Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[sndral]

...

I do have a FP for FoP but it seems like everyone is in agreement that one ride just isn’t enough. So I figured I’d plan on riding twice.

OMG! Scoring a same day FP for FoP would be epic! Squealing is entirely appropriate in that situation.

Our first AK day this Dec. was the second day of our trip and we did not snag a FOP FP for that day (we did get them for our other AK days later in the trip.) We did Navi and our normal AK favorites. Then we had dinner at Tiffins and jumped in the FOP standby line about 20 min.s before closing. The wait time posted was 2+ hours. It actually took maybe an hour from the moment we entered the line until we were walking out of the park. I figured it's more interesting to spend an hour seeing the new queue than waiting an hour for the park to open, speed walking w/ a huge crowd to FOP and then still waiting in the queue. I'd read that after the park closes there are no FP people riding so the standby line moves faster & it worked for us

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

Our first AK day this Dec. was the second day of our trip and we did not snag a FOP FP for that day (we did get them for our other AK days later in the trip.) We did Navi and our normal AK favorites. Then we had dinner at Tiffins and jumped in the FOP standby line about 20 min.s before closing. The wait time posted was 2+ hours. It actually took maybe an hour from the moment we entered the line until we were walking out of the park. I figured it's more interesting to spend an hour seeing the new queue than waiting an hour for the park to open, speed walking w/ a huge crowd to FOP and then still waiting in the queue. I'd read that after the park closes there are no FP people riding so the standby line moves faster & it worked for us

That’s a good strategy!

 

[Shellyb84]

Lol

Okay, thanks for the your advice. I’m still unsure. You’re swaying me more towards driving. My only hesitation with that is I’ve never driven to a park before. Eek! I’m sure there’s nothing to it but it still makes me nervous. OTOH, I’ll be a nervous wreck if I have to wait too long for a bus. Decisions...
Oh well, I am hoping to become a local later this year so I should probably get used to driving.

I do have a FP for FoP but it seems like everyone is in agreement that one ride just isn’t enough. So I figured I’d plan on riding twice.

OMG! Scoring a same day FP for FoP would be epic! Squealing is entirely appropriate in that situation.

I would drive just to be safe. It's really, really close, and parking at AK is easy. That early you would be close enough to walk so you don't even have to fool with taking the tram.

We take the buses a lot, but we usually always drive to AK, no matter where we are staying since it's so easy.

 

[SmithSmith]

Our first AK day this Dec. was the second day of our trip and we did not snag a FOP FP for that day (we did get them for our other AK days later in the trip.) We did Navi and our normal AK favorites. Then we had dinner at Tiffins and jumped in the FOP standby line about 20 min.s before closing. The wait time posted was 2+ hours. It actually took maybe an hour from the moment we entered the line until we were walking out of the park. I figured it's more interesting to spend an hour seeing the new queue than waiting an hour for the park to open, speed walking w/ a huge crowd to FOP and then still waiting in the queue. I'd read that after the park closes there are no FP people riding so the standby line moves faster & it worked for us

Thanks for confirming what I expected. I don’t usually RD the parks, I usually close them. I totally agree. I find, like you did, ride wait times to be exaggerated and I far prefer the nighttime ambiance over those crazy RD crowds. I had initially planned to ride with FP, and then at closing, but then I remembered I hadn’t seen RoL. Oops. I didn’t want to bank on a nighttime FoP ride since those nighttime shows can get delayed. So to make a long story short, I have one day at AK and FoP is the only must do so I planned out 3 shots to ride it in case my plans go awry. Although, knowing my luck my husband will get sick on it his first ride and we’ll end up giving up our FPs. lol

Thanks for sharing your experience! It made me feel better about my plan.

 

[SmithSmith]

I would drive just to be safe. It's really, really close, and parking at AK is easy. That early you would be close enough to walk so you don't even have to fool with taking the tram.

We take the buses a lot, but we usually always drive to AK, no matter where we are staying since it's so easy.

I’m convinced. I’m driving. Thanks for helping me out.

 

[dansdad]

We are staying at the AKL on Club level in August. We used to contact the AKL IPO office about 10 days prior to the 180 day mark with some requests. However, I thought I heard that they now have one central IPO for all the resorts. Does anyone have that email address that they could send me.

Thanks!
~D

disney.signature.services@disneyworld.com

 

[NikkiDP]

Hi there! If this isn't the correct place to ask this I apologize but wasn't sure where else to go...

Does anyone know what the DVC value rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge are all about? The pricing is, well, a value but I'm not really sure what the room type is or where.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sndral]

Hi there! If this isn't the correct place to ask this I apologize but wasn't sure where else to go...

Does anyone know what the DVC value rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge are all about? The pricing is, well, a value but I'm not really sure what the room type is or where.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-akv/floor5.php here you go - they are on the 5th floor on either Ostrich or Giraffe trail in the front of the resort @ Jambo. They are a bit smaller than the other DVC villas at Jambo. The 1 and 2 br.s sleep one fewer person than the other villas as the living rooms do not have the sleeper chair that the 1 br.s have in the rest of the AKV villas & the 2 br.s are lock offs - so again no sleeper chair.
Be aware that because the value villas are real point savers (thus costing less as a rental) they are very popular and book really fast, for example I wasn't able to get a 1 br. value villa right at 8 am ET 11 months before either 11/26/18 or 12/1/18 recently. Unless you own there and are planning to walk your reservation or to maintain a wait list you are very unlikely to get one of those villas, especially if you want a studio or 2 br., and even the 1 br.s are challenging. Cash reservations through Disney CRO are a whole other ball of wax, but I don't think they often offer the value villas.

 

[NikkiDP]

http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-akv/floor5.php here you go - they are on the 5th floor on either Ostrich or Giraffe trail in the front of the resort @ Jambo. They are a bit smaller than the other DVC villas at Jambo. The 1 and 2 br.s sleep one fewer person than the other villas as the living rooms do not have the sleeper chair that the 1 br.s have in the rest of the AKV villas & the 2 br.s are lock offs - so again no sleeper chair.
Be aware that because the value villas are real point savers (thus costing less as a rental) they are very popular and book really fast, for example I wasn't able to get a 1 br. value villa right at 8 am ET 11 months before either 11/26/18 or 12/1/18 recently. Unless you own there and are planning to walk your reservation or to maintain a wait list you are very unlikely to get one of those villas, especially if you want a studio or 2 br., and even the 1 br.s are challenging. Cash reservations through Disney CRO are a whole other ball of wax, but I don't think they often offer the value villas.

Thank you so much for all this information!! I'm fairly new to renting DVC so I'm trying to find out all I can and I couldn't believe the cost of the values. We are looking to go down around the same time as the dates you just mentioned so more than likely that will have to be another trip haha.

 

[Lewdannie]

Hi,
I know this question has been asked before, but just checking if there has been an update.
Are there USB charging ports in the rooms??
Thanks
Dean

 

[DISfirstTimer]

First Disney Trip and I'm wondering what drinks are available for the thr refillable mugs? We don't drink soda. Is there unsweetened iced tea, lemonade, Powerade, juice?

 

[fizzymint]

Hi,
I know this question has been asked before, but just checking if there has been an update.
Are there USB charging ports in the rooms??
Thanks
Dean

We stayed last month and the room we happened to get (not sure if it's wholly consistent) was actually a bit dated. Definitely no USB charging ports, and only one standard plug by the bed. It was an accessible room so I'm not sure if that factored into it.

 

[Harambe]

Hello all - just getting ready to make our reservations for December. I would like to ask for a savannah room, with the only request being to be close to the Mara. Do you think this is okay? Our previous two trips to AKL we were on the other side on the lobby, way down (way, way, way) down the corridors, but we had lovely views of the animals. Not sure what we will see on the "Mara" side, but I want to be close to Mara, the shop, and the bus stops.

Thanks for any help!

 

[sndral]

First Disney Trip and I'm wondering what drinks are available for the thr refillable mugs? We don't drink soda. Is there unsweetened iced tea, lemonade, Powerade, juice?

At Jambo in the Mara they have a Peets tea machine for iced tea which is my choice as I don’t drink sodas either.

Hello all - just getting ready to make our reservations for December. I would like to ask for a savannah room, with the only request being to be close to the Mara. Do you think this is okay? Our previous two trips to AKL we were on the other side on the lobby, way down (way, way, way) down the corridors, but we had lovely views of the animals. Not sure what we will see on the "Mara" side, but I want to be close to Mara, the shop, and the bus stops.

Thanks for any help!

With a savanna view the hallway you’d want is Zebra trail as it is on the same side of the lobby as the Mara. The savannas you’d see from Zebra trail are Arusha (the savanna in the middle of the resort) or Uzima.

 

[Harambe]

^^Thank you, Sndral. We aren't too too picky about our animal views as I love all of them! But we will benefit from a shorter walk to Mara and the busses. I figured it was Zebra Trial we'd want, but I get a little confused with the plethora of room options at AKL.

 

[Harambe]

All set. Savannah room close to Mara, for Dec 6 through Dec 13! Excited to see AKL all dolled up for Christmas! First trip with just DH and myself.

 

[Kara19840]

Does any have any tips for room position requests please? We have booked a savannah view with Bunk Beds. We are taking 2 kids ages 8 and 4. We will have a buggy with us and the older kids hates walking so thinking something close to bus stop would be good but want to have the best animal views. Think they would like to see giraffes. Which savannah would that be? Thanks

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Thanks for confirming what I expected. I don’t usually RD the parks, I usually close them. I totally agree. I find, like you did, ride wait times to be exaggerated and I far prefer the nighttime ambiance over those crazy RD crowds. I had initially planned to ride with FP, and then at closing, but then I remembered I hadn’t seen RoL. Oops. I didn’t want to bank on a nighttime FoP ride since those nighttime shows can get delayed. So to make a long story short, I have one day at AK and FoP is the only must do so I planned out 3 shots to ride it in case my plans go awry. Although, knowing my luck my husband will get sick on it his first ride and we’ll end up giving up our FPs. lol

Thanks for sharing your experience! It made me feel better about my plan.

So then you will get to ride it three times - with his magic band and fp!

 

[SmithSmith]

So then you will get to ride it three times - with his magic band and fp!

Whoa. That didn’t even cross my mind. lol

Wouldn’t do that... but still interesting.

 

[gillep]

Ok, just how bad are the buses out of AKL to the parks?
We are flying in and do not want the added expense of a rental car so we are using Disney transportation the whole time.

My crew consists of myself (been to WDW 3x and do 99% of the planning), My sister and her family (been once to WDW, 2 adults, 1-4yo, 1-2yo) and my cousin's family (Newbies, 2 adults, 1-4yo, 1-2yo). I figure if we give ourselves enough time we'll be fine but what are the standard travel times from AKL to each park.

We will be going in January, after marathon and before MLK weekend if that helps.

I have been here at AKL since January 3rd and have not waited more than 8 minutes for any of the buses. I don't know the exact travel times to the parks, as I don't time it, and am usually busy talking to DH about our plans anyway. The bus only stops at Jambo and Kidani (not always both either) and then go straight to the parks, so if you have to stop at a second resort it would take a little longer than the google maps estimate. We have stayed here every year (at least) for the past 10 years or so and have always had good bus service, you will occasionally have a longer wait, but that can happen anywhere. We don't rent a car when we stay here, but will occasionally take Uber, especially on return trips from dinner if we dine at another resort. That said, I don't mind the bus transportation, but others really do, so it really depends on those you are traveling with and whether they are bus people or not.