Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[jerseygal]

this is going to be very weird having them knock on our door while we are on vacation.

Haven't kept up with the latest security measures.. If they knock and the guest asks them to come back later, will they? We keep our hotel rooms double bolted no matter where we go..just a security habit from our perspective. Thanks!

 

[rdaky]

Haven't kept up with the latest security measures.. If they knock and the guest asks them to come back later, will they? We keep our hotel rooms double bolted no matter where we go..just a security habit from our perspective. Thanks!

I don't know the official answer, but when we asked them to come back later because we were all napping or resting, they came back a couple of hours later. The first woman knocked quietly and waited for us to answer the door. The one who came back a couple of hours later banged on the door, but also waited for us to actually answer it. We also received a couple of calls asking us when a convenient time to stop by would be. On one hand I liked that because we were able to actually be dressed when they stopped by. On the other hand, I don't see the point in a "security" check if they're giving you time to hide whatever it is that they're looking for. (?!?!)

 

[sndral]

We will be staying at AKL Jambo next April 2019... can someone tell me which Savannah is best for viewing giraffes?
This is a special trip I am doing for my sister and am trying to figure out what my room requests should be. Staying at AKL is a dream come true and probably a once in a lifetime trip so I am trying to get everything right. Any help with room requests would be greatly appreciated.

The 3 savannas which abut Jambo house rooms and villas - Sunset (on the Kidani side,) Arusha (in the middle,) and Uzima (on the pool side) all have giraffes. If you are booked in a savanna view room your balcony will overlook one of those savannas. The animals, including the giraffes, move freely around their savanna, so there's no one room which will have giraffes 24/7, but most will be able to see giraffes as they amble by or stop at a feeding station or stop for a drink at one of the small ponds. Look for high food boxes up the trunks of various trees, then watch as the trucks come through putting greens in them, the giraffes will be by to eat from those locations. Do visit the overlooks and speak to the CMs stationed there about the animals on the various savannas to get a sense of when/where to look. The Arusha overlook is right behind the lobby beyond the fire pit. The Uzima overlook is beyond and to the left of the pool. The Sunset overlook is behind the Kidani lobby.

 

[disney-inspired]

They don't seem to care one bit. Why not make pool renovations in January/February when it is a bit colder in Florida and wouldn't be at a very busy time of year.

I agree. I’m going in January and dont

We did not use MS, used the TP fax instead and got the exact two 2BRV room numbers we wanted, and they were ready by 130pm

This is great to know! I'm going to subscribe since we are going in January 2019.

 

[sunset7132]

Haven't kept up with the latest security measures.. If they knock and the guest asks them to come back later, will they? We keep our hotel rooms double bolted no matter where we go..just a security habit from our perspective. Thanks!

i am handicapped and dont like being disturbed, are all hotels world wide doing this or is it just a disney thing.. they should call the room first not just randomly knock.. just mt OPINION , i dont expect everyone to have the same opinion

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

i am handicapped and dont like being disturbed, are all hotels world wide doing this or is it just a disney thing.. they should call the room first not just randomly knock.. just mt OPINION , i dont expect everyone to have the same opinion

From what I have read , this is resorts wide and there have been checks at AKL no matter what category. If this is a security check a call beforehand doesn't make sense...imo Let them know when you check in at the times you don't want to be disturbed.

ETA:Guest experiences with daily room checks

 

[bwbuddy5]

We didn’t notice anyone coming in our rooms two weeks ago at Kidani.

 

[rdaky]

We didn’t notice anyone coming in our rooms two weeks ago at Kidani.

I'm guessing that if you're out all day, they may have popped in without you knowing about it. We only knew about the checks when we happened to be resting in the room and either got a call or a knock. It was always in the middle of the afternoon for us.

 

[bwbuddy5]

I'm guessing that if you're out all day, they may have popped in without you knowing about it. We only knew about the checks when we happened to be resting in the room and either got a call or a knock. It was always in the middle of the afternoon for us.

We had two rooms and 3-4 hours resort time each day for 6 days.

 

[rdaky]

We had two rooms and 3-4 hours resort time each day for 6 days.

Maybe they're not consistent? As I said in an earlier post, they called us first to ask a convenient time to do a check. Maybe they're profiling and only do required checks on people they suspect?

 

[sunset7132]

We didn’t notice anyone coming in our rooms two weeks ago at Kidani.

good thats very encouraging

 

[jerseygal]

i am handicapped and dont like being disturbed, are all hotels world wide doing this or is it just a disney thing.. they should call the room first not just randomly knock.. just mt OPINION , i dont expect everyone to have the same opinion

I understand. When we travel, as I have said, we routinely double bolt the doors while in the room. It really creates an issue for people traveling with for example teenage kids who the parents leave in the room. I personally would not want my kids answering a hotel door; could be a security issue, never know.

 

[Mika02]

When my daughter and I came in January we stayed at Poly for 5 days I only encountered someone come once and that was the very 1st day when we just arrived (we checked in early). We weren't there mid-day usually though but we would most days come in about 3p to relax till dinner. No one ever came at that point during our stay.

 

[AnnitaR70]

The 3 savannas which abut Jambo house rooms and villas - Sunset (on the Kidani side,) Arusha (in the middle,) and Uzima (on the pool side) all have giraffes. If you are booked in a savanna view room your balcony will overlook one of those savannas. The animals, including the giraffes, move freely around their savanna, so there's no one room which will have giraffes 24/7, but most will be able to see giraffes as they amble by or stop at a feeding station or stop for a drink at one of the small ponds. Look for high food boxes up the trunks of various trees, then watch as the trucks come through putting greens in them, the giraffes will be by to eat from those locations. Do visit the overlooks and speak to the CMs stationed there about the animals on the various savannas to get a sense of when/where to look. The Arusha overlook is right behind the lobby beyond the fire pit. The Uzima overlook is beyond and to the left of the pool. The Sunset overlook is behind the Kidani lobby.

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful information!!

 

[KenHutch]

The 3 savannas which abut Jambo house rooms and villas - Sunset (on the Kidani side,) Arusha (in the middle,) and Uzima (on the pool side) all have giraffes. If you are booked in a savanna view room your balcony will overlook one of those savannas. The animals, including the giraffes, move freely around their savanna, so there's no one room which will have giraffes 24/7, but most will be able to see giraffes as they amble by or stop at a feeding station or stop for a drink at one of the small ponds. Look for high food boxes up the trunks of various trees, then watch as the trucks come through putting greens in them, the giraffes will be by to eat from those locations. Do visit the overlooks and speak to the CMs stationed there about the animals on the various savannas to get a sense of when/where to look. The Arusha overlook is right behind the lobby beyond the fire pit. The Uzima overlook is beyond and to the left of the pool. The Sunset overlook is behind the Kidani lobby.

We were in room 4343 overlooking one of the people pens but had a great view. The entire cost of deluxe became worth it one day when it rained. We got to watch a young giraffe play tag with its mother in the rain for about 15 minutes.

 

[Sailormoon2]

We got to watch a young giraffe play tag with its mother in the rain for about 15 minutes.

Amazing!! And exactly the type of moment I think all of us who stay here are hoping for Glad you got to experience some animal "magic".

 

[Lisann]

Just a quick report from my quick 4-night trip to AKL.

We (myself, and daughter's family) were there to celebrate my granddaughter's 3rd birthday. She only wanted to "see the animals". As she put it "the Lion King wanted her to come to Disney World".

I have been to this resort many times to eat or just take in the scenery. I have never stayed there until this visit (June 16 - 20). I love most everything about this resort. The beauty alone is worth a stay/visit.

The afternoon we all arrived the resort had a major snafu with our reservation. I won't get into all of it, but by 6 pm, we still didn't have a room. We got our requests (standard room, adjoining king with 2 queens), and a little bit of an upgrade...a partial savannah view which was nice.

Long story short, Animal Kingdom Lodge made it right. Sarah at the front desk said "we didn't deliver as promised", and so they took care of our situation for us.

We got a partial credit on our rooms and they even had a gift in the room for my granddaughter (a nice one, too). We also got chocolates and zebra domes delivered (although, I was under the impression that they do this for first time guests? not sure about that). They truly went above and beyond to make sure that we were happy. Earlier, on 4 occasions, I had complained very nicely to the front desk, and believe it or not, they were thanking ME for not getting upset, yelling at them, being disrespectful, etc. Honestly, I never see ANY reason to go crazy at the front desk in order to get a problem resolved. They actually went above and beyond to fix their mistake.

Just an FYI: when Disney messes up, just be patient and give them time to do what THEY need to do in order to fix a problem. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that we don't know about.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Mousekeeping was great, the room was always very clean. Boma was delicious (we had the breakfast buffet). The pool was fun. Mara was decent, although for the life of me I don't understand why they only have one cast member taking orders for a resort that size! Insane! Sometimes the line would snake out of the building. Mara needs a major revamp in that regard; too much congestion all in one place.

I would definitely stay here again.

 

[paradesintherain]

People who complain about buses and remoteness at AKL must never have stayed at contemporary. Yikes it’s a disaster.

 

[gillep]

People who complain about buses and remoteness at AKL must never have stayed at contemporary. Yikes it’s a disaster.

Or WL. We did a 3 way split stay AKV, WL, BLT in April and our trips from WL to Epcot took so much longer than any trip from AKL ever has, especially since we had to stop at Ft. Wilderness. We mostly just walked to MK when at BLT but I did take a bus to AK and again it was not a short trip in the slightest.

 

[bwbuddy5]

We got a partial credit on our rooms and they even had a gift in the room for my granddaughter (a nice one, too). We also got chocolates and zebra domes delivered

The Magic is still intact. Our Sanaa waiter spilled a margarita on me, I just laughed about it, and they gave me a voucher for a free shirt anywhere on property.

And for the record, we had stayed at 10 different Disney resorts, but after staying at AKL 3 weeks ago, we’ll never stay anywhere else.