jamba or kidani ?

[stitchaholic]

which of the villa's would you choose and why ?

 

[kendzee94]

If a counter service is not of upmost importance to you, I would choose Kidani over Jambo. We love the pool and quaintness of it. My DD10 loves the community center. It is great for those rainy days. It is easy enough to take the bus back and forth between the two resorts or to walk to and from depending on your location. We love having the extra bathroom (in 1BR or 2BR villas) in Kidani. We stayed in a 2BR at Jambo (lockoff only) and 2 BR dedicated at Kidani and love how large the 2BR dedicated at Kidani is. The extra bathroom is great when getting ready in the am and great when you are coming back from the parks and everyone has to "go".

 

[Brandis]

I would say it depends on what you are looking for.

I stayed in a studio at Jambo House in May and visited Kidani Village one morning. The atmosphere is quite different between the two.

Jambo House has more of a lively hotel feeling and it "felt" as being closer to civilization.

Kidani Village had a very quaint and intimate, indeed village, feeling.

Our next stay at AKV will be at Kidani Village and I'm really looking forward to it!

 

[PHILCT]

I like both, but I really missed having access to counter service and even the little store with a small refill mug station wasn't sufficient for us.

I thought the animal views were spectacular at Kidani !
I didn't like looking at the outside architecture with the underground cars, it was distracting for me, yet convenient on the feet. Depending on where you get a room, you might end up walking forever.

And I found myself aching for the Jambo House counter service, the bigger pool there, the larger store, the incredible lobby.

Next time I am going to try to get a Club Level at the Jambo House.

It is all a matter of preference.

 

[quirty30]

I'd choose Jambo for a traditional trip that revolves around the theme parks; Kidani for a destination trip that revolves around the resort itself.

 

[stitchaholic]

thanks everyone!

 

[TosaTrio]

I'd choose Jambo for a traditional trip that revolves around the theme parks; Kidani for a destination trip that revolves around the resort itself.

We had the same questions as the OP for our upcoming trip. We booked Kidani because we wanted this trip to be more about the resort than parks. It sounds like we made the right decision...

 

[mybabesuz]

We prefer the Pool at Kidani.
The 1 and 2 bedrooms are a little larger at Kidani.
And there is the extra Bathroom.

But overall we prefer to stay at Jambo.
I prefer the larger lobby.
We love eating at Boma and Mara.
The kids love the Dry playground at Jambo.
Last time we stayed at Kidani.
We missed stopping for a snack and a drink refill at Mara after returning from the park at night.
The gift shop at Kidani was always closed by the time we got back.
We walk to Kidani almost everyday for the pool when we stay at Jambo.
But we didn't like walking all the way to Boma from Kidani when we were hungry in the morning.

 

[BigEeyore]

Kidani for us - larger rooms w/ the extra bathroom
Also prefer the Kidani pool area - not as big, but more features than Jambo
Prefer the parking situation at Kidani
We did not feel overly inconvienced to go over to Jambo for a meal - either a short walk or we would just hop in the car.

Can't go wrong either way to be honest - AKL is amazing no matter where you stay!

 

[stitchaholic]

bump

 

[ToddyLu]

Yep we are Kidani folks. It has the moe intimate vibe and so much more quiet than Jambo, more relaxing to us. In fact we are getting groceries this year so we can eat breakfast in the room and not have to get to Mara.

Now this is two adults and my MIL, no children unfortunately, in our mid 40s so you can see why it appeals to us. DVC has eliminated "commando Disney" for us. Now we have "commando Giraffe spotting from the balcony".

 

[eporter66]

We have not stayed at Jambo, only hung out in the lobby and ate dinner at Boma's. I like both, but Kidani seems a bit more relaxed which we prefer. The only downside to Kidani is not having a quick service food stop. But, we always get a one bedroom and stock up on food for the room, so that late night urge can always be satisfied

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

We just returned from our first stay at Kidani. We had stayed in a regular hotel room in Jambo several years ago.

If you're looking for peace and quiet, Kidani is the place for you. As you're already read, the rooms are larger also with an extra bathroom. We loved the pool area and it was also very quiet.

However, if you're looking for a bustling resort experience, Jambo is the way to go. We stopped at Jambo one evening and the difference in atmosphere between the two resorts is night and day. Jambo was very lively with lots of people everywhere you looked. Very upbeat.

We loved the room at Kidani, but we did feel very removed from the rest of WDW. Next time, we definitely want to try Jambo again.

 

[stitchaholic]

if we stay at jambo, can we use the kidani pool and play area ?

 

[Brandis]

It's one resort, so you can use both pools.