Jambo House or Kildani Villas?

[dahwolf]

We currently have a reservation in January to stay at the Animal Kingdoms Jambo house Savannah view. Should we have done that or the Kildani Villas?
We have a 2 bedroom at the Jambo house for my family of 5. My 3 children are the age 6, 3, and 1. Where do you think they will enjoy the most?

 

[eporter66]

I think with kids you might be better off at Jambo. Jambo has a quick service restaurant while Kidani does not, and the pool is much bigger at Jambo.

That being said, you are in a two bedroom, so I assume you will have some food and snacks in the room, so you may not care about the quick service restaurant.

We stayed in Kidani last year in a 1 bedroom with our DD5. It was fine for us, no problems. We walked over to Jambo a few times, had dinner at Boma and really liked the main area/lobby. Jambo has the better store and food options, other than that, I dont think it is a big deal staying in either spot. You will love it!! We loved it so much, we are staying at Kidani again this year - only 15 more days!

 

[dahwolf]

Thank you for that reassuring advice. I was a little nervous because We just came back from Bay Lake Tower last week and it was so new and clean and spacious that I thought I may have made a mistake by choosing the Jambo House over Kildani Villas, but with the kids being so young I think this will be fine.

 

[Big Kid]

We haven't stayed at Kidani, but love Jambo for its awesome lobby and great counter service in the Mara. I would walk (or bus) over to the kiddie play area at the Kidani pool at least once though since there is so much for little ones to do there. Have a great trip.

 

[jnsolomon]

I think you will have a great trip either way. We chose Kidani for our family. I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old and we just love the pool and play area at Kidani. The bus also stops at Kidani first so that means an empty bus to load strollers and other kid stuff on in the morning and you get dropped off first when returning from the parks. Also at Jambo, the DVC units are the 5th and 6th floors and we prefer to be lower to see the animals. Jambo does have more activities I believe, but the Kidani Community hall is great. These are all minor things as either resort will be great, but you asked for opinions and mine is that Kidani is better for us.

 

[cvjw]

We stayed at Kidani in May in a 2 bedroom dedicated savannah view villa with 6 people. A couple of weeks ago, we stayed in a Jambo House 1 bedroom savannah view villa with 4 people. We could not believe how small the 1 bedroom villa was. The layout of the bathroom was awful for our family. The bathroom was self contained in 1 room - unlike other Disney rooms where part of the bathroom is separate from the shower area. We liked JH for the pool and the Mara, but we much preferred the rooms at Kidani Village. Since you will have a 2 bedroom villa, space shouldn't be an issue, but for a 1 bedroom, it will only be Kidani Village for us.

 

[dahwolf]

Thank you so much for all your kind feedback! We are very excited for our vacation in January, and hopefully We can try Kildani out next year.

 

[smacky1]

We stayed in Kidani in Sept with our 3 and 5 year olds. The kids liked both pools for different reasons. As a parent, I preferred the Jambo House pool. It was easier to watch them. They are both good swimmers and like water slides. At Jambo, I can watch them walk up to the top of the slide and wait for them in the water to come down. At Kidani, the steps are a little distance from the pool so I had to go up and down the slide with them every time they wanted to use it. The slide at Jambo is much more gentle as well so younger kids will appreciate that. I actually saw, on two occasions, a smaller child get trapped in the current of the kidani pool. The way its set up, the slide comes out and the water pushes you away from the stairs. Both children tried swimming directly to the stairs after coming off the slide and got stuck underwater in the current. The parents were right there (as were the lifeguards), but I can see how its a little much for the smaller, weaker swimmer. Also, one of my kids would want to go into the water play area while the other would want to swim in the pool and use the slide. It was easier at Jambo with less options and they were just as happy, if not happier. I also think Jambo is easier for access to food if you plan on using any of the options.

 

[carmic]

Thanks for all the input. Will be trying to rent at Jambo this spring!!