Help! Jambo or Kidani at AKL

[loudisneyfan]

I am booking a bounceback for next October to AKL, 2 bedroom villa but have never stayed there before. Should I be booking Jambo or Kidani? What is the big differences? Please help!

 

[bcrook]

Both are great.

Jambo has the bigger lobby and quicker access to Mara (counter service restaurant) Jiko and Boma. The pool area is bigger. 2 BR Villas have 1 bathroom.

Kidani has a more quaint lobby area. Sanaa is the only food option. The pool area is more geared towards younger children with a great splash area. 2 BR Villas have 2 bathrooms. Kidani has Okapis in one of their savannas.

But, you can get back and forth between the resorts very easily.

1. You can walk - if you are in the South Wing of Kidani you can walk easily to Jambo.
2. There is a shuttle that runs back and forth frequently.
3. You can grab any park bus from Kidani and it stops at Jambo. The DTD bus goes from Jambo to Kidani.

You can't go wrong with either.

Savanna view or Standard view?

 

[ScrampShopper]

I like Kidani because it is a lot quieter. Buses pick up and drop off Kidani first for everywhere except DTD.

 

[loudisneyfan]

Both are great.

Jambo has the bigger lobby and quicker access to Mara (counter service restaurant) Jiko and Boma. The pool area is bigger. 2 BR Villas have 1 bathroom.

Kidani has a more quaint lobby area. Sanaa is the only food option. The pool area is more geared towards younger children with a great splash area. 2 BR Villas have 2 bathrooms. Kidani has Okapis in one of their savannas.

But, you can get back and forth between the resorts very easily.

1. You can walk - if you are in the South Wing of Kidani you can walk easily to Jambo.
2. There is a shuttle that runs back and forth frequently.
3. You can grab any park bus from Kidani and it stops at Jambo. The DTD bus goes from Jambo to Kidani.

You can't go wrong with either.

Savanna view or Standard view?

We've booked a savanna view. Still don't know which would be better for us. It's 4 adults, 2-13 year olds and 1-3 year old.

 

[DizDaD7]

Both are great.

Jambo has the bigger lobby and quicker access to Mara (counter service restaurant) Jiko and Boma. The pool area is bigger. 2 BR Villas have 1 bathroom.

Kidani has a more quaint lobby area. Sanaa is the only food option. The pool area is more geared towards younger children with a great splash area. 2 BR Villas have 2 bathrooms. Kidani has Okapis in one of their savannas.

But, you can get back and forth between the resorts very easily.

1. You can walk - if you are in the South Wing of Kidani you can walk easily to Jambo.
2. There is a shuttle that runs back and forth frequently.
3. You can grab any park bus from Kidani and it stops at Jambo. The DTD bus goes from Jambo to Kidani.

You can't go wrong with either.

Savanna view or Standard view?

All is correct except for the # of Bathrooms.

Jambo Studios & 1 Bedrooms have 1 Bathroom
Kidani Studios have 1 Bath & 1 BR have 2 baths

Jambo 2 BR have 2 baths while Kidani 2 BR have 3 Baths

Also both pools are very nice, but Kidani has a bigger water slide...
Also Bus service get picked up & dropped off 1st at Kidani too..

 

[bcrook]

All is correct except for the # of Bathrooms.

Jambo Studios & 1 Bedrooms have 1 Bathroom
Kidani Studios have 1 Bath & 1 BR have 2 baths

Jambo 2 BR have 2 baths while Kidani 2 BR have 3 Baths

Also both pools are very nice, but Kidani has a bigger water slide...
Also Bus service get picked up & dropped off 1st at Kidani too..

Yikes! thanks for catching that!

 

[DebbieB]

All is correct except for the # of Bathrooms.

Jambo Studios & 1 Bedrooms have 1 Bathroom
Kidani Studios have 1 Bath & 1 BR have 2 baths

Jambo 2 BR have 2 baths while Kidani 2 BR have 3 Baths

Also both pools are very nice, but Kidani has a bigger water slide...
Also Bus service get picked up & dropped off 1st at Kidani too..

Kidani's master bath is nicer than Jambo's.

Kidani has a separate shower & jetted tub.

http://allears.net/acc/kidani/kida09a107.jpg

Jambo is a combination jetted tub/shower that is hard to get into.

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We just booked a 2bdrm at Kidani. We love having a third bathroom. the living room will also have a sleeping chair.

this is our 3rd trip to Kidani. We picked it for the 3rd bathroom, the zero depth entry pool with kiddie slide (it also has the bigger slide). The play area with the water cannons, dumping water buckets and splash pad which is right off the pool area.

Kidani gets picked up first for the buses. If you want to go to the lodge either hop a bus or there is a shuttle btwn both resorts. We have also walked over-- it was not far by any means. We have gone over to use the quick service and the buffet table service.

Oh the parking is under the resort so your car is in the shade at Kadani. We always have been able to park near our elevator. We have always stayed in a std room. We are DVC and I dont' see the need to spend extra points on the view when there are soo many great view spots at the resort. Be advised that during a certain time in the morning the animals are not on the savannah - they are called back to the barn for checks and the crew can clean the savannah.

They always have a fire pit going on the savannah and there are night vison goggles avail to view the animals.

My DC love the community hall!! lots to do!

Love the Master bath-- so spacious!!

The resort is very quite. For our last 2 stays we had villas on the same floor as the check in - 2nd floor (since the garage is considered the first floor). We were facing the bus stop overlooking a parking lot -- which was barely used. We were actually a few doors away from the first trip villa. It was very quite at night. occasionally I could hear the beeping of the buses at the bus stop but it was not a bother.

I do have to say the only thing I don't love about Kidani is how dark the rooms are. It goes with the themeing but it is dark. We are soo use to OKW with all the windows and bright colors. But it is a minor complaint.

We have never stayed at the Jumba bc the 2bdrms are not dedicated - they are all lock offs and we prefer a dedicated unit

Good luck with your decision! let us know what you decide!

 

[jcemom]

We prefer the pool and the general resort layout at Kidani. Kidani's community hall CMs are awesome.

The ONLY thing we don't like about Kidani is the food situation. The pool bar has almost nothing to choose from, and the gift shop doesn't even carry a good sandwich/snack selection in the coolers -- only lunchables, carrot sticks, apples and uncrustables. It would be nice if they could carry some of what Mara keeps in the grab and go section -- sandwiches, salads, desserts, etc. It's a real PITA to go over to Jambo to grab stuff from Mara, though we do sometimes. More often I try to plan ahead and grab something to go on the way out of the park to keep in our fridge for later.

 

[schoenfelders5]

We are trying to rent points for a 2 bed at AKL possibly for June. We did this once before at OKW. As a total AKL newbie I don't know if we need to pay more for SV or what building to request. So by dedicated 2 bed that refers to 2 queens in the second bed as opposed to a 1-bed attached to a studio correct? We prefer that. Also my daughter loves giraffes but if we had a SV and saw nothing but warthogs it would be disappointing. Should we just do Std view? Having trouble picturing the whole thing. All advice welcome.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Both have pros and cons.

I stayed at Kidani this past summer, but was also able to experience Jambo since they are so close.

On major difference is the food options.
Kidani - no real QS
Jambo - great QS

Here is my thread from my past trip to Kidani: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2975354

any other questions you can ask me!

Good Luck deciding and have a great trip to the world!

-FantasiaMagic