Animal Kingdom Lodge: Kidani Village or Jambo House

WellFedDave

WellFedDave

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Need some assistance from those who have stayed in either Kidani Village or Jambo House. We're planning a 10 night, deluxe studio, Savanna view stay in October 2014 leveraging our DVC points. This will be our first DVC trip and we're having trouble deciding between the two locations.
A little background information, there will be two of us, both able-body adults. We're planning 3 resort-only days and the rest of the days in the parks. The resort only days we'll basically be going to the pool and enjoying the resort.

Looking for pros/cons/room locations we should take into account prior to booking at our 11 month window.

Thanks!
 
MaxsDad

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member
I have stayed at both. To me, Kidani's strengths are its kids water play area near the pool, the pool slide, and the close proximity of your car to your room.

Jambo's strengths are everything else, really. I would say two adults would be happier at Jambo more often than not, unless you plan to use a car a lot. (I really miss the days of free valet parking w/ DVC membership).

I myself will be staying Kidani next year. Why would I given what I just said? I will have 8 people, 2 of which are kids that will love the play area. We will be driving at least two vehicles. I feel we will appreciate the extra bathroom that comes in a dedicated 2BR at Kidani.
 
WellFedDave

WellFedDave

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
@MaxsDad I think we're leaning towards Jambo house. We'll be relying on Disney transportation all trip. Any feedback on the transportation service to/from the parks and Disney's Magical Express? We've taken a bus from Magic Kingdom to AKL to dine at Jiko, the bus was nearly empty. Is this the norm or the exception?
 
PhilharMagician

PhilharMagician

Well-Known Member
When traveling to the parks using Disney Transport busses then Kidani works best. The busses do go to Kidani and then pick up @ Jambo House second. Many times in the mornings the busses are full and guests at Jambo House have to wait for the next bus and many times the next bus still does not have room. Now for DTD the busses pick up @ Jambo House first and head to Kidani second.

I like both resorts. If I were going to just hang out in the resort for a few days, then I would also choose Jambo House. The walk between the resorts is not that bad and we have done it many times. Do make sure you walk all the hallways and see the artwork throughout the resorts. Also @ Jambo House there are stairwells at the end of each corridor where you can get different views of the savannas and there is typically nobody around so it is quiet.

Personally I like to stay @ Kidani and walk over to Jambo House if I need too. I like that Kidani is a quieter resort and I like the pool and pool bar a little more. Sanaa is also one of my favorite and I do enjoy getting a drink and walking out to the fire pit and talking with the African CM outside. Most of the same can be done @ Jambo, but I just prefer Kidani.
 
journ116

journ116

Well-Known Member
WellFedDave said:
Need some assistance from those who have stayed in either Kidani Village or Jambo House. We're planning a 10 night, deluxe studio, Savanna view stay in October 2014 leveraging our DVC points. This will be our first DVC trip and we're having trouble deciding between the two locations.
A little background information, there will be two of us, both able-body adults. We're planning 3 resort-only days and the rest of the days in the parks. The resort only days we'll basically be going to the pool and enjoying the resort.

Looking for pros/cons/room locations we should take into account prior to booking at our 11 month window.

Thanks!
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The Animal Kingdom Villas are our home resorts, with both Jambo House and Kidani Village having their pros and cons. After many stays at both resorts as DVC members, here's what I've deduced:

1. Jambo House is a more convenient stay when family is in tow. The quick-service restaurant, Mara, is located here, as well as a large gift shop. It was always my DH's duty (secretly, he enjoyed the "alone time") to make the trek from Kidani to Jambo for our QS meals...the walk only took him 10-15 min., from our room to Mara.

2. Kidani Village has a bit of a secluded, more intimate feel to it. You will need to walk over to JH (or hop a park bus) for any QS meals, but the smallish gift shop at KV has some grab-and-go snacks, as well as a refill station for mugs.

3. Keep in mind that while you're staying as DVC members on points, you may enjoy amenities at both lodges.

4. Both resorts are rather large and you may end up walking 10+ minutes from the bus depot to your room. However, the resorts are so beautifully themed that the walk will at least keep you captivated.

5. As the above poster mentioned, park busses stop at Kidani first, then onto JH. For the DTD bus, it's reversed. The busiest time for busses is about 45 minutes before a park opens to about an hour after opening. Mid-afternoon to early evening are slower times, which is why you might've had a nearly empty bus when you dined at Jiko. I would suggest giving yourself at least 45-60 min. of traveling time in the morning...this includes waiting for the bus, the two stops, and actually getting to your destination (yes, even to AK park). It's just the nature of the traveling beast there.

Considering you would like to book a savanna view, either lodge will be nice! I loved having my morning coffee with giraffes in the background!

Happy plannings!
 
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LuvtheGoof

LuvtheGoof

DVC Guru
Premium Member
My wife and I have stayed in Jambo House in a savannah view DVC studio, and loved it! We will be trying Kidani in the near future. I really don't think you can go wrong with either.
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
Having stayed in both, I would go with Jambo - if I had to stay in one of the other (honestly I would be hard pressed to stay in either)

About the only thing that Kidani has over Jambo is the kids water area, and if you have no kids, well so much for that.

I don't like the layout of Kidani, I don't like the lack of a QSFB location in the resort, I don't like the sub-standard gift/sundries shop, and I don't like the location of the pool and gym.

OK, so the bus service is a bit better at Kidani, from the standpoint of it goes there first, so you can get a seat. But you still get packed to gills when it hits Jambo, and if you are like me and you offer your seat to eldery, or parents with kids, or people who appear to be handicapped or pregnant, then you have a pretty good chance of standing anyway. Along with the fact that unless you are going to AK the bus ride is prettly long, it makes for a not fun way to start the day.

-dave
 
sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
gwhb75 said:
one thing to keep in mind is that Jambo one bedroom rooms only have one bathroom, while Kidani's have two.
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They are staying in a Deluxe Studio though so it only has 1 bathroom at both locations so that does not come into play for them. The 1 bathroom it has though is larger at Kidani than at Jambo. :)
 
sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
PhilharMagician said:
and so are most of the rooms. Jambo's has a few different size and layout studio rooms.
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Yes all the rooms are bigger at Kidani so that's a plus. We personally prefer Kidani as the rooms are a lot nicer and a lot newer , the kitchen in the villas there is nicer too as we usually stay in villas to have extra room eventhough it's just me and DH we like having at least 2 bathrooms, and he's a snorer so we usually can't sleep In the same room. Lol. So me that's always my pick out of the 2 but everyone is different. We also drive so we like the parking at Kidani. :)
 
Mr. Toad

Mr. Toad

Active Member
We have stayed at both Jambo and Kidani and I think they are both great. We always make AKL our first choice when visiting.

Personally, we prefer Kidani. This is mostly due to the bus stopping there first when going to the parks. We were just there in September and on two occasions the bus stopped at Jambo house and no one was allowed to get on due to the bus being full. However, over the several stays we have had at AKL that has rarely happened. So if you don't mind standing on the bus this will usually not be an issue.

We also prefer Kidani because we always get a Studio with a savannah view. We like to request the Pembe Savannah as it is the only savannah that has okapi on it. For some reason I can't explain my wife and I really like the okapi. The trade off is that there are no zebras or giraffes on Pembe but we can go to the lobby to see them.

For us the biggest pro of Jambo is that The Mara is located there. When we have stayed at Jambo house we would go there frequently. When we stay at Kidani we would go over once or twice a day (often getting off at Jambo on the way back from a park). While you can refill your refillable mugs at both Jambo and Kidani, only Jambo has iced tea available (which is usually my drink of choice).

Note that there is a free shuttle van between Jambo and Kidani and we usually had to wait less than 5 minutes to catch it. We have also used the walking path and it is a pretty easy walk.
 
disneygirl1

disneygirl1

Well-Known Member
I have stayed at both Jambo and Kidani and both have their strengths. I personally perfer Jambo just b/c it has more dining options.
 
T

tjkraz

Active Member
Disneykidder said:
Just curious, why Jambo for a studio?
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Overall I think Jambo has the better facilities. More and better restaurants, grander lobby, larger gift shop, more resort activities. And since Studio villas are pretty much identical at Jambo and Kidani, Jambo gets the nod for all of the reasons above.

For 1B and 2B, the scales tip toward Kidani because the rooms themselves are better. Kidani has the larger villas with the extra bathroom and (IMO) better room layout. Due to the in-room improvements at Kidani, it's worth sacrificing the amenities of Jambo.
 
BigHero4

BigHero4

Well-Known Member
Time to resurrect this thread... I have a family with two small kids (both under 7 years old). Seems as though the one big draw back to Jambo is that the bus stops there second. Has anyone stayed at Jambo and made the walk to Kidani in the morning to catch the bus? I would think at off peak times, you would just stay at Jambo since the bus wouldn't be as full.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Premium Member
s_a said:
Time to resurrect this thread... I have a family with two small kids (both under 7 years old). Seems as though the one big draw back to Jambo is that the bus stops there second. Has anyone stayed at Jambo and made the walk to Kidani in the morning to catch the bus? I would think at off peak times, you would just stay at Jambo since the bus wouldn't be as full.
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There's absolutely no need for that. The bus stops there second, but that's never been an issue for me in multiple stays at AKL.

To the original question, I don't think I would ever stay at Kidani again. The lack of quick-service dining is remarkably inconvenient.
 
lostpro9het

lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
s_a said:
Time to resurrect this thread... I have a family with two small kids (both under 7 years old). Seems as though the one big draw back to Jambo is that the bus stops there second. Has anyone stayed at Jambo and made the walk to Kidani in the morning to catch the bus? I would think at off peak times, you would just stay at Jambo since the bus wouldn't be as full.
Click to expand...

CaptainAmerica said:
There's absolutely no need for that. The bus stops there second, but that's never been an issue for me in multiple stays at AKL.
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This!

We've been during F&W, F&G, and Christmas and never had an issue with buses being too full at Jambo.

FWIW, the walk between Jambo Lobby and Kidani Lobby can be made in 8 minutes or less.
 

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