Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[ToyStory3]

Has anyone stayed at both Jambo and BC? Debating one or the other or split stay for an 8-9 vacation

This is exactly what we are doing in a few weeks! BC is our favorite resort...ending our trip with AKL for the first time.

 

[HolRae]

Hi - we are staying at AKL for the very first time on 6/1. We are staying at the Beach Club for a week but ending our trip with one night at AKL CL so we can try it out. So excited - my family has never stepped foot inside the lodge before. So, I know they'll be blown away. I went there once to eat at Boma but have not spent much time there. Are there any CL rooms with bunk beds? Was thinking of making a request if they exist. Thanks!!!

Last February we were assigned a bunk bed room club level.

 

[Amy M]

Last February we were assigned a bunk bed room club level.

I made this same request through DSS about a month ago. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we get one of the bunk bed rooms!

 

[WalkDisneyWorld]

Hi - we are staying at AKL for the very first time on 6/1. We are staying at the Beach Club for a week but ending our trip with one night at AKL CL so we can try it out. So excited - my family has never stepped foot inside the lodge before. So, I know they'll be blown away. I went there once to eat at Boma but have not spent much time there. Are there any CL rooms with bunk beds? Was thinking of making a request if they exist. Thanks!!!

In November 2017 we stayed in a CL room with bunk beds. Hope you get one!

 

[ToyStory3]

Hi - if we are flying out on Southwest at 10:35 am, what time will DME pick us up at Jambo House? We haven't used DME before. Hoping to get a breakfast in before we leave the resort. Thanks!

 

[vinotinto]

Hi - we are staying at AKL for the very first time on 6/1. We are staying at the Beach Club for a week but ending our trip with one night at AKL CL so we can try it out. So excited - my family has never stepped foot inside the lodge before. So, I know they'll be blown away. I went there once to eat at Boma but have not spent much time there. Are there any CL rooms with bunk beds? Was thinking of making a request if they exist. Thanks!!!

Last February we were assigned a bunk bed room club level.

I made this same request through DSS about a month ago. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we get one of the bunk bed rooms!

In November 2017 we stayed in a CL room with bunk beds. Hope you get one!

Unfortunately, the renovations are phasing out Bunk Beds. We were also hoping to request Bunks with our CL reservation, but just saw that someone who recently stayed and had booked a Savannah View Bunk Bed was offered a room with 2 queens or two rooms. As the renovations continue, the fewer Bunk Bed rooms there will be, until they are completely gone.

 

[sndral]

Hi - if we are flying out on Southwest at 10:35 am, what time will DME pick us up at Jambo House? We haven't used DME before. Hoping to get a breakfast in before we leave the resort. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I think you’ll be leaving too early for breakfast at AKL, I think Mara starts serving breakfast entrees at 7 a.m. and Boma opens at 7:30. Your DME bus is likely to be around 3 hr.s before your flight - so around 7:30 a.m.. The advice is to be waiting out front 15 minutes before, so approx. 7:15.
If you plan to use RAC (resort airline check in) allow a few extra minutes to check your bags in case there is a line.
You should have lots of time once you get to MCO to eat breakfast there, tho’.

 

[mum22girlz]

I scored a Priceline express reservation for Jambo House Villas. Do you think there is any chance that I could change that to a regular room upon check in? My teen girls would have to share the pullout in the Villa - which really won't be a problem . . . it's just not ideal. I'm SUPER excited to be staying at AKL for the first time.

 

[dansdad]

I scored a Priceline express reservation for Jambo House Villas. Do you think there is any chance that I could change that to a regular room upon check in? My teen girls would have to share the pullout in the Villa - which really won't be a problem . . . it's just not ideal. I'm SUPER excited to be staying at AKL for the first time.

You can try, but odds are the answer will be no.

 

[Mmouse1588]

We are staying at Jambo house and well have a 3 year old. Is it worth going over to kidani village pool? Will we be missing out if we don't? Or do you think the main pool has enough entertainment for him.

 

[MarkinNM]

Unfortunately, I think you’ll be leaving too early for breakfast at AKL, I think Mara starts serving breakfast entrees at 7 a.m. and Boma opens at 7:30. Your DME bus is likely to be around 3 hr.s before your flight - so around 7:30 a.m.. The advice is to be waiting out front 15 minutes before, so approx. 7:15.
If you plan to use RAC (resort airline check in) allow a few extra minutes to check your bags in case there is a line.
You should have lots of time once you get to MCO to eat breakfast there, tho’.

Hmmm, we are scheduled to fly out @ 11:40 and I do have a 7:35 ADR at Boma that morning, should have enough time to eat and get out there.......I think......

 

[pepperandchips]

Hi - if we are flying out on Southwest at 10:35 am, what time will DME pick us up at Jambo House? We haven't used DME before. Hoping to get a breakfast in before we leave the resort. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I think you’ll be leaving too early for breakfast at AKL, I think Mara starts serving breakfast entrees at 7 a.m. and Boma opens at 7:30. Your DME bus is likely to be around 3 hr.s before your flight - so around 7:30 a.m.. The advice is to be waiting out front 15 minutes before, so approx. 7:15.
If you plan to use RAC (resort airline check in) allow a few extra minutes to check your bags in case there is a line.
You should have lots of time once you get to MCO to eat breakfast there, tho’.

Hmmm, we are scheduled to fly out @ 11:40 and I do have a 7:35 ADR at Boma that morning, should have enough time to eat and get out there.......I think......

For what it’s worth, my flight home yesterday was at 6:45 pm and my magical express pickup was for 2:50 pm, so nearly 4 hours ahead of my flight time. We were through security and at the gate about 2.5 hours ahead of flight time. Frustrating. (this was at the Poly, so your mileage might vary depending on which resorts are picked up in which order for your return back to MCO. Our bus already had a lot of folks on board who had been picked up even earlier)

 

[mum22girlz]

You can try, but odds are the answer will be no.

Thanks for the reply. That's what I figured, but wondered if anyone here had done the same.

 

[Jocelynaus]

.

 

[dansdad]

I wonder if we’ll get housekeeping, we’re staying for 8 days so that will get old. Still it was a great deal and in September!

Yes you will.

 

[sndral]

Thanks for posting this, I have a Priceline room too and I didn’t realise that “villa” was dvc and not a hotel room. Wow so many fewer “partial” Savannah’s view!

I wonder if we’ll get housekeeping, we’re staying for 8 days so that will get old. Still it was a great deal and in September!

If it's a cash stay & w/ Priceline it must be, you'll get housekeeping every day. If they forget, as they did a couple of years ago when we were in a 1 br. villa at Jambo on a cash reservation, just remind housekeeping.
BTW with a standard view villa in Jambo (not a value villa) you'll be on the 5th floor and a lot of those have 'partial' savanna views - the rest have pool or pool/roof views. In fact, I'd say your chance of partial savanna view in a standard villa are at least as good as your chance in a regular standard view room & the only villas w/ parking lot/ road views are the value villas, whereas there are several standard view rooms overlooking the front.

 

[MarkinNM]

For what it’s worth, my flight home yesterday was at 6:45 pm and my magical express pickup was for 2:50 pm, so nearly 4 hours ahead of my flight time. We were through security and at the gate about 2.5 hours ahead of flight time. Frustrating. (this was at the Poly, so your mileage might vary depending on which resorts are picked up in which order for your return back to MCO. Our bus already had a lot of folks on board who had been picked up even earlier)

Wow that is a bummer, spending any extra time in an airport stinks...............sorry that happened to you, so it has been years sonce we used DME, do they schedule a time for you or do you pick a time, what happens if ones misses the bus?

 

[pepperandchips]

Wow that is a bummer, spending any extra time in an airport stinks...............sorry that happened to you, so it has been years sonce we used DME, do they schedule a time for you or do you pick a time, what happens if ones misses the bus?

They schedule it for you based on the flight information you give them. So conceivably you could get creative if you felt comfortable picking a later flight to tell Disney you were on - I’m a nervous flyer anyway so I probably wouldn’t be too keen on that. If you miss your scheduled ME there *might* be one afterward that would work for your flight time, but perhaps not. As far as I know, they don’t come on regular intervals like every hour or every 30 minutes or whatever - I think they are scheduled based on demand. Personally if I missed mine I would be calling Uber/Lyft, but they might be able to put you on the next one if that wouldn’t make you late. (I actually did the reverse once, when I was there at the bus stop early waiting on ME and an earlier one came and the driver let us go ahead and go)

Fortunately on our terminal this last time was a location of Cask & Larder (local brewery) where my husband and I could sit and pass the time. I’d still have rather been in Epcot but it wasn’t too bad overall

 

[sndral]

Wow that is a bummer, spending any extra time in an airport stinks...............sorry that happened to you, so it has been years sonce we used DME, do they schedule a time for you or do you pick a time, what happens if ones misses the bus?

They schedule the time, generally they pick up at more than one resort - although in all of my AKL to MCO DME rides we’ve been the last pick up. They will not let you board a later bus if they do not have room for you. They have no set schedule, so the next DME bus after your scheduled pick up could be an hour or more later and could already be full. Or it could be 15 minutes later and half empty. It depends on how many people are going to MCO.
With how crazy MCO security can be, if I’m not pre I’d rather arrive early, get through security & then relax at an airport restaurant.
BTW, your DME paperwork will be on your door the day before your departure, so look for it & in the rare case where it’s not delivered (happened to me once) ask the front desk & they’ll get the documents to you.

 

[ToyStory3]

Unfortunately, I think you’ll be leaving too early for breakfast at AKL, I think Mara starts serving breakfast entrees at 7 a.m. and Boma opens at 7:30. Your DME bus is likely to be around 3 hr.s before your flight - so around 7:30 a.m.. The advice is to be waiting out front 15 minutes before, so approx. 7:15.
If you plan to use RAC (resort airline check in) allow a few extra minutes to check your bags in case there is a line.
You should have lots of time once you get to MCO to eat breakfast there, tho’.

Ugh! I'm not one for sitting around the airport for hours. Three hours is a little much for me. I think maybe we will Uber. Thanks for the info!