Split stay questions

[titojackson84]

I’m looking at a trip at the end of September, Sun-Sat with park days Mon-Fri. Solo traveler, 40 years old, decent shape. My original plan was renting dvc at AKL. Then I thought I would do a split stay between AKL and poly. With the site I’m looking at, I can choose either jambo or kidani. Is one better than the other? Price is listed as the same.

I was also thinking contemporary over poly. I’ve never stayed at either. Poly looks nicer but the food isn’t that appealing. Is contemporary only the bay lake tower?

I figured I would do animal kingdoms while at AKL and magic kingdom at epcot while at the monorail resort? Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[keirabella2012]

I’m looking at a trip at the end of September, Sun-Sat with park days Mon-Fri. Solo traveler, 40 years old, decent shape. My original plan was renting dvc at AKL. Then I thought I would do a split stay between AKL and poly. With the site I’m looking at, I can choose either jambo or kidani. Is one better than the other? Price is listed as the same.

I was also thinking contemporary over poly. I’ve never stayed at either. Poly looks nicer but the food isn’t that appealing. Is contemporary only the bay lake tower?

I figured I would do animal kingdoms while at AKL and magic kingdom at epcot while at the monorail resort? Thoughts? Thanks.

Hi, to answer your question about Jambo vs Kidani, the major differences are at Jambo, you will have more food options nearby; a quick serve, a buffet and a fine dining restaurant. At Kidani you will only have Saana, which is sit down and a lounge. The other major difference is that at Jambo all DVC are on the 5th floor and Kidani your room could be anywhere from 2 to 5th floor. The hallways at Kidani are also much longer and you could end up down a very long corridor. Most people prefer Jambo for the food options, however, some prefer the quietness of Kidani.

Bay lake tower vs Poly. I've stayed at both. Poly is more of an immersive experience with the Polynesian/Hawaiin theming. Bay lake tower is the closest property to magic kingdom and we enjoyed walking instead of taking transportation to the park. It sounds like Bay Lake Tower would be more of your preference. To get food, you would need to walk over to the contemporary. It's an easy, short walk. We stayed there in July and enjoyed it very much.

 

[titojackson84]

For a savannah view would being on a lower floor be better?

I was leaning towards poly because of the theming and there is food I could eat, I’d just have to be a little adventurous (not necessarily bad). I would just prefer a monorail hotel over any of the other deluxes.

 

[keirabella2012]

For a savannah view would being on a lower floor be better?

I was leaning towards poly because of the theming and there is food I could eat, I’d just have to be a little adventurous (not necessarily bad). I would just prefer a monorail hotel over any of the other deluxes.

Many people prefer the lower floor when they have a savannah view at kidani. As far as the polynesian, it's beautiful. I am a picky eater and I was able to find food there. You can always order quick serve off the children's menu!! Theming at poly is amazing. BLT has little to no theming, but great location. Since poly is close to the TTC you can always take the monorail directly to EPCOT which is easier than switching from some of the other resorts.

 

[Genie+]

All of the DVC options for CR are in Bay Lake Tower. There is a cool pedestrian bridge from BLT 5th floor connecting to CR‘s 4th floor concourse where much of the action is at. Definitely a unique resort.

Personally I think you can’t go wrong at any of the monorail resorts. The higher point cost/nt is worth it to us beyond just easy MK access. Each resort has many points of interest plus very convenient access to the other 2’s.

Poly DVC is super fun too with well appointed and large studios and all located very close to TTC for EP monorail. The Oasis pool is right there too and Volcano pool not far either. Trader Sams is solid both for food or drinks.

My preference at AKV would be Jambo though we’d gladly take Kidani If unavailable.

Poly/AKV split would be my pick from the details shared. Splitting AKV with BLT is a fine alternative.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

For us, it would ALWAYS be Jambo, just because of the lobby. Even on our resort days we rarely spend it in our room, we would rather sit around the lobby or pool etc. When we went over to Kadani it was just so blah, but we always enjoyed coming back to the Jambo lobby after we have been out.

 

[Simba's Mom]

For a savannah view would being on a lower floor be better?

I was leaning towards poly because of the theming and there is food I could eat, I’d just have to be a little adventurous (not necessarily bad). I would just prefer a monorail hotel over any of the other deluxes.

I always thought being on the lower floor at Kidani would be better because you could hear as well as see the animals as they go "clip-clop" by. And I think it's true in my experience (but it may not matter to some). Also, at Kidani, if you like refillable mugs, there's a place to refill your mug on your way to/from the bus stop (the lobby shop). At Jambo, you have to go to their QS, which is way out of the way. Either place, Kidani or Jambo, IMO, has lots of good food choices. I used to like Jambo better for the impressive lobby, and Sunset Savannah Lounge, the little room behind the check in and behind the DVC desk. I could sit and read in there for hours while watching the animals. But on my last trip, I think I had the best of both worlds-I stayed at Kidani, so easier to use my refillable mug, but I asked for and go the side that's closer to Jambo, which was a short trip over to visit Mara. And now that Sanaa offers Mobile Order, it's perfect. A Salad Sampler with a dessert of Zebra Domes from the lobby store makes a perfect meal on my balcony.The disadvantage of staying where I did, for some people, is that that side of the resort is further from the swimming pool, but since I don't swim, I didn't mind. Wherever you stay, have fun!

 

[CoachBeard]

Hi, to answer your question about Jambo vs Kidani, the major differences are at Jambo, you will have more food options nearby; a quick serve, a buffet and a fine dining restaurant. At Kidani you will only have Saana, which is sit down and a lounge. The other major difference is that at Jambo all DVC are on the 5th floor and Kidani your room could be anywhere from 2 to 5th floor. The hallways at Kidani are also much longer and you could end up down a very long corridor. Most people prefer Jambo for the food options, however, some prefer the quietness of Kidani.

Bay lake tower vs Poly. I've stayed at both. Poly is more of an immersive experience with the Polynesian/Hawaiin theming. Bay lake tower is the closest property to magic kingdom and we enjoyed walking instead of taking transportation to the park. It sounds like Bay Lake Tower would be more of your preference. To get food, you would need to walk over to the contemporary. It's an easy, short walk. We stayed there in July and enjoyed it very much.

My hallway at Jambo was really long too. There seemed to be only one bank of elevators and it felt like forever to get there. I did a load of laundry the night I was there and walking between my room and the elevator (laundry was on a lower level but near the elevator) took ages. I was in room 5347 for reference.

I stayed there in the final night of my trip and previously I’d been at BLT and BWV where elevators seemed to be closer. AKL was also the only resort where I heard my neighbors (yelling at their kids at 6am).

Had a nice view of some giraffes

 

[DizneyFamof4]

My hallway at Jambo was really long too. There seemed to be only one bank of elevators and it felt like forever to get there. I did a load of laundry the night I was there and walking between my room and the elevator (laundry was on a lower level but near the elevator) took ages. I was in room 5347 for reference.

I stayed there in the final night of my trip and previously I’d been at BLT and BWV where elevators seemed to be closer. AKL was also the only resort where I heard my neighbors (yelling at their kids at 6am).

Had a nice view of some giraffes

Yeah the BC also has some very long hallways, we called it the green mile Also if you had yelling neighbors it really would not matter what resort your at, we had loud neighbors at other resorts and could hear them as well.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Yeah the BC also has some very long hallways, we called it the green mile Also if you had yelling neighbors it really would not matter what resort your at, we had loud neighbors at other resorts and could hear them as well.

Yea, sadly, you can never plan based on avoiding rude neighbors at the resorts.

 

[loves to dive]

I've only stayed at AKV once and we were in a one bedroom at Jambo house. We loved it. I've stayed at all three monorail resorts (not DVC but resort rooms) and I gotta say, CR is my least favorite. It's just too blah for me. Do you plan on spending a lot of time at MK? I ask because BWV or BC might be a good fit since you can walk to both Epcot and HS. You would have to bus to MK unless you had hoppers and wanted to walk all the way through Epcot to get on the monorail. We found the monorail resorts fine when my son was small and we would hop into MK every day but as he grew (maybe around 10 years old) we found we really didn't spend a lot of time in MK so it was a pain to have to take the monorail to Epcot. The Epcot resorts worked better for us then. When I go solo, I always stay in an Epcot resort, but again, I don't go to MK a lot.

 

[CoachBeard]

Yeah the BC also has some very long hallways, we called it the green mile Also if you had yelling neighbors it really would not matter what resort your at, we had loud neighbors at other resorts and could hear them as well.

I guess I was lucky previous nights at BLT and BWV I heard no one.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

I guess I was lucky previous nights at BLT and BWV I heard no one.

We have done a lot of trips and only a very few times have we heard our neighbors and when we did it was mainly because they were very load/yelling. I do not think it was lucky that you didn't hear them at BLT, I believe that is more the norm and that you were just unlucky at AKL.

 

[titojackson84]

My plan is to do AK and HS while at AKL monday and tuesday, wednesday would be my transfer day and I want to do typhoon lagoon, thursday and friday would be epcot and MK. I want to get park hoppers for the flexibility.

I figured a monorail resort would make sense since MK is a pretty good distance from everything else.

I think walking from kidani to jambo seems pretty inconvenient since I would want the quick service.

Edit: the days and hotels aren’t set in stone, but basically sunday-wednesday would be one hotel and whichever 2 parks are close and wednesday-saturday would be the other hotel. Unless there’s a better reason, i’d gi with whichever order is cheaper.

 

[jemtx]

Are you limited to staying DVC? Can you stay in regular room at the CR? Or a regular at Poly or GF?

 

[titojackson84]

Dvc would be significantly cheaper. A regular room would be about double the cost and well out of my price range.

 

[jemtx]

Dvc would be significantly cheaper. A regular room would be about double the cost and well out of my price range.

Totally understand. I’m not familiar with the Bay Lake Tower side of CR, but I’m sure lots of other people here will be able to help. All the monorail resorts are great. Can’t beat being able to walk to MK if the Poly food doesn’t appeal, in my opinion CR/Bay Lake Tower has pretty decent food choices. I’ve always been satisfied with Contempo Cafe and steakhouse 71 is good too. I even like the pool bar (Sand Bar) at the CR. Never stayed at AKL, but is does look like a very unique resort. Lots of people are fans of it.

 

[titojackson84]

Update: My fear of booking a split stay is getting one of the hotels, but not the other. There isn’t a way to book both and not be locked in to one even if the other falls through. I think I am just going to book AKL jambo for the entire trip. Poly would have been a better location for MK and other deluxes don’t really interest me. I’ve only been in the AKL lobby and the viewing area directly outside of it and was blown away just by that so I don’t think I will have any issues staying there the entire time.

Thanks for the information on the differences between jambo and kidani.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

AKL - Jambo or Kidani - are just beautiful places to stay, especially at the holidays. As mentioned above, they have some of the best resort dining options on property. You didn't have a bad choice with Jambo, Kidani, Poly - but checking into a room at Jambo and enjoying it the entire stay is a really excellent choice! Enjoy.

 

[starry_solo]

If you’re booking DVC and are an owner, split the two reservations. Put someone else as lead for the second reservation, then when seven months rolls around, see if you can modify and switch resorts.