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

[Oswald's Fury]

You will love it! DH and I had a 3 night stay last year (preceded and followed by other resorts). We had savanna view and we loved having coffee and snacks on the balcony watching the animals! There are also verandas with rockers to watch the animals. The pools at both Kidani and Jambo are beautiful! The one at Jambo is near the quick service restaurant, The Mara, and we enjoyed dining by the pool. We also enjoyed watching swimmers (it was too cold for us) at the Kidani pool and they have a snack bar there. That pool is zero entry and both are heated. There are fire pits to sit around. The CM's who are around the fire pits and look out points are very interesting to talk to - discussing the animals and themselves. There is a work out room if you are into that. We enjoyed walking from Kidani to Jambo to get exercise. There are tennis courts. At night, you can get night vision goggles to try to find animals. We dined at Sanaa, which was wonderful. If you dine there before dark, you might get a table by the window to view animals. When you check in, they will give you an itinerary of events. I'm pretty sure there's some sort of event with the chef of Sanaa. You can be sure to be at certain locations to watch animals eating and learn about them.

I'm sure there are more experts than I am on these boards who will respond.

You definitely did your vacation correctly - planning to relax at AKV after your BWV stay! You will love it! Enjoy![/
Your personal anecdotes of your stay only provide my wife and I with more excitement for our trip, which is unfortunately still 7 months away, but I appreciate hearing about your trip and how much fun you and your husband had!! I absolutely can't wait to just spend time peeking out over he savannah and enjoying all that the resort has to offer especially after learning that AKL has so many great dining options and an amazing wine list! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Kim Gillihan]

So excited, just made offer and was accepted today for AKV!

 

[amberopp1]

We are going for the first time June 7-13th and I am so excited and I cant wait.
So when I come back I will have lots of pictures to share.

So please feel free to join in.

I would really love to see some pictures.

We own 160 points at AKV.[/QUOTE]

I seen where someone asked about the AKV thread. So I thought I would go ahead and start one.
So please start sharing your experiences and your pictures of AKV and what you love about it.

We are going for the first time June 7-13th and I am so excited and I cant wait.
So when I come back I will have lots of pictures to share.

So please feel free to join in.

I would really love to see some pictures.

We own 160 points at AKV.

Us too!

 

[akl432]

Hi Disers! We have booked a Jambo House standard studio on points. When putting in our room request, should I put general (Sunset Savannah, close to lobby), or specific room numbers/range of room numbers? I seem to recall that when booking a value studio, only specific room numbers could be put into the room request. I wasn't sure if this was also the case for standard studios. Thanks!

 

[drusba]

Hi Disers! We have booked a Jambo House standard studio on points. When putting in our room request, should I put general (Sunset Savannah, close to lobby), or specific room numbers/range of room numbers? I seem to recall that when booking a value studio, only specific room numbers could be put into the room request. I wasn't sure if this was also the case for standard studios. Thanks!

If your intent is to try to get a standard room that was previously converted from a savanna view room, then Sunset Savanna view or a room on the Kudo Trail side of the resort (either of those two requests equal the same thing for converted rooms on that side of the building) would be a request to make. I would not request close to lobby at Jambo. In both savanna and converted to standard view rooms, those are among least desirable views.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We have dreamed of AKL since it opened and just booked kidani savannah view 1 bedroom for September. We are heading to the poly for a week next month and I think I am way more excited for September right now!!

 

[TeeterTots]

If your intent is to try to get a standard room that was previously converted from a savanna view room, then Sunset Savanna view or a room on the Kudo Trail side of the resort (either of those two requests equal the same thing for converted rooms on that side of the building) would be a request to make. I would not request close to lobby at Jambo. In both savanna and converted to standard view rooms, those are among least desirable views.

What's the best value room? Will be there marathon weekend and would hate to hear the buses or front enterance.

 

[twinklebug]

What's the best value room? Will be there marathon weekend and would hate to hear the buses or front enterance.

The value rooms are not over the bus stop, so no worries there. 20% of them face a small, quiet parking area (not the main one) but with plenty of trees around and they are back a ways, the sounds are muffled. With the door closed you really hear nothing at all.

The noisiest value rooms are those that face the pool.

 

[drusba]

What's the best value room? Will be there marathon weekend and would hate to hear the buses or front enterance.

You cannot make location requests with value rooms; it is luck of the draw. There are no DVC rooms at Jambo facing the front of the building where the bus station is so you do not have the risk. See this map http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-akv/floor5-large.html. The value rooms are the ones in color on the Ostrich and Giraffe Trails. Only two of the 2BR lock-offs face the front of the building/parking lot and they are in an area where you do not have any loud noises going on, and between them and the parking lot are many trees and bushes essentially blocking any real view of the parking lot. Half the rest of the rooms face the Sunset Savanna and half the pool; getting savanna view is a plus but, again, you cannot make a location request.

 

[akl432]

If your intent is to try to get a standard room that was previously converted from a savanna view room, then Sunset Savanna view or a room on the Kudo Trail side of the resort (either of those two requests equal the same thing for converted rooms on that side of the building) would be a request to make. I would not request close to lobby at Jambo. In both savanna and converted to standard view rooms, those are among least desirable views.

Thank you so much!!

 

[TeeterTots]

You cannot make location requests with value rooms; it is luck of the draw. There are no DVC rooms at Jambo facing the front of the building where the bus station is so you do not have the risk. See this map http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-akv/floor5-large.html. The value rooms are the ones in color on the Ostrich and Giraffe Trails. Only two of the 2BR lock-offs face the front of the building/parking lot and they are in an area where you do not have any loud noises going on, and between them and the parking lot are many trees and bushes essentially blocking any real view of the parking lot. Half the rest of the rooms face the Sunset Savanna and half the pool; getting savanna view is a plus but, again, you cannot make a location request.

Thank you for your tremendous help!!

 

[GlowingEye]

Does anyone know how comfortable/thick the sleeper sofas are? There's a chance I'll end up sleeping on the sofa when we take our trip to AKV (4 adults, but I'd rather not share a queen bed and my sister wants the king for her and her boyfriend) and I'd like to know how rough a time I'll be in for. I've only slept on one sleeper sofa before, at a discount hotel, and it was... sufficient, but not really comfy (I could definitely feel the supports under the mattress). Thanks for any info you have!

 

[sage210]

Are there owners or renters that have requested rooms in November before? Is it common that they sell out before the 7 month window? I've made a request to rent points for a 1 bed around Wine And Dine. I know a room is available now but am wait listed until there's an owner with enough AKL points. I don't want to get my hopes up if its unlikely I'll get a room.

Crossing all my fingers and toes and hoping for Pixie dust that something comes up and the wait list in front of me isn't too long. (But seriously either way I'll still be at Disney even if I end up somewhere else, so yay!)

Does anyone know how comfortable/thick the sleeper sofas are? There's a chance I'll end up sleeping on the sofa when we take our trip to AKV !

I asked a similar question in another thread and several people said the pullouts were definitely usable and better than most hotel ones.

 

[twinklebug]

Does anyone know how comfortable/thick the sleeper sofas are? There's a chance I'll end up sleeping on the sofa when we take our trip to AKV (4 adults, but I'd rather not share a queen bed and my sister wants the king for her and her boyfriend) and I'd like to know how rough a time I'll be in for. I've only slept on one sleeper sofa before, at a discount hotel, and it was... sufficient, but not really comfy (I could definitely feel the supports under the mattress).

I asked a similar question in another thread and several people said the pullouts were definitely usable and better than most hotel ones.

The Housekeeping staff has egg crate cushioning for the beds available if you need it. I've called down to ask for it for one unusually hard bed we had once, and another time for a bad pull out (was at VWL years ago, not AKV, which my son has always found to be comfortable.)

 

[Whizzer Wilkins]

Are there owners or renters that have requested rooms in November before? Is it common that they sell out before the 7 month window?

I'd be really interested to see the results of this. We'll be visiting from the UK sometime in November/December to see an NFL game, but won't know our dates until the schedule is released in late April -- by which time we'll only be about 6 months out at best. We'd love to add a few nights in a Savannah View/Kilimanjaro Club studio onto our trip, but worried everything will be gone by then (especially since we'll be renting points). Is there any chance there will still be availability at that point, or should we come up with a different plan?

 

[drusba]

As to getting AKL for Nov through early December at 7 months out, be aware of the following. That time period is within DVC's high demand season at WDW that runs from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan. Moreover, the first weekend of Nov, Thurs to Sun, Nov 2-5, 2017 is the Wine & Dine race weekend, THE highest DVC demand weekend of the year. The weekend after that, Nov 9-12, is the last weekend of Food & Wine, also an extremelly high demand weekend, the Tues through Friday, Nov 21 through 24, of Thanksgiving week is also an extemely high demand time, and the first week of December is THE highest DVC demand week of the year. For those extremely high demand times, the issue won't just be whether you can get AKL at 7 months out but whether you can get anything at all at a WDW DVC resort absent a wait list. SSR will likely be open although even it has disappeared before 7 months out for days during the Wine & Dine race weekend.

As to AKL itself, you should assume Jambo will be a problem for the entire time except possibly for a 1BR during the third week of Nov or the Sat after Thanskgiivng to Nov 30 and you might find the 1BR open for 3 or 4 consecutive days during other times except the extremely high demand times.. Kidani offers some better chances including both for a 1BR and ded 2BR, partiicularly savanna view, during that third week of Nov and late Nov period, and possibly several consecutive days for other times.

Finally, if you have to wait until 6 months out to reserve late Nov through early Dec time, you have a real possibility of not even being able to get SSR, although i suspect the new "preferred" high point booking category rooms may be open.

 

[twinklebug]

I'd be really interested to see the results of this. We'll be visiting from the UK sometime in November/December to see an NFL game, but won't know our dates until the schedule is released in late April -- by which time we'll only be about 6 months out at best. We'd love to add a few nights in a Savannah View/Kilimanjaro Club studio onto our trip, but worried everything will be gone by then (especially since we'll be renting points). Is there any chance there will still be availability at that point, or should we come up with a different plan?

Club rooms are exceptionally difficult even for AKV owners to reserve at 11 months out, chances of getting one are always rare. Finding one open for a few nights at 6 months out has happened, but they go like lightning. If you want it, and see it, snag it quickly.

Your best bet as drusba said would be to look in Kidani for a one bedroom savanna view unit. Studios may have spotty availability, but if you're fine with having a split stay (moving rooms during your stay) you may find a little of what you want.

Best of luck! Let us know what you manage to reserve.

 

[Whizzer Wilkins]

Thanks a lot for the responses, they're much appreciated! Sounds like we'll have to temper our expectations; will keep our fingers crossed for surprise room availability but will otherwise consider alternative plans. Maybe buying really would be the smart way to go..
Thanks again.

 

[Jillian Lopez]

I am so excited! Our small AKL contract just went into ROFR. I am praying it passes quickly because we want to plan a trip in September for our 2nd Anniversary. We have not been since our honeymoon! We absolutely fell in love with AKL (rented points) and we both knew we HAD to have a DVC! What is your favorite place to stay other than AKL? Just incase we cant get a reservation since it will be within the 6 month travel date I am worried! We are willing to stay half at AKL and half somewhere else to make it work.

 

[sage210]

As to getting AKL for Nov through early December at 7 months out, be aware of the following....

Thank you so much for the information! I've rented points before but happened to hit DVC off season, and didn't even think that DVC's popularity would be different than standard rooms. But duh, that makes sense!

I think I'm withdrawing my request just to be on the safe side and booking a standard room at BC. Don't worry AKL I'll be back, and you're still my favorite!

Whizzer Wilkins - You may be on to something with the buying. Each time I tell myself I'm not THAT invested in Disney to make it worth it, but my history there is starting to tell a different story.

Drusba - Iowa is never closed! It may be forbidding at times, but not closed. Next time you come this way I'll throw you a key or show you the native's only way for your help.