AKV Kidani Village vs Jambo House

[gdrj]

We usually stay at Boardwalk, but stayed at Jambo House SV for a few days and really enjoyed it, the lobby everything about it. When we looked at Kidani Village while we were there, we were underwhelmed by outward appearance. Is that a fair view of Kidani or did we miss something?

I know any day at DW is a great day just wondering if we were to go back is Jambo the way to go?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yes, you missed a lot! We kind of felt the same as you after 4 Jambo stays (3 in CL), but we just got back a month ago from Kidani, and there are some real hidden gems there! First and foremost....Sanaa!! Jiko used to be a favorite restaurant of ours....It's been replaced by Sanaa on our list now! The savanna view rooms at Jambo are all on 5th floor....I LOVED that I could be on a lower floor for savanna view, and we saw a LOT of animals at Kidani. I do know that Jambo has some exchange programs with the young people on cultural exchange, but because they start at Jambo and end their year at Kidani, we get them when they know the ropes! The Cultural exchange programs in the library at Kidani every evening are WELL worth it, and sadly, poorly attended. Add to that the drum circle each evening before the cultural exchange, and the visits with the exchange people by the camp fire out on the savanna near the lobby, and it makes Kidani a big jump ahead of Jambo.

 

[Brook1099]

We stayed @ Kidani for the time 2011 trip, and we were going in thinking not sure if we were going to be thrilled. We LOVED it!!My kids have now claimed it #1 over Beach Club. Now we have never stayed at Jambo, only dining there( which we love) so I can't make a fair opinion. Jambo's lobby is much more attractive and elaborate,but we did feel that Jambo for us was to busy, we loved the quiet laid back, yet many fun activities for kids. CM's were fantastic, savannah view from 2nd floor, awesome, parking underground, the best for us because we drive to the park, little walking after being so tired. The pool was great as well, love the overall feel of this place, and we are hoping they have availablitity at the 7 month booking window, and replace our home resort.

 

[rmcildw2m]

I have not yet stayed at kidani but just came back from akl jambo house 1 br sv for 4 nights and it was awesome . We did visit kidani and by comparison jambo lobby is much more grand in size but I believe a stay at either place will be loved by all .I will be staying at kidani in april and look forward to that .

 

[hakepb]

The master bathroom in Kidani 1 and 2BR's is much nicer than Jambo.

There's less of a difference in the studios so then it becomes more of a resort amenity comparison.

 

[mjf]

We've stayed at Kidani twice, and loved it. For us its the best value for points for a standard view. My son loved the pool there and you can always go out to the lobby and viewing areas to see the animals.

 

[drusba]

We are both BWV (many years) and AKL owners. At BWV, we always get boardwalk view; at AKL savanna. Two of the best views on site. As to choosing Jambo or Kidani:

Jambo has the more impressive lobby, larger store, three restaurants and larger pool with lots more areas to find shade than Kidani. However, Kidani has one of the best restaurants on site, Sanaa, and you can get savanna view at the restaurant. it also has ideal under buildding parking if you have car. the pool has the much longer slide and much better kids elaborate play area. Kidani can also give you lower floor view with more direct sight line to animals.

Our choice of building has become determined by room size. Studios at both are about the same size and if that is what you are getting I would recommend Jambo. Also, if getting GV, Jambo has the best on site, one-story, huge porches, pool table. However, if getting 1BR or 2 BR, Kidani wins hands down. About 100 sq ft larger than Jambo, with extra bathroom, separate tub and shower in master bath (Jambo's combined tub and shower has a very high stepover to get into it and for older people it is difficult to even get into), far more closet space and overall much better than Jambo. If getting Jambo, would suggest requesting Zebra Trail, overlooking Arusha savanna (excellent views and has advantage of facing west so you see pleasant sunsets but don't get blinded in the morning). If Kidani, suggest requesting close to lobby which puts you close to all amenities and bus stop, gives you Sunset savanna which is the largest savanna and has giraffes (Pembe does not), and avoids beings far from lobby which at Kidane can be more than 1/3 mile from end rooms to lobby.

 

[DebbieB]

I've stayed at both and for a studio it's a tossup. If you have a car, Kidani has more convenient parking. Bus stops there first. For 1 or 2 bedroom, Kidani rooms are larger and have an extra bathroom.

 

[Anal Annie]

We only use studios and have stayed at both Kidani and Jambo. Last time we tried Kidani and were totally underwhelmed. The lobby and store were dinky and the schlep to the pool was long. We were there in the spring & the pool was FREEZING so I didn't even get in beyond my big toe. While we did enjoy Sanaa (2nd to Boma and definitely more than Jiko) we reallllly, reallllly missed having the Mara close by. We made the trek over to Jambo several times to go to the store. The Kidani store is like the size of my kitchen at home.

I also was not a fan of the Kidani studio bathroom layout. It has a split bath BUT the way it's chopped up is odd. There is a "watercloset" with just the toilet in it but then the main door to the bathroom encloses both the sink & vanity area AND the tub/shower together. I think it is much more efficient to have the tub/shower in the same room with the toilet so that the sink & vanity area is open & accessible to others. It just wasn't as user friendly to everyone if someone else was showering.

Next time we go back to AKV we will request Jambo. Not sure if we'd do Kidani as a 2nd choice if Jambo wasn't available or if we'd pick a totally different resort. It would probably depend on how many points we have to work with and how restricted we are with what we can book. We really DO like AKV and adore Boma & the Mara but most of the time we book there if we're short on points and can't afford to stay somewhere else (OKW would be comparable but is a dead last choice for us). Hope we're never faced with having to make that choice.

 

[supersuperwendy]

We usually stay at Boardwalk, but stayed at Jambo House SV for a few days and really enjoyed it, the lobby everything about it. When we looked at Kidani Village while we were there, we were underwhelmed by outward appearance. Is that a fair view of Kidani or did we miss something?

I know any day at DW is a great day just wondering if we were to go back is Jambo the way to go?

I felt the exact same way when we stayed at Kidani in 2010. Pulling up I was very underwhelmed. But....staying there is great. The villa was huge, the pool was amazing, the staff was excellent, the community hall was fun for the kids, etc. I'm hoping if we go back in 2013 the landscaping will have grown up a bit and it will feel a little more lush. I wasn't overwhelmed by the animal kingdom park in 1999, but now I love it. I think over time Kidani will look even better.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

The only time I stay in Jambo House is to get the value rooms. I might also stay there if I did a Standard room so that I could have pool view which I love as opposed to a parking lot view. I love the Jambo House lobby! Very impressive.

Kidani 2nd floor savanna view close to the lobby is my favorite place to stay though! The savanna is so much better at Kidani, and being on the 2nd floor allows you to be eye level with the giraffes. Beautiful! I also love having the 3 bathrooms in the 2 BR!

 

[quandrea]

The only time I stay in Jambo House is to get the value rooms. I might also stay there if I did a Standard room so that I could have pool view which I love as opposed to a parking lot view. I love the Jambo House lobby! Very impressive.

Kidani 2nd floor savanna view close to the lobby is my favorite place to stay though! The savanna is so much better at Kidani, and being on the 2nd floor allows you to be eye level with the giraffes. Beautiful! I also love having the 3 bathrooms in the 2 BR!

Thanks for this. Now I know what to request for my room location.

 

[ovalhead96]

The only time I stay in Jambo House is to get the value rooms. I might also stay there if I did a Standard room so that I could have pool view which I love as opposed to a parking lot view. I love the Jambo House lobby! Very impressive.

Kidani 2nd floor savanna view close to the lobby is my favorite place to stay though! The savanna is so much better at Kidani, and being on the 2nd floor allows you to be eye level with the giraffes. Beautiful! I also love having the 3 bathrooms in the 2 BR!

I am booked for Jambo in June. I chose a standard room for 95 points for a studio.

I know some values have savanna view.

I have heard that some standards at Jambo also have a savanna view.

Is there something I should request to possibly get a savanna room?

What makes a standard worth about 20 points more than a value?

sorry if it's been asked before, but I'd love to have at least a partial view of the savanna.

If I don't get a savanna view with a standard, do I at least get a pool view?

what's the worst view I would get with a standard at Jambo?

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

From what I've read here on the disboards, all standard views at Jambo are pool view. I love the pool view, but love savanna view more. What makes value rooms less points is that they are 3 feet shorter. There are 10 2BR value lock-offs; four are savanna view, four are pool view, and 2 are parking lot view. You cannot make requests with the value rooms. There are also 8 dedicated value studios; four are savanna view and four are pool view. Here is a link to a map.

http://http://www.parkinfo2go.com/dvc-akv/floor5.php

If you really want savanna view, you must book savanna view.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

I have heard that some standards at Jambo also have a savanna view.

Really? Interesting...does anyone know more about this????

 

[ovalhead96]

Really? Interesting...does anyone know more about this????

I don't know if I still have the thread, but I know I read a response to an AKV question where the person posted pictures of their view and they said their standard view was all savanna.....

Maybe they were just lucky..

Hope I am too.

 

[ToddyLu]

For a quiet couple like us we adore Kidani. We enjoy the quick trips to Jambo but not enough to stay there. It is large and noisy. Grand, yes. Quiet, no.

But I have booked two value studios at Jambo for this Oct. That gave us enough points for a standard at Kidani in May. So we are ready to give it a "real" try.

One of the reasons this is appealing is because we actually enjoy being at the resort now. Prior to DVC we stayed at Values. Without children, the Value Resorts held no real "lets return to the resort value"--know what I mean. It was more of a trudge back to the resort. Yes, I could have laid around the pool at Pop, but it just isn't the same and it is meant to be different, IMO.

So if I had children Jambo would be a more likely choice do to the food choices.

Kidani for those wanting a more homey feel and relaxing time.

You want to impress someone on their first trip--pick Jambo. Returning for your 10th trip to WDW--Kidani, hands down.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We usually stay at Boardwalk, but stayed at Jambo House SV for a few days and really enjoyed it, the lobby everything about it. When we looked at Kidani Village while we were there, we were underwhelmed by outward appearance. Is that a fair view of Kidani or did we miss something?

I know any day at DW is a great day just wondering if we were to go back is Jambo the way to go?

When we saw KV for the first time, we were totally underwhelmed and wondered why they would build a prison-like structure as a resort. We still don't care much for it's looks. But we wouldn't stay in JH because of the combination shower/tub. Makes it very easy to stay at OKW, SSR, BCV or VWL.

I suppose if I could get over the inmate feeling at KV, we would stay there.

 

[mlayton14]

Agree with Deb & Bill, we just got back from Jambo yesterday and visited Kidani for dinner @ Sanaa and walked there on a separate occasion to check out the pool area.

Its pretty obvious Disney found a much cheaper way to construct Kidani .. you can tell the details (exquisite wood carvings, etc) are missing from Kidani .. and the whole place just looks cheap compared to Jambo IMO, especially from the outside. Also, although the pool area is nice .. they had to build it right up against the circular road for checkin/parking area , and its pretty small.. totally kills it for us.

The biggest difference IMO however is the lack of quick service .. I do not want to walk 1/2 mile round trip to get a full quick service restaurant .. we love having all of the quick service options even if only 1st thing in morning.

Positives of Kidani is they are 1st stop for all buses (however bus service @ Jambo was fantastic) and the room views (compared to DVC rooms @ Jambo) are definitely better.

Your views may vary, but to us Jambo is a much better resort experience.

 

[ovalhead96]

Agree with Deb & Bill, we just got back from Jambo yesterday and visited Kidani for dinner @ Sanaa and walked there on a separate occasion to check out the pool area.

Its pretty obvious Disney found a much cheaper way to construct Kidani .. you can tell the details (exquisite wood carvings, etc) are missing from Kidani .. and the whole place just looks cheap compared to Jambo IMO, especially from the outside. Also, although the pool area is nice .. they had to build it right up against the circular road for checkin/parking area , and its pretty small.. totally kills it for us.

The biggest difference IMO however is the lack of quick service .. I do not want to walk 1/2 mile round trip to get a full quick service restaurant .. we love having all of the quick service options even if only 1st thing in morning.

Positives of Kidani is they are 1st stop for all buses (however bus service @ Jambo was fantastic) and the room views (compared to DVC rooms @ Jambo) are definitely better.

Your views may vary, but to us Jambo is a much better resort experience.

We agree, but thought there was something wrong with us..

I've read threads where people swear by Kidani, but we just couldn't figure it out. We have been going to Jambo for about 10 years, and we just love everything. We love the dark atmosphere, we love the smell of the fire pit and Boma, we love the look out areas, we love the staff, we love the pool, and Mara is a great quick serve place (only wish they would accept tiw)
We didn't take our time when we purchased DVC, and wish we would have waited a little longer and paid a little more to have AKL as our home.....

Nothing against SSR, but we really like akl. All the resorts are amazing, so life is good.