and we decided to take her to WDW for her birthday. We let her pick the resort. She picked AKL. We decided why not? We'd give it a try and were only staying four nights anyway.

WE LOVED IT!!!! One of our BEST TRIPS EVER!!!!

We stayed at Jambo house and LOVED our room. The resort was awesome. NO STINKY SMELLS!!!!! (I guess they fixed that in the past 10+ years ).

We liked it SO MUCH that we're headed back there (voluntarily....no coercion from a soon to be 10-year-old) in December (9th-15th).

All that back-story and confession aside, I have a question. We were able to book a savanna view for that May trip, but only had the option of a Jambo standard view this time around (we just booked yesterday--only two months out--so we're thrilled to even get any room). I have seen the map of the layout of the resort (see map here). Can anyone enlighten me on which sections house the standard views? My guess is anywhere it doesn't say "---- Savanna". Is there an advantage to requesting a certain area within the standard views? If so, where?

We are converts. We hope to stay at Kidani one of these days. They seem to get the better bus advantage, plus the rooms seem really nice. We walked over and checked out the Kidani lobby and pool (and I was zeroed in the back by one of the spitting flowers--probably pay-back for my original negative thoughts about the resort ).

Thanks for the welcome!

The standards views for Jambo seem to be the non-pool and main savanna views.

However, you may be able to score a "people pen" view. These are for the rooms at the very end of the Zebra (and maybe Kudu?) trails, located in the "Y" that the end of the trails form.

We had a non-DVC "standard" view room for our stay in January. We LOVED our room and the view! For DVC, that area would be rooms 5572-5584 or 5543-5555.

It was quite the trek down the hallway, but the view was worth it. Plus it was so much quieter at the end of the hall.

We'll just miss you -- we will be there from 12/4-12/8.

Have a wonderful trip! And thanks again.

 

[J and R's mom]

Thanks for the welcome!

The standards views for Jambo seem to be the non-pool and main savanna views.

However, you may be able to score a "people pen" view. These are for the rooms at the very end of the Zebra (and maybe Kudu?) trails, located in the "Y" that the end of the trails form.

We had a non-DVC "standard" view room for our stay in January. We LOVED our room and the view! For DVC, that area would be rooms 5572-5584 or 5543-5555.

It was quite the trek down the hallway, but the view was worth it. Plus it was so much quieter at the end of the hall.

We'll just miss you -- we will be there from 12/4-12/8.

Have a wonderful trip! And thanks again.

Thanks for the awesome information. Have a wonderful trip to your new "home" in December!

 

[NDQuietman]

Leaving for our first stay at AKL this Sunday, staying in a 3BR Grand Villa at Jambo, very excited !