Animal Kingdom Lodge

[officer tigger]

I have never stepped foot inside Animal Kingdom Lodge but considering staying there for our next trip (June 2019). Can anyone tell me the difference bewteen Kidani and Jambo please.

 

[ludari]

To put it simply... Jambo House is the main hotel whereas Kidani Village is just DVC villas. Personally I prefer Jambo with all the amenities.

 

[Meglen]

Difference between Kidani Village and Jambo House
Now there are a few subtle difference between villa rooms at Kidani Village as compared to Jambo House. Kidani Village contains just DVC villas and all of the rooms are slightly larger than their counterparts at Jambo House. The studio villas are the same except that Kidani rooms have only one sink in the bathroom

from
https://bit.ly/2yLZtKa

 

[tamerbelles]

Jambo is the "main" building. It has both DVC and non-DVC rooms. Kidani is DVC only.

Jambo has three restaurants: Mara (QS), Boma and Jiko. Kidani only has Sanaa (TS) and a limited selection of grocery items in the gift shop.

Speaking of gift shops, Jambo's is bigger and has a larger selection of both food and merch.

Kidani usually gets votes for having the better pool - it has a splash pad area that's a hit with smaller children. Jambo's pool is currently under renovation, but will be reopen soon.

Having stayed at BOTH, I personally liked Jambo better. I liked the convenience of more dining options, combined with more impressive lobby and overall atmosphere.

 

[drusba]

See my discussion of the two buildings here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/akl-kidani-or-jambo.3672091/

 

[zavandor]

Jambo quick service sells zebra domes and easy access to zebra domes trumps everything else.

 

[Frederic Civish]

It is easy enough to travel from Kidani to Jambo and back again. A matter of 5 to 10 minutes from the front desk at each. Walk out the door and there is a large van that runs back and forth, constantly, to carry people from one building to the other. Distance is about 0.3 miles if you walk it. In the van it is 0.6 miles.

 

[carlbarry]

If you're going to have a car, with Kidani you park under the resort, and thus have a shorter trip from car to room. With Jambo you have to park in the lot and walk through the lot, across the road, through the Port Cochere, through the lobby . . . But despite that convenience at Kidani, boy oh boy every time I walk into the lobby at Jambo I can't believe I'm staying there. So the "wow" factor is worth the inconvenience. Plus there are a lot more activities at Jambo, which, of course, if you're staying at Kidani you can access any way.

 

[gharter]

We prefer Kidani. The check in area is not as large or as grand as Jambo. It doesn't have the restaurants that Jambo has.
We prefer Kidani, because it doesn't seem to have the busyness and congestion that Jambo has. When we want to go to Jambo, we can take the van or a 5 minute walk. The Savanna is not much different.
There are far more DVC rooms at Kidani.
Parking under Kidani is much nicer than the further out parking lots of Jambo.

 

[sleepydog25]

See my discussion of the two buildings here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/akl-kidani-or-jambo.3672091/

Yep. Excellent break down of the differences. The primary ones to me would be size (Kidani larger and has 2 bathrooms in a 1BR; 3 in a 2BR) and location (Jambo has better shopping/eating options).

 

[iheartglaciers]

Jambo quick service sells zebra domes and easy access to zebra domes trumps everything else.

They sell zebra domes in the Kidani gift shop!

 

[johnb3]

I've stayed at both and prefer Kidani, the vibe is quieter and Jambo is a just a short walk away. Both are great. I liked Sanaa better than Boma but do miss Mara when in Kidani

 

[kniquy]

Jambo quick service sells zebra domes and easy access to zebra domes trumps everything else.

We also found them at Kidani.

As for differences -- we stayed at kidani in April with extended family - 2BR - it was a dream to have 3 full bathrooms -- kids had one - in laws had one and Dh & I had our own. Jambo 2BR only have 2 bathrooms -- so that was the tipping point why i booked kidani. We did walk over to Jambo for breakfast one morning at Boma -- simply amazing ham there. We liked the grandness of the lobby, but I felt Kidani lobby was quieter as their lobby is smaller. Some people like the hustle and bustle but we often prefer quiet time, so we didn't mind the kidani lobby. Jambo we found these outdoor covered sitting areas to sit and view the savanna (I'm not sure if kidani has these). We really enjoyed the pool at kidani - although we thought it a bit weird we had to walk out the lobby to get to the pool (again maybe there is a closer interior access but our room was by the bus stop so it seemed like the most direct route for us to get to the pool).

In a few weeks we are staying at Jambo but in a studio -- It will be interesting to see/feel the differences with actually staying there.

 

[officer tigger]

Thank you all for your input. Decision time for us, and it appears that whichever side we choose we will be happy.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Jambo quick service sells zebra domes and easy access to zebra domes trumps everything else.

I agree-that and the butternut squash soup at Mara make a great meal!

 

[Frederic Civish]

. . . Jambo we found these outdoor covered sitting areas to sit and view the savanna (I'm not sure if kidani has these). . .

Yes. Kidani also has similar ‘open’ Savannah viewing areas, just off the lobby.

 

[Deb & Bill]

All the villas at Jambo House are converted hotel rooms. So the two bedrooms are all lockoffs, none are dedicated. The master bathroom at Jambo House for one bedroom and larger is not right in the bedroom, more like right across the hall from the master bedroom. Kidani started as DVC, so there are lockoffs and dedicated.

 

[jerseygal]

To put it simply... Jambo House is the main hotel whereas Kidani Village is just DVC villas. Personally I prefer Jambo with all the amenities.

We have stayed at both. Enjoy both, We stayed at a 2 br at Kidani, 3 baths, was very spacious. Prefer Jambo pool and the convenience of Mara quick serve. Both are lovely!

 

[js]

Does AKVs feel far removed from everything? It is a resort we have never stayed in since if given the choice between that and SSR, we would choose
SSR so we don't need transportation in the evenings if we want to go to DTD for drinks and/or dinners.

I would like to stay there, just because it is a resort we haven't tried, but not sure if I would feel isolated in the evenings.

Thank you.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Does AKVs feel far removed from everything? It is a resort we have never stayed in since if given the choice between that and SSR, we would choose
SSR so we don't need transportation in the evenings if we want to go to DTD for drinks and/or dinners.

I would like to stay there, just because it is a resort we haven't tried, but not sure if I would feel isolated in the evenings.

Thank you.

Not in the least. When we stayed at KV, it took about 13 minutes by bus to get to Epcot. DHS would be less and AK would be even less. MK would take longer.