Kidani Studio or Animal Kingdom Lodge regular room

[Violet Parr]

We are narrowing things down for our next trip and are looking at these two rooms. The price is about the same. Neither has a Savannah view. Any suggestions? Which room feels bigger?

Thanks!

VP

 

[CarolynFH]

Both rooms will have coffeemakers and refrigerators (no freezers) but the Kidani studio will have a little kitchenette that includes a microwave, toaster, sink, and paper bowls and plates so that you can cook meals that are a bit more elaborate than cold cereal, for instance. (If you search the DVC Resorts board there's a thread from a family that cooked all or nearly all their meals in a studio for more than a week!) The coffee pot will be a drip pot - may be 4 cups but you can request the 10-12 cup size if you want.

Also, the Kidani studio will have a queen size bed and a full size fold out couch. Since you can fold the couch up during the day, I think it would feel bigger than the hotel room with its two queen beds. I don't know what the actual square footage difference is but I'm sure someone else will have that information!

 

[Violet Parr]

I just read that the regular rooms in AKL were recently refurbished. Are they all done?

 

[DisneyDoesMyHair]

We are narrowing things down for our next trip and are looking at these two rooms. The price is about the same. Neither has a Savannah view. Any suggestions? Which room feels bigger?

Thanks!

VP

I have never stayed in the regular lodge rooms. We just returned from Kidani and stayed standard and savannah in the villas. There were four of us, and the room was quite spacious even with the sofa bed set up in the evening. Your balcony extends your living space, and makes the room feel bigger as well. We liked having the kitchenette and the bathroom is very spacious.

 

[Marionnette]

I have never stayed in the regular lodge rooms. We just returned from Kidani and stayed standard and savannah in the villas. There were four of us, and the room was quite spacious even with the sofa bed set up in the evening. Your balcony extends your living space, and makes the room feel bigger as well. We liked having the kitchenette and the bathroom is very spacious.

Interesting. I found he Kidani studios to be very cramped with the sofa bed opened up. The bed blocked the sliding doors to the balcony, making it difficult to exit or enter the room. Regular rooms in Jambo House average 344 sq. ft. The Kidani studios are 366 sq. ft., part of which is taken up by the kitchenette and larger bathroom.

OP - There are two bathroom sinks in the hotel rooms but only one in the studios.

The studio will have a regular drip coffee maker while the hotel room has a pod style single-cup coffee maker.

Kidani is the first to be picked up and first to be dropped off on the bus route.

Kidani has covered parking in a ground-level garage.

Jambo has the larger pool but you can use both Jambo and Kidani. Jambo has more dining options than Kidani and a much larger gift shop. The lobby at Jambo is much more impressive.

Both have long hallways but Jambo is smaller, so the hallways are a bit shorter.

 

[ninafeliz]

I haven’t stayed in a kidani studio, but based on stays in Jambo and studios in other resorts, as well having spent time at both resorts, I would definitely choose Jambo House. The only thing that might make kidani a bit more enticing is if there are only 2 of you and you could keep the couch a couch, since there isn’t a couch/daybed in Jambo House. However, I still prefer Jambo for the feel and amenities.