Jambo or Kidani?

[BuzzLiteyear]

We just purchased at AKV. We've stayed at AKL before. What I'd like to know...which one is better and why? I'm looking for pool, restaurants, activities, Savannah's, convenience, and such. Thanks!

 

[pixie08]

I really like both for very different reasons. Jambo has the main restaurants but it is huge and has a lot of people coming to visit. I didn't think i would love Kidani but on our last trip I fell in love. I wrote a pretty detailed review if you want to read it, making some comparisons of the two but focussing more on Kidani. HTH!

http://www.themouserecord.com/?p=404

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

I really like both for very different reasons. Jambo has the main restaurants but it is huge and has a lot of people coming to visit. I didn't think i would love Kidani but on our last trip I fell in love. I wrote a pretty detailed review if you want to read it, making some comparisons of the two but focussing more on Kidani. HTH!

http://www.themouserecord.com/?p=404

Thank you! I'm going to read it right now .

 

[Anal Annie]

We prefer Jambo. Kidani was under-whelming for us after the impact of Jambo's lobby. The store at Kidani is small and doesn't have much to offer. Our DS said Kidani looks like a warehouse from the outside. And we missed having the Mara right there by the pool to run to. OH, and BOMA is our MOST FAV Disney restaurant. Sanaa was good, Jiko is OK but BOMA we love.

Also, we use studios & I didn't like the bathroom layout of Kidani. I like having the sink area outside of the tub/shower area & at Kidani the sink is enclosed with the tub area.

 

[magicaldisney]

Size of the room would matter. At Kidani, the one and two bedrooms have an extra bathroom and that is huge for us. Also, in our opinion, Kidani offers better savannah views. It has a more laid back feeling than Jambo. Kidani is first to be picked up to go to the parks.

Jambo offers a huge lobby, store, and counter service. It is busier than Kidani and the second bus stop to the parks. It offers a larger pool area, however, not necessarily better.

 

[Havana]

I like them for different reasons, and choose depending on the style/mood of the trip.
Kidani provides a quiet peaceful retreat. There isn't usually much action in the lobby.
We stay at Jambo when we want to be in the middle of AKL atmosphere. We really enjoy walking around the lobby, shop, Mara/pool area.

 

[Nahanni]

Depending on the age of your children, Kidani also has the Springs splash area and community hall. Both pools run daily activities.

We liked both for the reasons of other posters.

 

[LilGMom]

We just purchased at AKV. We've stayed at AKL before. What I'd like to know...which one is better and why? I'm looking for pool, restaurants, activities, Savannah's, convenience, and such. Thanks!

It depends on what you want more access to and what is important to you. Personally for my family, of four, we prefer Kidani. I love having two full bathrooms in a one bedroom and the garden tub in the Kidani one bedroom is amazing. We really enjoy the zero entry pool and water play area that is at Kidani and we also like the under-the-building parking at Kidani. The downsides is that at Kidani I do wish that the store was bigger and that they had some sort of CS (since the drink refill machines are in the store if you get back late and want to refill your mug you are out of luck). We have only eaten at Boma a couple of times since my kids and DH are not adventurous eaters so the TS restaurants aren't a deal maker at either Kidani or Jambo. I don't think you can go wrong with either Kidani or Jambo. I say try one this trip and try the other on the next trip.

 

[dgaston]

Here's my comparison:

Comparison of Jambo and Kidani

Jambo:
large impressive lobby, larger gift shop
busier atmosphere
larger pool, wimpy slide (IMHO)
steam room in workout area
counter service at Mara
value and concierge rooms
rooms retrofitted from existing hotel rooms
self-park in lot
all rooms on 5th floor (except concierge 6th)

Kidani:
smaller, more intimate lobby and gift shop
quieter atmosphere
splash area at pool, and better slide (IMHO)
rooms designed for DVC
extra bath in one and two bedrooms
community hall
Underground parking
Rooms on floors 2 through 4

I like them both!

 

[wildernessDad]

What type of villa will you be in? A studio, one bedroom, etc...?

 

[bobbiwoz]

Buses to the parks first stop at Kidani and that could be a big factor in the mornings. I mostly stay at Jambo, because I mostly stay in studios and I like the layout of them better at Jambo and the Mara is right there for counter service. I've stayed in larger units at Kidani twice and that was because I wanted the extra bathrooms in those villas.

Yet, for my upcoming September stay, I'm at Jambo, having booked a value studio and a value 2 bedroom. The points and the sleeping arrangements just worked out better for this particular trip going that way.

I think Jambo is more impressive than Kidani, but Kidani has many artifacts of interest and the community room is convenient and I've found the CMs at both resorts to be excellent. I would never be sorry that one wasn't available and that I had to book the other in spite of my "studio - Jambo" preference.

Also, we've had 4 CL stays and we've enjoyed those very much. Those were in studios and twice with the savannah view and twice with the pool/roof view.

Bobbi

 

[daisyx3]

If you pick Kidani, how long does it take to get to the Jambo pool and/or Mara CS? Kidani sounds good to me due to the extra bathroom, but I don't care about Sanaa and my kids don't need a kiddie area at the pool since they will be 13 and 16 when we go.
Daisyx3

 

[DenLo]

At Kidani, you have a continental breakfast at Sanaa, TS at Sanaa for lunch and dinner, The Samawati Springs pool bar has a very limited lunch menu. And the gift shop, Johari Treasures is small with a small and limited selection of food items. TS restaurant Sanaa is an excellent restaurant. In June we had a small family gathering and that restaurant was favored by many over Boma at Jambo House. I have always preferred Boma but the price for a buffet at dinner has gotten ridiculously high. We can eat at Sanaa for a lot less. But we are not the types that can make multiple trips to the buffet either.

Others have mentioned the bus advantages at Kidani Village and a few times that really did matter for our group in June.

At Jambo House, you have a true QS, Mara. It's similar to the QS restaurant at VWL. Not a large selection of items but a nice variety except many things are African or Indian flavored. The signature restaurant is Jiko. Very good food and signature prices.

I think the real difference in the two resorts is the lobby. Jambo's is very impressive yet it's not a place you want to hang out in. It is very busy and noisy but most people are just moving through on their way to somewhere else. Kidani's lobby is attractive but not impressive but it's the heart of the resort and many meet and even sit there before or after meals or on there way to somewhere. It's truly a gathering place.

Others have already given great comparisons about many of the facilities. I do want to comment on the pools. The pool at Jambo House is large but it just a pool with a average slide. It does have a lot more space to sit even the shade, but really not that many sitting areas with views of the pool that are shaded. The kids all seem to enjoy the pool and water play area (Uwanja Camp) much more at Kidani. However there are even less areas near the pool to sit and even less that are in the shade. Considering the size of Kidani Village I think Disney under estimated the numbers that would be using the pool. DVC members like to use the pools even more than cash guests.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

We prefer Jambo. Kidani was under-whelming for us after the impact of Jambo's lobby. The store at Kidani is small and doesn't have much to offer. Our DS said Kidani looks like a warehouse from the outside. And we missed having the Mara right there by the pool to run to. OH, and BOMA is our MOST FAV Disney restaurant. Sanaa was good, Jiko is OK but BOMA we love.

Also, we use studios & I didn't like the bathroom layout of Kidani. I like having the sink area outside of the tub/shower area & at Kidani the sink is enclosed with the tub area.

That's what I'm worried about too. Decisions, Decisions...
BTW, where was your profile pic taken. We have one that looks very similar (of course it's our pictures in it ) from Blue Lagoon.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

What type of villa will you be in? A studio, one bedroom, etc...?

1 bedroom. I was hoping this discussion would make my decision easier .

How long is the walk between the two? Is the path lighted? How convenient is the shuttle service?

Thanks for all of the replies. August is too far away.

 

[thebigman65]

1 bedroom. I was hoping this discussion would make my decision easier .

How long is the walk between the two? Is the path lighted? How convenient is the shuttle service?

Thanks for all of the replies. August is too far away.

Its about a 10 Min walk or they have a shuttle back and forth. Not a huge deal....if you're booking a 1 Bdrm, my vote would be Kidani!

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

Its about a 10 Min walk or they have a shuttle back and forth. Not a huge deal....if you're booking a 1 Bdrm, my vote would be Kidani!

Thanks, 10 minutes is good. Is it a scenic path (something to convince the family that it's worth it )?

 

[LilGMom]

Thanks, 10 minutes is good. Is it a scenic path (something to convince the family that it's worth it )?

It isn't that scenic, for part of of the walk you are on a sidewalk that is right by the road that connects two parking lots at the resorts. Part of it is among some nice landscaping so lizard spotting is always fun. The sidewalk does have prints and leaves imprinted into it so I usually have my kids trying to find some sort of creature while we walk between the two.