Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[karen4546]

please add us : We will be back to AKV Jambo HOuse May 24-29,2020 (another big family trip with 11 people)

 

[dgbg100106]

please add us : We will be back to AKV Jambo HOuse May 24-29,2020 (another big family trip with 11 people)

May
5/24 - 5/29 karen4546 - AKV Jambo

 

[Mollygirl21]

Are there king size beds in any of the AKV Jambo standard rooms?

 

[MarkinNM]

We've stayed at the Lodge twice - first time in December 2017 we got room 2362 on 2nd floor, it was a great view of the Sunset Savannah, good variety of animals
In January this year we were in room 3555 Uzima Savannah which was almost at eye level with the animals. It was amazing; we felt that we could almost reach out and touch the giraffes from our balcony and one had her teeny calf with her too - sheer bliss, we could have watched all day long lol
Have a wonderful holiday @MarkinNM Hope you get one of the refurbed rooms and minimal construction noise.

THANKS!!!!

I did online checkin so I guess we are at the mercy of the gods to what we end up getting.......Hopefully it will be stunning........

 

[rangerxenos]

When are the rest of the renovations due to be finished? Hoping they will be by early December when I'm there.

 

[CarolinaBlue99]

Did everyone see that Disney is now asking that Touring Plans e-mail in room requests 30 days in advance (rather than fax them in 5 days ahead of time)? I'm 42 days out (yippee!), so I'll have to narrow down my room request pronto ...

It's our first AKL stay, and we are very excited. We've booked a savanna view Jambo House room through a Priceline deal then added my daughter when the reservation only showed two people even though I selected two adults, one child. I have a few questions:

1. It didn't specify two queen for booking, so is two queens assumed since we have three on our reservation or do we need to request that so we don't get a king?
2. As of now, I assume it's safest to request Kudu for renovated room even though Zebra renovations are underway.
3. It seems maybe 3rd floor is preferred for a more "eye level" view of the animals. Is this correct?
4. Are there any savanna overlooks (Arusha vs. Sunset vs. Uzima) preferred over others?

I've been scrolling through the TP room views, but they are a bit confusing. I appreciate the help!

 

[pangyal]

Here now at Jambo and in the lobby at 3:30pm were Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, the chipmunks, Tigger and Pooh.

There was no announcement or heads-up that characters would be here today so it was a fun surprise!

 

[Yorkie2011]

Did everyone see that Disney is now asking that Touring Plans e-mail in room requests 30 days in advance (rather than fax them in 5 days ahead of time)? I'm 42 days out (yippee!), so I'll have to narrow down my room request pronto ...

Where did you see that?

 

[MemphisVanessa]

Where did you see that?

There is an announcement from Len Testa on the TP site. I'd link but I'm not sure we're allowed to do that here.

 

[MemphisVanessa]

Where did you see that?

Here is what the announcement says:

"We’ve made some changes to how room requests are handled on the site.
Last week, Disney contacted us to ask that we switch over from sending faxes, to sending emails. They gave us a special, private email address to use.
Disney also said that they’ll accept room requests up to 30 days in advance.
We converted over to this new process on August 16, sending all requests for the next 30 days in one batch. Disney has confirmed receipt of all requests.
Going forward, all new room requests will be sent via email, 30 days prior to check-in.
We’re in the process of updating the site’s checklists and content to reflect these changes. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions."

 

[jennf]

Please add us, we are doing a split stay. Swan/Poly DVC/AKL DVC.
We will be at AKL Jambo DVC Studio Savannah from March 22-26

 

[CarolinaBlue99]

Yep, Len announced it a few days ago. Disney didn’t give them much notice. I hadn’t seen anyone really mention it here on Disboards but don’t know how much we are allowed to talk about Touring Plans stuff. I thought I had more time to finalize the details of my request!

 

[wdw4rfam]

Here now at Jambo and in the lobby at 3:30pm were Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, the chipmunks, Tigger and Pooh.

There was no announcement or heads-up that characters would be here today so it was a fun surprise!

What? We were hanging in the room. I can’t believe I missed it.

 

[ThinkBelieveDream&Dare]

THANKS!!!!

I did online checkin so I guess we are at the mercy of the gods to what we end up getting.......Hopefully it will be stunning........

Oh my goodness @MarkinNM I'm so sorry, I transposed the room numbers and subsequently the views.....
I will correct my original post but as you've quoted me the wrong data shows in your post - is there any way you could edit your post to delete the quote.
Correct info is:
Room 3555 is upper floor level and Uzima Savanna, imo a great view but the Sunset Savanna was even better.
Room 2362 is the 2nd floor which I preferred, we could see the savanna to left and right (partially) and all the way across to Kidani villas (which could possibly put some peeps off but to be honest I didn't actually realise the proximity until I looked at the photos I'd taken). But having the animals so close was the icing on the cake

I'm sure whichever room you have will be amazing; but do tell them at the desk it's your first trip, who knows -you could possibly be upgraded

 

[Jocelynaus]

Yep, Len announced it a few days ago. Disney didn’t give them much notice. I hadn’t seen anyone really mention it here on Disboards but don’t know how much we are allowed to talk about Touring Plans stuff. I thought I had more time to finalize the details of my request!

I was lucky I had my request ready to go, it was sent 2 weeks sooner than they previously said. I bet lots of people were caught out in the change over

 

[meggers628]

Here now at Kidani and we’re thoroughly enjoying our first stay at this beautiful resort.

Just a note about Touring Plan room requests, without knowing about the new request process I submitted my room view request on the website last week. The request was still not sent to Disney until 5 days before check in.

Once again it worked perfectly. The cast member at check in quoted the exact words of our Touring Plans request, lower floor/close to lobby, and she commented what a great room location it was! I’m pretty sure we are in the closest Savannah view studio to the lobby, on the 3rd floor.

We are also staying on rented DVC points. I’ve seen many people saying DVC room assigners don’t acknowledge Touring Plan requests, but we are 2 for 2 getting our requests for DVC stays. 1st year at the Poly and now at Kidani.

 

[CarolinaBlue99]

It's our first AKL stay, and we are very excited. We've booked a savanna view Jambo House room through Priceline (not Express, I knew it was AKL when I booked) then added my daughter when the reservation only showed two people even though I selected two adults, one child. I have a few questions:

1. It didn't specify two queen for booking, so is two queens assumed since we have three on our reservation or do we need to request that so we don't get a king?
3. It seems maybe 3rd floor is preferred for a more "eye level" view of the animals. Is this correct?

I've been scrolling through the TP room views, but they are a bit confusing. I appreciate the help!

Hi again! Since I didn't get any replies to my first post, I've narrowed my questions to the two I'm really interested in.

I'm trying to keep our request as simple as possible to make it easier on room assigners and increase our odds of it being granted. I know kings are in short supply, so I would assume they would save those for people who specifically booked them or request them. So can I safely leave off the two queens request?

Also, the lobby is on 3rd floor, right? But from some reviews it seems that those on 2nd floor felt closer to the animals. I'm trying to figure out which floor to ask for.

I really appreciate any help. It's our first time staying at AKL, and I'm honestly having a bit of a hard time getting my bearing even after studying the map.

 

[dgbg100106]

Please add us, we are doing a split stay. Swan/Poly DVC/AKL DVC.
We will be at AKL Jambo DVC Studio Savannah from March 22-26

March
3/22-3/26 jennf - AKL Jambo

 

[MemphisVanessa]

Hi again! Since I didn't get any replies to my first post, I've narrowed my questions to the two I'm really interested in.

I'm trying to keep our request as simple as possible to make it easier on room assigners and increase our odds of it being granted. I know kings are in short supply, so I would assume they would save those for people who specifically booked them or request them. So can I safely leave off the two queens request?

Also, the lobby is on 3rd floor, right? But from some reviews it seems that those on 2nd floor felt closer to the animals. I'm trying to figure out which floor to ask for.

I really appreciate any help. It's our first time staying at AKL, and I'm honestly having a bit of a hard time getting my bearing even after studying the map.

You can't go wrong with the Savanna View! I will say that the difference between the 2nd and 3rd floor views is that you get a more sweeping view of the whole savanna from the 3rd floor. You are still close enough to have great views of the animals but high enough to take in the gorgeous panorama! For me, the 3rd floor is the sweet spot. It's the same level as the lobby, too.

If you have two adults and a child on the reservation, I don't think you'll need to request two queens. The king rooms are pretty limited so I think you'll be safe.

There is a watering hole on the Zebra Trail side that the animals love visiting. It's in the middle of the wing so a room in that area can be a bit of a trek. But it's nice and quiet over there with not much noise from Arusha Rock. This block of rooms is 3517 to 3531.

 

[CarolinaBlue99]

You can't go wrong with the Savanna View! I will say that the difference between the 2nd and 3rd floor views is that you get a more sweeping view of the whole savanna from the 3rd floor. You are still close enough to have great views of the animals but high enough to take in the gorgeous panorama! For me, the 3rd floor is the sweet spot. It's the same level as the lobby, too.

If you have two adults and a child on the reservation, I don't think you'll need to request two queens. The king rooms are pretty limited so I think you'll be safe.

There is a watering hole on the Zebra Trail side that the animals love visiting. It's in the middle of the wing so a room in that area can be a bit of a trek. But it's nice and quiet over there with not much noise from Arusha Rock. This block of rooms is 3517 to 3531.

Thanks so much! This is exactly what I wanted to know. I was wavering between Kudu and Zebra, and this seals the deal. Word is that Zebra renovations are finished, so hopefully we also get a renovated room. Fingers crossed we get what we ask for!