Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[Dis_Yoda]

I’m glad everyone seems to be making headway with the issue, however I feel very sad for those who paid to move and now others are being moved to other resorts at no additional cost. That should have been offered from the get go to everyone. We requested to move to boardwalk yesterday. I appreciate it is typically a more expensive resort, but I feel very apprehensive that I haven’t been given time to research this resort properly before going. Has anyone got any tips or comments to make regarding this particular resort?

Also for anyone who has yet to receive any sort of compromise, I myself didn’t receive an email back nor did I get a phone call. I rang back and it was conveniently not long after they had been given approval to offer no charge swap to a select number of other locations. So every just keep trying and ring at your earliest convenience. We should all be treated equally! Good luck guys!

We own DVC points there, AKV and VGF. We love something different about each of them. The boardwalk is awesome - especially during Food & Wine Festival as getting to EPCOT is super easy. You are also in walking distance to HS. Lots of options for restaurants as well.

 

[G719]

I got a call from Disney this morning. She was able to get my package price adjusted to match what I had hooked before the ticket price increase. I did have the bunk bed savanna room booked after originally having the standard view. I think she would have matched that standard package price if I still had that at the time of the pool announcement. I am glad to see Disney providing good customer service.

 

[Nakita93]

I just emailed them. I don't expect anything out of it, but I wanted my voice heard. I think if we go back to the original concept that Walt Disney had, Disney World is supposed to be a place for all walks of life, not just one. Staying in a deluxe is a luxury and splurge for us, as it is for many. We want to be able to enjoy it, all of it, not just certain aspects.

I completely agree. Further update on the situation is that they are now offering savannah view studios at Kidani for people who only had standard at AKL, although I don’t think the pool is as conveniently located at the QS offerings aren’t great!

 

[piasalady]

I got a call today from Disney is response to my email to guest services. They offered to switch us to the Wilderness Lodge for no additional cost. I declined as this resort just does not appeal to me and I already have our schedule set up based on a stay at AKL. I let her know that I felt we should be offered a discount on our stay at AKL due to the loss of the pool amenity. She told me that she was not authorized to offer that. However, she did tell me that there should be more discount offers droppping in June for the time period we are staying (Oct 10-14). She put a note on the account and told me to call back as soon as I saw the discounts listed and they would apply anything available to my stay. She did apologize multiple times about the pool issue. I felt that she honestly felt bad about the situation and the fact that she could not offer me what I wanted. I still intend to email the CEO and Vice President today because I really want them to understand how poor their customer service is related to this issue. I am hopeful though that I will be able to get some sort of discount come June.

 

[nikkyluvsmickey]

I got a call today from Disney is response to my email to guest services. They offered to switch us to the Wilderness Lodge for no additional cost. I declined as this resort just does not appeal to me and I already have our schedule set up based on a stay at AKL. I let her know that I felt we should be offered a discount on our stay at AKL due to the loss of the pool amenity. She told me that she was not authorized to offer that. However, she did tell me that there should be more discount offers droppping in June for the time period we are staying (Oct 10-14). She put a note on the account and told me to call back as soon as I saw the discounts listed and they would apply anything available to my stay. She did apologize multiple times about the pool issue. I felt that she honestly felt bad about the situation and the fact that she could not offer me what I wanted. I still intend to email the CEO and Vice President today because I really want them to understand how poor their customer service is related to this issue. I am hopeful though that I will be able to get some sort of discount come June.

I got a call about my email last night the woman was very sweet. She asked me to further explain my disappointment of the pool closure and asked if adding a water park pass to my account would help the situation. I was thrilled and said yes and thanked her. I feel better about the situation now still disappointed but at least my email was listened to and they tried to accomidate. hopefully others will have similiar results.

 

[LoveSplashMountain]

We didn’t want to move resorts and really didn’t care as much about room location. We are there in September for 7 days and spend the majority of our time in the parks. They did upgrade our Park Hopper tickets to Park Hopper plus. We never would have paid for it before, but now we are planning at least half of a day at a water park

 

[piasalady]

I got a call about my email last night the woman was very sweet. She asked me to further explain my disappointment of the pool closure and asked if adding a water park pass to my account would help the situation. I was thrilled and said yes and thanked her. I feel better about the situation now still disappointed but at least my email was listened to and they tried to accomidate. hopefully others will have similiar results.

That’s great. I am happy that they offered you something that you wanted! Have fun

 

[Abbey1]

I'm glad a lot of you have been able to come to a happy resolution in regards to the pool closure. I wish that they had a game plan set up before they sent out the email, so that the cast members would have been able to address our concerns from the very beginning. When I called on Tuesday, the person I spoke with wasn't particularly helpful, and in turn, I re-booked a different hotel prior to being offered any other alternatives. At the time, I didn't realize that I would be paying for the ticket price increase, so I did send an email about that and my overall frustration with my first phone call. I sent an email last night, so hopefully I'll be getting a call in the next few days.

 

[bwbuddy5]

We arrive at Kidani in 3 weeks. We land at MCO at 9:50am and will be using DME to the resort. We have an ADR for Sanaa at 12:50pm, then plan to watch animals, swim, and explore until our rooms are ready. Then, AK park in the evening.

Do you have any other ideas on how to kill time that first day?

 

[sndral]

We arrive at Kidani in 3 weeks. We land at MCO at 9:50am and will be using DME to the resort. We have an ADR for Sanaa at 12:50pm, then plan to watch animals, swim, and explore until our rooms are ready. Then, AK park in the evening.

Do you have any other ideas on how to kill time that first day?

That sounds like a pretty full day! Drop your carry on at Bell Services, if you are lucky you’ll have a little over an hour after arrival until your lunch - maybe hang out on the rocking chairs watching the animals on Sunset savanna, or grab the shuttle down to Jambo to check out the great gift shop & the Arusha overlook behind the lobby there, then Sanaa lunch followed by swimming and then AK. Your villa might even be ready early.
I usually head to a park my first day (but tend to arrive a bit later) and rely on DME to just leave my luggage in my room while I’m off at the park.

 

[Micharlotte]

I just happened to see s post about this closure on page 3 of the resort forum. I’ve been making headway on this one and was on page 72 trying to learn all I need to know about AKL and now I’m not sure what to do! I’m staying September 3-10 in a studio room and just switched from CBR because the majority of their construction won’t be finished. We are already pushing our budget and would love to stay at AKL, but I think a pool closure would be a deal breaker for us. I’ve emailed the address listed above asking for some help. It seems like everyone has a different experience, but I’m thinking of asking to switch to BC. It’s a resort I’ve always wanted to stay at as well and the pool looks awesome. I’ve seen some people have luck with that. I just wanted to say thanks again for keeping me in the loop. I was on the phone for an hour Thursday morning cancelling my old reservation and transferring the payment to the new one and was not told of the closure. I’m feeling very irritated about that and I feel that if I had known I might have been able to fix it then instead of 4 days later. Thanks again DisBoards!

 

[bwbuddy5]

That sounds like a pretty full day! Drop your carry on at Bell Services, if you are lucky you’ll have a little over an hour after arrival until your lunch - maybe hang out on the rocking chairs watching the animals on Sunset savanna, or grab the shuttle down to Jambo to check out the great gift shop & the Arusha overlook behind the lobby there, then Sanaa lunch followed by swimming and then AK. Your villa might even be ready early.
I usually head to a park my first day (but tend to arrive a bit later) and rely on DME to just leave my luggage in my room while I’m off at the park.

I actually made the Sanaa ADR at 12:50pm to make sure we had plenty of time after we land at 9:50 to take DME and check in so that our DDP credits are activated before lunch. Have I overcompensated on time? What time would you recommend for the Sanaa ADR to eat as close as possible after checkin-there are plenty of earlier times available.

 

[dansdad]

I actually made the Sanaa ADR at 12:50pm to make sure we had plenty of time after we land at 9:50 to take DME and check in so that our DDP credits are activated before lunch. Have I overcompensated on time? What time would you recommend for the Sanaa ADR to eat as close as possible after checkin-there are plenty of earlier times available.

I would definitely not make it any earlier. I would actually move it a bit later to have a bigger cushion in case things don't go perfectly.

 

[Carlymouse]

I actually made the Sanaa ADR at 12:50pm to make sure we had plenty of time after we land at 9:50 to take DME and check in so that our DDP credits are activated before lunch. Have I overcompensated on time? What time would you recommend for the Sanaa ADR to eat as close as possible after checkin-there are plenty of earlier times available.

I agree with dansdad. I'd be thinking conservatively in case the plane runs late or anything. If you do end up earlier than anticipated, you could still stop by Sanaa and see if they can fit you in earlier, which may be possible since it's earlier in the day (rather than during a more packed dinner schedule), but I'm not speaking from personal experience so take that with a shaker of salt.

 

[Chimaera]

Leaving Wednesday for our Jambo House Savanna View trip, what's the best way to request an Arusha view on the Zebra trail? I've never been one for requests (other than a king bed) but in the online check-in I didn't see anywhere to ask for a specific trail or savanna.

 

[Lovetherodent]

Think I will be following all your great advice and emailing. My trip is 2nd week of December, still during the "winter months" affected by the pool closure. I do schedule an afternoon break with pool time, so this is a disappointment. Hopefully, I can keep my bounceback rate at another deluxe. I think I saw somebody get BWI? I'd like to try that one next, I think.

 

[carlythecat]

For those of you who emailed, did you email guest communications directly or use the help tab on the disney world website?

 

[Lovetherodent]

Also, for those of you who emailed, about how long did it take to get a response?

 

[sndral]

I actually made the Sanaa ADR at 12:50pm to make sure we had plenty of time after we land at 9:50 to take DME and check in so that our DDP credits are activated before lunch. Have I overcompensated on time? What time would you recommend for the Sanaa ADR to eat as close as possible after checkin-there are plenty of earlier times available.

Assuming your plane is on time, I always assume it'll take about 1/2 hr. to deplane, make my way to the DME area, board the bus then wait until the bus fills before we depart for WDW.
There is no set order for resort drop offs, but IME AKL is last, usually there are stops at some combination of the all stars/pop/AOA, CSR or maybe CBR before the bus heads to AKL. Others report being first to be dropped off - but in my multiple trips I've always been last.
I assume 2 hours total, you have 3 hr.s, so I think you'll be fine.

 

[piasalady]

Also, for those of you who emailed, about how long did it take to get a response?

I emailed using the link at the Disney website first. The responded within 3 days or so. The offered to move us to the Wilderness Lodge but that resort doesn't really appeal to us. I then emailed the people below and received a response within 24 hours. I was upgraded to a Savannah View room at no charge and the cast member I talked to said to call back once the new discounts drop and she would try to apply it to my stay. They also offered us an upgrade to the park hopper plus so we could go to the water parks.

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