Kidani Village versus Jambo House villa w/ young children- please help me decide!

[Nutmeg2016]

Hello,

I’m hoping to book a 1-bedroom villa for 4 nights at either Kidani or Jambo House. The group includes me, my husband, our 2 young children (2 & 5 yrs old), and my mom. I’m really torn as to which site would work better for us (although I’m sure we’d have a wonderful stay either).

I’m drawn to Jambo House for its beautiful lobby and public spaces, and easy access to lots of dining options.

Meanwhile, Kidani appears to have the transportation advantage, as I’ve heard it’s the first stop for bus pick-up and therefore presents a better chance of getting seats. Given that we’ll have two little kids with us (plus a stroller), this is a major consideration.

I guess a few questions would be:

1) Am I placing too much weight on the bus situation? What are your experiences with buses from Jambo House?

2) If we stay at Kidani, I’d still like to spend time at Jambo House for dining, etc. Is it really a slog to walk between the two, or is it pretty doable? My husband and I enjoy a good walk but when you throw young kids into the mix. . . !?

3) We’ll probably book a standard view. Does either site have an advantage when you book standard?

Any other thoughts are much appreciated.

Many thanks!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

A 1BR at Kidani will have 2 bathrooms. A 1BR at Jambo will have only one.

The walk between them depends on where in Kidani you are. You can take the bus between them easily. The walk is anywhere from 5-15 minutes.

The standard views at Jambo are mostly pool, with a few partial savannah. The standard views at Kidani are more parking.

 

[Hopefully]

Kidani has a really nice splash pad for the little ones too. If you are in Jambo you can use it, but I imagine it is more convenient from Kidani.

 

[HarleenQ]

The second bathroom was a lifesaver for us, especially with a third adult. The walk to Kidani was very easy. My mom walked over to grab to go breakfast for everyone one morning, we walked over to eat at Jiko, and besides that we just used our own little convenience store at Kidani.

Personally, the bathroom is worth it's weight in gold.

 

[scrapquitler]

Hello,

I’m hoping to book a 1-bedroom villa for 4 nights at either Kidani or Jambo House. The group includes me, my husband, our 2 young children (2 & 5 yrs old), and my mom. I’m really torn as to which site would work better for us (although I’m sure we’d have a wonderful stay either).

I’m drawn to Jambo House for its beautiful lobby and public spaces, and easy access to lots of dining options.

Meanwhile, Kidani appears to have the transportation advantage, as I’ve heard it’s the first stop for bus pick-up and therefore presents a better chance of getting seats. Given that we’ll have two little kids with us (plus a stroller), this is a major consideration.

I guess a few questions would be:

1) Am I placing too much weight on the bus situation? What are your experiences with buses from Jambo House?
We stayed at Jambo, and I was not thrilled with the bus situation. The bus was full coming from Kidani both times we rode.
2) If we stay at Kidani, I’d still like to spend time at Jambo House for dining, etc. Is it really a slog to walk between the two, or is it pretty doable? My husband and I enjoy a good walk but when you throw young kids into the mix. . . !?
There is actually a shuttle (Its a big van) that runs continually between Kidani and Jambo, you can get it right at the lobby exit, just tell the CM that you are waiting for the shuttle and they will point it out to you.

3) We’ll probably book a standard view. Does either site have an advantage when you book standard? This I don't know.

Any other thoughts are much appreciated.

Many thanks!

My responses are in bold above.

 

[oceanmarina]

We stayed at Kidani and absolutely loved it. My kids adored the splash pad. I preferred the pool at kidani - and yes how great to have 2 bathrooms. The I bedroom villa at kidani was the roomiest / largest out of all the villas we stayed in.

The only negative is no quick service. Yes, they have a van that goes back and forth between Jambo house and kidani. I did that when I wanted to grab a quick service meal at Mara and bring it back to our room.

Also if you do gatend grocer (which I highly recommend, you can stick up on milk and cereal for the kids, which is always good in a pinch)

The only thing I would look into is that a recall reading they are renovating kidani - I believe. I would just try and find out on the animal kingdom resort thread where and how extensive it is. t

 

[oceanmarina]

Ooops - garden grocer I meant

 

[Nutmeg2016]

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone, I think we're going to go with Kidani

 

[keaster]

Thanks so much for the feedback, everyone, I think we're going to go with Kidani

I think that's a good choice that way not all of you are sharing one bathroom!

 

[TsLoveMickey]

My mom, my husband, two young kids (1 and 4) and I made a studio at VWL (one bath) work for five nights and it was not bad. I would pick Jambo for the convenience and better standard view. However, if had one more adult in your party I would go with Kidani for the extra bathroom.

 

[Deb & Bill]

At KV, the standard will face the parking lot or pool. At JH, the standard will face the pool or maybe a limited savanna view.

 

[worleygirl26]

I've stayed at both with my 2 kids, DH, and Mom. When DD was 18 months we used the 2nd bathroom at Kidani as a bedroom and put pack and play In there for her. This year at Jambo she was 2.5 and she slept in master with my mom and DS. They are both great and I don't know which one I would say I liked better. The proximity to the Mara at JH was nice when my mom was alone w kids and needed to grab food. But we loved the pool at Kidani and we love Sanaa. We definitely saw more animals in the common areas at JH. The buses were never an issue. I don't think you can go wrong either way. We love AK!

 

[DisBuckMan]

The 1br at Kidani is also larger from a square footage standpoint, and it's noticeable.

 

[GoofyHusband]

Yes, I heard they are renovating Kidani as well. But from what I've read, they are just putting in new curtains, bedding, upholstery, etc. Nothing major.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Kidani most definitely. The 2nd bathroom. Pullout couch and pullout chair. The pool is awesome as well as splash area. We love the Community Hall, play pool and video games. More laidback.

 

[tgarre06]

Hello,

I’m hoping to book a 1-bedroom villa for 4 nights at either Kidani or Jambo House. The group includes me, my husband, our 2 young children (2 & 5 yrs old), and my mom. I’m really torn as to which site would work better for us (although I’m sure we’d have a wonderful stay either).

I’m drawn to Jambo House for its beautiful lobby and public spaces, and easy access to lots of dining options.

Meanwhile, Kidani appears to have the transportation advantage, as I’ve heard it’s the first stop for bus pick-up and therefore presents a better chance of getting seats. Given that we’ll have two little kids with us (plus a stroller), this is a major consideration.

I guess a few questions would be:

1) Am I placing too much weight on the bus situation? What are your experiences with buses from Jambo House?

2) If we stay at Kidani, I’d still like to spend time at Jambo House for dining, etc. Is it really a slog to walk between the two, or is it pretty doable? My husband and I enjoy a good walk but when you throw young kids into the mix. . . !?

3) We’ll probably book a standard view. Does either site have an advantage when you book standard?

Any other thoughts are much appreciated.

Many thanks!

Just stayed at Kidani in April with my just turned 1 and 4 yo kiddos. We had a blast! Loved the zero entry pool (and the pool area as a whole) and the community room that overlooked the savanna. My 4 yo did an activity there every evening before or after dinner. Painting pottery, coloring a beach ball and so forth. The only negative for us was walking to Jambo for quick service. We fixed that with lots of room service though. And the walk wasn't really that bad when we did venture over there. If you book a standard view, request a room near the lobby. We booked a standard view also and requested to be close to the lobby. We were seconds from the lobby, community room and laundry room. About 1.5 to 2 minutes to the bus stop. Everything was so close! I turned down a partial Savannah view that was really far from the lobby to stay close to everything. The buses were fine. The only issue I had was with the Disney Springs bus, and I've had that same issue at both WL and Poly. Other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing (or as smooth as you can get with a 1 and 4 yo on a bus!) With the ages of your kids, I'd suggest ordering from Garden Grocer. We always order milk, fruit, yogurt, water bottles and Daddy juice (aka beer! Haha). It's nice to have those snacks easily accessible with lil ones. Have fun whichever you choose!!