Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[kimmar067]

The days are going by so fast now. I graduated from my RN program 2 weeks ago and now i am studying for the state boards. When I come to Disney this trip I will officially be a Registered Nurse! I received so many Disney gift cards for gifts. I can't wait to be back at my beloved AKL. I booked the Star Wars Dessert Party and i got all the fastpasses I wanted. Now, back to planning and waiting

....awesome....and CONRATS!

 

[momof2halls]

i left the a small tip every morning for housekeeping and had so many bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash that I had some to take home!

What toiletries did mousekeeping leave you at AKL? We stayed at The Contemporary last summer and Wilderness Lodge last month and they both left different toiletries. We will Be checking in at AKL next week for our first stay there.
Thanks!

 

[Princess Minnie321]

They are the H2O grapefruit bergamot shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. They smell really good! Here is a pic.

 

[jvattes]

View attachment 244855 They are the H2O grapefruit bergamot shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. They smell really good! Here is a pic.

The left us body lotion and bar soap as well as the above.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Wonder if the grapefruit bergamot has been reformulated (removed phthalates, sulphates and parabens) like H20 did with the sea salt and sea marine. I don't see it on their website anymore.

 

[vikster1]

What toiletries did mousekeeping leave you at AKL? We stayed at The Contemporary last summer and Wilderness Lodge last month and they both left different toiletries. We will Be checking in at AKL next week for our first stay there.
Thanks!

I stayed CL room 4409 in MArch. Upon arrival, we had the grapefruit ones pictured above. All other days of our stay we were replenished with the H2O spa collection, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, foot lotion and aloe. I love the sea salt lotion. I always buy a bottle for 24.99 in the gift shop.

 

[L_MD]

Just returned from our trip (June 9th to 15th). Staying at AKL was always on my bucket list, and it did not disappoint. I loved the resort itself. The grounds, pool, restaurants, and room were great. We stayed in a Savannah view deluxe studio on the Zebra Trail.

The only major negative I had was with the bus service. I've stayed at Pop, Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, and Port Orleans in the past. The bus service at AKL was the worst I've seen. Maybe it was just our luck or Disney running fewer buses to save money. One afternoon we waited for 45 minutes for a bus to show up to take us back from MK. We used Lyft a few times to Epcot and Hollywood Studios and it was good.

Overall, it was a great trip.

How was the service usually from AKL to the parks? You mentioned using Lyft to Epcot and HS but not sure if that's because you didn't want to chance having bad bus luck or because you had a really long wait.

 

[NatureBoyChris]

How was the service usually from AKL to the parks? You mentioned using Lyft to Epcot and HS but not sure if that's because you didn't want to chance having bad bus luck or because you had a really long wait.

I'm not sure how it usually was before this trip. The times we used Lyft, the crowd waiting at the bus stop was more than a bus load for the parks we were going to. Again, it may have been bad timing. All bus trips we took were filled to the max, except to Disney Springs.

 

[Mopedmom1]

In March we stayed on the Kudu Trail, Arusha Savannah and had NO animals in the morning. Very sad for us because we are West Coasties and stay pretty much on Pacific Time, and our usual touring style has us leaving the room somewhere between 10-11 am and returning mid evening most days. It was nearly dark by then and not optimal for balcony animal viewing. However, we noticed every morning during our trek to the lobby there were many animals on the Sunset Savannah.

We are returning this Thanksgiving for a tri-split AK/FWC/YC to celebrate our 25th Anniversary and want to maximize our animal viewing from the balcony whilst having in room breakfast. I have seen conflicting info and wonder if anyone has first hand knowledge to a few questions?

1. Can you confirm that animals still are out on the Sunset Savannah in the mornings.

2. We are wanting a king bed and those seem to be readily available on the Sunset side, but TP has them listed as Garden View. Garden view is not a bookable option. Will I be downgrading my Savannah booking to a Standard, yet still paying for a Savannah, by choosing one of these rooms?

3. I actually have two bookings for our AK stay, the second being cash AKV Jambo Studio. It is my understanding these are only on the fifth floor. Correct?

4. Pros and cons of Villa vs. regular hotel booking? $50/night savings and mini kitchen may not be enough for me to switch from a ground floor view request.

Thank you in advance for helping me make this a perfect 25th Celebration! (Of which my husband thinks ASMo is our only option, and will find out about the First Class airline seating when he sees the boarding pass. And I MAY be able to convince him that seat assignment 1 is just a bad looking 7 on the boarding pass and trick him up to the point of being called to board! Oh, I LOVE surprises!!!)

 

[sndral]

In March we stayed on the Kudu Trail, Arusha Savannah and had NO animals in the morning. Very sad for us because we are West Coasties and stay pretty much on Pacific Time, and our usual touring style has us leaving the room somewhere between 10-11 am and returning mid evening most days. It was nearly dark by then and not optimal for balcony animal viewing. However, we noticed every morning during our trek to the lobby there were many animals on the Sunset Savannah. ...
1. Can you confirm that animals still are out on the Sunset Savannah in the mornings.
...

My knowledge is based on 3 Wanyama safaris (most recent Jan. 2016) and one lunch w/ an animal specialist @ Sanaa. My understanding is that each savanna's animals leave the savanna for the barn and then move back to their savanna, then husbandry goes to the next barn. I know the keepers do Arusha before Uzima, as they share a barn. Not sure where Sunset fits into the schedule (indeed from the lunch I had the impression that Sunset had it's own keepers.) My guess would be that you saw the Sunset animals as you left because the keepers had finished Sunset savanna and had moved on to Arusha.
Whether they are still doing things in that order I can't say - perhaps someone who has taken the night vision safari or the lunch w/ an animal specialist or done Wanyama very recently can provide the current working rotation/schedule. Or even someone who has asked the CM's at the outlooks what time the animals normally go to their barn might have info. about the current schedule.
These are live animals and although there is a routine - events or issues can create havoc w/ the schedule. Examples being a health concern w/ an animal, introducing new animals or moving them from AK to AKL or savanna to savanna, an animal the dawdles going to or leaving the barn, a giraffe that balks at some minor change, etc..

 

[Mopedmom1]

My knowledge is based on 3 Wanyama safaris (most recent Jan. 2016) and one lunch w/ an animal specialist @ Sanaa. My understanding is that each savanna's animals leave the savanna for the barn and then move back to their savanna, then husbandry goes to the next barn. I know the keepers do Arusha before Uzima, as they share a barn. Not sure where Sunset fits into the schedule (indeed from the lunch I had the impression that Sunset had it's own keepers.) My guess would be that you saw the Sunset animals as you left because the keepers had finished Sunset savanna and had moved on to Arusha.
Whether they are still doing things in that order I can't say - perhaps someone who has taken the night vision safari or the lunch w/ an animal specialist or done Wanyama very recently can provide the current working rotation/schedule. Or even someone who has asked the CM's at the outlooks what time the animals normally go to their barn might have info. about the current schedule.
These are live animals and although there is a routine - events or issues can create havoc w/ the schedule. Examples being a health concern w/ an animal, introducing new animals or moving them from AK to AKL or savanna to savanna, an animal the dawdles going to or leaving the barn, a giraffe that balks at some minor change, etc..

Thanks sndral, great info. Jealous of your awesome experiences!

Trying to plan a "perfect" Disney vacation is very tiring. (And who here amongst us here isn't a planner!) I am the planner and DH is happy to follow me wherever that takes us. This is such a momentous occassion for us I want EVERYTHING to be perfect. He is perfectly happy thinking we are staying at ASMo. Well not exactly, he was hoping for POFQ! LOL

 

[h&D3]

Anyone know when the resort activities calendar/schedule will be released? I can still only find May for AKL....

Where do you find the resort activities calendar/schedule. Is it online somewhere?

~D

 

[dansdad]

Where do you find the resort activities calendar/schedule. Is it online somewhere?

~D

http://www.themouseforless.com/walt-disney-world/resort-hotels/movies-under-stars/

These are usually updated on the 3rd or 4th of the new month.

 

[monica9]

I just booked Animal Kingdom Standard View for our December trip. On the trip we will have a 9 year old and a 13 month old baby! Did we make the right choice choosing AKL with a baby? Are the bus trips really that much longer and will we still be able to take breaks from the parks and still have time to do a lot there?
Are there specific standard rooms I should try to request or make a preference that are close to the bus routes so we don't have long walks back to the room at night? I know we don't get to choose the rooms per se but that they ask for any preferences.

First time at AKL. I'm a WL girl but I love the AKL theme too. Hope we made a good choice!

 

[iheartglaciers]

How was the service usually from AKL to the parks? You mentioned using Lyft to Epcot and HS but not sure if that's because you didn't want to chance having bad bus luck or because you had a really long wait.

I stayed at Kidani for three nights last week and thought the bus service was fine. I never felt like I had to wait too long and the buses weren't packed. Maybe it was just the times we headed to the parks, but we ranged from 8am-10:30am on different days.

1. Can you confirm that animals still are out on the Sunset Savannah in the mornings.

I was also disappointed that the animals weren't out early in the morning because I wanted to enjoy some tea and animal watch. But I totally understand the animals need their appropriate routine! I don't know the names of the different areas, but in the main savannah at Kidani it seemed like around 9:30am-10am I saw them putting out hay bales around the savannah and the animals showed up shortly after.

Edit: I just realized I'm in the Jambo thread and don't know how to delete this post... but anyway, some of the info may apply to Jambo since it shares buses with Kidani.

 

[miss1180]

just reading-- very excited to stay at AKL for the first time in August

 

[CeruleanMoon]

What is the difference between a regular room vs a value studio at Jambo? I've never seen the value studios come up as a choice before and I'm guessing they go fast. As far as I can tell, the only differences are:

Two queen beds vs. a queen and a pull out couch
price
no microwave vs. microwave

My son has his heart set on a savannah view but the price difference is substantial, so I'm considering a value studio instead. Anything I need to know about these? Touring Plans room finder shows that many of them have partial savannah views which could be great.

 

[jvattes]

What is the difference between a regular room vs a value studio at Jambo? I've never seen the value studios come up as a choice before and I'm guessing they go fast. As far as I can tell, the only differences are:

Two queen beds vs. a queen and a pull out couch
price
no microwave vs. microwave

My son has his heart set on a savannah view but the price difference is substantial, so I'm considering a value studio instead. Anything I need to know about these? Touring Plans room finder shows that many of them have partial savannah views which could be great.

I think, although I could be wrong, that values for AKL villas is the parking lot view, whereas standard could be a pool view. I don't think there's a pool view option for the villas

 

[CeruleanMoon]

I think, although I could be wrong, that values for AKL villas is the parking lot view, whereas standard could be a pool view. I don't think there's a pool view option for the villas

Touring Plans shows 18 rooms under the "value/studio" category and when I looked at the "view from the balcony" pictures 8 were partial savannah view, 8 were pool view and 2 were parking lot. Am I interpreting "value/studio" category correctly? How accurate is the room map on their site?

 

[sndral]

...
I was also disappointed that the animals weren't out early in the morning because I wanted to enjoy some tea and animal watch. But I totally understand the animals need their appropriate routine! I don't know the names of the different areas, but in the main savannah at Kidani it seemed like around 9:30am-10am I saw them putting out hay bales around the savannah and the animals showed up shortly after.

Edit: I just realized I'm in the Jambo thread and don't know how to delete this post... but anyway, some of the info may apply to Jambo since it shares buses with Kidani.

Questions about Kidani are answered here as well as in the AKV thread in the DVC subsection, so your answer works here too
The big Savanna visible from Kidani is also viewed from Kudu and Ostrich trails over in Jambo and is called Sunset Savanna FYI.
Did you see the zebras on Sunset? I know AK/AKL were part of that Zebra specie's captive breeding program and it was sort of a work in progress, just wondering if they are still there?