Poll: Jambo or Kidani

[MiaSRN62]

I voted Jambo :
I am really torn because I've only stayed at Jambo. If we had less than 5 people would probably go with Jambo for proximity to more dining---especially the CS Mara. Also would choose Jambo for the less spread out/sprawling side. Kidani really has some LONG walks to the lobby/bus stop/dining etc if you get a villa at the end.

But for larger groups would most likely opt for Kidani for the larger rooms and extra bathroom.

Maria

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Thanks Maria!

Jambo is creeping back up the poll.......

 

[Nikisha421]

i like the hotel feel...and i feel very comfortable at jambo...when we stayed this past august kidani felt to far away and as if was is in the middle of no where...kidani def. feels like like a villa which of course it is, but jambo doesn't really feel that way it has a nice vacation at a hotel..

 

[mikeandkarla]

Our children are all young boys, so DW is the only female in our family. She gets all the uninterrupted time she needs in the bathroom. The 2nd bathroom really does not appeal to our family. For us, having the Mara CS option and the grand feel of the awesome lobby, Jambo works best. The value accomodations are also a plus. We take 1 day to spend at Kidani's pool.

 

[amk2009]

I agree it's a toss up. We have young children and love the pool area and activities at Kidani so if it's just our family of 4 then we'd prefer to stay at Kidani and we'd use GardenGrocer. However, we're looking at a trip with extended family next July and we've decided the advantage of the counter service would probably outweigh the advantages of the Kidani pool so we'll be staying at Jambo. Either way, it's a wonderful experience.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I am waffling as I type. You are making a good case for Kidani.
What ever happened to the whole best/worst savannah threads. Has that all passed now that Kidani is open?
It's been replaced by counter service concerns?
I would think the Kidani pool wins over the Jambo pool (big & boring).
More questions will come up for sure, thanks for the posts, votes and replies. Keep em coming!

Hi Disney Fix. Just my opinion, but yes, CS is important to us. Yes we do cook some meals in our room, but prefer not to cook all of them. Saana is nice, but it's a full service restaurant and just not going to do that every day during a week's stay. CS was always an issue with me at Kidani. Doesn't mean I wouldn't stay there if Jambo wasn't available. And I feel, from what I've seen so far, that the Jambo pool is prettier.....more private.....I didn't like how the Kidani pool felt like it was out in the parking lot with just so-so landscaping. I was there in May and just not as impressed with Kidani's pool as I thought I would be. Maybe I need to give it a second chance ?

Maria

 

[marx]

Jambo. I book Studios and have two young children. If I booked one bedrooms I might go for Kidani due to the extra bathroom.

For me, the Savanah view is a toss up between both areas. At Jambo you are higher up and many views are blocked by tree branches. At Kidani I found that rooms far from the lobby area don't have much animal activity.

Kidani has Community Hall, but there are many childrens activities at Jambo as well.

I like the layout of the pool at Jambo more, but my kids enjoy the splash area at Kidani.

I always have a car and find parking at Kidani more convenient. (Though I never had a room at the ends of the wings).

The determining factor for me is that Jambo has Mara. Again, with a one bedroom and full kitchen that might not be a factor.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

We like AKL for the animals(duhhhhh)! As I have read in more than a few Kindani replies there is a very real possability in getting a fairly bad savannah area. This would be similar to a 3rd floor MK view (uggg). It kind of defeats the whole reason for being there. Do I have this right or way off base (over exaggerating this in my brain)?

 

[El&Asmom]

We like AKL for the animals(duhhhhh)! As I have read in more than a few Kindani replies there is a very real possability in getting a fairly bad savannah area. This would be similar to a 3rd floor MK view (uggg). It kind of defeats the whole reason for being there. Do I have this right or way off base (over exaggerating this in my brain)?

I'm pretty sure the "bad" savannah views would be of the Pembe savannah. My guess is that that is a very small portion of the resort. We were there last week, and were on the Sunset savannah just on the other side of the Pembe. A couple of the view we saw from the hallways would stink if you were on that side of the resort, but again, it is probably very few rooms. We liked the Sunset savannah, but were at the far north end of the hotel. It was a good 7 minute walk to the lobby. When we visited the outlook areas by the lobby, it seemed that the animals tended to congregate there more than by our room. We still saw plenty of giraffes, ankole cattle, zebras and an ostrich. I think being near the lobby would be the best location at Kidani for multiple reasons. Mainly, it would decrease your walk time to the buses and pool.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

The poll is about 50-50 anybody else want to chime in?

 

[twinklebug]

My kids vote 1:kidani, 1: jambo. Just to keep the score fairly even still.

I love how the buildings are running neck to neck and think we're lucky to own there with so many activities, places to eat, 2 stores, dedicated bus service and 4 point categories we can't go wrong.

 

[jsagaria]

My vote is Jambo all the way!!

Much better in my opinion.

John

 

[Anal Annie]

We do not book savanna views so that's irrelevant to us but we do like to stay somewhere different each trip. Since we have already done Jambo before we're trying Kidani in March. I am only hoping we don't miss the Mara too much. But I think we'll be out at the parks most of the time so hopefully it won't matter. I can see missing the convenience if we have a pool afternoon tho. From what I hear there is like nothing available to eat for lunch at Kidani. We will probably eat lunch at the park first.

 

[DenLo]

We do not book savanna views so that's irrelevant to us but we do like to stay somewhere different each trip. Since we have already done Jambo before we're trying Kidani in March. I am only hoping we don't miss the Mara too much. But I think we'll be out at the parks most of the time so hopefully it won't matter. I can see missing the convenience if we have a pool afternoon tho. From what I hear there is like nothing available to eat for lunch at Kidani. We will probably eat lunch at the park first.

Kidani has the Maji Pool Bar where you can get food. Here's a link to it's menu from Allears.net http://allears.net/menu/menu_maji.htm

 

[princessbride6205]

From the map (and being there last week), I believe that 2/3 of the Kidani SV rooms are of the Sunset Savanna, 1/3 of Pembe.
I'm voting for Kidani - we really enjoyed our stay!

 

[ccigliano]

The poll is about 50-50 anybody else want to chime in?

When a poll like this turns out to be 50/50 - the good thing is that you know you can't go wrong either way.

 

[madthemouse]

The major complaint with Kidani is, it does not have CS, and that Jambo has Mara. That leads me to believe that the kitchens at Kidani must be in pristine condition. I'm looking forward to using them. Thanks.

 

[Mom B]

I'm struggling with the same dilemma; which one to choose? We stayed at Kidani in January (2010) and loved it. But the next trip with family, a couple years from now, will probably be DH and me with DS, DDIL, DGD 17, DGS 16, and DGS 4, which way do we go? I'm thinking the extra bathroom will probably be the deciding factor, although I'm tempted to save points by going "value" at Jambo. Tough decision...any suggestions? Good thing I've got a while to decide!

 

[justjudy]

We just returned last night from a week at Kidani and just loved it! I was initially disappointed that we were on the Pembe savannah, but that disappointment didn't last long. We weren't on that narrow part so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. We had any combination of Waterbuck, Nyala, Impala, Opkapi and Red River Hogs on the savannah at any time. Those hogs are a riot!! One tried to climb a tree to get the browse put there for the taller animals!! The lack of a CS doesn't bother us and that second bathroom just love it! Kidani is our resort of choice for our trip next January.

 

[MiaSRN62]

The major complaint with Kidani is, it does not have CS, and that Jambo has Mara. That leads me to believe that the kitchens at Kidani must be in pristine condition. I'm looking forward to using them. Thanks.

Maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't the fact that Jambo has the Mara (the CS food court), wouldn't it be Jambo with the pristine kitchens ? I think staying at Kidani, one would be more forced into cooking in the room ?

Maria