***The Official AKV Owners And Lovers Thread***. Come And Chat

I just wanted to say, THANK YOU for telling me this was the way to go. Previously I was just checking the pages at 8 AM to see how quickly they went, but today was the day that the dates I wanted actually opened for booking. And thanks to this, I managed to get exactly what I wanted in the value studio! I'm happy.

You're welcome and glad you were able to get the room you were hoping for!
 
We have an upcoming stay @ AKL- Kidani, Deluxe Studio. Room request suggestions? Are any close to Savannah View or what's close to Lobby. This is not my home resort. TIA!
 
We have an upcoming stay @ AKL- Kidani, Deluxe Studio. Room request suggestions? Are any close to Savannah View or what's close to Lobby. This is not my home resort. TIA!

Do you mean you have standard view? Most of those either have view of pool area, or road and bus station and are not very far from the lobby. However, if you want to request a standard room actually having a savanna view, request room near the Pumba elevator. There are standard rooms there that have Pembe savanna view that were converted from savanna view to standard view. Be aware however, that those rooms are very far from the lobby and bus station.

If instead you have savanna view, your initial request should be Sunset savanna view, the better savanna at Kidani that has giraffes and zebras. Most savanna view rooms at Kidani overlook Sunset. If you also want to be fairly close to lobby, then do not request close to lobby -- practically everyone does with the result that there are high odds against getting the request and ending up far from the lobby. Instead request close to the Timon elevator, if you also want to be close to the bus station, or close to the Rafiki elevator if you also want to be close to a gate to the pool area.
 
Do you mean you have standard view? Most of those either have view of pool area, or road and bus station and are not very far from the lobby. However, if you want to request a standard room actually having a savanna view, request room near the Pumba elevator. There are standard rooms there that have Pembe savanna view that were converted from savanna view to standard view. Be aware however, that those rooms are very far from the lobby and bus station.

If instead you have savanna view, your initial request should be Sunset savanna view, the better savanna at Kidani that has giraffes and zebras. Most savanna view rooms at Kidani overlook Sunset. If you also want to be fairly close to lobby, then do not request close to lobby -- practically everyone does with the result that there are high odds against getting the request and ending up far from the lobby. Instead request close to the Timon elevator, if you also want to be close to the bus station, or close to the Rafiki elevator if you also want to be close to a gate to the pool area.

Standard View. So requesting room near Pumba elevator, is that at the very end? If no request, should be closer to lobby/bus since that's where standard rooms are located? Thanks!
 


Standard View. So requesting room near Pumba elevator, is that at the very end? If no request, should be closer to lobby/bus since that's where standard rooms are located? Thanks!

The original standard view rooms are all within striking distance of the lobby and bus station. The standards near the Pumba elevator are not from that group but instead are rooms changed from savanna to standard view a few years after Kidani opened. As I mentioned those converted rooms near the Pumba elevator (the last elevator on the north wing) are far from the lobby and bus station (nearly 1/3 mile) although not quite at the very end of the north wing of Kidani (the wing that the pool is on)
 
The original standard view rooms are all within striking distance of the lobby and bus station. The standards near the Pumba elevator are not from that group but instead are rooms changed from savanna to standard view a few years after Kidani opened. As I mentioned those converted rooms near the Pumba elevator (the last elevator on the north wing) are far from the lobby and bus station (nearly 1/3 mile) although not quite at the very end of the north wing of Kidani (the wing that the pool is on)

Ok, thanks! I was trying to determine how far, is far away. :D
 


We've owned DVC for 9? years now and we are finally stepping it up to our first 1 BR! I snagged the Value 1 BR at AKV and my final night of waitlist came through. Getting excited for January 2019 already... :D

Good going. Anyone who can get a value at AKV and also have the wait list come through must be living right. Though the value 1BRs are smaller than any other 1BRs, they are very nice. You have all the amenties needed (w/d, master bathroom with whirlpool tub and shower, frog, stove, etc.) and regardless of which room you get, you will be near the lobby, bus station and pool. Though they typically do not allow location requests to be made through MS for values, you might want to try something that has worked twice for us. At 60 days out, you will be able to check-in on line and use the request section of the online check-in system. One of the requests you can make is to be on the "Kudo Trail" side of the resort (the left hand side of the u-shaped building).Most of the values on that side have savanna view rather than pool view. Twice with value we have selected that request (and no others) and twice we have gotten the savanna view. Possibly, it is just happenstance and we got lucky, but you might want to try it.
 
Does AKL (either Kidani or Jambo) have any common areas with high speed internet hookups? Looking for a quiet place to get some work done without having to rely on wifi...
Also, I assume that the rooms do not have high speed outlets, is that correct? Thanks!
 
Does AKL (either Kidani or Jambo) have any common areas with high speed internet hookups? Looking for a quiet place to get some work done without having to rely on wifi...
Also, I assume that the rooms do not have high speed outlets, is that correct? Thanks!

Everything is now wifi resort wide.
 
We just recently booked Kidani Deluxe Studio - Standard View through the Disney website with the summer discount. YAAAAY!!

We will be driving (or will rent a car if we fly) so with the underground parking, it seems like the walk to further rooms is mitigated a bit. With that said, we'll be travelling with two kiddos (7 and almost 3). Through reading the last several pages of the thread, it seems like, with kids, we should request either Pumba elevator (does that guarantee a partial savanna view?) or Rafiki, to be near the pool. If I typically prefer an upper floor, should I request an upper floor if I want a savanna view, or is it better to be lower (we lucked in to a great savanna view AGES ago at AKL and I feel like we weren't super high and that was perfect)? Pros/cons of the views? Pool noise? Are there room view pics of the partial savanna views in this (or other) threads?

Also, what are the pros/cons of booking through Disney rather than an owner? We initially booked before the parking fee was enacted. If we were to change to book through an owner, would we then have to pay for parking?
 
^Booking Kidani through Disney central reservations is different from making a DVC reservation and what the Disney site refers to as standard view is often not the same as what DVC identifies as standard view rooms. I know that I can request near the Pumba elevastor for DVC standard rooms and potentially get savanna view, but I do not know if that is true for rentals through Disney, although you might want to try it. Near the Rafiki elevator would get you close to the pool no mater what your view designation, but again I do not know whether you can even make that request through Disney's central reservations.

As to significant differences: (a) though the DVC reservation is most often cheaper than a reservation through Disney, a Disney reservation comes with daily cleaning service and the DVC reservation does not -- you get daily emptying of the trash and some replenishment of toiletries on the fourth day; (b) typically reserving through a DVC member means you will have to pay up front for the room and will not have the ability to cancel and get money back; (c) the reservation can be modified only through the member and making a modification, such as adding a day or moving your dates, can be far more difficult to do than with a Disney reservation, e,g., by 7 months out the member might not even be able to add days or change the dates because other DVC reservations may already have filled the rooms available to DVC; (d) for DVC, requests have to go through the member who is renting (who makes requests through DVC Member Services) and you cannot call directly, except that beginning at 60 days out you will be able to check-in online and use the request section of the check-in pages, which has far fewer requests that can be made than requests that you can make through the member, e.g., the online request pages do not have any request for near the Rafiki or Pumba elevator; the only similar request you can make with online check-in is "near an elevator," a completely useless request without being able to name the elevator, because there are multiple elevators, and such a request could put you in any room in the building; (e) with Disney you have complete control of your reservation, but with DVC, the member actually has complete control including the ability to cancel until your arrival date, i.e., you need to trust the member not to do something wrong; (f) any request for a dining plan must go through the member and must be made and paid for by no later than 48 hours out; (g) buying park tickets is always a completely separate transaction from getting a DVC reservation.

As to some of your other questions: (a) pool is far enough away that you really do not get any pool noise from any room; (b) one might want to request lower floor for more direct view of animals but that should be requested only if you know you have savanna view -- with other DVC standard view rooms you should request high floor to achieve any decent view at all; (c) as to DVC standard rooms near the Pumba elevator overlooking Pembe, I am not aware of any particular pictures except for two YouTube videos that are actually walk-throughs of the same standard view Grand Villa (the very large 3BR unit) in that area and have some shots of the views from the balconies, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy38d42R_2o&t=227s and www.youtube.com/watch?v=31lNSVRzelc; (d) the new resort parking fees do not apply to any DVC reservation even if it is a rental by the member (I have personally confirmed that through DVC).
 
Last edited:
^Booking Kidani through Disney central reservations is different from making a DVC reservation and what the Disney site refers to as standard view is often not the same as what DVC identifies as standard view rooms. I know that I can request near the Pumba elevastor for DVC standard rooms and potentially get savanna view, but I do not know if that is true for rentals through Disney, although you might want to try it. Near the Rafiki elevator would get you close to the pool no mater what your view designation, but again I do not know whether you can even make that request through Disney's central reservations.

As to significant differences: (a) though the DVC reservation is most often cheaper than a reservation through Disney, a Disney reservation comes with daily cleaning service and the DVC reservation does not -- you get daily emptying of the trash and some replenishment of toiletries on the fourth day; (b) typically reserving through a DVC member means you will have to pay up front for the room and will not have the ability to cancel and get money back; (c) the reservation can be modified only through the member and making a modification, such as adding a day or moving your dates, can be far more difficult to do than with a Disney reservation, e,g., by 7 months out the member might not even be able to add days or change the dates because other DVC reservations may already have filled the rooms available to DVC; (d) for DVC, requests have to go through the member who is renting (who makes requests through DVC Member Services) and you cannot call directly, except that beginning at 60 days out you will be able to check-in online and use the request section of the check-in pages, which has far fewer requests that can be made than requests that you can make through the member, e.g., the online request pages do not have any request for near the Rafiki or Pumba elevator; the only similar request you can make with online check-in is "near an elevator," a completely useless request without being able to name the elevator, because there are multiple elevators, and such a request could put you in any room in the building; (e) with Disney you have complete control of your reservation, but with DVC, the member actually has complete control including the ability to cancel until your arrival date, i.e., you need to trust the member not to do something wrong; (f) any request for a dining plan must go through the member and must be made and paid for by no later than 48 hours out; (g) buying park tickets is always a completely separate transaction from getting a DVC reservation.

As to some of your other questions: (a) pool is far enough away that you really do not get any pool noise from any room; (b) one might want to request lower floor for more direct view of animals but that should be requested only if you know you have savanna view -- with other DVC standard view rooms you should request high floor to achieve any decent view at all; (c) as to DVC standard rooms near the Pumba elevator overlooking Pembe, I am not aware of any particular pictures except for two YouTube videos that are actually walk-throughs of the same standard view Grand Villa (the very large 3BR unit) in that area and have some shots of the views from the balconies, see www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy38d42R_2o&t=227s and www.youtube.com/watch?v=31lNSVRzelc; (d) the new resort parking fees do not apply to any DVC reservation even if it is a rental by the member (I have personally confirmed that through DVC).


THANK YOU for all of the amazing information! I think I will definitely keep our reservation through Disney. It sounds like this is what will work best for our travel style and family. I will check out the videos :)
 
After much discussion about where to vacation in 2019, we are looking forward to returning to our AKL home in August 2019! This time we'd like to splurge on a 3 bedroom grand villa as friends will be joining us. Thinking we'd like to book one at Jambo house. Are these hard to get at 11 months? I'm not even sure how many there are! Looking at the last week of August to go.
 
Last edited:
Starlight Safari, how far in advance can you book? Some members of my traveling party want to book for Oct 23rd TIA
 
Hey all! A quick question, do they supply bathrobes in the grand villas? Or can you request them if they don’t?
 
After much discussion about where to vacation in 2019, we are looking forward to returning to our AKL home in August 2019! This time we'd like to splurge on a 3 bedroom grand villa as friends will be joining us. Thinking we'd like to book one at Jambo house. Are these hard to get at 11 months? I'm not even sure how many there are! Looking at the last week of August to go.

Thus far, the six Jambo GV's have always been easy to get at 11 months out, even during the busiest times of year (and August is not one of those).
 
After much discussion about where to vacation in 2019, we are looking forward to returning to our AKL home in August 2019! This time we'd like to splurge on a 3 bedroom grand villa as friends will be joining us. Thinking we'd like to book one at Jambo house. Are these hard to get at 11 months? I'm not even sure how many there are! Looking at the last week of August to go.

I am of no help regarding your question, but I will say I am very jealous, I have dreams of staying in the Jambo GVs, too bad I don't prefer to vacation with others, so it isn't likely to happen for me. Have fun!
 
WE are renting points for a stay at AKL in Jan/19. It's our first time staying here. Any advice on things to do at the resort. We have four days off from the parks, and plan on hanging out at the resort for two of them.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!









Top