Calling all Animal Kingdom Villas Experts

[sillyguys]

We've never stayed at AKL or the AKV, but are seriously considering it for our trip in July. We have young kids so normally we stay in one of the MK or Epcot resort. However, this time we want to try something new. The villas and resort at AK look amazing! We will be getting a 1 br sav view. Although I have researched both Jambo House and Kidani I have some questions for the experts out there. Which one do you prefer. I'm sure that each has its pros and cons. From what I've seen, Kidani may have a better pool and kids play area (my kids are 7, 4 and 1), but we would have to walk to Jambo for quick service. I also like the bathrooms in the villas at Kidani, but Jambo may have more activites for the kids. Finally, the gym at Jambo appears to be better than Kidani. I guess I'm looking for some of the experts to sell me on either Jambo or Kidani. I also want to know if we stay in Kidani is the walk over to Jambo really that bad? Anything else you could share about either the pros and cons of Jambo and Kidani would be much appreciated.

Sorry for the rambling post, but I just want to get as much information as possible to make the right choice.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hellerjw]

The Kidani water play area is great for kids and the water slide is one of the best at WDW. They also have a great community hall area at Kidani with lots of activities throughout the day. If you request a room in the section of Kidani closest to Jambo the walk isn't that bad, less than 10 minutes. All the park buses stop at Kidani first and then go to Jambo so you usually get a good seat before the buses fill up, another plus when you have small children to keep up with.

As you mentioned, the major downside of Kidani is the lack of a CS restaurant. However, you will have a full kitchen with the 1BR unit. The Kidani units also have 2 bathrooms vs. 1 at Jambo.

Personally, we prefer Kidani if we will have the kids with us and Jambo if its just the two of us.

 

[christa112]

I'm definately not an expert of AKV by any means but I can definately throw in my 2 cents having just stayed there in Jan. We stayed at Kidani and really love it but there are some definate cons to Kidani. Like you stated in your post having to walk to a QS was definately a pain especially when you have 3 kids. We only had one pool day but my kids really enjoyed Kidani's pool. Jambo's was closed for refurb.

I personally think the next time we stay we will stay at Jambo I really liked the grounds of Jambo, the pool looks amazing and having the QS is definate a plus.

Just another quick note. Make sure when you book to ask to be close to the lobby. AKV is huge and we had a 4 minute walk to our room and when you are beat after a long day at the parks 4 minute walk seems like an eternity.

 

[Pixieflip]

Like you stated in your post having to walk to a QS was definately a pain especially when you have 3 kids.

Especially if the weather is unpleasant.

We loved Kidani, it was amazing. We planned for more things to eat in the room or stopped at Jambo House on our way home from the park to eat dinner. Maybe consider how many times you will need QS vs. how many times you'd want to swim at Kidani.

QS is a pain, but not enough for us to not stay there again. We'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[alanapapa]

We stayed at AKL 5 years ago (pre DVC) in July and loved it there, which is why we purchased DVC at AKV. Our youngest DD loved the pool, and having MARA there was great. Now that we own at AKV we have a GV planned for Kidani this Christmas. We walked through Kidani (walking from Jambo to see what the walk is like) and plan on making good use of the kitchen, at least for breakfast and some dinners. When we have stayed at the Value or Moderate resorts, we tend to have breakfast at whatever QS is available.

 

[jsalam]

We stayed at both our last trip and we like Jambo better. The kids only like the splash area for a bit and then they get bored. the walk is very lengthy to the pool from kidani. The Jambo pool is RIGHT there, Mara as well and gthe rooms are so similar we just liked the convenience of jambo better. Good luck and have fun!!

at least it's a win win....

 

[2binak]

We stayed at Jambo in 2007, before we had DD and we stayed at Kidani this past Nov with our almost 2-yr old DD. We love both buildings but you really have to decide which is best for you based on some factors.

Will you have a rental car? If not, Kidani might be best since buses pick up there first (except the DTD bus which goes to Jambo first). You'll almost always get a seat on the bus if you stay at Kidani. If you will have a car, you could pick either resort. You will want to ask for a room close to the lobby though as the walk to the bus stop from the ends of either building is very long and could be very tiring for little ones (and tired parents too!)!

Will you be getting QS meals or eating at Boma often? If so, you may want to choose Jambo. We had a rental car at Kidani so the walk to the bus wasn't an issue for us so we choose a room at the far end of Kidani, closest to Jambo, so that we could walk to Jambo if we wanted a QS meal. The walk was short, but it wasn't something we wanted to do everyday. In fact, we only made the trip 3 times the entire 6 nights we were there. For one of those trips over, we drove to Jambo for our Boma ressie because it was raining and we didn't want to deal with getting wet on our way to dinner.

Overall, we really liked Kidani and would choose it over Jambo because it just fits our vacation plans & style better. We feel that it's a little less hectic and hotel-like than Jambo, we don't get the dining plan and we make good use of our kitchen so no need for many meals at Jambo & we rent a car so no need to worry about the walk to the buses from the ends of Kidani.

Hopefully this is helpful to you.

 

[sillyguys]

Thanks everybody for the opinions. Like the OP said, the decision will be a "win-win."

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

I agree with the PP regarding QS vs. Pool time. We just stayed at Kidani in November and we walked over to Jambo 3 times to eat--once for Boma, twice for Mara. We really enjoyed the 10 minute walk. If the walk is a big deal to you though, Kidani is not your place. But for us the deciding factor is the pool. Although the Jambo pool is much larger, it does not have the WOW factor that Kidani has. The water play area is truly amazing and my kids (4 & 8) had NO desire to go the Jambo pool after experiencing Kidani's. I also found that as a parent, Kidani's pool was more relaxing, had better shade, and was more accessible than Jambo. ( I didn't have to be in the water and watch them as much!) You have little ones as well, and believe me that water play area will be more relaxing for you and you can sit in the shade on a bench and enjoy their exploring. Good luck with your decision. HTH!

 

[ccigliano]

Hopping on as we are staying at Kidani - savannah view in a few days. From what I've heard so far - it sounds like we made the right choice as Jambo was also available. CS meals aren't that important to us as we are not doing the meal plan this time so breakfast will be in the room and Kidani pool sounds divine. Let's just hope it warms up a bit as it has really been too chilly in Disney. Thanks for all the info.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

If you're driving (including renting a car), the parking for Kidani is very convenient as well as its underground, and if you can get a parking spot near your area, it's a short elevator ride up to your room/level.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

How would you guys describe or like your Savanna view, to throw that into the thought process mix.

 

[BigDogHU75]

We stayed at Jambo house in Feb. 2009 and Kidani in Sept. 2009. Our family preferred Kidani. DS2 loved the pool area and I did too. The savanna view was ok. It is not developed as Jambo House. The trees haven't reached their full potential. But, we still saw animals. We all loved watching the okapi grazing outside the window. I loved the decor. DH felt it was less like a hotel. The larger rooms and additional bathroom was a plus.

 

[Queila]

Can I ask something?
If you stay at Jambo house (DVC) can you go swim at the Kidani pool? Just wondering....


Q

 

[DISNEY FIX]

We stayed at Jambo house in Feb. 2009 and Kidani in Sept. 2009. Our family preferred Kidani. DS2 loved the pool area and I did too. The savanna view was ok. It is not developed as Jambo House. The trees haven't reached their full potential. But, we still saw animals. We all loved watching the okapi grazing outside the window. I loved the decor. DH felt it was less like a hotel. The larger rooms and additional bathroom was a plus.

Thanks!

Can I ask something?
If you stay at Jambo house (DVC) can you go swim at the Kidani pool? Just wondering....


Q

Yes.

 

[Anal Annie]

Just following along as we have stayed at Jambo before (and loved it) but are trying Kidani out for the first time in March. I AM afraid of missing the Mara but I think that's the only thing I am nervous about. That was probably more important before we bought DVC and we stayed in the regular hotel rooms. Now, we eat breakfasts in our room and usually have lunch at the parks before we take a break and go back to the villa. We will be there 6 nights but our first night we get in really late so eating dinner will actually have to be done at our home airport that night before we take off. Out of the other 5 nights, we have ADR's for 4 nights (including one ressie at Sanaa rather than Boma since we're staying at Kidani). I think the pool at Kidani will be better for our DS12 (almost 13) because it has a bigger slide. The slide at Jambo is pretty lame - almost a baby slide so I personally think Jambo would be better for younger kids. DS does year round swim team so he is hard to please as far as really being able to swim on a recreational level. His fav. pool is SAB at BCV but we stayed there last summer and we like to stay somewhere different each time we go. AKV was simply the best use of our points over the point intensive spring break season so that's how we ended up there & std. view Kidani was what was available when I called.

As far as the walk to Jambo...we easily had a 12 min. walk to the main pool & restuarants at OKW when we stayed there so I think we'll be OK for the few times we may want to go to Mara. And the buses were absolutely the worst at OKW. So I don't see how it could be any worse than over there for these 2 issues. I think we'll be just fine for the limited amount of time we'll actually have.

 

[twinklebug]

They're both beautiful, but of the 2 resorts I prefer Kidani for it's quiet lobby, the library, community hall and pool. Also, a HUGE note, since you state you're traveling with a 1 yo (stroller) - the buses to the parks will stop off at Kidani before hitting Jambo and then going onto the parks. This means that when staying at Kidani you most likely will get a seat on the bus even if it means having to wait until previous riders depart at Jambo before you get one.

I don't quite understand why, but the bus stop lines at Jambo tend to be double or more that of those at Kidani. It may have something to do with Kidani being predominately DVC and our more laid back approach to park touring verses Jambo being mostly hotel guests who 'go go go'. This last trip our bus was almost full from Kidani on 2 occasions & we abandoned huge lines at Jambo - needless to say those guests were not happy for good reason.