Just back from AKV

[forgop]

I just returned from a 10 day stint at Jambo House with 2 previous visits at Kidani Village. I must say that I prefer Kidani over Jambo house to a large degree. First, virtually all of the bus stops are to Kidani first. There's nothing better that starting your day having to stand with kids/stroller because all of the seats were taken by those getting on first at Kidani village. Second, I think the savanna viewing from the lobby area is better (not comparing from a room because I never stayed in savanna view at either location). Third, I preferred the pool at Kidani and it provides a water play area for the kids outside of being in the pool itself (which unfortunately the matting was being worked on while we were there).

Jambo is nice having the better gift shop and more food options, but in the end, I'll be staying at Kidani going forward.

 

[sjs314]

November will be my second stay at AKL Jambo, my only concern is the bus situation but I am hopeing since we will be visiting at a off peak time maybe we will not have any problems. The first time I stayed was in 2005 and there was no Kidani yet so we shall see. I prefer Jambo because of the restaurants and Mara.

 

[forgop]

November will be my second stay at AKL Jambo, my only concern is the bus situation but I am hopeing since we will be visiting at a off peak time maybe we will not have any problems. The first time I stayed was in 2005 and there was no Kidani yet so we shall see. I prefer Jambo because of the restaurants and Mara.

Standing on the bus only happened to us once, but it was still a hassle. After you just miss a bus and are first to be waiting at Jambo, 20 others will arrive and try boarding a full bus ahead of you if you don't get up there.

We made most of our meals in the room and ate at Boma once. If you're planning on eating at Mara/Boma for your meals often, Jambo makes the most sense.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

November will be my second stay at AKL Jambo, my only concern is the bus situation but I am hopeing since we will be visiting at a off peak time maybe we will not have any problems. The first time I stayed was in 2005 and there was no Kidani yet so we shall see. I prefer Jambo because of the restaurants and Mara.

Relax. We just spent 10 nights at AKV and the buses were fine. I had to stand once during the entire trip. There were many mornings that the bus arrived from Kidani with just a couple of families already seated. We tend to arrive at the parks in plenty of time for rope drop though ... so, that might make a difference ... and we also avoid parks with EMH (those bus stops were always crowded). The buses were fuller if we were just heading out in the afternoon (there were a couple of days that we took midafternoon breaks at AKL, then headed back out for dinner, etc.). I was impressed with the bus service and had no complaints.

Honestly, the only "bad" bus trip we had was to Typhoon Lagoon, but that bus goes to Downtown Disney and DTD bus transportation stinks at all the resorts IMO. And, it was compounded by the fact that 2 people who were going to Blizzard Beach got on the wrong bus (despite 2 buses that had already come and gone for DHS/Blizzard Beach), so the kindly bus driver stopped at Blizzard Beach for them and added a few minutes to the trip.

I picked Jambo because of the proximity to restaurants, the big gift shop and the pool view for the standard rooms. I was not disappointed. It was a good fit for our family and I would not hesitate to stay there again.

 

[Beavertails Queen]

I did a split stay at Jambo and Kidani this past May. I didn't find a huge difference between the buses for the two resorts. It is true that that stop at one or the other first but I just looked at is as a "going" I get on first and "coming home" I get off last trade off.

I prefer Jambo for the larger lobby, shop and the Mara. Jambo is just my first love.
However, my 4 year old newphew loves the splashpad at Kidani. Samawati Springs is great.

 

[schewy]

We prefer Kidani Village for the extra bathrooms in the one and two bedrooms. I usually walk over to the Jambo house for the resturants. I need the exercise before and after the meal.
I like the pool area at Kidani too, even though our little one is 19.

 

[ToddyLu]

DH and I prefer Kidani's quiet, intimate atmosphere over Jambo's bustling marketplace atmosphere.

 

[JenSop]

We've stayed at Jambo three times now and just LOVE it.

But we've been over to Kidani a few times to eat at Sanaa, visit the pool, and enjoy the look out.

My preference is Jambo!

To each his own!

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

We have stayed at both Jambo and Kidani. I love them both!! But, I think Kidani gets the upper hand for our family. I loved the 1 bdrm with the extra bathroom!! Also, the pool was awesome, the lobby is relaxing and the kids love CH.
I can't wait to return!

 

[jjohnson]

We just got back on the 14th. Stayed at Jambo. We visited Kidani but all agree that we prefer Jambo. I thought the buses to/from MK were awful. Took the bus 4 times to MK 9am,11:30am,5:00pm & 7:30 pm. Family of 5 stood both ways on all 4 trips. No issues though for Epcot or AK.

 

[forgop]

We prefer Kidani Village for the extra bathrooms in the one and two bedrooms. I usually walk over to the Jambo house for the resturants. I need the exercise before and after the meal.
I like the pool area at Kidani too, even though our little one is 19.

I noticed that too, but I thought it was because we stayed in a value at Jambo house compared to a standard 1 BR at Kidani. I wasn't even factoring that as a benefit at Kidani over Jambo.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We were at Jambo the first 2 weeks of June this year. The buses the first week were fine. The second week things were starting to get a little ugly. Enough to make me think about booking Kidani for our second week next year. But in the end I booked all 15 nights for 2011 in concierge at Jambo and we'll just deal with the buses.