Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas vs. Kidani Village

[DeeCee735]

Good morning everyone! I haven't been on the boards much, but something just came up with a friend, so I have a question. A friend of mine is travelling to AKL next year and she wants a Savannah View room. Two adults, just her and her husband. I went through the Pro's and Con's of each building- Jambo or Kidani, trying to decide which to recommend, and came up with this....are there giraffe and zebra on the Savannah views for the Lodge? If so, which Savannah should she request? With Boma and Jiko in the lobby and Mara right by the pool area, and a larger pool area with the hot tubs, and the fitness center with massage rooms, I would recommend the lodge to her, but I know the giraffe and zebra are important to them as well.

Thanks for any info you can offer.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

We stayed in a room at Jambo with an Arusha Savannah view. It was a long walk from the lobby, but had spectacular views of zebras and giraffes right outside our room. This was a hotel room, not the DVC.

 

[disneynutz]

The resort maps show giraffe and zebra on the sunset savanna between the two resorts so either might work.

Bill

 

[drusba]

The only savanna that does not have giraffes and zebras is Pembe which is the smaller savanna on the northwest to north side of Kidani. 80% of savanna rooms at Kidani face the Sunset Savanna, which the west side of Jambo also faces, and it is the largest savanna. Arusha is the savanna in the middle of the U-shaped Jambo building, and Uzima is to the east of that building. For two adults getting a studio I would recommend Jambo and make a request for Arusha savanna view, along Zebra Trail (the right side of that U-shape building), and away from the lobby. If granted that would give them a room on the same side of the building as the pool, overlooking the best savanna (cash guests pay a premium to get Arusha savanna view), and their room would face west so that blinding sun does not come through the patio doors in the morning and pleasant sunsets can be watched from the balcony. Do not request close to lobby or close to transportation at Jambo because those create a high risk of getting rooms with mediocre views.

 

[apple9117]

If this is their first time staying at AKL, I highly recommend Jambo. It has a huge "WOW" factor when you enter, with an impressive lobby. Plenty of areas to view the animals. Kidani is more quiet and low-key. We've stayed at both, and I definitely prefer Jambo.

 

[alisonslp]

We were there in April and the Arusha Savanna did not have any zebras in it because they were bothering the new baby giraffe there. They moved them to the other savannas. Now, next year, that giraffe should be big enough to fend for himself so it may not be a problem. I agree that staying in Jambo for a first time visit definitely holds the "wow" factor but they could get it jut visiting from Kidani as well. Really depends on how much time they plan to stay on property. The sunset Savanna really is best viewed from Kidani as the animals don't appear to come up nearly as close on the Jambo side.

 

[ain0004]

Zebras seem hard to come by. We have stayed several times. Never had the fortune of seeing them

 

[Anal Annie]

We've never had good viewing luck with our Savannah view rooms so rarely spring for them. We were on the Arusha Savannah last summer and it was a huge disappointment - big bust. I would try Sunset IF we ever book a savnnah view again ('tho we likely won't). But as far as buildings go I would definitely request Jambo over Kidani. We love the lobby, the larger store, Boma and the Mara. We also prefer the studio layouts better in Jambo vs Kidani.

 

[ELSA711]

Jumping into this thread, does Jambo House have 1 bedroom DVC villas?
We recently stayed in standard studio and fell in love with Jambo House

 

[Anal Annie]

Jumping into this thread, does Jambo House have 1 bedroom DVC villas?
We recently stayed in standard studio and fell in love with Jambo House

Yes - all of the DVC villa sizes are offered at AKV (studio, 1 bed, 2 bed & 3 bedroom). AKV is also has different booking categories - value, standard and savannah view (and concierge).

 

[beer dave]

If your main goal is savanna view, Kidani is better because you can get a room on the lower floors-- the 5th floor at Jambo requires looking down through the trees, (also higher floors at Kidani) which greatly limits the view. Best savanna view is low floor near the lobby at Kidani. (for DVC rooms)

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

We had good luck with Arusha Savannah. But one thing we noticed was that prime animal viewing hours were from 6:30am to 9am in the morning and about 6pm to 8:30 at night. During the daytime, the animals were mostly somewhere else. If I wasn't going to be in my room during those hours, I would not spend the money on a Savannah view.