Kidani or Jambo House?

[mjaclyn]

I just booked a week long stay in a one bedroom at Jambo House. I originally chose Jambo over Kidani because I prefer having a quick service restaurant as well as a somewhat moderately priced buffet over one more expensive restaurant and no QS option. However, the more I'm reading threads about Kidani vs. Jambo House it seems like there are MANY MANY complaints about the horrible bus service. I've heard it's bad at the resort as a whole, but much worse at Jambo House because the buses stop at Kidani first and so guests are forced to wait until two, sometimes three buses come before they can get on. We have two very young children and a double stroller, so waiting for an hour to catch a bus really isn't an option for us. I'd rather not rent a car because of the expense, besides... if you're willing to fork over the expensive $$$ to stay in a deluxe I believe you should expect at least mediocre bus service. What do you think? Should I keep Jambo House because of the restaurants or switch to Kidani to try and avoid a bad bus situation? Or should I switch to another resort altogether?

 

[erionm]

Never had any issues with bus service when staying at Jambo House.

 

[MDsMomma]

When we were there in September there was not once anyone at Jambo had to wait for another bus. I think the complaint would be about AKL as a whole not just a house. I wanted Jambo and could only get Kidani, there are pros and cons to both.

 

[erionm]

The primary time you will have trouble with transportation is early in the morning when people are trying to get to a theme park for rope drop.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just booked a week long stay in a one bedroom at Jambo House. I originally chose Jambo over Kidani because I prefer having a quick service restaurant as well as a somewhat moderately priced buffet over one more expensive restaurant and no QS option. However, the more I'm reading threads about Kidani vs. Jambo House it seems like there are MANY MANY complaints about the horrible bus service. I've heard it's bad at the resort as a whole, but much worse at Jambo House because the buses stop at Kidani first and so guests are forced to wait until two, sometimes three buses come before they can get on. We have two very young children and a double stroller, so waiting for an hour to catch a bus really isn't an option for us. I'd rather not rent a car because of the expense, besides... if you're willing to fork over the expensive $$$ to stay in a deluxe I believe you should expect at least mediocre bus service. What do you think? Should I keep Jambo House because of the restaurants or switch to Kidani to try and avoid a bad bus situation? Or should I switch to another resort altogether?

I just spent a week at Jambo, the last week in September. Except for one day, when I had to wait well over 1/2 hour for a DTD bus, the waits were never more than a few minutes. I know your question of Kidani vs. Jambo is a pretty common one, so I thought about it a lot. I did like the feeling of being in a "DVC Community" when I was over at Kidani. But I must admit that the convenience of the CS was more important. Overall I loved Jambo.

 

[MErnst]

Just spent over a week at Jambo end of Aug/beg of Sept and never had a problem with the buses. Never had to wait more than a few minutes and we never had to stand. Our last day there, DH and DS7 did wait a bit longer for MK bus however CM played trivia games with waiting guests and DS7 won a family fast pass...woohoo!!

 

[FigmentLady]

Just got back from an 8 day stay at Jambo house in Sept. The only time i had to wait more than a few minutes for a bus was actually for AK and it was not bc busses were full, it was bc there was some kind of issue with them.
I loved Jambo house and would stay there again.

 

[TosaTrio]

We have stayed at both Jambo and Kidani and loved them both! However, with little ones, I would stay at Jambo, especially if you think you would use quick service.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I know I've often read about the bus problem at Jambo but I've never experienced it either. And we've never had to wait for a second bus.

 

[castleri]

Have stayed at both and the only issues we had were last year during the first week of Dec when there seemed to be some slowness of buses in general and Jambo in particular and the bus to MK was the worst. I was there again at Kidani in Sept and had no problems with buses at all and did not notice any time where there was an issue when we got to Jambo. I think you need to decide on how important the CS restaurant is to you. We just hopped the bus at Kidani and got off at Jambo the couple of times we wanted to eat there but we also did not have young children with us. We have two nights at Kidani the first week of Dec with a 4 yo so will see how that works out. I think we will eat Breakfast in the room and probably other meals at the parks or DTD so not having access to Mara is not an issue.

 

[drusba]

I personally have not seen all of these complaints you mention about the horrible bus service. As with any resort, there can be times when a bus is delayed and you wait a long time; you can also sometimes in the early morning rush have a bus show up at Jambo that is vuitually full from Kidani.

However, personal view is that AKL busses are very good in comparison to other resorts. If counter service and being close to the buffet is a need then Jambo is fine. The bus system is not a reason to change to Kidani.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I know I've often read about the bus problem at Jambo but I've never experienced it either. And we've never had to wait for a second bus.

I agree. We have always had EXCELLENT bus service at both Kidani and Jambo. As I said on your other thread, we only had one time where the bus was an issue. That was to MK early one morning when a bus broke down and they "forgot" to send another. It took several bus loads to rectify the situation that time, but it's the only time we have ever waited more than a few minutes at AKV for a bus.

FYI, we find the BEST transportation around Disney is from AKV and OKW. SSR isn't bad either, but we've had more issues there.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Spent a middle week of September at Jambo, and only once did I have to stand on the bus in the AM. I was going to Epcot.

 

[mattnewyork]

For Savanna view, Kidani is a LOT better for seeing animals. So if that is important, go with Kidani. Also they have a bus now (so I hear) from Kidani to Jambo

 

[vfalkner]

When we were there in September there was not once anyone at Jambo had to wait for another bus. I think the complaint would be about AKL as a whole not just a house. I wanted Jambo and could only get Kidani, there are pros and cons to both.

What are the pro and cons? We have to decide between the two. Other than the quick service restaurant, what are the differences? I have heard that the Jambo do not have the master bathrooms, but then heard that wasn't true.

 

[ToddyLu]

The 1 bedrooms at Kidani have 2 bathrooms. Jambo has 1 bathroom. Jambo lobby his huge and busy like a Marketplace, while Kidani is very quiet and calm in comparison. Kidani has Community Hall and Jambo has night vision of animals. Jambo has value DVC and Kidani does not. With children I think Jambo is fun, for DH and I we prefer Kidani as we do not have children and the vibe there suits us. We are patient when we are hungry so transport to Jambo for food is a non- issue. With children I think Jambo is perfect and you will love it.

 

[DebbieB]

What are the pro and cons? We have to decide between the two. Other than the quick service restaurant, what are the differences? I have heard that the Jambo do not have the master bathrooms, but then heard that wasn't true.

Jambo does have master bathrooms but there is a combo tub/shower, not separate like at other DVC resorts. I found it hard to get in and out of because the tub is high. The 1 and 2 bedrooms are much larger at Kidani, have the separate tub/shower and have an additional full bathroom in the entry area. Studios are about the same, although the bathroom setup is different (Jambo has the sink outside the bathroom, Kidani it's inside). Not sure about GV's.

When I stayed at Kidani in June 2009, a couple of times we went to MK on the bus early in the morning and people were left at the curb at Jambo. If you have a car, the parking is much closer at Kidani.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

We were actually wondering about the same things. We are thinking of staying in studio at AKV and I am having trouble deciding between the two. We were leaning toward Jambo House because of The CS and the lobby. Now I'm wondering if the the Savannah views are much better at Kidani. If they are, better views combined with the buses might make Kidani a better choice.

 

[Kelblum]

Loved Kidani, never stayed at Jambo though. Would go back to Kidani in a heartbeat!

 

[vfalkner]

We have stayed at Jambo and they had fun activities for the kids (nightly parade, making valentine's, etc.) Do they have that sort of thing at Kidani also?