***The Official AKV Owners And Lovers Thread***. Come And Chat

[bookbabe626]

Need opinions from AKV experts…

Booking a points stay for my sister’s family. Seven month mark, late August, studio for two adults and 19yo son. Priority is for a savannah view.

Assuming I have options when the day arrives, Jambo or Kidani?
Does one building have better savannah views than the other?
Or am I definitely going to have limited options at that time of year?
What do people think the odds are of a renovated room if I go Kidani?
Or will there be too much chaos at Kidani and I should stick with Jambo if I can get it?

I’d love to get her a 1 bedroom, but the savannah views are pretty pricey, and she’d rather have the view than the extra space.

 

[kanerf]

I prefer Kidani unless I am staying at club level which is only at Jambo. Kindani is really nice if you have a car since it has garage parking under the resort. Car stays nice and cool down there.

 

[Hubalorian]

Need opinions from AKV experts…

Booking a points stay for my sister’s family. Seven month mark, late August, studio for two adults and 19yo son. Priority is for a savannah view.

Assuming I have options when the day arrives, Jambo or Kidani?
Does one building have better savannah views than the other?
Or am I definitely going to have limited options at that time of year?
What do people think the odds are of a renovated room if I go Kidani?
Or will there be too much chaos at Kidani and I should stick with Jambo if I can get it?

I’d love to get her a 1 bedroom, but the savannah views are pretty pricey, and she’d rather have the view than the extra space.

I would go Jambo for Savannah View, I prefer the 5th floor overlooks compared to Kidani 1, 2nd or 3rd level views. You should be fine at the 7th month mark.

I wouldn’t stay at Kidani until renovations are complete

 

[Wayland10]

I’ve stayed at both in August and I much prefer Jambo. Access to the Mara, the grand lobby, the better gift shop, the better pool bar… the only drawback is that the savanna view DVC rooms are on a higher floor. You can get a closer look at the animals at Kidani.

 

[CarolynFH]

We prefer Kidani because we’d rather be on 2nd floor, closer to animal level, and like kanerf we like being able to keep our car cool and dry underneath us, close to the elevator for our section. We also don’t mind walking or riding the shuttle between Kidani and Jambo when we want to eat at the restaurants there. One more thing, though - the Kidani hallways are truly LONG, a full 0.3 mile from lobby to end of each wing, so if anyone has mobility issues, Jambo is probably a better choice.

 

[winnieforme]

I’ve stayed at both in August and I much prefer Jambo. Access to the Mara, the grand lobby, the better gift shop, the better pool bar… the only drawback is that the savanna view DVC rooms are on a higher floor. You can get a closer look at the animals at Kidani.

I totally agree! Jambo has more food choices, lovey lounge for cocktails, wonderful gift shop, stunning lobby, and great savannas to choose from.

 

[Simba's Mom]

For savannah views, I'd go with Jambo. Although Kidani has lower floors (at Jambo you're guaranteed to be up on the fifth floor, and you'd think it's better to be down closer to the animals), I'm always sorely disappointed with the savannah views at Kidani and its lack of animals.

 

[TigerLily8]

Has anyone stayed in a Grand Villa at Jambo recently and could give an overview of the state of the rooms? Do they look tired? Would like to surprise the family with a couple of nights there in August 2025 but worried about using so many points on a room that we could be disappointed with. I suppose there is a small chance we could end up with a refurbed GV if we book Kidani but I know we can't count on that.

 

[SpicyMcHaggis]

In the Jambo vs Kidani, you have trade-offs. The lobby and shopping/food availability at Jambo is better, but Kidani has more calm vibes and better parking, and contrary to some of the other posters I've had some of my best animal views on the Sunset Savanna which is the largest savanna and the one which most Kidani savanna view rooms face.

If it's the only trip you're going to ever take to AKV, I'd say Jambo is probably the way to go because of the lobby and overall energy, but for a more relaxing stay closer to the animals Kidani is great.

 

[bookbabe626]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think I’ll hope for Jambo. They haven’t been to WDW in at least a decade, maybe closer to 15 yrs, and likely won’t be back for some similar time. And they won’t have a car, so the better parking at Kidani isn’t relevant. It sounds like for them, Jambo might be a better fit. Although if Kidani is all that’s available, that won’t be the end of the world based on everyone’s comments. Now to impatiently wait for the 7 month mark…

 

[drusba]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think I’ll hope for Jambo. They haven’t been to WDW in at least a decade, maybe closer to 15 yrs, and likely won’t be back for some similar time. And they won’t have a car, so the better parking at Kidani isn’t relevant. It sounds like for them, Jambo might be a better fit. Although if Kidani is all that’s available, that won’t be the end of the world based on everyone’s comments. Now to impatiently wait for the 7 month mark…

For August time Jambo savanna views are usually available at 7-months out, standard views can have an issue. The additional issue for 2025 is whether the refurbishment will be going on at Jambo at the time and thus possibly reduce availability at Jambo.

As to which building to choose, I generally view it as type of room desired. The Jambo and Kidani studios are about the same size and prefer Jambo if a studio. The Kidani 1Brs and 2Brs are significantly larger than Jambo's, have an extra bathroom, and the master bath for each at Kidani has a separate shower and tub, while the one at Jambo is a combined shower/tub. Thus, we get Kidani when reserving the 1 or 2BR.

 

[SpicyMcHaggis]

As I've been trying to snag a value studio the past several weeks I've been keeping a pretty close eye on the calendar, and today I noticed that availability on October 4 2025 seems to be limited for both the 1 bedroom and value studios. This is unusual because it's still 7 days out past the maximum start date, but shows as unavailable. That shouldn't be possible due to walking and such at this point. So, I'm feeling like this could be an indication of timing around the refurb schedule.

Edit: False alarm, looks like it was just a display issue/bug on the site.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Has anyone stayed in a Grand Villa at Jambo recently and could give an overview of the state of the rooms? Do they look tired? Would like to surprise the family with a couple of nights there in August 2025 but worried about using so many points on a room that we could be disappointed with. I suppose there is a small chance we could end up with a refurbed GV if we book Kidani but I know we can't count on that.

We did 7 nights in one in July. Wasn't too bad. Some wear, but the room overall was okay. We did a GV at Kidani on the prior trip. Hard to say but overall I'd give a slight edge to the Kidani as a room for function and such. @MrsNVDISFamily was very very impressed by the storage on that side. Staying in Jambo was nice. Balcony was nice there too but it's nicer to be a bit lower with the animals. Also nice to be able to enter on two floors at Kidani and the kitchen is better. Walking into the lobby at Jambo is always awesome.

If you have a car.... Kidani by a mile.

 

[TigerLily8]

We did 7 nights in one in July. Wasn't too bad. Some wear, but the room overall was okay. We did a GV at Kidani on the prior trip. Hard to say but overall I'd give a slight edge to the Kidani as a room for function and such. @MrsNVDISFamily was very very impressed by the storage on that side. Staying in Jambo was nice. Balcony was nice there too but it's nicer to be a bit lower with the animals. Also nice to be able to enter on two floors at Kidani and the kitchen is better. Walking into the lobby at Jambo is always awesome.

If you have a car.... Kidani by a mile.

That's good to know - thanks for the information! No car on this trip. A majority of the group are first-timers so I am leaning towards Jambo for the 'wow' factor (lobby etc), but I know Kidani might be better practically for a larger group (8A 1C). Decisions decisions. I wish they would announce some more refurb news as it could help sway the decision!

 

[tigerlilly]

We just returned from our WDW stay Sunday 10/27. Our first few nights were at our home resort of AKL-Kidani in a 2 bedroom Savanna view.

First off the Savanna view cannot be beat. We stayed in Room 7252 Zazu Trail. Pretty sure our room was closer to Jambo lobby then Kidani lol. But I requested second floor, sunset so I did get what I asked for .

Just a few notes for those interested:

The pool at AKL-Kidani is so lovely. There is plenty of seating, the splash pad for children is the best on property and the bar is set up very nicely. We really enjoyed the short amount of time we spent at the pool.

Take out from Sanaa is awesome. The bread service is our room with our group was so fun.

The halls are long... very long. But they can be made fun lol. We had two 75+ year olds with us, we laughed about leaving them behind to save ourselves lol. I will say though that an air-conditioned hallway is better than walking outside.

Lastly...the rooms are in desperate need of refurbishment.

I do love the dark woods, the fans, the overall aesthetic but the pull out bed was legit like cardboard! We made a horrid sound every time we moved lol. The hot water did not work in the main large waterfall shower (I use the term waterfall loosely lol). It took a full night and day to get someone up to fix it. So for 8 people we went from 3 showers to 2. The main light was out in the queen room bathroom and the tv did not turn on. Oh ...and there was a rubber snake in our pull out bed! I told myself the maid didn't find it since it was behind the back cushions not the seat ones. I didn't bother to call on the bed snake because at that point I had called the front desk three times. I felt like a complainer.

Sorry for the long post. We love Kidani, obviously, but I will say it is beyond time for a refresh. We also did 7 nights at BWV this trip and I will say I still love AKL more

 

[ajiuo]

We just returned from our WDW stay Sunday 10/27. Our first few nights were at our home resort of AKL-Kidani in a 2 bedroom Savanna view.

First off the Savanna view cannot be beat. We stayed in Room 7252 Zazu Trail. Pretty sure our room was closer to Jambo lobby then Kidani lol. But I requested second floor, sunset so I did get what I asked for .

Just a few notes for those interested:

The pool at AKL-Kidani is so lovely. There is plenty of seating, the splash pad for children is the best on property and the bar is set up very nicely. We really enjoyed the short amount of time we spent at the pool.

Take out from Sanaa is awesome. The bread service is our room with our group was so fun.

The halls are long... very long. But they can be made fun lol. We had two 75+ year olds with us, we laughed about leaving them behind to save ourselves lol. I will say though that an air-conditioned hallway is better than walking outside.

Lastly...the rooms are in desperate need of refurbishment.

I do love the dark woods, the fans, the overall aesthetic but the pull out bed was legit like cardboard! We made a horrid sound every time we moved lol. The hot water did not work in the main large waterfall shower (I use the term waterfall loosely lol). It took a full night and day to get someone up to fix it. So for 8 people we went from 3 showers to 2. The main light was out in the queen room bathroom and the tv did not turn on. Oh ...and there was a rubber snake in our pull out bed! I told myself the maid didn't find it since it was behind the back cushions not the seat ones. I didn't bother to call on the bed snake because at that point I had called the front desk three times. I felt like a complainer.

Sorry for the long post. We love Kidani, obviously, but I will say it is beyond time for a refresh. We also did 7 nights at BWV this trip and I will say I still love AKL more

It’s getting a referb soon. I have a bad feeling it’s going to be cheap and not as good as what they did to the hotel rooms. There is clearly some cost cutting going on at Animal Kingdom Lodge right now.

I’m at Jambo and also notice that the water doesn’t get as hot as normal. I’m betting they limited it.

I also noticed a decline in food quality for breakfast at Boma. No more of that yummy African themed seasoning on anything… even the watermelon. It’s basically just the same generic breakfast buffet that they have everywhere else around WDW. It lost what made it special, and I’m sad. I also noticed the filet at Jiko wasn’t the same quality as last year….

I really hope Disney isn’t going to put itself into a death spiral… they reduce quality to save cost…. Then people start noticing and go even less witch ads to the problem.

 

[DigitalOlli]

Still no refurb on the schedule for AKV

We have booked 7 nights in a Value at Jambo for Summer 2025. I will book something different at the 7 month mark if there is no refurb

 

[twinklebug]

Still no refurb on the schedule for AKV

We have booked 7 nights in a Value at Jambo for Summer 2025. I will book something different at the 7 month mark if there is no refurb

I don't understand the correlation between having a value room booked and the need to have a refub'd room.
I was just in one back in Sept. It was in very good condition. While the refub will be welcome so long as they don't remove the theming it is not essential to getting a nice room.

If you want nicer accommodations than a value can provide, why not book them?

 

[JulieWent]

Hi DAKL and Kidani owners! My husband and I are staying in a Kidani 1BR next month, and I had a quick question. The pictures I've seen show a chair in the living room - like a recliner? Is it a recliner? Is it comfortable? (My husband has been having some back issues, and having a good chair to relax in will be a nice thing.)

 

[sndral]

Hi DAKL and Kidani owners! My husband and I are staying in a Kidani 1BR next month, and I had a quick question. The pictures I've seen show a chair in the living room - like a recliner? Is it a recliner? Is it comfortable? (My husband has been having some back issues, and having a good chair to relax in will be a nice thing.)

That is the sleeper chair, it converts into a single bed. I find it to be comfortable, but not sure it would help w/ back issues.