Jambo or Kidani?

[keaster]

Now that we've decided to go full steam ahead with our plunge into DVC, it's time to start booking .

We'd like to book a stay at our home resort of AKL, possibly first week of January 2012. First, how is availabilyt at that time? Second, if we have a choice, which is better...Jambo or Kidani. We will be booking a two bedroom villa (it will be DD, DH and me, plus two more adults and two kids.)

Thanks!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

The two bedroom at Kidani is AMAZING! It's so huge and beautiful. You would get a third bathroom in your villa too. The master bath is larger than Jambo and has a wonderful split bath with huge stall shower and separate jacuzzi tub.

 

[drusba]

You need to call immediately if not sooner to try to get a reservation at AKV if looking at first week of January because likely you will not be able to get all nights. The first 3 to 4 days of January still have the Christmas Break crowds and then after that you go into marathon weekend which tends to fill DVC rooms. If you can get 2BR, I would opt for Kidani because the 2BRs have three bathrooms and are 100 sq ft larger than the ones of Jambo.

 

[chalee94]

more info is here if you want it:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2685726

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2722181

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2636621

 

[magicaldisney]

I would without a doubt chose Kidani. As already stated, bigger rooms and the extra bathroom is a lifesaver!!

 

[cvjw]

As of a couple of days ago, the only DVC resorts with availability for the first week in January for a 1 or 2 bedroom villa was OKW and SSR. I checked availability for 9 nights. You might have a different result if you aren't planning on staying as long.

 

[DenLo]

Either resort is great.

Kidani

three bathrooms
able to get a savanna view that is on a lower floor, 2nd or 3rd are our favorites
a lot more DVC villas
better pool for children including a great water play area (may not matter in January)
Sanaa Restaurant - it was preferred by family members over Boma during our last trip
First stop for buses going to the parks
Community Center
More intimate lobby, it's a friendly place to relax or a meeting place
The resort is quieter and more relaxing.

Jambo House

Mara - the only quick service restaurant at AKL and villas
Two TS restaurants - Boma (buffet) and Jiko, a signature restaurant
Larger gift shop including the grocery area
Simba's Clubhouse for babysitting
More impressive looking lobby, but I wouldn't hang around there
DVC Rooms are are located on the 5th floor (6th for Club Level)
The resort is busier, more activity happening, definitely more people there since it's a combined cash and DVC resort.
In the morning the buses might be full from Kidani village so you might have to stand when traveling to a park.

Both have night viewing of the animals, cultural representatives, fun activities for kids and adults (you can do the activities at either resort), and pool activities.
There is a shuttle that travels every 15 minutes between Kidani Village and Jambo House so if you don't want to walk you can use the shuttle. It departs from the lobby entrance (not the bus stop).

As others have stated, call MS as soon as you can to see if you can get a room. Good luck and welcome home, AKV neighbor!

 

[Invisable89]

Definitely Kidani! Having an extra bathroom is a must!

But bare in mind that Kidani Village is a DVC add-on to Jambo House & it's about a 10 minute ish walk to Jambo House. But Kidani has it's own pool so you won't need to walk over to Jambo House.

DenLo has basically told you everything you need to know.

 

[dgaston]

in addition to Denlo's list:

underground parking at Kidani

walk to self-parking at Jambo

If you don't have a car those bits may not matter.

 

[thepops]

We just stayed in a dedicated 2BR at Kidani and the place is HUGE! Having 3 daughters with me made having 3 bathrooms a big plus as well. Also the balcony ran the whole length of the unit so it was very big as well.

 

[majortom1981]

Now that we've decided to go full steam ahead with our plunge into DVC, it's time to start booking .

We'd like to book a stay at our home resort of AKL, possibly first week of January 2012. First, how is availabilyt at that time? Second, if we have a choice, which is better...Jambo or Kidani. We will be booking a two bedroom villa (it will be DD, DH and me, plus two more adults and two kids.)

Thanks!!

LOl how about that I am staying at kidani studio January 8 -14.

It all depends on what you want. Jambo has the quick service , jiko,and boma. BUt has smaller rooms , VERY BUSY at times, and gets every bus except downtown disney second.

Kidani only has sanaa as a food choice which is sit down but has bigger rooms, The bus stops here first, and is MUCH quieter.

Also kidani has 3 bathrooms for the 2 bedrooms.

I say stay at kidani. If you dont mind walking its only about a 10 minute walk from kidani to jambo house. My wife and i dont mind walking to get our quick service meals from jambo since we go to the parks in the morning and get back to kidani at about 1 or so. You could also take one of the park busses to jambo house from kidani if you dont want to walk.

 

[pennst8r]

Stayed in both, Kidani more recently. The only thing I hated, was the master bedroom door has a huge vent in it--almost the whole bottom half. You could hear everything from the kitchen/living room and vice versa.

Not a deal breaker, but just an FYI.

 

[hakepb]

From what I've read, the other difference: Kidani has some dedicated 2BR's and some lock-offs. Jambo only has lock-off (combined 1BR + Studio)
A dedicated 2BR would have 2 queens in the 2nd bedroom. A studio (from the lockoff) has 1 queen and a pull-out couch (plus a kitchenette)
You know dedicated or lock-off at booking time.

 

[csmommy]

For us there is a completely different feel in each of the resorts. We LOVE Jambo house, feels like a deluxe resort, we love how busy it is, the lobby is very impressive & the food we like is there. We did not like Kidani, it was too quiet for us, felt like an off-shoot of a deluxe resort & no Mara.

FYI - we only stay in Studios so the extra bathroom does not come into play for us.

 

[DisMomme]

just an FYI, I believe the Lock-off option is fewer points. You might want to look into that to save points. The difference, I think, is that a dedicated 2 BR has only 1 entrance into the suite and has 2 beds in the 2nd BR. The lock-off had a separate entrance for our guests but only 1 bed and 1 pull-out couch. It also had a little kitchenette with fridge, coffee maker and toaster. Not sure if it matters to you but because our 2 boys were using the living room as their BR, it was nice that our guests could go in and out their own door without disturbing our lazy teenagers.