Jambo Savanna View Studio vs. Kidani Savanna View

[Liv&Leah]

We are taking our first trip to AKL. My daughter is OBSSESED with animals! I want the best possible view of the animals. I know she would love to see some giraffes and zebras. Can anyone tell me which of these two resorts have the best animal sightings from the balconies?

Also I have read the Kidani pool is better for small children? We have a 4 year old and 1 year old.

Any reason why I should choose one over the other? We would be going in July.. Thank you!

 

[TiggerFanNTX]

Both will have great views of the Animals. Jambo is less likely to have a view with minimal options. There are some views at Kidani on the smaller savannah with less.

Jambo has access to quick service dining while Kidani only has table service at Sanaa (Excellent BTW) so meals with small childer may be easier at Jambo if you plan to eat at the resort.

Kidani has the better pool not just for kids but just in general. Play toys and splash zones, etc. Jambo is just your typical Disney resort pool.

 

[Liv&Leah]

Both will have great views of the Animals. Jambo is less likely to have a view with minimal options. There are some views at Kidani on the smaller savannah with less.

Jambo has access to quick service dining while Kidani only has table service at Sanaa (Excellent BTW) so meals with small childer may be easier at Jambo if you plan to eat at the resort.

Kidani has the better pool not just for kids but just in general. Play toys and splash zones, etc. Jambo is just your typical Disney resort pool.

Thank you! This might be a strange question...Jambo has DVC rooms on 5 and 6. Would it be better to have a lower room at Kidani for animal viewing? Or does that matter?

 

[Spartan86]

Some say for viewing Kidani is better. I will say Kidani I think has more rooms with unobstructed views. You could be looking down through trees at Jambo, less likely at Kidani. But we do love the Jambo lodge, and have had Giraffe viewing there as well as Kidani.
2nd floor Kidani Savanna view left, 5th floor Jambo standard right:

 

[Liv&Leah]

Some say for viewing Kidani is better. I will say Kidani I think has more rooms with unobstructed views. You could be looking down through trees at Jambo, less likely at Kidani. But we do love the Jambo lodge, and have had Giraffe viewing there as well as Kidani.
2nd floor Kidani Savanna view left, 5th floor Jambo standard right:

Oh wow. Thanks!

 

[TiggerFanNTX]

Thank you! This might be a strange question...Jambo has DVC rooms on 5 and 6. Would it be better to have a lower room at Kidani for animal viewing? Or does that matter?

I don't think a ground floor would be any good due to fencing. Higher up is fine. Here is a picture from a kidani view I found.

 

[sharkyandbones]

We also feel like Kidani generally has the better savanna viewing. But it is a really big resort and you could be doing a lot of walking to get to your room, partially why we prefer Jambo. We also love the Jambo lobby as compared to Kidani. Jambo's is much bigger and more "alive" while Kidani is more quaint and "homey." Both are beautiful though and you can't really go wrong with either.

 

[sndral]

If you opt for Kidani make sure you request Sunset savanna view (you do not want Pembe savanna view as there are no Giraffes there and it is quite small) and I'd probably request 3rd floor.
.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

If you opt for Kidani make sure you request Sunset savanna view (you do not want Pembe savanna view as there are no Giraffes there and it is quite small) and I'd probably request 3rd floor.
.

I agree. But the scary thing is that a request is just a request, not a guarantee. That's what would make me nervous about booking Kidani.

 

[marsh0013]

I agree. But the scary thing is that a request is just a request, not a guarantee. That's what would make me nervous about booking Kidani.

So true! We requested low floor near either of the elevator banks closer to the lobby (can't remember but called them out by name, instead of just requesting near lobby). We were put in the second to farthest room away from the lobby, and on the 5th floor. Nothing else was available. They offered to move us the next day, but we were already moving multiple times over a 2 week trip and didn't want to add another move, we wanted to settle in. After the first few walks down that quarter mile hallway, I regretted that decision. It was a long five nights. You win some, you lose some.

We moved to jambo for 2 nights and were much closer to the lobby over there. And we had much better luck with animals on that Savannah than we had over at Kidani. 5th floor at jambo felt closer than 5th floor at Kidani. Obviously if you get lower floor and closer to lobby at Kidani, you could have a much different experience.

 

[Liv&Leah]

I booked Kidani for the kids pool and potential to be on the lower floor. Now I am second guessing myself!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I booked Kidani for the kids pool and potential to be on the lower floor. Now I am second guessing myself!

Sorry to throw a wrench in your plans. We stayed at Kidani once. We were lucky that our request was filled. We were on a low floor and close to the lobby with a view of the Sunset Savanna. It was awesome! I just haven't booked there again because of that chance of being on the Pembe Savanna. I would hate to spend all those points and be stuck there, especially since I enjoy the giraffes the most. The chances are probably low of getting on that savanna, but I just don't like to gamble. (The kids pool is very nice. My kids were younger when we stayed there, and they really liked it.)

 

[DenLo]

There is no ground floor rooms at Kidani. The ground floor is parking garage or Sanaa Restaurant. We have stayed at both and liked both. This last trip in December we stayed at Kidani and loved it. You do have four floors of rooms at Kidani and one floor at Jambo House for regular villas plus 10 2 bedroom lock-offs on the 6 floor that are for Club Level rooms only. Also the other 4 floors at Jambo House are cash rooms. So the cash guests out number the DVC guests.

The real difference between the two is that Jambo House has a quick service, and two table service restaurants, one, Boma is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Jiko is a signature restaurant only open for dinner. The Lobby at Jambo is huge and very noisy especially in the evenings. There is much larger shop which has a larger selection of everything. The pool at Jambo is very large and has a zero entry and small slide.

Kidani Village is a DVC Resort. There is no quick service except at the pool, and Sanaa serves a quick service breakfast 7-10 AM. Saana is open for lunch and dinner. There is a much smaller lobby that at times seems to be a meeting area for families. There is a Community Hall at Kidani, but both resorts have children's activities and you can go to any of these activities with your children. The pool at Kidani is smaller with a much larger steeper slide and I have seriously been told by children I don't even know that it is much better than the one at Jambo. There is also a water play area that is built for young children and older kids. And I have seen more than one adult playing with their kids shooting the water cannons at them in the older kids area. Kidani has dedicated 2BRs and all of the 2BRs and 1BRs have an extra full bathroom off of the living room. People often say that the walk at Kidani is very long but in reality the distance comparison is like the difference to walking into Epcot and stopping at Spaceship Earth or walking up to the Fountain near Mouse Gears. To me if you are too tired to make that walk, you spent too much time in the parks.

I think of the difference is whether you like a busy resort or prefer a quiet one. If you usually eat quick service at the parks or cook in your room the lack of a quick service at Kidani doesn't really matter. Also there is a shuttle van that travels between the two resorts or it is a 10 minute slow walk to get to the other resort.

 

[Spartan86]

I would guess in July, with a little pro activity- request- and a little check in desk diplomacy “if we wait to check in can we get more of what we are looking for?” you might do just fine. Kidani is the only place I have ever had my exact request by room number honored. We have also been given, at other resorts an early available room, with option to wait for something closer to our request. Good luck. We loved taking our DGD to Kidani. She was a little freaked by some of the children’s area splash pads -she was barely two however. I think a 4 year old will love it.

 

[Firepath]

I seem to recall someone mentioning Jambo was better for studios, but Kidani better for all other rooms. I can't remember the details but I think it had something to do with privacy and the restrooms. I've only stayed in 1 BRs at each so I don't know from experience. Maybe someone who has can give the details.

 

[Liv&Leah]

I seem to recall someone mentioning Jambo was better for studios, but Kidani better for all other rooms. I can't remember the details but I think it had something to do with privacy and the restrooms. I've only stayed in 1 BRs at each so I don't know from experience. Maybe someone who has can give the details.

Yes, the bathroom configuration is different. One has two sinks and the other has one. But none of the other DVC resorts we have stayed in have two sinks so that’s not that important to me. I really just wanted the best possible view of the animals for my 4 year old.

 

[Nicole Helene]

When do you put in your room request?

 

[a1tinkfans]

The are Both great resorts. We ve stayed both. DVC and direct pay guests. Various room styles and locations. Our ( adult group) Preference is Jambo.
I agree Exactly with what DenLo articulated!
By the way... the night safari at Kidani was Amazing!!

As far as room requests.. we were Upgraded, we ve been given generally what we asked for and we’ve been no where near where we wanted. In the big pix it’s all good, but if it’s that important to make or break ur visit... others will chime in with what they do to have the best room location request honored, since it’s been hit or miss or pixie dust for us.
Enjoy!

 

[k_hase]

We've stayed at both and greatly prefer Jambo. My son is now 8, and we've done 10 AKV trips. With a small kid I liked a quick service (even with my kitchen and grocery delivery, sometimes it's just easier to go buy a smuckers sandwich from the cooler than to go back to the room). He loves both pools now, but when he was smaller preferred Jambo. Kidani has a baby slide and a big slide, as well as a spray park area--he disliked the spray and was afraid of the big slide but felt too big for the baby slide. Jambo slide is perfect, you can see them at the top and the lifeguards have typically been lax about parents waiting to catch their kids as long as you aren't being a bother.

As for rooms, when he was small we got a two bedroom (grandparents came too) and we used the master bath for his packnplay (it's big). Kidani one bedroom has two baths, unlike Jambo's one bath for one bedroom. A packnplay fits in the extra bath of Kidani's one bedroom, if that's a thing for you.

As adults, we like Jambo b/c the lobby is impressive, the cooking smells are amazing, the bar feels special (Kidani bar is inside Sanaa...more like a waiting for a table bar, than having a drink bar).

As for animals, we've never not seen them and typically get a Standard one bedroom at Jambo, so the view isn't always guaranteed. I take my chances on this so that I can take more trips.

 

[minnie king]

Is sunset vie close to lobby?