Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

Can anyone confirm that bunk beds will still be offered after the refurb is complete? (Apologies if this has already been covered in earlier pages)

From what I understand, they are doing away with the bunk beds in both AKL and WL. I would be really surprised if they were still around when they are done. I don't know if anyone has had success booking a bunk room recently either.
 
From what I understand, they are doing away with the bunk beds in both AKL and WL. I would be really surprised if they were still around when they are done. I don't know if anyone has had success booking a bunk room recently either.

My kids would love bunk beds! Wish they would stick around (at least for my trip)
 
In Club Level room 4301. Have to go up to 5th floor from the elevator near us. Cross the bridge, and get on the lobby elevator to get to the 6th floor club. Not overly convenient.
We get the text our room is ready, and stop by ask bell services to send our luggage up at 2:00 PM. 30 minutes later, no luggage, so I called to check. They hadn't done it. I told them we wanted to go to the club, and they asked us to wait and they would send it right up. Luggage comes at 2:45, and we skedaddle to make the bridge crossing to the lobby elevator. Our MBs won't work to get to the 6th floor. We have to wait in line to get to the registration desk. They call upstairs to check on us, and they bring us up. Just in time to watch them taking the food away.
Not a great start to this club level stay.
 


It is been an interesting stay here so far. We were first assigned a room right above the entrance, it was so loud with buses, horns, car alarms etc. It was a room with bunk beds so rickety my 16 year old son was afraid they would collapse on him. The tv didn't work they had send someone to fix it. They moved us the next day to a better location and without bunk beds. We are in a refurbished room which is great I love the new design. My only problem with the new design is that the beds are so high, I am short with mobility issues I can't get in the bed without something to step on. A little step stool would be nice of them to provide. We had luggage problems also, I called and requested our luggage to our new room, 3 hours later still had no luggage. When I called again they had no record of my calling. I will say they apologized and were in the room with luggage 5 minutes later which as far away as we are from the lobby that was impressive. Vanessa with bell services was so nice and helpful I think she would have unpacked for me if I had asked. The fire alarm testing this week has me ready to pack my bags and go home, this over night one has been a mess. No electricity for over an hour and a half with a non stop beeping coming from the storage room we are next to. My husband went downstairs to ask someone please turn it off. They sent someone up who opened door and said yes that is an alarm then left, he did nothing. There was weird popping from the door during the testing we kept thinking someone was trying to enter our room, it was a long night. Overall minus these glitches, this is still my favorite resort, it is peaceful and everyone is so friendly unlike the Grand Floridan where we stayed at the first part of this trip. I am hoping the rest of the trip is uneventful.
 
Received a text at 2:13pm that my room was not ready (Jambo, standard view). It appeared/appears to me that various other families were/are waiting for room assignments. At 3:30, I decided to try the app for the virtual key. Once I clicked “Get Started” the text then came through that my room was ready. Not sure if a coincidence or not. Wish I had tried at 3 😂. Regardless, very happy to be here for our second stay at AKL. 😁
 
Back from a split stay with three nights at AKL in a standard room. Absolutely lovely stay for our first time even visiting AKL. Lobby is beautiful, go to the indoor bridge on the 5th floor for the best viewing.

We were on Kudu trail in room 4348 which is standard but has a very nice partial savannah view. I believe the room above is a studio classified as a savannah view. We saw giraffes every day and many other animals (see photo for view from our balcony). A bit further from the lobby but only a few minutes and the room was so quiet. There was a noisy family directly across the hall from us but we couldn’t hear them in our room. We sleep with a white noise machine so we didn’t wake up to anyone.

The room itself has the same refurb as CSR where we stayed for four nights prior. Same wonderful rainfall shower and big TV (though no chrome cast at AKL sadly) and pretty much everything even the mattresses, just different styling. The price was around $75/night different and I’d say it was worth it as a splurge for us for the inside entrances and theming of the resort (and animals of course). But the actual rooms themselves were hardly different except I do like the inside entrances since you get the buffer of the bathroom between the outside door and your beds. AKL did not suffer from the annoying motion bathroom fan that CSR had though, and AKL also had labeled light switches by the bed including an amazing “good night” button that turned off all the lights!

In terms of buses AKL had way longer lines than CSR. Definitely the longest lines for any deluxe that we noticed but we only went to AK and MK those days. The first night was a bit of a bummer as we waited 40 minutes for a bus from MK to AKL on our check in night. People ahead had been waiting longer. But we waited 45 for a Disney Springs bus at CSR our first night and then never more than 15 after that so I think every resort has flukes. We were worried the next night while waiting for a bus to AKL from MK since the line was quite long, but to our amazement there were three AKL buses sent within 10 minutes so everyone made it on. One guy complained his way onto the first bus since he said he’d waited 30+ all week so take that as you will. We waited an average of 10 minutes to and from the parks I’d say, lots of little kids and strollers so people may need more encouragement to squish to fit :thumbsup2

We had breakfast and dinner at the Mara and Boma. Mara was ok but small menu and slow service for dinner especially. No walking up to stations to have your food plated in front of you. Boma was fabulous and well worth the price. Even picky eaters will be satisfied and may even try some new things they learn they like!

We took photos in front of the lobby tree on two nights and both photopass CMs were honestly rude, giving us looks and no words. I get that it’s probably a pretty unexciting position to be taking photos in front of a resort tree but you’d think we were asking them to perform some monumental task rather than snap a few photos of two adults!

We got notices in our rooms about fire alarm testing and electricity outages but weren’t there for the alarm testing (midday) and the outage was while we were sleeping. Our noise machine did not work then but I brought earplugs so no big deal, it was back on when I woke up in the middle of the night and they provided a flashlight.

Overall we will definitely be back when we want to splurge. I’d love to try Jiko and Sanaa but my mom is a pickier eater so Boma was a better option for her. I don’t think I would stay for an entire trip since it is a bit further away but it is such a unique resort and the price tag is a lot lower than other deluxes.
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Just back from our first (only 2 nights) stay at AKL. It is a lovely resort. We had a club level, savannah view room. While we didn't have a huge problem, we did have enough things go wrong that it added up to crossing AKL off my list for future stays.
See post above about not being able to get to the Club due to Bell Services and MBs that wouldn't allow us to get to the 6th floor. Housekeeping didn't take away any of our dirty cups/glasses and replace them, and we didn't receive our DME documents. In fact, I called looking for DME documents the night before, and was informed that they now do them on third shift, and I would have them for our morning flight. Nope...we didn't. I had to go to the desk, and waste 15 minutes, because the computers were "just waking up".
Like I said...nothing earth shattering, but a series of snafus that wouldn't make me want to go back.
The good thing about WDW is that there are enough resorts that I do love, so crossing AKL off my list ultimately doesn't matter.
 
I rented DVC points for the first time and have a studio at Kidani booked for next November. I didn't realize that AKL was either Kidani or Jambo and I'm locked into Kidani. My fault and the rate *is* insanely good so lesson learned I guess.

I prefer the restaurants at Jambo - is there a secret exit to the walkway from the further points of Kidani? Trying to figure out where I should request my location. I couldn't tell from Touring Plans the exits. We are a standard view, and I'm fairly indifferent on the view. I do know the bus trick between the two resorts so maybe I should just request near the lobby? A half mile walk is not a deal breaker, but does sound far on top of all the theme park walking.
 
Just back from our first (only 2 nights) stay at AKL. It is a lovely resort. We had a club level, savannah view room. While we didn't have a huge problem, we did have enough things go wrong that it added up to crossing AKL off my list for future stays.
See post above about not being able to get to the Club due to Bell Services and MBs that wouldn't allow us to get to the 6th floor. Housekeeping didn't take away any of our dirty cups/glasses and replace them, and we didn't receive our DME documents. In fact, I called looking for DME documents the night before, and was informed that they now do them on third shift, and I would have them for our morning flight. Nope...we didn't. I had to go to the desk, and waste 15 minutes, because the computers were "just waking up".
Like I said...nothing earth shattering, but a series of snafus that wouldn't make me want to go back.
The good thing about WDW is that there are enough resorts that I do love, so crossing AKL off my list ultimately doesn't matter.
We were there the last week in Oct. and there was a couple in the lobby elevator with us that could not get to the CL 6th floor with MB's. Surprised they have not fixed that problem by now.
 
I rented DVC points for the first time and have a studio at Kidani booked for next November. I didn't realize that AKL was either Kidani or Jambo and I'm locked into Kidani. My fault and the rate *is* insanely good so lesson learned I guess.

I prefer the restaurants at Jambo - is there a secret exit to the walkway from the further points of Kidani? Trying to figure out where I should request my location. I couldn't tell from Touring Plans the exits. We are a standard view, and I'm fairly indifferent on the view. I do know the bus trick between the two resorts so maybe I should just request near the lobby? A half mile walk is not a deal breaker, but does sound far on top of all the theme park walking.
What's the bus trick between the two resorts?
 
I rented DVC points for the first time and have a studio at Kidani booked for next November. I didn't realize that AKL was either Kidani or Jambo and I'm locked into Kidani. My fault and the rate *is* insanely good so lesson learned I guess.

I prefer the restaurants at Jambo - is there a secret exit to the walkway from the further points of Kidani? Trying to figure out where I should request my location. I couldn't tell from Touring Plans the exits. We are a standard view, and I'm fairly indifferent on the view. I do know the bus trick between the two resorts so maybe I should just request near the lobby? A half mile walk is not a deal breaker, but does sound far on top of all the theme park walking.
There is no need for any trick, and no need to take a bus. There is a shuttle van that runs continuously back and forth between the 2 buildings, Comes about every 10 minutes and the drivers are super nice! The walk is not far either. If you are really concerned and don't want to worry about the shuttle, ask for a room closest to the stairs on the Jambo end. Its a very short walk over from there.


We enjoy both buildings. Kidani is very peaceful and quiet. Jambo is more active. I don't think you can really go wrong with either as going between is so convenient.
 
What's the bus trick between the two resorts?
Maybe I had old information, but the buses stop at Kidani first and then Jambo on the way to the theme parks. So if you want to go to Jambo I read to hop on the first theme park bus you see. The reverse is true of Disney Springs buses.

There is no need for any trick, and no need to take a bus. There is a shuttle van that runs continuously back and forth between the 2 buildings, Comes about every 10 minutes and the drivers are super nice!
I hadn't heard about the shuttle that's good to know. Is there a map somewhere that shows the stairs so I can give a specific request. Thanks!
 
Maybe I had old information, but the buses stop at Kidani first and then Jambo on the way to the theme parks. So if you want to go to Jambo I read to hop on the first theme park bus you see. The reverse is true of Disney Springs buses.


I hadn't heard about the shuttle that's good to know. Is there a map somewhere that shows the stairs so I can give a specific request. Thanks!
The buses will work, but it takes a lot loner than the shuttle. You want to be at the end of the south trail if you want the shortest walk to Jambo. That is a longer walk to the buses and Kidani lobby though. Its a trade off. We choose to request south trail close to the lobby, which gets us close to lobby, park buses and the shuttle to Jambo.
 
...I hadn't heard about the shuttle that's good to know. Is there a map somewhere that shows the stairs so I can give a specific request. Thanks!
The small shuttle bus picks up just outside Kidani’s lobby, the bus stop is further away - if the shuttle bus is not sitting there when you walk out of the lobby ask Bell Services/valet where to wait for it as it’s not a marked stop.
This older thread might help w/ villa location requests, it has a map of Kidani including the names/locations of the elevators https://www.disboards.com/threads/kidani-map-with-elevators-marked.3558443/
Perhaps request something like near Zazu elevator in S. section of building?
 
We stayed Thanksgiving weekend in a partial view Kudu trail with the same view as disneyhana posted above.
We had 3 nights as part of a split stay (because it was slim pickings by the time we booked).
Loved the animals outside our balcony and the beautiful lobby.
As another posted stated, the photopass photographers seemed less than thrilled to be in their position.
Housekeeping missed our room on our first full day. We had to call for towels and wash cloths at 10pm. They were up within half an hour. The next day, by 4pm when we were headed out for the evening, we did not get any service. We spoke to someone at the front desk and our room was taken care of by the time we got back at 10pm. Rather disappointing service for what we paid for our room.
The second part of our stay was at Coronado Springs in the tower. The halls and rooms felt so much cleaner and the housekeeping came each day. My husband said he would rather stay there in the future and spend one evening dining at Boma and visiting the animals.
 
Here is the latest list of everyone visiting in 2019 & 2020
If you have any updates please let me know…
2019
December
11/30 - 12/14 - Ashleylvsgoofy - AKL
12/4 - 12/12 rangerxenos - AKL
12/5 - 12/12 ZOOMAMA - AKL
12/7 - 12/14 NMPensFan - AKL
12/8 - 12/14 rlduvall AKV Jambo
12/8 - 12/24 Scoobie - AKL Kidani
12/10 - 12/17 Nancyg56 - AKL
12/12 - 12/15 softballmom3 - AKL
12/12 - 12/16 KM82 - AKL
12/13 - 12/18 Bubby4Clay - AKL Jambo
12/15 - 12/22 ericar - AKL
12/20 - 12/24 Lehuaann - AKV CL
12/20 - 12/30 Shoshana - AKL
12/21 - 12/26 TinkerBelle_325 - AKL CL
12/21 - 12/28 jcthompson2 - AKL
12/24 - 12/29 kimmar067 - AKL
12/26 - 12/30 elsbit - AKL CL
2020
January
12/29 - 1/4 ChanellF - AKL Jambo
1/8 - 1/13 lahobbs4 - AKV-Jambo
1/8-1/15 gillep - ALK CL (DVC)
1/10 - 1/17 BurleyGirl - AKL
1/11 - 1/15 MamaJessie - AKL
1/17 - 1/18 ThinkBelieveDream&Dare - AKL
1/24 - 2/2 shbarrett - AKL
1/24 - 2/3 youngdeb12 - AKL
1/25 - 1/27 KimBean - AKL
1/25 - 2/2 maranara - AKL
1/28 - 2/4 mandis77 - AKL
February
1/31 - 2/14 KaboomBoxer - AKL
2/4 - 2/11 mullysisters - AKL
2/4 - 2/12 Mollygirl21 - AKV
2/13 - 2/15 Mom2Colin - AKL
2/14 - 2/20 MadMadamMim1 - Jambo
2/15 - 2/22 starousse - AKL Jambo
2/16 - 2/23 ursalita - AKL
March
3/1 - 3/6 shakes - AKL
3/4 - 3/14 VicarJT - AKL
3/7 - 3/14 nllmncsu - AKL
3/15 - 3/21 Grumpy by Birth - AKV Jambo
3/22 - 3/26 jennf - AKL Jambo
April
3/29 - 4/4 eeyoreandtink - AKL
3/29 - 4/5 andral - AKL Jambo
4/9 - 4/18 WolfePack811 - AKL
4/13 - 4/18 Pooh12863 - AKL Jambo
4/14 - 4/25 cincystamper - AKL Jambo
4/24 - 4/25 Sajchinook2015 AKL
4/27 - 5/8 lisa12000 - AKL
May
5/3 - 5/7 P'colaBeachBum - AKL
5/5 - 5/10 Lilylogan -AKL
5/21 - 5/28 disprincesspatty - AKL Jambo
5/21 - 5/30 dancemom1 - AKV Jambo
5/24 - 5/29 karen4546 - AKV Jambo
June
6/6 - 6/12 malissa90 - AKL
6/14 - 6/21 amyadams1020 - AKL
6/28 - 7/4 DisneyDiana - AKV
July
7/22 - 7/25 cmarsh31 - AKL
August
8/19 - 8/28 Minnieloves4 - AKL
September
9/8 - 9/12 Gerweniel - AKL Jambo
9/10 - 9/24 atkinstogram - AKL CL
October
10/1 - 10/15 tinkerbell1991 - AKL
November
December
 
If you have any updates please let me know…

My sister and I will be at Kidani from Nov4 - Nov10 for the Wine and Dine!

I saw in that linked thread that Kidani is 2/3 of a mile long from end to end. Does anyone know how long it is from the end of Yacht Club to the end of Beach Club? Those hallways went on forever, but it was doable so trying to compare the two.
 
Anyone that has been to AKL recently or just knows about the refurbishment schedule, please help!

What is the current construction/refurb situation at the AKL? Is the pool itself closed or is work just being done on the rooms themselves? Anyone know if the pool view rooms will still be affected in Jan 2020?

Thanks!!!
 
My sister and I will be at Kidani from Nov4 - Nov10 for the Wine and Dine!

I saw in that linked thread that Kidani is 2/3 of a mile long from end to end. Does anyone know how long it is from the end of Yacht Club to the end of Beach Club? Those hallways went on forever, but it was doable so trying to compare the two.
November
11/4 - 11/10 goodeats - AKL Kidani
 

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