Animal Kingdom Jumbo House V.S. Kidani Village

[DVCLover1004]

I just came back from Disney World, we stayed at Animal Kingdom Kidani, but found that Kidani is very inconvenient, all the pools, restaurants are in Jumbo House.
Just want to see what other people think, do you like Jumbo House more or Kidani Village more ?

 

[LindySpirit]

Kidani Village does have at least one restaurant, Sanaa. I don't know about the pools, though.

 

[Granny]

Kidani has it's own pool, very nice with a feature slide and a good children's splash area. And Sanaa is its only restaurant though there is a limited counter service at the pool.

Kidani 1BR and 2BR villas have the extra full bathroom which is very nice.

We've stayed at both and there are plusses and minuses to each...just personal preference. Overall, we would probably prefer Kidani.

 

[nj disney family]

there is a pool at kidani with a splash area for smaller kids. we haven't stayed in jambo yet so can't really compare, but it would be nice to have a quick service at kidani.

 

[DVCLover1004]

I was traveling with a 7 months old, just felt so inconvenient to take the shuttle back and forth the Jumbo House for quick service and table service, hoping they can have a little more restaurant in Kidani

 

[hakepb]

There is poolside QS delivery available at the Kidani pool.

I guess you can never say never since they added a 2nd QS to SSR (at Paddock)

Overall, Kidani works best if you eat at the parks and/or prepare food in your villa. (Although that is my general DVC motto since all deluxe resort QS is lacking compared to the variety at value resort food courts)

 

[LisaS]

I prefer Kidani over Jambo House because I prefer staying on a lower floor, closer to the animals. That's not possible in Jambo House where all the DVC rooms are on the 5th and 6th floors. If we want to eat at one of the restaurants in Jambo House we just walk over there rather than take the shuttle. It's about a 10 minute walk.

I don't have a pool preference. The pool at Jambo is larger but the one at Kidani is fine, and there are hot tubs at both pools. In terms of the rooms, I like the Jambo House studio layout better than the one in Kidani but I prefer Kidani's 1BR layout, plus the Kidani 1BRs are larger than the 1BRs in Jambo House and have a separate shower stall in the master bathroom.

Kidani is also quieter and I appreciate the tranquility after a busy day in the parks.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

We have only stayed at Jambo, though we have walked over to Kidani. Kidani's pool and restaurant are very nice, and Kidani has some lovely CMs. We still prefer Jambo, though, because of the gorgeous lobby and the convenience of the three restaurants. The second bathroom would be nice, but we make do well enough with one.

 

[drusba]

Jambo wins if you want multiple restaurants, larger pool with shade, larger store, larger lobby, a studio, or GV (all single story). Kidani wins if you want a 1BR or 2BR (they put the ones at Jambo to shame), the pool with the longer slide and elaborate kids water play area, ideal under-building parking so you can always park close to your room, and if you want to be the first stop for the bus when going and returning from a park.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I stay at Jambo always for studios, I just like the set up better, and then I would use the Mars. Kidani wins it for me for 1-2 bedrooms.

The only exception is when I need value accommodations. I have a week in 1-2 bedroom value villas coming up, what a great price for the stay!

 

[kirstenb1]

We like Kidani but wish they would have quick service options too. I realize they technically have quick service at teh pool, but it's a very limited menu. I told dh they could just set up a grill near the bar, and make a fortune selling burgers and dogs.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Our last 3 AKV stays have been at Jambo (CL, CL, and value). The value one BR allowed a long stay for not many points. We did utilize Mara, but we would have been fine without it. We like Jambo and the pool area, but with that said, we really miss Kidani. Kidani just feels like home; thesmaller, quieter lobby, the smaller gift shop, the viewing decks off the lobby. We especially love the pool area and being the first stop for the park buses. The best thing is the larger rooms and the extra bathrooms in the 1 and 2BR villas. And, as LisaS said, the views are better from the villas. It it a much more serene end to a day than the frenetic Jambo.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just came back from Disney World, we stayed at Animal Kingdom Kidani, but found that Kidani is very inconvenient, all the pools, restaurants are in Jumbo House.
Just want to see what other people think, do you like Jumbo House more or Kidani Village more ?

I think there are fans of both places. I'd always stayed at Jambo, but I knew there were Kidani fans, so I decided to try it once. For me, it was not at all good. After the first day, I was tempted to ask if there was any way I could transfer to Jambo. But I stuck it out for the full week and unfortunately it didn't get better for me. Now I'm quite sure that there are people who feel just as strongly that Kidani is the way to go, but partly for the reasons you described, I love Jambo.

 

[Disneyx6]

Our home resort is Animal Kingdom and while we have stayed at both Kidani and Jambo we prefer the 2 bedroom villas at Kidani. We also enjoy the peace and quiet both within the resort and at the pool at Kidani. Jambo is great but much louder. Really just a matter of personal preference.