Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[RachelTori]

We checked in 2 hrs ago and were given a room with view of the people pen on Kudu Trail. We saw 2 animals in the 1 hour we s were in the room. I love the room and absolutely adore the resort. I'm even considering switching my august reservation at wilderness lodge to AKL. To date, we've only ever stayed at GF and Poly. The AKL room is noticeably smaller, but for 2 adults and a toddler it's fine. I love how the room fully reflects the theme. And everything about the resort makes you feel like you are somewhere else.

Disclaimer - my 3 yr old doesn't think it feels like Disney, but i love it

Enjoy your vacation! I love the peace and serenity of AKL! <3

The AKL rooms and WL rooms are essentially the same size (small by "Deluxe" resort standards), but you really can't go wrong with either!

Each has its own charm, but with a 3-year old I'm thinking WL and its proximity to MK would be good - at least for one trip! And I have a DD who works at WL (marina/fireworks cruises/children's activities) so I know it's a great fit for young families!

 

[karen4546]

How far our are the value studios all gone when booking DVC? If I am renting points are they an 11 month priority?

Booked through David's at 11months out and hot a value studio and a 2br standard. So it is possible. This was for Decembe 16-21 2018

 

[disnmooner2013]

We checked in 2 hrs ago and were given a room with view of the people pen on Kudu Trail. We saw 2 animals in the 1 hour we s were in the room. I love the room and absolutely adore the resort. I'm even considering switching my august reservation at wilderness lodge to AKL. To date, we've only ever stayed at GF and Poly. The AKL room is noticeably smaller, but for 2 adults and a toddler it's fine. I love how the room fully reflects the theme. And everything about the resort makes you feel like you are somewhere else.

Disclaimer - my 3 yr old doesn't think it feels like Disney, but i love it

Glam - What room# are you in?

 

[Glam]

Glam - What room# are you in?

3226

Yesterday around 5 or so there were several animals outside. It was awesome#

 

[Glam]

Enjoy your vacation! I love the peace and serenity of AKL! <3

The AKL rooms and WL rooms are essentially the same size (small by "Deluxe" resort standards), but you really can't go wrong with either!

Each has its own charm, but with a 3-year old I'm thinking WL and its proximity to MK would be good - at least for one trip! And I have a DD who works at WL (marina/fireworks cruises/children's activities) so I know it's a great fit for young families!

Thanks. I am curious about WL, so good to know it I'd great for little people. Great Intel! The pool at Kidani has been a big hit with my son and the WL one seems similarly manageable. We usually hit the pool without DH, so I need one that's not too huge and with easy sight lines fit the slide. I'm excited to try the children's activities at AKL and WL.

 

[Abbey1]

My family will be staying at AKL October 18th-24th. It will be my son’s first trip to WDW (we live in the west and have had Disneyland APs in the past). My husband and I have only visited once before, staying at Coronado Springs. I’ve been wanting to stay at AKL a long time, and am so excited for our trip to arrive!

Two questions- do they allow you to bring your own inflatable tube to the pool (not one of those giant ones, just something for my son to float around in)? We love spending some Disney time poolside to mix in some relaxation with all the excitement and the pools at AKL look awesome.

My second question is about the in room celebrations. I’ve read that they don’t allow balloons in AKL, is that correct? Are there any other restrictions for Disney floral and gift items at the hotel? We are thinking of ordering one of the Halloween themed surprises for when we arrive.

 

[k2kten]

Thank you so much. I assume you weren't staying at AKL?

I was staying at AKL Jambo House!

 

[k2kten]

This may be a dumb question since it's a deluxe resort, but are there any rooms that don't have a balcony? I was looking at TP and the view from some of the standard rooms looks so awful, I wondered if it was possible those rooms don't even have a balcony (specifically looking at the standard rooms near the lobby).

I was there last month and stayed in a standard room that faced that parking lot. The balcony was pretty bad...it was super small and cramped. We didn't even go out there because of how small it was.

 

[SmithSmith]

Anyone have any remedies to keep your hotel room cool at night. This motion activated thermostat is making it impossible to get a good nights sleep. I can’t go a third night waking up in a sweat at 4am.

 

[RachelTori]

Anyone have any remedies to keep your hotel room cool at night. This motion activated thermostat is making it impossible to get a good nights sleep. I can’t go a third night waking up in a sweat at 4am.

Call maintenance and ask them to send someone to override the system. Also request a portable fan.

 

[SmithSmith]

Call maintenance and ask them to send someone to override the system. Also request a portable fan.

Thank you! I’ve had the thermostat overridden. I hope that’s enough. If not, I’ll request a fan tomorrow.

 

[DetroitAvant]

Well, I caved and switched to a split stay. Unfortunately, it's 4 at the other resort and 3 here. Still looking forward to it though!

 

[SmithSmith]

Call maintenance and ask them to send someone to override the system. Also request a portable fan.

Just for clarification, what do you mean by override the system?

Maintenance came and changed the lowest setting from 68 to 65. Is that the override? Or were they supposed to override the motion sensor? Because I’m lying here in bed and it sounds like the system shut off again.

Thanks for your help.

 

[SmithSmith]

Also, when the set temperature is 68, shouldn’t the room temperature also be 68? I ask because it’s always 1-3 degrees above the set temp. It never gets down to the set temp.

 

[mamabunny]

Also, when the set temperature is 68, shouldn’t the room temperature also be 68? I ask because it’s always 1-3 degrees above the set temp. It never gets down to the set temp.

Some folks have had success keeping a helium balloon in their hotel room... the balloon sways and moves a bit naturally, and it tricks the motion sensor into keeping the AC on. If you Google "keep ac on hotel room" you might even find results that indicate how to override certain types of thermostats found in many hotels into a "VIP mode" that will then let you set it wherever you want it.

I don't honestly know if balloons are allowed at AKL/Kidani because of the proximity of the animals outside the rooms. It would not be good for a balloon to escape a room, and then cause a problem for a curious critter!

But I do know that this tricks works really great at POFQ...

 

[MarBee]

Anyone have any remedies to keep your hotel room cool at night. This motion activated thermostat is making it impossible to get a good nights sleep. I can’t go a third night waking up in a sweat at 4am.

I assume you’re at Kidani? We had that problem with Kidani when we stayed a few years ago. (We just stayed in Jambo House and had a ceiling fan though, so it wasn’t an issue,)
When maintenance came up to override the motion sensor system, they told us it only lasted 72 hours. So if you are staying longer, have them come back up in a couple days.
It was AWFUL for us in the heat in the middle of the night. It actually made me sick constantly going from 65 to 75 throughout the night. What a moronic idea for a hotel to have a motion sensor to control the temperature? Did no one realize people sleep there at night?

 

[SmithSmith]

Some folks have had success keeping a helium balloon in their hotel room... the balloon sways and moves a bit naturally, and it tricks the motion sensor into keeping the AC on. If you Google "keep ac on hotel room" you might even find results that indicate how to override certain types of thermostats found in many hotels into a "VIP mode" that will then let you set it wherever you want it.

I don't honestly know if balloons are allowed at AKL/Kidani because of the proximity of the animals outside the rooms. It would not be good for a balloon to escape a room, and then cause a problem for a curious critter!

But I do know that this tricks works really great at POFQ...

Thanks, I never would of thought of a balloon. Makes sense though. Unfortunately, we only have 1 Park day left and it’s at Animal Kingdom. So no quick and easy access to helium balloons.

 

[SmithSmith]

I assume you’re at Kidani? We had that problem with Kidani when we stayed a few years ago. (We just stayed in Jambo House and had a ceiling fan though, so it wasn’t an issue,)
When maintenance came up to override the motion sensor system, they told us it only lasted 72 hours. So if you are staying longer, have them come back up in a couple days.
It was AWFUL for us in the heat in the middle of the night. It actually made me sick constantly going from 65 to 75 throughout the night. What a moronic idea for a hotel to have a motion sensor to control the temperature? Did no one realize people sleep there at night?

Ouch, sorry about your trip.

We’re at Jambo. I was really looking forward to having a ceiling fan but we barely notice it. Is there a way to set the fan to a higher speed?

Definitely a moronic idea. When I was trying to explain our problem to the concierge staff, they had no idea the rooms had motion sensor thermostats. Once I told them, they got a puzzled look and said well that’s just dumb. lol

I’m thinking the easy fix is to just check out. Our stay at All Star Sports last May was far more pleasant than this one.

 

[SmithSmith]

Oh yeah, what’s up with the WiFi? It’s such a struggle to log on. Our iPads and iPhones often aren’t even recognizing the signal because it’s so low/slow.

And there was a cockroach/palmetto bug in the club level bathroom. Is this something we should have told them about or is this a known issue?

And is the Boma/Jiko Area always that chaotic? Trying to negotiate the crowd to get to the pool was such a challenge.

 

[RachelTori]

@SmithSmith I’m so sorry you still had room temperature issues last night. I thought maintenance could turn the auto-sensor off during an override, but maybe not (?).

Boma/Jiko does get overcrowded several times of the day (breakfast and dinner times for sure). That’s where diners wait for their table. It definitely can be a challenge to navigate.

I would report the Palmetto bug. It’s an ongoing issue at the resorts, but they do their best to keep the bugs and critters out!