Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[tundra1]

I read about that Publix. I am excited to go there and do our shopping on our arrival day at AKL-Kidani. Is that a store that sells souvenirs and household items also, or just groceries? We don't have that brand of store around here.

 

[hmkenn0]

I read about that Publix. I am excited to go there and do our shopping on our arrival day at AKL-Kidani. Is that a store that sells souvenirs and household items also, or just groceries? We don't have that brand of store around here.

They do have souvenirs and household stuff at the one that is closest (normal Publix no but this one yes) just put it in Google maps and you will be there in minutes).

 

[Paul Stupin]

Never been to AKL, but we’re booking Jambo next week for May. What is the best savannah room location for Zebras and Giraffes?? thank you in advance!

 

[HiStitch626]

We have seen zebras and giraffes on both Sunset and Arusha. We prefer Kudu trail.

 

[stitchfan18]

We decided to head to Disney a few days earlier for our January trip and added on 2 nights at AKV! DH and I stayed at AKL on our honeymoon and on one other short trip, but our kids have never been and it's been probably 10+ years since our last stay. I need to go back and do a lot of reading to catch up on all the changes since our last stay. I hope the zebra domes are still there and as good as I remember them!

 

[jvsims]

Despite the closure, is there still some sensory ambience at Jambo such as ... is there music playing overhead, is the lobby fire lit, do they ever light the outside fires?

 

[HiStitch626]

Things may have changed since August, but I doubt it. The inside fire was not lit, nor was the fire pit. There are no cast member interactions right now so no one is out in the animal observing areas to light the fire pit. If I recall correctly, I think there was music by the pool, but the lobby was quiet.


there were no food options at Jambo, so no zebra domes there. However, I have read that people were able to get zebra domes at the shop at Kidani.

 

[JWhiz]

Unfair question and not easily answered I'm sure, but any guesses as to whether Jambo house will have Christmas decorations this year? If the fires aren't even being lit, I'm guessing that the extra work to put up decorations won't happen. Still I'm staying there mid-November, and was looking forward to how it usually looks during the holidays.

 

[Eeyore daily]

Unfair question and not easily answered I'm sure, but any guesses as to whether Jambo house will have Christmas decorations this year? If the fires aren't even being lit, I'm guessing that the extra work to put up decorations won't happen. Still I'm staying there mid-November, and was looking forward to how it usually looks during the holidays.

I would assume they will since Disney Park Blog confirmed that hotels will be decorated. But that's my guess

 

[HiStitch626]

Since Jambo is at least partly open, I would guess there would be decorations. I don’t know that for sure. It will be interesting to see what happens both there and the Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge. I cannot imagine that there will be any decorations at the All Stars or Port Orleans resorts.

 

[karen4546]

are there any rumors as to when and IF there will be restaurants opening at Jambo? Also, is the gift shop open in Jambo House? We are driving (first time driving since 2012) and will head to a WM or Publix for snack like breakfast food since the QS is at Kidani.

Also, how is check in at Jambo? still front desk? AKV is our home resort, but we have not stayed there since December 2018. We have been using our points for BCV and CCV but we are headed back "home" December 13-18.

 

[HiStitch626]

I would not anticipate any of the restaurants or the store to open until the hotel part of Jambo opens. There's just not very many people there with only DVC open. I do not get the impression they want people who are not staying there to visit the resort at this time.

I believe all the resorts want you to use online check-in, but if there is an issue there will be someone at Jambo who can assist you.

 

[hauntedcity]

We stayed at Kidani this week and visited Jambo one day. while Kidani felt like a working hotel, Jambo almost felt deserted. No gift shop, no restaurants, none of the animals viewing areas had any chairs. It was very odd. I can’t imagine they would do much, if any, holiday decorating.

 

[JOLT]

We stayed at Kidani this week and visited Jambo one day. while Kidani felt like a working hotel, Jambo almost felt deserted. No gift shop, no restaurants, none of the animals viewing areas had any chairs. It was very odd. I can’t imagine they would do much, if any, holiday decorating.

For the benches I believe they are getting refinished. We have been staying at jambo on the weekends and have notices some of the removed benches have shown back up looking redone.

 

[pluto377]

I'm staying at Kidani in a few weeks and was wondering what bus transportation is like to the parks right now? Are there long waits, particularly in the morning for park opening? Just want to make sure I plan enough time to get to the parks as close to opening as possible. Also what are my quick service options for dinner?

 

[brockash]

I'm staying at Kidani in a few weeks and was wondering what bus transportation is like to the parks right now? Are there long waits, particularly in the morning for park opening? Just want to make sure I plan enough time to get to the parks as close to opening as possible. Also what are my quick service options for dinner?

We're here now and in my opinion the buses in the am are not great; mainly due to the fact that they don't start early enough. The forst bus doesn't get here unitl 50- 60 mins prior to park opening, but because of how far AKL is to the parks (other than AK) that's gotten us to the park and through the turnstiles about 20- 30 mins later than the first ppl. at the parks. We had enough and today we ubered to CR and walked over. Getting in 25 mins after actual park open really takes away any rope drop advantage. I will also say that by about 1.25- 1 5 hrs prior to park open wouls b too late to get on the first bus as the stop will be filled with other parties. I'm not sure how many buses they're sending right at park open though so they could send back to back.

Besides the very limited menu and hrs of the piol bar you have absolutely no qs options for lunch or dinner. - It's aggravating for sure. I'd plan on ordering food. I'll be honest I haven't been fond of this resort. The resort seems crowded, yet they don't have everything open. There's often a line to get into the tiny gift shop and the only place other than pool to refill your mug. The pool has been crazy packed...like hardto find a seat packed; even the hallways just seem too narrow for the amount of ppl using them. We've also had 2 kinda rude cms which just never happens for us usually, so it's just not our cup of tea.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

We stayed at Kidani this week and visited Jambo one day. while Kidani felt like a working hotel, Jambo almost felt deserted. No gift shop, no restaurants, none of the animals viewing areas had any chairs. It was very odd. I can’t imagine they would do much, if any, holiday decorating.

We also stayed at Kidani this past week.

We used the pool at Jambo House. From our room location, it was actually a shorter walk there than the one day we went to the Kidani pool. The Kidani pool seemed small and busy. The wait for the slide was all the way down the stairs. We didn’t stay long. The next day we walked over to Jambo House and discovered not only was it a shorter walk, but the pool was almost entirely empty (we went to the pool in the afternoons, it could be busier in the evenings. I counted a few times, and I never counted more than 20 people in the pool). They had the pool trivia games, which my DD loves, and pool music. The Jambo House lobby was completely empty. Not a single guest in it the times we walked through. I wasn’t looking for whether fires were lit, so I can’t comment about that. I remember hearing music in the elevator but I can’t recall if it was playing in the lobby.

We loved our room Kidani and had a great stay there. We ended up in a two bedroom villa. I had originally booked a 1 bedroom villa at rack rate, but when passholder discounts were released, I discovered that a 2 bedroom villa was actually less expensive than the 1 bedroom at rack rate (the 1 bedroom wasn’t available with a discount). There are only two of us, and we practically had more space than we knew what to do with! My DD (9) couldn’t get over having her own bedroom and bathroom on vacation. I declined housekeeping during our stay (the first two days of our stay, they came in while we were out and emptied the trash only), and thanks to the “spare bathroom,” I didn’t need to request any additional towels our entire stay! The room and view were both amazing. We love AKL but haven’t stayed in a long time as we find the buses inconvenient (we find that at every resort, but AKL feels so far away from everything especially on the bus). I rented a car this time due to Covid and wanting our own space (and the convenience of throwing off our masks as soon as we were in the car!). I think I might never go back to Disney buses! I thought the car rental would be a pain, especially navigating parking lots (we only lost the car once, at Epcot, lol), but it was really convenient. I had requested a room near the elevator, and we were literally the first room off of the Zazu elevator. It was perfect. I parked right by the elevator, and in less than 2 minutes, we were in our room.

The biggest issue we had was the lack of dining options and also shopping. I did mobile ordering from Sana’a one night, which was really convenient, but aside from that, the dining situation is a problem. The shopping was also inconvenient. The gift shop at Kidani is very small, and they were limiting the number allowed in at any time. We had to wait in a line to get in, and the selection of things available is limited.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Yup! We will be at Jambo house starting the 28th. Indoor dining is still worrying me for some reason. Your plan sounds great!

there are LOTS of Door Dash options for dinner, that deliver to Jambo as well as Kidani, and the food costs less than Disney food, and is better than. Lot of Disney food.

We’re staying at Jambo House in a week and have a grocery order through Garden Grocer. Will the groceries be delivered to Kidani‘s bell services? Or is there someone at Jambo House to receive deliveries?

If, by chance, they deliver to Kidani (which they shouldn’t, if you specify the Jambo address, and put it in your notes) Bell Services would probably bring it over for you. Of course, you would have to pay a tip, and I would hope they would not impose a $5 per bag fee.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

I meant to add in my post yesterday that the pool lockers and showers at Jambo were unavailable (the restrooms are open but showers are closed). We spent our last afternoon swimming and really wanted not to smell like a pool on our flight home. My daughter remembered the pool deck shower, and so we ended up using that to at least rinse off a little bit. Not ideal, but at least it got the swimming pool smell out of our skin/hair. I wonder if the gym at Jambo House is open? I didn’t think to check. We could have gone there.

 

[HiStitch626]

The gym was not open in early August, but that could have changed. And, I’m not sure if it was due to Covid issues or just the fact that there were so few people staying at Jambo that they did not want to staff the gym.