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

[meekey7197]

I am not going to bother - because the fact is that those in customer service are unlikely to be told the reason why the rooms are unavailable. I called hoping there was a chance they were aware, but clearly they weren't, and I agree that just as likely you call 5 times and get 5 different answers - either that of 5 "I don't know"s.

Oh well, not the end of the world. Will keep a close eye on this.

We are in a similar situation as you. My sister wants to go for Spring Break next year but my husband will not share a one bedroom with her and her son. The only way he will agree is if we can get a 2 bedroom and the only way we can do that is if I can get value. Otherwise I guess I'm reluctantly booking 2 studios.

 

[igrsod]

Any idea why they would need to refurb now? The last refurb was just 2016, although I believe that was not a full hard goods refurb. I have never stayed in one of these rooms so I have no personal experience, are they very worn? More so than the other rooms at AKV?

We just came home from a Value room stay. We thought the rooms looked great. The only complaint was how uncomfortable the pull out couch was... very hard and a bar across your back. So hopefully they are upgrading those pull out beds. Other than that we were so happy with our room.

 

[twinklebug]

We just came home from a Value room stay. We thought the rooms looked great. The only complaint was how uncomfortable the pull out couch was... very hard and a bar across your back. So hopefully they are upgrading those pull out beds. Other than that we were so happy with our room.

Those sofas are bad, thin, hard mattresses. I don't recall them being this bad in years prior, but then it was always my son on that bed and he never complains. This last trip we called down to housekeeping and they dug up a 3" thick gel pad topper for my daughter that was perfect, otherwise I would have had to order one from Walmart or Amazon.

 

[gillep]

We just came home from a Value room stay. We thought the rooms looked great. The only complaint was how uncomfortable the pull out couch was... very hard and a bar across your back. So hopefully they are upgrading those pull out beds. Other than that we were so happy with our room.

Those sofas are bad, thin, hard mattresses. I don't recall them being this bad in years prior, but then it was always my son on that bed and he never complains. This last trip we called down to housekeeping and they dug up a 3" thick gel pad topper for my daughter that was perfect, otherwise I would have had to order one from Walmart or Amazon.

We brought my mom and her husband with us and stayed in a Kidani 1 bedroom right after the refurbs finished in 2016, being a good daughter I gave them the master and DH and I slept on that sofa bed for just shy of a week, it was pretty darn bad. I don't usually have back problems, but I was in a world of pain after that stay. I wish I had remembered to ask about the egg crate, but my husband broke his foot on that trip and I was not thinking straight.

 

[twinklebug]

We brought my mom and her husband with us and stayed in a Kidani 1 bedroom right after the refurbs finished in 2016, being a good daughter I gave them the master and DH and I slept on that sofa bed for just shy of a week, it was pretty darn bad. I don't usually have back problems, but I was in a world of pain after that stay. I wish I had remembered to ask about the egg crate, but my husband broke his foot on that trip and I was not thinking straight.

2016 was the update, that makes sense. The sofa bed was never this bad, I'm sure of it.

I just looked on Amazon to find one similar to what housekeeping had found, just so I could keep it in a wishlist there in case I needed to order one on an upcoming stay. This one seems similar, and given the choice of a backache verses $60-80, I'll spend the money.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B079LTP52S/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Maybe we should start an AKV "Mattress Topper Swap Group"

 

[AnnaKat]

Can only guess, possibly they did not fully do those before, but might be because the applicable hallways will be completely shut down because the regular AKL rooms across the hall from the values will be undergoing significant refurb. Where the values are is the only place on the fifth floor where there are also AKL hotel rooms.

I respect your info! I looked into booking December 2-4, 2019.
CRO had 1-bedroom value available!
How can they do that?!

 

[crvetter]

So the value rooms are reporting on the blogs as being refurbished. But odd since no real confirmation from DVC to AKV owners yet.

http://blogmickey.com/2019/02/more-...r-this-year-to-disneys-animal-kingdom-villas/

 

[skier_pete]

So the value rooms are reporting on the blogs as being refurbished. But odd since no real confirmation from DVC to AKV owners yet.

http://blogmickey.com/2019/02/more-...r-this-year-to-disneys-animal-kingdom-villas/

Thanks for that share. I don't know what to think of that- but "early Spring" I would consider at best mid-March, which says no chance at them for February 2019.

 

[Greg36]

They are starting to come back now. They are available Jan 27th and Jan 28th (2020) right now...

 

[skier_pete]

They are starting to come back now. They are available Jan 27th and Jan 28th (2020) right now...

Interesting. Even more interesting that the studios are showing available the 27th and 28th, and the 1-BDs are only showing the 27th...

 

[twinklebug]

Someone currently at Kidani just posted that the large soap dispensers have been added to her shower:

 

[striker1064]

Can also confirm, I'm currently at Kidani and they came around installing the dispensers a few days ago. They seem fine.

 

[Lakegirl]

Hoping somebody can help me. I have a 2 bedroom Lockoff booked and I can’t find a map that shows which ones are dedicated and lock off?

 

[drusba]

Hoping somebody can help me. I have a 2 bedroom Lockoff booked and I can’t find a map that shows which ones are dedicated and lock off?

If you have Jambo, there are no dedicated 2BRs. If you have Kidani , both the dedicated and lock-offs are located together throughout the resort, e.g., one building on each side on one floor may have a lock-off, dedicated in the middle, then another lock-off, and next building unit on same floor will have ded, then a lock-off in the middle, then a ded. In essence if you are considering a location request , you can request anywhere and get either the lock-off or dedicated.

 

[Lakegirl]

If you have Jambo, there are no dedicated 2BRs. If you have Kidani , both the dedicated and lock-offs are located together throughout the resort, e.g., one building on each side on one floor may have a lock-off, dedicated in the middle, then another lock-off, and next building unit on same floor will have ded, then a lock-off in the middle, then a ded. In essence if you are considering a location request , you can request anywhere and get either the lock-off or dedicated.

Yes Kidani. Thank you so much for explaining.

 

[huey578]

For those who have stayed in Grand Villa Jambo & Kidani, which one did you prefer?? TIA

 

[Debbie Jean]

Someone currently at Kidani just posted that the large soap dispensers have been added to her shower:
View attachment 384268

Same at Jambo. What you can’t see from the picture is how cheap the apparatus is. Every time I pump the nozzle, the front holding it in comes loose. A total pain!

The contents of the bottles are fine and in principle this should work but the metal holder is a piece junk!

I understand they need to get the metal facing off to switch out the bottles but there is no clasp, hook or anything else to keep it securely in place.

Will report it for sure but hopefully others have not had the issue.

 

[twinklebug]

Same at Jambo. What you can’t see from the picture is how cheap the apparatus is. Every time I pump the nozzle, the front holding it in comes loose. A total pain!

The contents of the bottles are fine and in principle this should work but the metal holder is a piece junk!

I understand they need to get the metal facing off to switch out the bottles but there is no clasp, hook or anything else to keep it securely in place.

Will report it for sure but hopefully others have not had the issue.

That's a pain. Thank you for reporting it. I'm sure what we see here is not what the final contraption will be. They seem to be trying a few different versions across the resorts. I like the look of this one the best out of the ones I've seen so far.

 

[Debbie Jean]

That's a pain. Thank you for reporting it. I'm sure what we see here is not what the final contraption will be. They seem to be trying a few different versions across the resorts. I like the look of this one the best out of the ones I've seen so far.

If you look at the front facing of the unit in the photo there is a small circular disc that I think should secure it. But it doesn’t stay no matter how you twist it. With housekeeping fiddling with the units, bottles, etc it’s just a matter of time before they fall apart. Not well designed or executed.

BTW I called early to have it fixed. They either didn’t come or couldn’t fix it. What a pain in the patout!

 

[Castillo Mom]

For those who have stayed in Grand Villa Jambo & Kidani, which one did you prefer?? TIA

I chose Jambo for our pre-cruise stay a few years ago after doing extensive research. We were a group of eleven family members and we were there for three full non-park days. I preferred a single level grand villa in order to keep a better eye on the kids and not have to worry about them tumbling down the stairs. The guys in the group took full advantage of the pool table during our stay which isn’t available at Kidani. We never felt cramped and had a reasonable amount of privacy when needed. It’s hands down one of our favorite stays in WDW.