AKV Room Recommendations

[KeriBlujeans]

I'm working on booking a DVC stay for the end of January for four adults. I last stayed in Kidani 8 years ago, and it wasn't the best trip. My family was in the second to last section of Kidani, furthest from Jambo. The walk from the lobby was lonnnng. On check in day, we had an issue where our magic bands wouldn't unlock the door, and the three trips to and from the lobby while trying to resolve the problem I believe colored our whole perception of the trip . We never took advantage of the refillable mugs, because the trip to and from the lobby in the morning meant it wasn't worth it. We left vowing to never stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge again. Finally after 8 years of hearing other people talk about how they love AKV, I want to give it another try.

This trip will be different. Four adults, no stroller. We're going in January, so pools aren't as much of a factor. We'll also have a rental car, which I've never had at Disney before. None of the other members of the group have been to AKV before, and there's a focus on access to giraffes from them. I'm thinking more practically about access to the counter service or rapid refill areas, and access to the car.

My question is, based on all of the information above are we better off booking in Jambo or Kidani? And then do you have recommendations for room requests that might get us better positioned within the building, so we don't end up out in the hinterlands.

Edited to add: we're looking at a savanna view studio, regardless of building.

 

[meekey7197]

What size room?

 

[meekey7197]

I am almost always team Jambo for a few reasons:
1. I'm too cheap to use points for Savannah view and many of the standard rooms at Jambo are at least partial savanna.
2. We usually book studios and I like the setup better at Jambo.
3. I personally like the amenities better at Jambo.

Reasons to choose Kidani:
1. 1 and 2 bedrooms have an extra bathroom
2. parking is more convenient.
3. if you are booking Savanna view, in general Kidani has better views (Jambo is only the 5th floor and some people think that is too high)

 

[CarolynFH]

The best explanation of Kidani room locations I know of is this one by @drusba:

Post in thread '***The Official AKV Owners And Lovers Thread***. Come And Chat'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/t...rs-thread-come-and-chat.1815576/post-63866166.

I like Kidani for many reasons, not the least of which is that when we have our car we can park underneath the building, close to the most convenient elevator for our room, sheltered from rain and sun!

Let me add that I won’t book a 1BR at Jambo due to the bathroom situation. The single bathroom is across a hallway from the main bedroom, not en-suite, and the length of the hallway is clearly visible to anyone in the living room. Furthermore, there is only a tub/shower combination, and the rim of the tub is so wide and high that it’s difficult for me and many other adults to climb into and out of the tub. At Kidani 1BR the en-suite bathroom for the main bedroom has both a tub and a walk-in shower, plus there’s a full bathroom off the living room. In the 2BR in both Kidani and Jambo the studio side has its own bathroom, of course, with a tub/shower.

 

[KeriBlujeans]

Sorry! Forgot to add we're looking at a savanna view studio, regardless of building.

 

[meekey7197]

Sorry! Forgot to add we're looking at a savanna view studio, regardless of building.

So at Kidani, the bathroom is set up with the sink and shower in the same room, and you have to walk through that room to get to the toilet. Jambo has the sinks outside of the shower/toilet room. I just feel like having the sink outside of the shower room is more conducive to getting ready in the morning.

 

[meekey7197]

Let me add that I won’t book a 1BR at Jambo due to the bathroom situation. The single bathroom is across a hallway from the main bedroom, not en-suite, and the length of the hallway is clearly visible to anyone in the living room.

Interesting… we prefer this 1 bedroom set up when that’s the only bathroom in the villa. We take my teen son and his friend to HHI quite often and I’m always afraid one of them is going to open the wrong door and walk into the bedroom at a bad time

 

[CarolynFH]

Interesting… we prefer this 1 bedroom set up when that’s the only bathroom in the villa. We take my teen son and his friend to HHI quite often and I’m always afraid one of them is going to open the wrong door and walk into the bedroom at a bad time

Those bedroom doors have locks, don’t they?

Anyway, all of you must be more spry than I am - I hate getting into that Jambo 1BR tub!

 

[meekey7197]

Those bedroom doors have locks, don’t they?

Anyway, all of you must be more spry than I am - I hate getting into that Jambo 1BR tub!

You can’t lock someone IN the bathroom but you can stop someone from coming in from the bedroom side, if that makes sense? So the lock is on the bathroom side of the door.

 

[CarolynFH]

You can’t lock someone IN the bathroom but you can stop someone from coming in from the bedroom side, if that makes sense? So the lock is on the bathroom side of the door.

Okay, yes, that might be a problem....

 

[DeeBee3]

I'd say with 4 adults you need bathrooms and space. I would go for a 1-bedroom at Kidani. The full bathroom out by the kitchen/living room is right when you walk in the room. Once you go into the main bedroom, the other bathroom is only accessible through there. I'm not sure what the issue is with the bathroom/bedroom situation as mentioned above, but I think that's me not interpreting correctly. Anyone needing the main bathroom would have to coordinate that with the other adults staying in that room. When we used the 1-bedroom, the adult staying on the pull-out used the bathroom out there, and the other 2 adults used the main bathroom in the bedroom area. They both have showers so it wasn't an issue for us.

However, AKV is in need of refurb. The pull-out couches are not comfy (IMO). If you really want those resorts, then that's no issue, but for adults it's not comfy. I'm sure that's subjective, but I'm petite and it's not good for my sleeping.

I would say Jambo has more amenities as far as food options. We used the little shuttle van when we were too tired to walk over. It was always available.

 

[drusba]

If savanna view studio for four adults, I would likely do Jambo if available -- the studios at both resorts are close to the same size: the 1BRs and 2BRs at Kidani are larger and better rooms than Jambo's. Jambo's advantages in comparison to Kidani are the larger lobby, much larger store, larger pool, and three restaurants to Kidani's one. The three at Jambo are Mara -- quick service restaurant with lots of seating, including outside near the pool area; Jiko, an expensive but very good table service restaurant; and Boma, which I consider one the best buffet restaurants at WDW. Kidani has only Sanaa, a table service restaurant, which is also very good and not as expensive as Jiko. You can walk from Kidani to Jambo but distance can be anywhere from less than 1/4 mile to 2/3 mile depending on where your Kidani room is; there is available all day and evening a shuttle bus between the front entrance areas of the two buildings about every 15 minutes.

The parking lot for Jambo is across the street from the front entrance, and spaces range from fairly close to the front entrance to far away. Kidani's lot is mainly a 1st floor under-building lot that runs almost throughout the resort, and with three elevators along each of the two wings, you can usually park close to your room location.

My usual lead request at Jambo with savanna view is for a room overlooking the Arusha savanna (the one in the middle of the u-shaped building). My second, additional request is for a room away from the lobby on the Zebra Trail side of the building (right side of the u-shaped building; rooms close to lobby or bus station do not have the best views). If you get that request, you will have very good view of Arusha and the room will face west -- resulting in no blinding sun coming into the room in the morning, but you can watch pleasant sunsets. Also, the room would be fairly close to the pool.

 

[CarolynFH]

I'm not sure what the issue is with the bathroom/bedroom situation as mentioned above,

That discussion has to do with the bathroom-bedroom situation at HHI, which is the same at BWV where we stay a lot but has nothing to do with Kidani, as you explained. I’m sorry I was distracted and didn’t point out that the Kidani 1BR primary bath isn’t accessible from the living room, as it is at HHI and BWV.

Fortunately, OP is booking a studio at AKV, and those bathroom discussions don’t apply to their choice of Jambo vs. Kidani!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I'm working on booking a DVC stay for the end of January for four adults. I last stayed in Kidani 8 years ago, and it wasn't the best trip. My family was in the second to last section of Kidani, furthest from Jambo. The walk from the lobby was lonnnng. On check in day, we had an issue where our magic bands wouldn't unlock the door, and the three trips to and from the lobby while trying to resolve the problem I believe colored our whole perception of the trip . We never took advantage of the refillable mugs, because the trip to and from the lobby in the morning meant it wasn't worth it. We left vowing to never stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge again. Finally after 8 years of hearing other people talk about how they love AKV, I want to give it another try.

This trip will be different. Four adults, no stroller. We're going in January, so pools aren't as much of a factor. We'll also have a rental car, which I've never had at Disney before. None of the other members of the group have been to AKV before, and there's a focus on access to giraffes from them. I'm thinking more practically about access to the counter service or rapid refill areas, and access to the car.

My question is, based on all of the information above are we better off booking in Jambo or Kidani? And then do you have recommendations for room requests that might get us better positioned within the building, so we don't end up out in the hinterlands.

Edited to add: we're looking at a savanna view studio, regardless of building.

Based on your previous experience (and dislikes), I'd probably recommend getting a studio, say view, at Jambo. You're more likely to be a little closer to the lobby, store, and dining at Jambo, which seems more convenient for you. I would definitely ask for a Sunset Savannah view room when you book it - we've found those to be some of the best animal viewing, especially giraffes!!

We love AKL and go often, and would probably prefer the Kidani side - we ask for a room in the Zazu section, which is close to Jambo and a simpler walk there. However, it can be farther from the Kidani lobby/bus stops, and the Kidani pool. The parking at Kidani (since you'll have a car) can be really nice with the underground lot, where you can park near the elevator of the section you have a room. Jambo is all surface lot, and if you're unlucky, you could have a walk back to the main building! But that can be true of several of the Disney resorts. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[rdevans_2000]

I'm working on booking a DVC stay for the end of January for four adults. I last stayed in Kidani 8 years ago, and it wasn't the best trip. My family was in the second to last section of Kidani, furthest from Jambo. The walk from the lobby was lonnnng. On check in day, we had an issue where our magic bands wouldn't unlock the door, and the three trips to and from the lobby while trying to resolve the problem I believe colored our whole perception of the trip . We never took advantage of the refillable mugs, because the trip to and from the lobby in the morning meant it wasn't worth it. We left vowing to never stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge again. Finally after 8 years of hearing other people talk about how they love AKV, I want to give it another try.

This trip will be different. Four adults, no stroller. We're going in January, so pools aren't as much of a factor. We'll also have a rental car, which I've never had at Disney before. None of the other members of the group have been to AKV before, and there's a focus on access to giraffes from them. I'm thinking more practically about access to the counter service or rapid refill areas, and access to the car.

My question is, based on all of the information above are we better off booking in Jambo or Kidani? And then do you have recommendations for room requests that might get us better positioned within the building, so we don't end up out in the hinterlands.

Edited to add: we're looking at a savanna view studio, regardless of building.

We own at AKL and have stayed at both Kidani and Jambo. Pros and cons to each, and I am not sure I have a favorite. Splash pad at Kidani is great for kids, but for adults the pool at Jambo is better. The lobby at Jambo is over the top beautiful but some people might prefer the boutique hotel feel of Kidani's lobby. Better dining and shopping at Jambo, but we also love the bread service and view of the savanna at Sanaa. We also prefer the savanna views from our balconies at Kidani vs Jambo, but that might be anecdotal. Not sure. For your first trip back in eight years I would give the edge to Jambo unless you just really prefer a more quaint environment. Have a great trip!

 

[sndral]

Kidani abuts 2 savannas, the biggest - Sunset savanna & the smallest - Pembe savanna. Pembe does not have giraffes, it’s barn isn’t tall enough for them. At Kidani you could be on any floor, lower floors are better for more ‘eye’ level animal viewing.
All Jambo villas (except club) are on the 5th floor & thus have a more panoramic view of the animals albeit somewhat blocked by the tree canopy in places. Jambo abuts 3 savannas - Sunset, Arusha, & Uzima which usually all have giraffes.
I’ve had views of all of the savannas except Pembe & my best giraffe viewing was staying in a Jambo standard view overlooking Sunset savanna. I saw these guys (plus a fourth) a lot!

 

[rdevans_2000]

Kidani abuts 2 savannas, the biggest - Sunset savanna & the smallest - Pembe savanna. Pembe does not have giraffes, it’s barn isn’t tall enough for them. At Kidani you could be on any floor, lower floors are better for more ‘eye’ level animal viewing.
All Jambo villas (except club) are on the 5th floor & thus have a more panoramic view of the animals albeit somewhat blocked by the tree canopy in places. Jambo abuts 3 savannas - Sunset, Arusha, & Uzima which usually all have giraffes.
I’ve had views of all of the savannas except Pembe & my best giraffe viewing was staying in a Jambo standard view overlooking Sunset savanna. I saw these guys (plus a fourth) a lot!View attachment 771957

Great pic. THANKS