Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House Villas/ studios?

[beachfan]

I will be heading to WDW for a last minute trip in a few weeks to visit friends in the area. I have stayed at the Beach Club and Swan before. I would like to try something different this time and am intrigued by this listing. Has anyone ever stayed in the Jambo studios? They are listed as villas - I am confused as towhether they are a separate portion of the main building. Any information much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Beachfan

 

[chalee94]

history:

Animal Kingdom Lodge bookings started slowing - Disney decided to fix the problem by making part of the AKL into a DVC timeshare - so the 5th and 6th floors (club level) at AKL became the "Jambo House" DVC.

That went well so they built a new building next door that became "Kidani Village."

So if you book a studio in Jambo House - it will be on the 5th floor of the former AKL. It will be about the size of a hotel room but have 1 queen bed plus a pullout sofabed and a small kitchenette (toaster/microwave/minifridge).

Both the value studios (very inexpensive) and club level studios on the 6th floor are very limited in number and typically book up at the 11 month window for AKV owners. I have traded out my OKW pts a couple of times and enjoy staying at Jambo House and seeing the animals, eating at Boma and Jiko and such...

 

[ludari]

I have stayed in the DVC Jambo House studio villas multiple times. I have only stayed in this Jambo House building because it's attached to the main lobby which includes the front desk, shops and restaurants. I believe this resort is the furthest from all the parks with the exception of AK Park but it's well worth a visit at least once. Being able to see the various animals from your balcony is like no other resort. Also this resort has my favorite restaurant (Boma's).

 

[com_op_2000]

I am a DVC owner, we trade out of our HR 95% of our trips, and our first choice is AKL either Jambo or Kidani. We have had or have booked 4 reservations for this year at these two resorts.
We love the décor, the animals, and the style.
We find the resorts much more relaxing that the resorts around the BCV/EPCOT area.
You can get a hotel room at AKL-Jambo through Disney CRO.
You can get a villa room at either resort through Disney CRO, as Disney is required to own at least 2% of the DVC points at each resort to use for breakage/maintenance/etc, and they can use those points to sell as reservations if not needed for any of the previous reasons.
You can rent a DVC reservation from a DVC member at a cheaper rate than Disney will charge you. Check the DVC section of the DisBoards for details and the rent/trade section of the board for what people are offering. DVC reservations can be made at 11 months out from the check-in date by a HR owner and at 7 months our from the check-in date by a DVC member with any points. The DVC reservations book at different rates compared to the CRO reservations.