Jambo! The newest AKL Information thread

[livinginthecornfield]

I just returned from an 8 day stay at Jambo House -- this was our fourth Disney vacation -- prior, we have stayed off-property, POFQ and Polynesian. I honestly have to say that I wasn't crazy about this resort. Yes, it's beautiful but there were a bunch of little things that were wrong and it just put a damper on things. It started off when my magic band fell into the toilet....it got caught on my pocket and fell in.... that cursed everything....

1. The transportation -- you are stuck on busses all the time. It's the only resort without its own unique mode of getting to its home park. The bus to/from MK was hit and miss -- one night it took us 90 minutes to get back from MK. This was right after fireworks, when the park closed... there were no busses running. Another night, we missed our BOG dinner reservation because the MK bus never came..... yes, front desk gave us a taxi voucher, but the bus was still unreliable.

2. Guest relations - if you ask the same question to 5 people, you get 5 different answers. Why would I ask 5 people the same question? Because I was sent on a wild goose chase to get a picture from photopass printed. I asked the gift shop who sent me to the front desk who sent me to the non-existent photo pass booth, back into the gift shop then out to valet. I wound up bussing it to AK on a day off (I had to go to guest relations and they told me to buy a ticket into the park -- uhh no) then told to go Disney springs for this service. I came back and talked to a manager and he apologized and said that they could've gotten a runner to do it. Ugggh.

3. Club level - a very cool perk with some great food. And everyone else thinks so too, so appetizer time and breakfast time, it looks like the line downstairs at the Mara (single line snaking throughout the restaurant and through the door). The club level concierges didn't seem to know that much about the park or even Disney at all. One guy had no clue who Merida is (we were trying to figure out her meet & greet time) nor did he knew that theKilimijaro Safari ran at night.

4. Mosquitoes!!!! Currently my legs have about 100 bites all over them. We sat out on our balcony at night, so I'm assuming that's where I got them all... is it because of it being an African Safari?, the type of plants on property? I never got bitten this much on my past trips.... but they have plenty of signs posted in the parks about having a rugged and comprehensive mosquito prevention program.

5. If you go and voice your concerns to guest relations, all they do is throw fast passes at you and assume you are happy. Kind of like giving a lollipop to a crying kid. Some people save a lot of money for vacations and with Disney, you assume that there is a level of excellent customer service. This is what made me come back over and over again..... Polynesian and POFQ were all amazing. The excuse was that Pandora just opened and they were working out the bugs...... you would think that they would've had anticipated these bugs and addressed them long before park opening. It doesn't seem up to Walt Disney standard compared to the other deluxe resorts. I'm not asking for the red carpet to be rolled out, but with a Deluxe resort at club level, I was expecting a bit less construction dust and more pixie dust.

So to me, I would not stay at AKL again. The monorail and/or ferry boats will be a priority in our future plans.

 

[monica9]

....I could never understand why so many put such emphasis on bus times.....gad zooks, you are on your way to a Disney park, for corn's sake, so sit back and enjoy the ride, coupled with the anticipation! On the other side of the coin, you can relax your weary bones and tired dogs in the comfort of a nicely air-conditioned bus...

Agree! My daughter loves the buses. I love being able to SIT, relax and unwind with some cool air while listening to music and driving by the entrances to the other resorts. I have no problem taking a break on a bus. At most some of the closer resorts might save an estimated 20 minutes a day to get from resort to park which to me isn't a big deal. Just wake up 20 minutes earlier!

 

[monica9]

[ It started off when my magic band fell into the toilet....it got caught on my pocket and fell in.... that cursed everything....
Nothing to do with AKL.
1. The transportation -- you are stuck on busses all the time. It's the only resort without its own unique mode of getting to its home park. The bus to/from MK was hit and miss -- one night it took us 90 minutes to get back from MK. This was right after fireworks, when the park closed... there were no busses running. Another night, we missed our BOG dinner reservation because the MK bus never came..... yes, front desk gave us a taxi voucher, but the bus was still unreliable.
My sister stayed at GF and it took her almost an hour to get back to her resort from MK on the monorail one night and never took less than 20 minutes with all the stops and wait to get into the monorail.
I felt like I was on the bus all the time while staying at the BC because we shared for some parks


.

4. Mosquitoes!!!! Currently my legs have about 100 bites all over them. We sat out on our balcony at night, so I'm assuming that's where I got them all... is it because of it being an African Safari?, the type of plants on property? I never got bitten this much on my past trips.... but they have plenty of signs posted in the parks about having a rugged and comprehensive mosquito prevention program.
I remember getting bit at CBR and the lizards were terrible.
5. If you go and voice your concerns to guest relations, all they do is throw fast passes at you and assume you are happy. Kind of like giving a lollipop to a crying kid.
I'd love for them to throw fast passes my way for little complaints!!

 

[gillep]

I just returned from an 8 day stay at Jambo House -- this was our fourth Disney vacation -- prior, we have stayed off-property, POFQ and Polynesian. I honestly have to say that I wasn't crazy about this resort. Yes, it's beautiful but there were a bunch of little things that were wrong and it just put a damper on things. It started off when my magic band fell into the toilet....it got caught on my pocket and fell in.... that cursed everything....

1. The transportation -- you are stuck on busses all the time. It's the only resort without its own unique mode of getting to its home park. The bus to/from MK was hit and miss -- one night it took us 90 minutes to get back from MK. This was right after fireworks, when the park closed... there were no busses running. Another night, we missed our BOG dinner reservation because the MK bus never came..... yes, front desk gave us a taxi voucher, but the bus was still unreliable.

2. Guest relations - if you ask the same question to 5 people, you get 5 different answers. Why would I ask 5 people the same question? Because I was sent on a wild goose chase to get a picture from photopass printed. I asked the gift shop who sent me to the front desk who sent me to the non-existent photo pass booth, back into the gift shop then out to valet. I wound up bussing it to AK on a day off (I had to go to guest relations and they told me to buy a ticket into the park -- uhh no) then told to go Disney springs for this service. I came back and talked to a manager and he apologized and said that they could've gotten a runner to do it. Ugggh.

3. Club level - a very cool perk with some great food. And everyone else thinks so too, so appetizer time and breakfast time, it looks like the line downstairs at the Mara (single line snaking throughout the restaurant and through the door). The club level concierges didn't seem to know that much about the park or even Disney at all. One guy had no clue who Merida is (we were trying to figure out her meet & greet time) nor did he knew that theKilimijaro Safari ran at night.

4. Mosquitoes!!!! Currently my legs have about 100 bites all over them. We sat out on our balcony at night, so I'm assuming that's where I got them all... is it because of it being an African Safari?, the type of plants on property? I never got bitten this much on my past trips.... but they have plenty of signs posted in the parks about having a rugged and comprehensive mosquito prevention program.

5. If you go and voice your concerns to guest relations, all they do is throw fast passes at you and assume you are happy. Kind of like giving a lollipop to a crying kid. Some people save a lot of money for vacations and with Disney, you assume that there is a level of excellent customer service. This is what made me come back over and over again..... Polynesian and POFQ were all amazing. The excuse was that Pandora just opened and they were working out the bugs...... you would think that they would've had anticipated these bugs and addressed them long before park opening. It doesn't seem up to Walt Disney standard compared to the other deluxe resorts. I'm not asking for the red carpet to be rolled out, but with a Deluxe resort at club level, I was expecting a bit less construction dust and more pixie dust.

So to me, I would not stay at AKL again. The monorail and/or ferry boats will be a priority in our future plans.

I am sorry you had a less than stellar experience at AKL. Transportation can be hit or miss anywhere depending on a lot of factors, I give my self excessive amounts of time to get to get around so I have thankfully never missed a reservation or really ever even cut it close. I don't like the Monorail at all so I don't personally consider it a perk I would pay extra for.

I have stayed Club Level at AKL almost 10 times, each time usually for a week, and we have breakfast there every morning and apps most evenings, and yes there are usually more people around for breakfast and apps, but I have never had waits similar to those of the Mara or any other QS restaurant, usually just a short line, and never more than 5 minutes from leaving my room to having food to eat.

I have also been cursed by being one of the only people to get mosquito bites at WDW, although they have almost always been outside at Pecos Bills in MK and Epcot.

 

[pixarmom]

We've stayed at all of the deluxe resorts, all mods except cabins and all values. Transportation is always hit or miss. Similar to monica9's sister, it took nearly 2 hours for us to return to Poly from MK in late January a few years ago! My husband was actually wishing we were staying off the monorail and taking the bus!

We're arriving at AKL on Monday. Most of the time, walking is my favorite mode of transportation, so I do really like the Epcot resorts. But that can be tough on our crew in the summer. So we chose AKL for great rates and the fact that we can go and fro on an air conditioned bus. Also, love that the bus won't stop at a bunch of other resorts alone the way! Happy to report back when we return.

 

[sndral]

We are staying at Jambo for the first time in rented points. I have a few questions. We are arriving early the Friday before Labor Day. What are the chances our room will be ready early? Hopefully around noon. As I said we are staying on rented DVC points, no savanna view. where are these rooms located? We are attending the MNSSHP on 9/1, we plan to get to the hotel between 9 and 10. We have reservations at Boma for 10:15 then we were just going to hang around the hotel till 2:30- 3:00 to head to MK for the party. We are planning on bringing swim suits for the kids with us. Is there a place for them to change if our room is not ready?

... The DVC rooms are ollocated on the 5th floor and take up the entire floor, so conceivably you could have any number of views - parking lot, roofline, pool, or even a partial savanna view...

If you have a DVC reservation for a deluxe villa standard view @ Jambo there's no danger of a parking lot view since the only AKV Jambo parking lot type views are the value villas which are a specific booking category (and real point savers)
Just go into arrival knowing that you may not get into your villa early, check in is an hour later than regular rooms because it just takes longer to clean a 1, 2 or 3 bedroom villa w/ their kitchens and larger sq footage than it takes to clean a hotel room, plus since members pay for housekeeping via their dues most would rather have lower dues rather than immediate access to our villas. Personally I'd plan to go out by the pool near the Uzima overlook and just chill and relax. I also like sitting in the lobby on occasions, there's really comfy seating in the lobby and of course there are the rocking chairs out back of the lobby by the Arusha overlook. Assume you'll have your villa at 4 and plan accordingly (books/kindles/knitting/swim gear, whatever gives you pleasure) and then be pleasantly surprised if you are into your villa early.

 

[Harambe]

I just returned from an 8 day stay at Jambo House --

So to me, I would not stay at AKL again. The monorail and/or ferry boats will be a priority in our future plans.

I'm sorry things went bad for you. But you did figure out that AKL is not the place for you, and that's fine! I could write similar reports on resorts that lots of folks love, but those resorts were just not for me (GF comes to mind). I am happy about that, because when it's time to go back and pick the resort, at least I can take a few places out of the decision! Otherwise, I'd go crazy! I hope your next Disney trip ends up with lots of positive memories (at the Poly probably!).

 

[pepperandchips]

If you have a DVC reservation for a deluxe villa standard view @ Jambo there's no danger of a parking lot view since the only AKV Jambo parking lot type views are the value villas which are a specific booking category (and real point savers)

Good point! I totally forgot about that. Can I go back now? I'd be happy to look at the parking lot instead of my office walls

 

[kimmar067]

.....save an estimated 20 minutes a day to get from resort to park which to me isn't a big deal. Just wake up 20 minutes earlier!

...exactly!

 

[kimmar067]

....Transportation is always hit or miss. Similar to monica9's sister, it took nearly 2 hours for us to return to Poly from MK in late January a few years ago! My husband was actually wishing we were staying off the monorail and taking the bus!

We're arriving at AKL on Monday. Most of the time, walking is my favorite mode of transportation, so I do really like the Epcot resorts. But that can be tough on our crew in the summer. So we chose AKL for great rates and the fact that we can go and fro on an air conditioned bus. Also, love that the bus won't stop at a bunch of other resorts alone the way! Happy to report back when we return.

....actually, a 'perk' of AKL is that it does NOT share a bus with any other resort. My DSis stayed concierge level at the Poly and one thing her family did NOT enjoy was sharing the bus at different times with GF, and even one time with SoG! [I'm guessing that was an extenuating circumstance, though]

 

[pixarmom]

....actually, a 'perk' of AKL is that it does NOT share a bus with any other resort. My DSis stayed concierge level at the Poly and one thing her family did NOT enjoy was sharing the bus at different times with GF, and even one time with SoG! [I'm guessing that was an extenuating circumstance, though]

Yes, not stopping at a bunch of other resorts is one of the reasons we are choosing AKL again for this trip! We always look forward to that. Especially at the end of a long day. For most of our other deluxe stays, we've shared with at least two other resorts. (GF, CR, Poly, for example.)

 

[sndral]

My least favorite bus routes are when they combine YC + BC + BW + Swolphin. Or POR + POFQ. But if you really want bus purgatory stay at CBR at whichever island was first to pick up and last to drop off on that 7 stop route (I think it was 7 stops.)
My bad bus karma seems to start and end w/ the DME ride & for some reason I always get a DME bus that stops at AKL last, oh and escaping DS (formerly DTD) I always have the worst bus experiences there.

 

[DizDaD7]

ABSOLUTELY! Hey, just a few more days now.....

Yeppers....Kids and Wife have been packed for like 5 days now...I'm going to pack tomorrow night.... I still have another waitlist for the 1st 3 nights, but doubt that it will come through.. It's fine though....

 

[DizDaD7]

Thanks for the estimated times. I'm pretty sure I thought it was going to take a lot longer. Everyone makes AKL to be out in another continent when talking getting to the parks!

I didn't do online check in because I really want giraffe trail. I'm sure most don't. But my mom broke her ankle last year so the closer to the busses and pools would be best for us. I'm not sure if not doing online check in will help with that? But I figure if I can talk to the front desk it may help if we are assigned a different location. We land at 925 am.

Giraffe trail is actually ideal... Shortcut to the pool, and to and from the buses..
AKL being further is a huge plus in my eyes...When you do get back after a day at the parks, it feels like a vacation from a vacation!!!

Enjoy your trip

 

[DizDaD7]

Yes, not stopping at a bunch of other resorts is one of the reasons we are choosing AKL again for this trip! We always look forward to that. Especially at the end of a long day. For most of our other deluxe stays, we've shared with at least two other resorts. (GF, CR, Poly, for example.)

Not to mention BWV a few years ago. Sharing with Swolphin & YC & BCV too...That was horrendous..

 

[Tk0021]

If you have a DVC reservation for a deluxe villa standard view @ Jambo there's no danger of a parking lot view since the only AKV Jambo parking lot type views are the value villas which are a specific booking category (and real point savers)
Just go into arrival knowing that you may not get into your villa early, check in is an hour later than regular rooms because it just takes longer to clean a 1, 2 or 3 bedroom villa w/ their kitchens and larger sq footage than it takes to clean a hotel room, plus since members pay for housekeeping via their dues most would rather have lower dues rather than immediate access to our villas. Personally I'd plan to go out by the pool near the Uzima overlook and just chill and relax. I also like sitting in the lobby on occasions, there's really comfy seating in the lobby and of course there are the rocking chairs out back of the lobby by the Arusha overlook. Assume you'll have your villa at 4 and plan accordingly (books/kindles/knitting/swim gear, whatever gives you pleasure) and then be pleasantly surprised if you are into your villa early.

Thanks for the info on the rooms. If we dont get in our rooms early we probably will just relax and not swim. It might be to much of a hassle.

 

[leebee]

...how do you think I'm paying for OUR stay [at BWV] in October?

Love Disney VISA points! When we stayed at BWV for DD's 21st birthday celebration (during food and wine), we rented DVC points but had enough VISA rewards to pay for 2 of our 3 park tickets, AND an Epcot After Hours event (private tequila flight tasting at the Cava in the Mexico pavilion). Love the VISA rewards!

 

[DizDaD7]

I just returned from an 8 day stay at Jambo House -- this was our fourth Disney vacation -- prior, we have stayed off-property, POFQ and Polynesian. I honestly have to say that I wasn't crazy about this resort. Yes, it's beautiful but there were a bunch of little things that were wrong and it just put a damper on things. It started off when my magic band fell into the toilet....it got caught on my pocket and fell in.... that cursed everything....

1. The transportation -- you are stuck on busses all the time. It's the only resort without its own unique mode of getting to its home park. The bus to/from MK was hit and miss -- one night it took us 90 minutes to get back from MK. This was right after fireworks, when the park closed... there were no busses running. Another night, we missed our BOG dinner reservation because the MK bus never came..... yes, front desk gave us a taxi voucher, but the bus was still unreliable.

2. Guest relations - if you ask the same question to 5 people, you get 5 different answers. Why would I ask 5 people the same question? Because I was sent on a wild goose chase to get a picture from photopass printed. I asked the gift shop who sent me to the front desk who sent me to the non-existent photo pass booth, back into the gift shop then out to valet. I wound up bussing it to AK on a day off (I had to go to guest relations and they told me to buy a ticket into the park -- uhh no) then told to go Disney springs for this service. I came back and talked to a manager and he apologized and said that they could've gotten a runner to do it. Ugggh.

3. Club level - a very cool perk with some great food. And everyone else thinks so too, so appetizer time and breakfast time, it looks like the line downstairs at the Mara (single line snaking throughout the restaurant and through the door). The club level concierges didn't seem to know that much about the park or even Disney at all. One guy had no clue who Merida is (we were trying to figure out her meet & greet time) nor did he knew that theKilimijaro Safari ran at night.

4. Mosquitoes!!!! Currently my legs have about 100 bites all over them. We sat out on our balcony at night, so I'm assuming that's where I got them all... is it because of it being an African Safari?, the type of plants on property? I never got bitten this much on my past trips.... but they have plenty of signs posted in the parks about having a rugged and comprehensive mosquito prevention program.

5. If you go and voice your concerns to guest relations, all they do is throw fast passes at you and assume you are happy. Kind of like giving a lollipop to a crying kid. Some people save a lot of money for vacations and with Disney, you assume that there is a level of excellent customer service. This is what made me come back over and over again..... Polynesian and POFQ were all amazing. The excuse was that Pandora just opened and they were working out the bugs...... you would think that they would've had anticipated these bugs and addressed them long before park opening. It doesn't seem up to Walt Disney standard compared to the other deluxe resorts. I'm not asking for the red carpet to be rolled out, but with a Deluxe resort at club level, I was expecting a bit less construction dust and more pixie dust.

So to me, I would not stay at AKL again. The monorail and/or ferry boats will be a priority in our future plans.

Sorry you had such a rotten time...The concerns that you listed are very few and far between, but nonetheless obviously happened. Trust me, and the far majority, that this place gets rave reviews, because yes they have some of ( if not the best ) CM's on property. All willing to assist & teach you about their specific culture...The resort itself sets it apart from others too..The 4 different restaurants, each one being unique & equally excellent as well.
Transportation has always come up as an issue for some, because it being further away from MK, but for the most part on avg. gets you there within 20 mins. or so...You mentioned that it took 90mins. I'm sure other resorts at that time were also well above the times too. & The mosquito issue is a thing that's been going on down there.. It is what is is, & i'm sure you did get some near the resort, but as well as the parks and other spots...
I'm glad that you had a great time at the other 2 resorts, for that's the beauty of WDW, Many different strokes for different folks...
Good luck on your next booking

 

[DizDaD7]

Love Disney VISA points! When we stayed at BWV for DD's 21st birthday celebration (during food and wine), we rented DVC points but had enough VISA rewards to pay for 2 of our 3 park tickets, AND an Epcot After Hours event (private tequila flight tasting at the Cava in the Mexico pavilion). Love the VISA rewards!

Wife just paid all the bills prior to our upcoming stay, and had a smile on her face as she was showing me that we have $384 on our rewards as well... to use for this trip....It's a good thing & a bad thing..It means we spent an awful lot..LoL

 

[kimmar067]

Yeppers....Kids and Wife have been packed for like 5 days now...I'm going to pack tomorrow night.... I still have another waitlist for the 1st 3 nights, but doubt that it will come through.. It's fine though....

....yeah...oh, the pain of it all....having to stay at the GF.....what a shame....