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

[Electron_si]

Have a great vacation - my DH and I love Victoria Falls Lounge. It overlooks Boma and the aroma wafts up from there making it a treat for the senses. They also have a small lounge menu that starts serving meals at 5:00pm - also very good.

Thanks, I just looked up the lounge and we will definitely we will plan on having a drink there when we stay.

 

[aerxo17]

How disruptive has the roof construction at Kidani been lately?

Update - stayed in mid-June, no obvious signs of roof construction at all. We had a perfect stay!

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I posted this elsewhere, but figured I would post here as well:

We’ve never stayed at AKV before. We just booked a two bedroom savanna view at AKV Kidani for late next week!

We said if we could find at least four nights savanna view, we would book it. We’ve been checking several times a day (sometimes every half hour ) and this morning, there it was!!!!! We are beyond excited! It might just be my DH & my mom with me and that’s fine with us. We were all at WDW last month for a wonderful vacation with extended family. We were rope drop to almost close. It was so much fun! For this trip, we are looking forward to relaxing in addition to some park time. We have annual passes, so we’re not worried about spending a lot of time in the parks.
We want to take in everything AKV has to offer.

I’ve been reading as much as possible about AKV. For those that have stayed there, please share your AKV must do’s.
What should we definitely not miss?
We’re thinking we will eat breakfasts on our balcony in hopes of seeing animals.
What other time(s) should we plan on being on the balcony?
Anything else we should know?
What should we make sure we see at AKV? We plan to look around Kidani and Jambo and want to make sure we don’t miss anything.

Thank you in advance! We are so excited!

 

[Simba's Mom]

We’re thinking we will eat breakfasts on our balcony in hopes of seeing animals.
What other time(s) should we plan on being on the balcony?

I don't know what time you normally eat breakfast, but the animals generally go to their animal barns between 8:00-9:00 in the morning for breakfast and whatever veterinary checks need to be done. They start coming back out usually from 10:00-12:00, depending on how long that all takes. If you're out between 8:00-9:00, you may be able to hear them being called in. Different species have different calls-like type A animal call is a whistle, type B is 2 blocks, etc. The animal keeper at "Lunch with an Animal Keeper" told us what the specific calls for each animal was-I really miss that lunch!
Another good time to be out there is 4:00-5:30 or so. That's usually when the "browse" jeep comes out, and the animal care CMs out there check the animals (they don't touch them-just look) and the ground for anything out of place.

 

[Amyunder]

Boma for dinner.... get the reservation if you can and if not check the app that day. It is seriously worth it. Also do both pools... slides are different and they have different vibes so make sure to make it to both . Gift shop at Jumbo is also fabulous.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I don't know what time you normally eat breakfast, but the animals generally go to their animal barns between 8:00-9:00 in the morning for breakfast and whatever veterinary checks need to be done. They start coming back out usually from 10:00-12:00, depending on how long that all takes. If you're out between 8:00-9:00, you may be able to hear them being called in. Different species have different calls-like type A animal call is a whistle, type B is 2 blocks, etc. The animal keeper at "Lunch with an Animal Keeper" told us what the specific calls for each animal was-I really miss that lunch!
Another good time to be out there is 4:00-5:30 or so. That's usually when the "browse" jeep comes out, and the animal care CMs out there check the animals (they don't touch them-just look) and the ground for anything out of place.

We are usually early risers, hoping to sleep in a little bit on this vacation. We could be on balcony as early as needed to observe animals. Maybe be out there by 8:00am and when the animals have their morning checks, we could go checkout the resort. Then back on the balcony sometime after 10:00am. On a different day, be on the balcony around 4:00pm.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We are usually early risers, hoping to sleep in a little bit on this vacation. We could be on balcony as early as needed to observe animals. Maybe be out there by 8:00am and when the animals have their morning checks, we could go checkout the resort. Then back on the balcony sometime after 10:00am. On a different day, be on the balcony around 4:00pm.

From our experience with animal watching - there won't be a mass exodus of animals from the savannah. Some might be called in for attention, but many of the animals seem to roam around the savannah eating the brush, hay, other foods they bring put on the savannah for them. It's very unusual to be on the balcony and not see some animals - depending where your room is. Hopefully, you'll get a room looking out over the Sunset Savannah, which tends to have a large variety of animals - giraffe, antelope, zebra, ostrich, birds, etc. Enjoy your stay! AKL Kidani Savannah is our favorite room anywhere!

You might consider ordering breakfast to-go from Sanaa at Kidani - bring back the goodies and enjoy the balcony on a nice morning..... OR, you can order breakfast at Sanaa and sit at a table by the restaurant windows and watch the animals from there - an awesome view of the savannah from the restaurant.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Any recent experiences with Savor the Savanna?
We’re trying to decide if this is worth the cost?
As of now, the only available time is on our arrival day. I’ll keep checking for other days.
Any info will be helpful.
Thank you!

 

[Jonnnyap]

@BLTtinkerbell AKV is our home resort, and we love it.

Based upon your user name, I'd guess BLT is a favorite of yours. We've stayed there only once (and are considering adding on at BLT), since BLT is so different from AKV. I think you'll enjoy the contrast.

Hope you have a fantastic time! We just returned from a BRV trip this week, but we still went over to AKV to enjoy the atmosphere and for lunch at Sanaa. I'd recommend a lunch or dinner there. Breakfast is also fun, but the lunch/dinner menu is fantastic. The bread service (which you can customize breads/dips if you desire) is a great way to enjoy the company of friends and share good food.

AKV is also currently doing a fun interactive experience where you can go to various places throughout Jambo/Kidani to learn about the culture/animals and get beads that can be made into a bracelet. Each bead is uniquely shaped and would be a nice keepsake. Since we weren't staying at AKV, we didn't do this, but it looked fun. There's a display just off the lobby (down the hall towards the community room in Kidani) that explains it, so I'd recommend you look for this and see if it's something you'd like to do.

Hope you have a great time and enjoy the theming and animals!

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

@Jonnnyap

Thank you for your response! Yes, our home resort is BLT and we do love it there. If you have any questions about it, please feel free to ask me.

How was BRV? We haven’t stayed there yet, but it’s on our list.

Thank you for your suggestions, we plan to explore the entire resort and will look at Sanaa.

The interactive experience sounds fun! We will check that out too!

 

[Jonnnyap]

BRV was nice. We enjoyed the food options and overall atmosphere; the main lobby reminds us of Jambo's lobby (designed by the same person). Watching MK fireworks from the boat returning to BRV at night and then watching the Electric Water Pageant come to life was a highlight. We've stayed in DVC a few times now, and this was the first that my kids (late teens and 20s) used the arcade; they had some silly "act like younger kids again" time playing Wicked Tuna, an arcade game that made no sense to any of us but made for some fun memories.

Back to your question about Savor the Savanna, I've looked into that many times, but the cost and other people's reviews have swayed me away from it. In our experience, you can enjoy better (or similar) food at Sanaa or elsewhere at AKV and view the animals from your SV balcony. Take the money savings and buy Zebra Domes at Mara or something else that would make the day special. IMHO, this is a better approach, since there are so many animal viewing areas (including your balcony) at AKV.

Hope you have a fantastic trip @BLTtinkerbell !

 

[Skywalker3]

We enjoyed a wonderful stay in a 2 bedroom savannah view at Kidani in early June. It was our 4th time at Kidani. We made a room request to be near lobby....guess where we were: 7264. LAAAAAST door on the left on the wing to Jambo. IT WAS A HIKE! On the plus side, the Jambo lobby was only a couple mins longer walk than the Kidani lobby. Ha! but it was still a really nice view. It seemed like the animals were not out as much as we'd seen before , but I wasn't sure if that was due to the construction on the roof, or the heat, but overall, at various times of the day/evening, we saw lots of animals. SOOO wonderful to just sit out on the balcony and animal watch. TIP: if staying in the last room, and you see a safari truck driving around at dusk, they are will slow down, and stop right in front of your balcony before heading in.....maybe not be in pjs out there. But it ended up being a pretty quiet location, very little hall noise for sure. Nobody is coming all the way down there.
Having the extra bathroom was great. It did come in handy sometimes, plus just having that whole separate bedroom w 2 beds closed off.
I enjoyed walking to Jambo and looking around. We did mobile order to-go bread service from Sanaa. So delicious! However, I did find the bus service a bitslower than in previous stays. one night my son waited 35 mins for the bus to AK, and another night the bus from AK only stopped at Jambo. It may have been noted as Jambo only on the front of the bus, but DD and I had run to catch it and didn't notice. I didn't realize they sometimes only go to one resort, but it was such a short walk from Jambo to our end of the Kidani world room, it was fine.
We didn't use the pool this time, but have really enjoyed it in the past.
Hope you have a fabulous stay!!

 

[twinklebug]

I did find the bus service a bitslower than in previous stays. one night my son waited 35 mins for the bus to AK, and another night the bus from AK only stopped at Jambo. It may have been noted as Jambo only on the front of the bus, but DD and I had run to catch it and didn't notice. I didn't realize they sometimes only go to one resort, but it was such a short walk from Jambo to our end of the Kidani world room, it was fine.

The buses are always supposed to hit up both buildings. If they did not it was a new or exhausted driver mistake. I've had it happen to us too in reverse, driver hit up Kidani but blew past Jambo only turning around when everyone on the bus started yelling as he was exiting the resort.

My son says I have bad luck with buses and won't wait with me XD He claims to walk onto buses just arriving all the time.

 

[leebee]

Staying at Jambo studio in September; how big are the refrigerators? Is it a standard "cube" or is it more like 3-4 feet tall?

 

[limegreenmonorail]

Staying at Jambo studio in September; how big are the refrigerators? Is it a standard "cube" or is it more like 3-4 feet tall?

This is the fridge in the last Jambo studio I stayed in - it's the taller kind.

 

[leebee]

This is the fridge in the last Jambo studio I stayed in - it's the taller kind.

Thanks! DD/SIL will be there to celebrate a few milestones, including her 30th birthday. I want to have a 6" cake delivered to the room but was worried about refrigerator space. Even if they have to cut the cake in sections, there should be enough room in this fridge!

 

[twinklebug]

Thanks! DD/SIL will be there to celebrate a few milestones, including her 30th birthday. I want to have a 6" cake delivered to the room but was worried about refrigerator space. Even if they have to cut the cake in sections, there should be enough room in this fridge!

I've never had an issue with the fridge size, however once my son was assigned a room with a replacement fridge (had a clear glass door). It seemed to be smaller. IF you should happen to get a room with anything other than the larger unit call housekeeping immediately upon arrival and at the very least they can bring a second small fridge to you. I am very familiar the housekeeping manager there now - she's wonderful.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

How’s the refurbishment going at Kidani?
What noise should we expect?
Thanks for any info.

 

[MinnieSueB]

How’s the refurbishment going at Kidani?
What noise should we expect?
Thanks for any info.

Was in a 2 bedroom Savannah-Kidani last week and saw no refurbishment going on - did we just miss it? We had a fabulous time & saw lots of animals different times of the day. I did call front desk & was told Sanaa is not doing breakfast at all right now (major bummer) so didn't even head down to verify. Busses were fabulous while we were there - low wait times. Rooms do need refurb IMO - we had difficult time getting outlets to charge our phones. But overall a GREAT stay!

 

[drusba]

Outside Kidani refurb began in 2022 with the pool, followed by front entrance area and then outside of the rooms. Beginning Feb this year the roof is being redone in sections and is supposed to be finished by Oct. The internal room refurb likely will not start until after that -- at last year's annual member meeting in Dec, they said Kidani refurb would not be completed until 2024.