walk from Kidani to Jambo

[wingkng]

If I were to stay at Kidani Village, how long does it take to walk to Jambo House? Is there any walkway, covered or otherwise? I heard that there is bus shuttle between the two, but how often do the buses come? We want to stay at KV for our next visit, but JH seems to have more to offer.

I have stayed at Jambo House before KV was built, and we thought the room was a little dark and closed in, especially at night. How do the rooms at KV compare with Jambo House in terms of lighting?

 

[dizzneebabe]

The buses you are referring to are the park buses. EVERY park bus stops at Kidani first, then Jambo. So, you could jump on the first park bus that comes and get off at Jambo.

We chose to walk and it's not bad at all. We walked through Kidani--as far as you can go, then out the exit doors. There is a sidewalk and path that leads you right to the front entrance of Jambo. The entire walk from the lobby at Kidani took us about 4-5 minutes, walking at a normal (not slow) pace.

Otherwise you can exit the front of Jambo and follow the sidewalk--you are just outside longer.

 

[ToddyLu]

Theming at Kidani is just like Jambo on a smaller more quiet scale. We have decided that Kidani is the resort for us. The buses are very efficient at AKL. When staying at Kidani you are always picked up first on any park bus, then it stops at Jambo. To get from Jambo to Kidani you just hop on the DTD bus. Very easy and efficient. The walk outside is not bad at all, just a little boring. They were building the new bus stops at Kidani while we were there last year...very nice covered area,,,can't wait to see them this Dec.

Jambo to us, while glorius, was just to busy and loud. We do adult only trips and Kidani just seems more relaxing.

Have a great vacation

 

[pamickey]

We stayed at AKV-KV in mid-December. I had just had my cast removed from my broken foot 2 weeks before we arrived, so I never walked over to JH - I always picked up the bus. Since you can jump on any theme park bus, I usually arrived before the rest of the family that had walked over. When going back to KV, they usually got back first since I had to wait for the DD bus. And, on the way to the theme parks, I was able to get a seat every time so that I didn't strain my foot to stand while riding.

I have never been in the guest rooms at JH, but I know that I will never stay there because of all of the noise and crowds in all the public areas. We ate at Mara numerous times and the pool was always busy. The lobby area was just LOUD. The gift shop was nicer than the one at KV, but I don't need to shop every time I pass it.

We loved KV because it is more laid-back and quiet. You can refill your mugs in the lobby gift shop and see animals from the lobby and the hallways. The pool area was beautiful and was not really busy. The fitness room was amazing, even though I couldn't use it for this trip. Hopefully, I will next time.

No question for me . . . I loved Kidani!

Terri

 

[kaelarad]

We are making our first visit to AKL next month and chose Kidani. Thanks for all the nice reports. We are excited to be staying at a new resort and knowing the walk between J & K is manageable is reassuring!

Thanks Have great trips everyone!

 

[jodifla]

Frankly, it's a HIKE, particularly in the summer sun. No shade at all. Very nonscenic walk through the parking lots, basically.

 

[Vickis3js]

The walk is not bad at all. We actually chose to ask for a room further from the lobby closer to Jambo. Its so much more quiet. The walk from Kidani to Jambo is a few minutes and its a nice walk on a walkway. You are not actually having to walk through a parking lot. The walkway at Kidani is what seperates the underground lot with the noncovered lot. I much prefer walking outdoors to the long hallways so we would always get off at Jambo and do the walk that way since we were the second to last room at Kidani.

 

[PatsMom]

We didn't think the walk was bad at all. We went to Jambo House every morning to get breakfast at the Mara. If a bus was there, we'd take it. Otherwise we would just walk over. The only inconvenience was that we ended up carrying our refillable mugs around all day because we didn't want to go back to the room with them after coffee.

If we stopped at Jambo House in the evening on our way back from the parks, we walked back to KV since you can wait quite a while for a DTD bus. The walk was not bad at all.

I might think different if it was hot but we were there during a real cold spell in January 2010.

 

[jerseygal]

Staying at Kidani this summer...

Want a "quieter" location; should I request "close to Jambo"???

Where can I fill the refillable mug with coffee in morning? How about soft drinks? Only at Mara? No place to refill at Kidani by pool?

Much thanks!!!

 

[Vickis3js]

No need to go to Mara they have a refill station at the store in Kidani. We prefered our room closer to Jambo it was very quiet.

 

[myDISboards]

When I did my LIVE feeds for Kidani Village/Jambo House from Easter Sunday April 04-09, 2010 at

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2435645 Resort Photos & Video

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2435647 DVC-Mousecellaneous

I walked leisurely for the mobile recording from Kidani Village to Jambo House in 8 minutes. I'm not a runner, but I immediately jogged back the same walkway from Jambo House to Kidani Village in 4 minutes. Note: I walked leisurely because of few seconds video lag from iPhone 3G to CAM (viewer) of Ustream.tv

Video title: “The walkway between Kidani Village and Jambo House” at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6002418

• All of us walked few times between Kidani Village and Jambo House. On one occasion, a cast member gave us a golf car ride over to Jambo House. DS13 and DS09 loved it!! The golf car ride was recorded on Sony Point-n-Shoot camera.

• No over-the-counter restaurant at Kidani Village?! What DVC/Disney thinking? But the walks were leisure for us. DS13 said it few times, “just do it and walk over”.

• Notes on walkway from Jambo House to Kidani Village or vice versa: when you’re near Kidani Village Zazu elevators parking area #1, you can actually walk under the covered parking (street level) and use Timon elevators parking area #5 for example to get to the main lobby. This short-cut is good for rain and hot summer sun.

• We went to Downtown Disney three times. Each time about 25-minutes ride. From Kidani Village, waited 5-10 minutes for the buses at 12pm/3pm/6pm. From Downtown Disney, waited 10-15 minutes for the buses at 3pm/6pm/8:30pm.

 

[GuySmiley]

I've stayed at Kidani twice and I dont think the walk to Jambo is bad at all. I timed it at 8 minutes from lobby to lobby. Our rule was: while walking past the bus stop, if a park bus is there waiting, or driving up, we'd jump on it. But if not we'd just walk.

I think the big consideration is how much are you going to go to Jambo. It seems to me the only reasons to go over there are Boma, Mara, Jiko, and the store. How much are you going to eat at those places, and how much are you going to shop at the store? For daily snack/food type items, you can get at the store in Kidani. The advantage Jambo has are the T-shirt, souvenier type items. How much do you really need to look at the store?

To me, even if the answer was every day, I'd still think Kidani was better, because the walk to me is easy and actually enjoyable. But that just me, and everyone has different values and desires. There's no right answer, just opinions.

 

[myDISboards]

I've stayed at Kidani twice and I dont think the walk to Jambo is bad at all. I timed it at 8 minutes from lobby to lobby. Our rule was: while walking past the bus stop, if a park bus is there waiting, or driving up, we'd jump on it. But if not we'd just walk.

I think the big consideration is how much are you going to go to Jambo. It seems to me the only reasons to go over there are Boma, Mara, Jiko, and the store. How much are you going to eat at those places, and how much are you going to shop at the store? For daily snack/food type items, you can get at the store in Kidani. The advantage Jambo has are the T-shirt, souvenier type items. How much do you really need to look at the store?

To me, even if the answer was every day, I'd still think Kidani was better, because the walk to me is easy and actually enjoyable. But that just me, and everyone has different values and desires. There's no right answer, just opinions.

True and just opinions.

Certain DDP snack items are different between Mara (JH) and gift/snack shop (KV). For example this caramel popcorn 6.5 oz (DDP snack) not available in KV, but it's over in Mara (JH).

 

[GuySmiley]

True and just opinions.

Certain DDP snack items are different between Mara (JH) and gift/snack shop (KV). For example this caramel popcorn (DDP snack) not available in KV, but it's over in Mara (JH).

Im staying at Jambo in December and Im getting some of that! I'll do a full caramel popcorn snack report.

 

[Maliki2]

The walk is nothing. I thought it would be much worse but its a quick walk, uncovered...enjoy the scenery and weather. If it is too much, then drive it will take seconds

 

[Shleedogg]

Kidani decor and themeing is identical to Jambo. The rooms are exactly the same.

The walk from Jambo to Kidani is 7 minutes, tops. It's not covered though. You can walk out of the lobby at Jambo and go to the first elevator you find at Kidani and then walk through the halls. I think that might add on a bit of unnecessary time. Really, it's a short walk. We found it only took a couple minutes more to walk from Kidani than it took to walk from our room in Jambo down to the Mara. Our room in Jambo was waaaay down at the end of a hallway.

 

[jerseygal]

Thanks everyone!

We are staying at KV, but I will request a "quieter" location closest to Jambo...I like to "pool hop" between Jambo and KV as well!

That caramel popcorn looks GOOD!

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

The walk is not bad . We walked it several times this past December. It seemed liked the walk to our room was longer than the walk to Jambo House.

 

[bobrex]

Kidani decor and themeing is identical to Jambo. The rooms are exactly the same.

That's not completely true.... a 1BR at Jambo has only one bathroom, while a 1BR at Kidani has 2.

Other than that....

 

[Silver Queen]

We found the walk to Jambo to be no problem at all. We loved our stay at Kidani and want to return in the future.