AKL Jambo House vs. Kidani

[MinnieCandi]

Hello All! I am in the beginning stages of planning our next Disney Trip (we have not been since 2007! Shameful, I know) Anyway, we would love to stay in a One Bedroom Villa and are looking at AKL. What is the major difference between Jambo House & Kidani?? Any recommendations??? Thanks in advance for any guidance!

 

[Harlemgirl720]

The one big difference is Kidani 1 BRs have 2 Bathrooms and Jambo 1 BRs only have one Bathroom.

I love prefer Kidani over Jambo. Although the counter service restaurant Mara is located at Jambo, Kidani is smaller and more intimate. But you can't go wrong with either location.

Jiko and Boma are located at Jambo. Sanaa is located at Kidani.

If you have children, I love the pool at Kidani. Its smaller than Jambo but it has a splash area for small kids.

Love the gym at the top of the hill at Kidani with a hot tub right outside.

Kidani guests get picked up first on the bus to the parks except for the Downtown Disney bus.

 

[Goofy4]

Jambo has the GRAND lobby. Kidani is just "nice".
Jambo has more restaurants and counter-service on the dining plan.
Kidani has more convenient parking and a better pool for young children.
Kidani has the extra bathroom (1&2 bedroom).

 

[Havana]

I go with Kidani when I want to really escape and be in a more quiet atmosphere.
I choose Jambo when I want to be in the middle of the action. It is much more busy with people coming and going.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm interested in the answers to this. I've always stayed at Jambo, because I've booked value studios, and I like the CS at Mara. However, I'm thinking of trying Kidani for a change. Matter of fact, I'm currently on the waitlist for a value studio (partially to save points), but I booked Kidani as a back-up. I almost hope my waitlist doesn't come thru so that I'm "forced" to try Kidani.

 

[TaraPA]

I've stayed at both. Other than the physical difference of the extra bathroom in the 1BR & 2BR at Kidani, and that the Kidani building is newer than Jambo, the rest is personal preference.

The quick service, larger lobby & larger pool are at Jambo. If you like to be in the action, Jambo is the place for you.

There is no quick service (but a nicely stocked store with grocery items) at Kidani, but it is so serene & peaceful, and the pool, while smaller than Jambo, is really nice. It's the perfect place to relax & unwind after a long day at the parks. I think I can hear the crickets now...

We prefer Kidani, but if it wasn't available, we'd definitely stay at AKL Jambo.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I've stayed at both. Other than the physical difference of the extra bathroom in the 1BR & 2BR at Kidani, and that the Kidani building is newer than Jambo, the rest is personal preference.

The quick service, larger lobby & larger pool are at Jambo. If you like to be in the action, Jambo is the place for you.

There is no quick service (but a nicely stocked store with grocery items) at Kidani, but it is so serene & peaceful, and the pool, while smaller than Jambo, is really nice. It's the perfect place to relax & unwind after a long day at the parks. I think I can hear the crickets now...

We prefer Kidani, but if it wasn't available, we'd definitely stay at AKL Jambo.

From your description, it sounds like DH would much prefer Kidani. His favorite resort is OKW, partly because he thinks of it as a place to relax and unwind away from the hustle-bustle at the end of the day. BWV is kind of "in the action" and he walked thru the lobby there once and said "don't ever make me stay here!" because it was too busy-feeling to him. Jambo's fine with me, but I think sometime if he goes with me, we'll stay at Kidani (that is, if I can tear him away from his beloved OKW). Thanks for your insights.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Simba's Mom if your DH loves OKW then Kidani is the perfect choice.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The one bedroom villas at JH are converted hotel rooms. So the bathroom doesn't have the separate stand alone shower. The shower is combined with the tub, but the tub is jetted. At KV, the shower is separate from the tub in the master bedroom.

All the villas at JH are located on the fifth and sixth floors.

 

[Annie Michelle]

We have stayed at both and unlike most posters here, we prefered Jambo. We are also OKW owners. I hated the parking garage at Kidani. I would definately ask for a room between the lobby and pool. We walked a mile to the lobby. I thought it was a long walk everywhere. The only food ( in January) we found was at the store. My husband walked to Jambo everyday to bring back breakfast. There was a small eating place at the pool but it was never open when we went.The pool was nice, but we liked Jambo's better. It just seemed like Kidani was the kid sister to the Jambo house.

 

[MinnieCandi]

Wow! You guys are great! Still not sure yet, but its nice to know that we cant really cant go wrong either way . Are there any recommendation on which has a better Savannah view??? We stayed at AKL before and LOVED the Savannah view, so just wondering how the Kidani Savannah view is?

 

[magicaldisney]

Wow! You guys are great! Still not sure yet, but its nice to know that we cant really cant go wrong either way . Are there any recommendation on which has a better Savannah view??? We stayed at AKL before and LOVED the Savannah view, so just wondering how the Kidani Savannah view is?

We prefer Kidani for a better savannah view. You can request a lower floor at Kidani, where Jambo villas are only on the 5th and 6th floors.

We also prefer Kidani for the many reasons already listed:

2 bathrooms (this is huge for us)
layout of the room (kitchen and bathroom)
first bus stop to the parks
pool area

 

[blondietink]

We prefer Jambo. We like the counter service available there and prefer the pool at Jambo. It is very small over at Kadani. Also don't like the parking at Kadani.

 

[DebbieB]

The parking is very convenient at Kidani. Just take the elevator down from your floor right into the parking area. The car is covered so it doesn't get hot or you don't get wet in the rain. You don't have to go out through the lobby and out into the parking lot like at Jambo. I can't figure out why someone would like Jambo's parking better. Maybe we were just in a good area (Rafiki I think).

 

[papamouse1]

We have stayed at both and unlike most posters here, we prefered Jambo. We are also OKW owners. I hated the parking garage at Kidani....

Really? I guess it really is personal preference, but for us the parking is one of the reasons we prefer Kidani. The parking at Jambo is out in parking lots like other resorts and can end up being a long walk to the lobby and then a looong walk to your room since JH is so spread out. Parking at Kidani is underneath the resort. I imagine the reason you don't like it is because it looks and feels like you are at an airport or something... no theming and very industrial looking... but the advantage is you can park right underneath the wing your room is on, take a nearby elevator up to your room and you are right there in no time. We really liked that feature

But hey, that's just our opinion (for whatever that's worth)

 

[papamouse1]

We have stayed at both and unlike most posters here, we prefered Jambo. We are also OKW owners. I hated the parking garage at Kidani....

Really? I guess it really is personal preference, but for us the parking is one of the reasons we prefer Kidani. The parking at Jambo is out in parking lots like other resorts and can end up being a long walk to the lobby and then a looong walk to your room since JH is so spread out. Parking at Kidani is underneath the resort. I imagine the reason you don't like it is because it looks and feels like you are at an airport or something... no theming and very industrial looking... but the advantage is you can park right underneath the wing your room is on, take a nearby elevator up to your room and you are right there in no time. We really liked that feature

But hey, that's just our opinion (for whatever that's worth)