Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[NickDubs34]

Has anyone on here used touring plans to make a request? I'm feeling a bit weird about it and am wondering if it would be better to do it myself?

Just used TP for room requests for trip in June. Had two rooms at Jambo. We didn't get the exact ones we requested (guessing it can be hard to accommodate two very specific rooms right next to each other. But, we did get a very good substitute that was still on the same floor we requested with a perfect view of the savanna we wanted. It was amazing. Such a cool place and TP helped out, I have no doubt.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

Just used TP for room requests for trip in June. Had two rooms at Jambo. We didn't get the exact ones we requested (guessing it can be hard to accommodate two very specific rooms right next to each other. But, we did get a very good substitute that was still on the same floor we requested with a perfect view of the savanna we wanted. It was amazing. Such a cool place and TP helped out, I have no doubt.

Thanks! I'm hopeful, we're planning on using the balcony a lot since we have a toddler. I may call too, just to see.

Yesterday was the 30 days mark and we're so excited

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Has anyone on here used touring plans to make a request? I'm feeling a bit weird about it and am wondering if it would be better to do it myself?

We've used TP exclusively for room requests and been happy with the rooms we were assigned almost every time. The one time AKV gave us a room that was nearly opposite of our request, I politely asked if they could find us a room on the other side of the hall and that we were willing to wait longer for it to be ready (I suspect that AKV gave us the room they did because it was ready and they knew we were already there waiting for a room). They were able to accommodate our request and we were very happy with the room we ended up getting.

 

[austinalexander]

We've used TP exclusively for room requests and been happy with the rooms we were assigned almost every time. The one time AKV gave us a room that was nearly opposite of our request, I politely asked if they could find us a room on the other side of the hall and that we were willing to wait longer for it to be ready (I suspect that AKV gave us the room they did because it was ready and they knew we were already there waiting for a room). They were able to accommodate our request and we were very happy with the room we ended up getting.

Can I ask the front desk before our room is ready if they were able to accommodate our request? Or do I have to wait until the room is ready?

 

[smrice95]

I recommend calling a few days ahead of time and not waiting until arrival. We were just there and upon arrival asked for an obscured savannah view (read somewhere that 55% of the standard rooms are obscured savannah rooms) and we were told sorry. We ended up with a pool view, which was fine, but seeing the animals would have been nicer!

 

[austinalexander]

I recommend calling a few days ahead of time and not waiting until arrival. We were just there and upon arrival asked for an obscured savannah view (read somewhere that 55% of the standard rooms are obscured savannah rooms) and we were told sorry. We ended up with a pool view, which was fine, but seeing the animals would have been nicer!

The problem is we booked through Costco and they will not take room requests through the phone because it’s a 3rd party reservation.

 

[Jsharp13]

We haven't stayed at AKL, but when we did the online check in for ASMu and POP in the past there were one or I think 2 different "room selection" choices right there in the app. Does AKL have the same type of options? What are they?
Or is everyone putting their request in via phone / chat with Disney?

 

[Peaseblossom36]

We haven't stayed at AKL, but when we did the online check in for ASMu and POP in the past there were one or I think 2 different "room selection" choices right there in the app. Does AKL have the same type of options? What are they?
Or is everyone putting their request in via phone / chat with Disney?

Close to elevator and close to lobby.

You can call or chat to make different requests.

 

[CarolynFH]

Can I ask the front desk before our room is ready if they were able to accommodate our request? Or do I have to wait until the room is ready?

You can go to the front desk to ask. If your request was not granted, you can let them know you’re willing to wait longer for your requested location if it will become available later.

 

[sipnride]

So I love AKL, and I really appreciate both Kidani and Jambo for what they are, and I wouldn't say I have a favorite between the two.

However, the one thing that seems to be a consistent problem at Kidani is the handling of the magic bands. Whenever there's a split stay of any kind dealing with the bands can be a hassle, but in my experience Kidani is the one place where they can never seem to fix the issue, and today things got completely fubar, culminating in my wife being rejected at Epcot because her band had been erroneously assigned to my daughter, while my daughters was assigned to a 2nd instance of her that she couldn't access. I've been to the desk a total of 5 times today and had to "test" the bands multiple times by spending money at the gift shop.

I have to stress that although it is common to have issues when checking out of one resort and checking into another (though in this case it was just going from Jambo to Kidani so it shouldn't have been a problem at all), it seems consistently worse at Kidani. I can't seem to figure it why that is, but it's making me not wanting to stay here any more. I was at Jambo all week no problem but get to Kidani and it immediately becomes a headache.

 

[delilah30]

Are cases of water available to purchase at Jambo or Kidani?

 

[TeamSy]

We booked a savannah view at Jambo and have a question…
1. We have 4 people in the room, 2 adults, 1 child, and 1 baby that we bring our own travel crib for. Do any of the rooms have a king with a pull out couch? Or will we just get 2 doubles? Will they put railings on the bed of the double if we ask? Child will be fine on a pull out but I worry about the height of a regular bed. We would prefer a kind and a pull out but not sure if they have this room type? (This is just a stay in the hotel, not dvc)
2. Kids fave animals are giraffes and zebras — should I request a specific trail or not care as we booked a savannah view??? I’m a little nervous I’ve hyped it up too much to them that they will get to see their fave animals from their room and am suddenly nervous that maybe they won’t!!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I'm only familiar with the DVC rooms at Jambo House, so I might not be any help there (unless you're staying DVC in a studio). But I can tell you the Sunset Savanna was a favorite for our family for many years. I would make a request for a view of that savanna for giraffes and zebra.

 

[sipnride]

We booked a savannah view at Jambo and have a question…
1. We have 4 people in the room, 2 adults, 1 child, and 1 baby that we bring our own travel crib for. Do any of the rooms have a king with a pull out couch? Or will we just get 2 doubles? Will they put railings on the bed of the double if we ask? Child will be fine on a pull out but I worry about the height of a regular bed.
2. Kids fave animals are giraffes and zebras — should I request a specific trail or not care as we booked a savannah view??? I’m a little nervous I’ve hyped it up too much to them that they will get to see their fave animals from their room and am suddenly nervous that maybe they won’t!!

AFAIK they're ALL 1 queen/king and 1 pullout, so you should be good.

At Jambo the two largest savannas, Sunset and Arusha, both have giraffe and zebra, and you're definitely going to see them from your balcony as long as you've planned on spending at least one day in the room (iow don't expect to see as much of you're at the parks from Rope Drop to close). I've never stayed in a room facing the other savanna at Jambo so someone else would have to weigh in there, but the overwhelm majority of rooms face the two big ones, and if you request a room near the lobby (never a bad idea) you'll definitely get a room facing one them, most likely Arusha.

 

[sipnride]

And looks like you'll see giraffe at the other savanna (Uzima) but no zebra, so if seeing zebra from the balcony is a must request a room near the lobby.

For more info on the animals in each savanna: https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/resorts/AKLodge/animals.htm

 

[SkyGuy]

AFAIK they're ALL 1 queen/king and 1 pullout, so you should be good.

At Jambo the two largest savannas, Sunset and Arusha, both have giraffe and zebra, and you're definitely going to see them from your balcony as long as you've planned on spending at least one day in the room (iow don't expect to see as much of you're at the parks from Rope Drop to close). I've never stayed in a room facing the other savanna at Jambo so someone else would have to weigh in there, but the overwhelm majority of rooms face the two big ones, and if you request a room near the lobby (never a bad idea) you'll definitely get a room facing one them, most likely Arusha.

We had 2 queens, no pullout, on our most recent stay Jambo savanna view, BUT I booked that category, and also requested it via chat as I didn’t want to share a bed with my college aged DS nor did I want him on a pull out. We looked out over Arusha and saw giraffes and zebras everyday - not all times every day, but we did see them several times each day. We were definitely not near the lobby!

 

[VicarJT]

We booked a savannah view at Jambo and have a question…
1. We have 4 people in the room, 2 adults, 1 child, and 1 baby that we bring our own travel crib for. Do any of the rooms have a king with a pull out couch? Or will we just get 2 doubles? Will they put railings on the bed of the double if we ask? Child will be fine on a pull out but I worry about the height of a regular bed. We would prefer a kind and a pull out but not sure if they have this room type? (This is just a stay in the hotel, not dvc)
2. Kids fave animals are giraffes and zebras — should I request a specific trail or not care as we booked a savannah view??? I’m a little nervous I’ve hyped it up too much to them that they will get to see their fave animals from their room and am suddenly nervous that maybe they won’t!!

We have had great success asking for a particular savannah. Usually Arusha, but on our next trip we will be on Sunset since I want to see ostriches too!

 

[CarolynFH]

We booked a savannah view at Jambo and have a question…
1. We have 4 people in the room, 2 adults, 1 child, and 1 baby that we bring our own travel crib for. Do any of the rooms have a king with a pull out couch? Or will we just get 2 doubles? Will they put railings on the bed of the double if we ask? Child will be fine on a pull out but I worry about the height of a regular bed. We would prefer a kind and a pull out but not sure if they have this room type? (This is just a stay in the hotel, not dvc)
2. Kids fave animals are giraffes and zebras — should I request a specific trail or not care as we booked a savannah view??? I’m a little nervous I’ve hyped it up too much to them that they will get to see their fave animals from their room and am suddenly nervous that maybe they won’t!!

As others have alluded to, did you book an AKL Jambo Resort Room or a Deluxe Studio Villa? The Resort Room should have 2 queens, but the Deluxe Studio Villa will have one queen and one full size (double) pullout couch. No matter which, you can request bed rails from Housekeeping when you get there.

 

[TeamSy]

As others have alluded to, did you book an AKL Jambo Resort Room or a Deluxe Studio Villa? The Resort Room should have 2 queens, but the Deluxe Studio Villa will have one queen and one full size (double) pullout couch. No matter which, you can request bed rails from Housekeeping when you get there.

It’s just a hotel reservation — good to know so no king and pull out option. Prob would have liked the studio villa more then. Too late now lol.

 

[TeamSy]

We have had great success asking for a particular savannah. Usually Arusha, but on our next trip we will be on Sunset since I want to see ostriches too!

I’m so confused on which one I should ask for — between sunset and Arusha — any thoughts/opinions there? I don’t think we care how close we are to lobby, etc. just want the kids to be able to see the animals, mainly giraffes and zebras!