Though my following posts are fairly old, they still provide many of the differences between the two buildings: (a) see post #10 on this page https://www.disboards.com/threads/akl-or.3805475/#post-62055054, and (b) post #6 on this page https://www.disboards.com/threads/kidani-or-jambo-savannah-2-bed-with-teens.3817485/#post-62441580
Thank you for this!
We normally book 1BR, and we choose Kidani for three reasons. First and foremost, at Jambo the tub shower is surrounded by a rim that is so tall and wide that it’s difficult for me to climb over. Furthermore, the bathroom is not en-suite with the bedroom but is across a hallway, and anyone going between bedroom and bathroom is clearly visible to anyone in the living room. The third reason is that we usually have a car, and at Kidani we can park under the building, close to the elevator to our room and sheltered from sun and rain.
We usually book a 1 br. & lately 2 br.s and favor Jambo & your post highlights for me how choosing between the 2 buildings is such an individual thing. We fly & rely on Disney transportation, nonetheless, I’m tempted by Kidani’s larger square footage, extra bathroom, ability to get a lower floor w/ a savanna view, ability to get 2 real beds in the dedicated 2 br. villa’s second bedroom, being first bus pick up & drop off for the parks are all strong reasons for me to go w/ Kidani, yet I keep booking Jambo & I admit that my Jambo bias isn’t exactly rational
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We just added on at AKV. Our first trip is in November at Jambo. We recently stayed at BWV for Epcot Flower and garden and dropped by to see both Jambo and Kindani. I dont see how you could go wrong with either one! Sure you may have a long walk at Kindani. But the same goes at BWV! However, I really love the lobby and Vibe at Jambo for just the reasons you stated. And I must agree that having QS Mara is a plus. We also booked a GV. The balconies look fantastic. The pool table is a bit over the top, however.We usually book a 1 br. & lately 2 br.s and favor Jambo & your post highlights for me how choosing between the 2 buildings is such an individual thing. We fly & rely on Disney transportation, nonetheless, I’m tempted by Kidani’s larger square footage, extra bathroom, ability to get a lower floor w/ a savanna view, ability to get 2 real beds in the dedicated 2 br. villa’s second bedroom, being first bus pick up & drop off for the parks are all strong reasons for me to go w/ Kidani, yet I keep booking Jambo & I admit that my Jambo bias isn’t exactly rational
It’s really about the feeling I get coming back to Jambo’s spacious lobby (especially when the Christmas tree is up,) walking across the sky bridge, walking through the large store on my way back from the buses, having the QS Mara in the building, the chance to overlook Arusha or Uzima savanna rather than just Sunset (or even Pembe,) & for us having the spa tub off the hallway makes it feel less like you are invading the folks in the master bedroom’s space when you want to hop in the spa tub - although I agree that shower over tub & large rim/ledge was poorly designed.
I vacillated more than usual on whether to go w/ Jambo or Kidani when I booked my first GV stay this fall & I had more reasons than usual to go w/ Kidani - I thought the kids (two 9 yr. olds & a 4 yr. old) would like Kidani’s pool better, the upstairs mezzanine extra sitting/sleeping space seemed better suited to our sleeping arrangements v. the pool room at Jambo, & being first on the buses might matter more w/ a party of 9 v. our usual smaller party, but ultimately I went w/ my heart & opted for Jambo, justifying my choice by reasoning that Kidani would just be starting their refurb.
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I was surprised how much fun the pool table became some evenings!! Awesome resort and rooms! Enjoy.We just added on at AKV. Our first trip is in November at Jambo. We recently stayed at BWV for Epcot Flower and garden and dropped by to see both Jambo and Kindani. I dont see how you could go wrong with either one! Sure you may have a long walk at Kindani. But the same goes at BWV! However, I really love the lobby and Vibe at Jambo for just the reasons you stated. And I must agree that having QS Mara is a plus. We also booked a GV. The balconies look fantastic. The pool table is a bit over the top, however.
I think we will have to make many more trips to compare
Are you sure that the studios at Jambo don't have that same tub configuration? I haven't been to Jambo since I was younger and more spry, but these days that tub would be a deal breaker for me. I appreciate you mentioning it.
The studios have a regular tub/shower combo, much like you’d find in a home or hotel room. In the 1 & 2 br.s at Kidani there’s a spa tub + a walk in shower in the master bath, & in the 1 br.s they have a second bathroom w/ a normal shower over tub. At Jambo the 1 br.s only have 1 bathroom & in that bathroom to shower you must step over the granite surround & into the deeper than normal spa tub.
Over on the VGF thread it was reported that they started wrist banding at the GF too, hopefully all of the impacted pools will do this going forward.
Thank you Im super excited to to book and stay. I'm going to try for a long weekend in December if I can wiggle in and then going back in April next year. Those points are really burning a hole in my pocket lol.
That's very interesting news. We tend to go more winter dates, but have never seen a wrist band requirement at either AKL pool. Wonder if it'll be a year-round thing or just a hot weather thing. I like the idea - simple to implement and hopefully deters squatters from taking up seats.
I just started a new thread to help us track which resorts are implementing a wristband system for pools!
My bet is it's just for the summer. It's been far too easy for those not staying at the resorts to simply drive or bus in and use the pools for the afternoon.
