Leaning towards Jambo vs Kidani

[bwbuddy5]

Keep in mind that we will probably be a party of 9 in hopefully a grand villa (but maybe a 2br and 1br), ages 60yo gp's, three couples in their 30s, 6yo granddaughter.

Leaning towards Jambo mainly because of food choices, lobby, and pool table in GV. I understand Kidani pool, community center, and animal viewing may be slightly better, but Jambo's is still great and we won't miss what we don't know. Keep in mind, our trip will mainly be planned around the 6yo granddaughter.

So, please play devil's advocate - bad decision or good decision? Also, will we regret not staying in a Dvc property that we can view fireworks from the balcony of our room?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

First on the fireworks - probably not. With a 6yo you may be on the edge of staying at a park or two late to watch the fireworks? While it's definitely unique and fun to watch from your room they are once a night for 10-15 minutes vs at AKV you'll have animals to view at all times of the day and even night.

Our only GV stay so far has been AKV Jambo and they are wonderful units. We tend to select Jambo for one of the reasons you mention - the food service - but we've also preferred the pool there. The Kidani pool is probably better for your young one but you can still use that. Because the GV's at Kidani are also on the top 2 floors it evens out the viewing a bit. Either way I can't imagine you'd be disappointed. Now if you switch to the 2BR and 1BR I'd lean towards Kidani becaue you could possibly get lower level rooms and better animal viewing and the larger villas will give you an extra bathroom vs Jambo. Also, at Kidani you'll get a walk in shower in the master where Jambo has the shower with the jetted tub which is not my favorite because it's a high step in and not exactly the safest IMO.

 

[Splashboat]

We saw fireworks every night from our Jambo room #5513 last year around 10:00PM. Didn't expect to see any fireworks and never found out where they were from but it was a pleasant surprise.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Keep in mind, our trip will mainly be planned around the 6yo granddaughter.

So, please play devil's advocate - bad decision or good decision? Also, will we regret not staying in a Dvc property that we can view fireworks from the balcony of our room?

IMO, excellent decision! I lean very heavilly toward Jambo. I stayed at Kidani once, just to compare, and after the first day, I was tempted to see if I could switch back to Jambo. For one thing (and this may interest your DGD), I saw NO giraffes all week. That was very strange because I was on the Sunset Savannah, that's the one shared with Jambo, and when I've been at Jambo, on that same savannah, I've seen lots of giraffes, sometimes up to 3 at a time. And although I'd asked for near the lobby (I know, I know-a request is just a request), they put me in the next to the farthest out pod, a VERY long walk-I can't imagine how little 6yo legs would handle that walk.

 

[AprilN]

Keep in mind that there are only 6 GV in Jambo, compared to 16 in Kidani (2 standard view, 14 savannah). We rented points and booked at exactly 7 months for our GV stay next January 16-23 (which I thought would be a slower time), and there were no GV in Jambo available for our full stay. I'm waitlisted for Jambo now, but trying to focus on the positives of Kidani, and hoping to request a location closer to Jambo. Unless you're booking at 11 months, you may not have a choice between the two - but I hope you do!

 

[magicaldisney]

I'm waitlisted for Jambo now, but trying to focus on the positives of Kidani

The positives.....you are the first bus stop and the pool with a bigger slide and kids splash area are at Kidani.

 

[bwbuddy5]

Unless you're booking at 11 months, you may not have a choice between the two - but I hope you do!

I've been watching David's rental charts, and he does, in fact, recommend booking Jambo 9 or more months out and paying the $2 per point premium. His site also mentions that I could probably get GV at GF at the 3-6 month window. So, I'm considering taking my chance with Jambo at 7 months, and if unsuccessful, try GF instead.

Logical or crazy?

 

[magicaldisney]

Logical or crazy?

Crazy! Unless I missed it, you didn't mention what time of year you are traveling. Have you looked at the point difference for the GF? And not sure I would be waiting that late to secure a place to stay. Just my opinion, of course!

 

[AprilN]

I've been watching David's rental charts, and he does, in fact, recommend booking Jambo 9 or more months out and paying the $2 per point premium.

First, I want to point out that David's does not charge the $2/pt "Home resort premium" for AKV, OKW, or SSR.

The only problem is that David's may not have a member looking to rent their points with enough home resort points at AKV to allow rental of a GV before 7 months. This is the problem I had - I was ready to rent at ~9 months, and submitted the request to David's (545 points for 7 days in AKV GV), but they did not have the home resort points available. I ended up finding someone here on the DISboards with enough points to rent at 7 months, and for $2/pt less than David's 7-month price. Since I had to wait until 7 months anyway, choosing the private rental seemed obvious.

 

[AprilN]

The positives.....you are the first bus stop and the pool with a bigger slide and kids splash area are at Kidani.

Also, you can park directly under the building, rather than across a huge parking lot. And the two non-master bedrooms in Kidani each have a bathroom attached, behind a door - one of the bedrooms in the Jambo GV has the bathroom across the hallway.