Kidani vs Jambo
- Thread starter MVPSim
- Start date
Nabas
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 5, 2013
5 to 10 minutes. We've done the walk a couple of times.
Nabas
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 5, 2013
We've stayed at both many times.
We think Jambo House is worlds ahead of Kidani.
Kidani has an interesting pool area with a splash zone that younger children typically like. It also has covered parking, an important consideration for summer stays when the car gets incredibly hot during the days, and it rains nearly every day in the late afternoon. Also, one-bedroom villas have 2 bathrooms, and two-bedroom villas have 3 bathrooms.
Jambo wins on everything else. A fantastic lobby, two really good table service restaurants, a good food court, a large pool with lots of chairs, one of WDW's better hotel stores, a good bar lounge, and two hot tubs.
wow, sounds like compelling reasons to stay at Jambo. The issue we are having is availability. Jambo is available for 5 out of the 7 nights we are staying at Disney, whereas Kidani is available for all 7. Worth staying at Jambo for 5 nights and then moving?
Love Kidani!! Jambo has a beautiful lobby and great food options but we stayed at Kidani and have no desire to stay at Jambo over Kidani. The feel of Kidani is just more relaxed and quaint. It felt like a respite from the crowds at the parks, whereas Jambo felt like an extension of that chaos.
CarolynFH
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2000
Given that you can use the pools etc. at either one, no matter which one you’re staying at, and it’s a short walk or shuttle ride between, I personally wouldn’t want the trouble of being homeless for a day and having to pack up and transfer 3 kids’ belongings plus my own just for two nights. So I’d choose to stay at Kidani rather than splitting between the two.
BTW the buses to the parks pick up from Kidani first, then Jambo. Disney Springs buses do the reverse.
Mirabell Rose
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2023
Book Kindani and waitlist Jambo if you really prefer Jambo. There’s not enough advantage of one over the other to deal with moving.
MICKIMINI
Love the Mouse!
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2003
Jambo House is the clear winner hear IMO. Gorgeous lobby, beautiful savannah area, love the pool and gift shop. Boma is a winner and QS has lots of the same menu items including zebra domes. We have enjoyed resort stays here as there is everything we need to do nothing!
hertamaniac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2017
Kidani every day for us. The offshoot lobby area with fireplace is where the term relaxation was made. The pool area is the best on property with plenty of arm space and a gorgeous hot tub. Sanaa mobile order to go is wonderful especially when you eat on your balcony watching the animals frolic.
Tiggerette
You are *so much* my type of nerd!!
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2013
Are the DVC rooms at Jambo still on the higher floors? I've always gone to Kidani for the closer to animals viewpoints/ lower floors. I have stayed at Kidani where we were more central and saw lots of giraffes, and when we had a long walk to the room, but still saw lots of giraffes at feeding times. The animals graze and roam throughout the day, though we go when it's not terribly hot. I can't speak to watching the animals from the balcony during very hot months. I agree with prior posters on the lobby and restaurant comments.
Depends on what you're looking for but we loved the peace and quiet of Kidani. Jambo definitely has more going on but the shuttle between the two is super easy (much easier and more frequent than I expected). Also, if you're staying in a 1 bedroom, I believe only Kidani has the extra bathroom (we have three kids and the second bathroom is crucial to getting out the door in the morning and back into bed at night).
drusba
I went to Iowa once, and it was closed.
- Joined
- Aug 19, 1999
The distance from front door of Kidani to front door of Jambo is about 1/2 mile. There is a shuttle bus that runs between the two during the day and evening.
The hotel rooms and studios at Jambo are comparable in size to the studios at Kidani, but allow only four plus a child under 3. The Jambo DVC rooms are on the fifth floor (and sixth for club-level) and floors below that are hotel rooms. All rooms at Kidani are DVC. If you will be getting a 1BR or 2BR, the 1BRs/2BRs at Kidani are better. They are about 100 sq ft larger than the ones at Jambo, and have an extra bathroom (near the front door). Only Kidani has dedicated 2BRs, which have two queens in the second bedroom instead of a queen and pull-out couch; all Jambo 2BRs are lockoffs with a queen and pull-out couch in the studio. Kidani has more closet space than Jambo. And the master bath in the 1BRs and 2BRs at Kidani have a tub and separate shower, while Jambo has a combined tub/shower, and has a high stepover to get into the tub.
Both resorts have comparable and very good kids activities during the day. The pool at Jambo is larger than Kidani and has more shaded areas, but Kidani has the better and longer slide into the pool and has a nice large kids water play area. Jambo has three restaurants, Jiko, an expensive but good table service restaurant, Boma, one of the better buffet restaurants at WDW, and Mara, a counter service restaurant that has lots of seating, including outside towards the pool. Kidani has only a table service restaurant, Sanaa, which is very good and less expensive than Jiko. The lobby at Jambo is larger than Kidani's and its store is much larger than Kidani's.
Buses to and from parks run Kidani to Jambo, except that during early morning rush each usually has its own bus to MK. Bus to and from Disney Springs runs Jambo to Kidani.
The Jambo u-shaped building is large and walks from end rooms to lobby are long. However, nothing compares to Kidani, which, at close to 2/3 mile long, is one the longest hotel-like buildings in the world (and by world, I mean on earth, not just Disney World). If you have a car, Jambo has a large lot across the street from the front entrance, and walk can be fairly short to long depending on where you can find an open space. Kidani's has an under-building parking lot, which is the first floor, that runs nearly from one end of the building to the other, and with three elevator locations along each of the two wings, you can usually park fairly close to your room regardless of where the room is located.
If reserving through DVC or a DVC renter, one can make room location requests through Member Services. There is also a room location request page provided during online check-in but requests one can make are limited and some are pointless, e.g., you can request near an elevator at Kidani, but, since you cannot name the particular elevator on that online check-in page, such a request could result in your being placed in any room in the building.
If you have Savanna view at Kidani, and have a service (such as DVC MS) through which you can make specific requests,I recommend requesting a Sunset savanna view (which has giraffes and zebras; the smaller Pembe savanna does not) and a room near the Rafiki elevator (on the north wing not very far from the lobby and it provides the shortest walk from the building to the pool), or near the Timon elevator (on the south wing, not very far from the lobby, and down that elevator to second floor leads to a door that exits directly to where the bus station begins). If savanna view at Jambo, I would recommend requesting a room on Zebra trail with Arusha savanna view (one in the middle of the u-shaped building), and away from the lobby -- rooms away from the lobby provide better views and an Arusha savanna view from a room along Zebra Trail means the room will face west and thus avoid sun coming into the room in the morning. have a shaded balcony until afternoon, and provide pleasant sunset views.
The hotel rooms and studios at Jambo are comparable in size to the studios at Kidani, but allow only four plus a child under 3. The Jambo DVC rooms are on the fifth floor (and sixth for club-level) and floors below that are hotel rooms. All rooms at Kidani are DVC. If you will be getting a 1BR or 2BR, the 1BRs/2BRs at Kidani are better. They are about 100 sq ft larger than the ones at Jambo, and have an extra bathroom (near the front door). Only Kidani has dedicated 2BRs, which have two queens in the second bedroom instead of a queen and pull-out couch; all Jambo 2BRs are lockoffs with a queen and pull-out couch in the studio. Kidani has more closet space than Jambo. And the master bath in the 1BRs and 2BRs at Kidani have a tub and separate shower, while Jambo has a combined tub/shower, and has a high stepover to get into the tub.
Both resorts have comparable and very good kids activities during the day. The pool at Jambo is larger than Kidani and has more shaded areas, but Kidani has the better and longer slide into the pool and has a nice large kids water play area. Jambo has three restaurants, Jiko, an expensive but good table service restaurant, Boma, one of the better buffet restaurants at WDW, and Mara, a counter service restaurant that has lots of seating, including outside towards the pool. Kidani has only a table service restaurant, Sanaa, which is very good and less expensive than Jiko. The lobby at Jambo is larger than Kidani's and its store is much larger than Kidani's.
Buses to and from parks run Kidani to Jambo, except that during early morning rush each usually has its own bus to MK. Bus to and from Disney Springs runs Jambo to Kidani.
The Jambo u-shaped building is large and walks from end rooms to lobby are long. However, nothing compares to Kidani, which, at close to 2/3 mile long, is one the longest hotel-like buildings in the world (and by world, I mean on earth, not just Disney World). If you have a car, Jambo has a large lot across the street from the front entrance, and walk can be fairly short to long depending on where you can find an open space. Kidani's has an under-building parking lot, which is the first floor, that runs nearly from one end of the building to the other, and with three elevator locations along each of the two wings, you can usually park fairly close to your room regardless of where the room is located.
If reserving through DVC or a DVC renter, one can make room location requests through Member Services. There is also a room location request page provided during online check-in but requests one can make are limited and some are pointless, e.g., you can request near an elevator at Kidani, but, since you cannot name the particular elevator on that online check-in page, such a request could result in your being placed in any room in the building.
If you have Savanna view at Kidani, and have a service (such as DVC MS) through which you can make specific requests,I recommend requesting a Sunset savanna view (which has giraffes and zebras; the smaller Pembe savanna does not) and a room near the Rafiki elevator (on the north wing not very far from the lobby and it provides the shortest walk from the building to the pool), or near the Timon elevator (on the south wing, not very far from the lobby, and down that elevator to second floor leads to a door that exits directly to where the bus station begins). If savanna view at Jambo, I would recommend requesting a room on Zebra trail with Arusha savanna view (one in the middle of the u-shaped building), and away from the lobby -- rooms away from the lobby provide better views and an Arusha savanna view from a room along Zebra Trail means the room will face west and thus avoid sun coming into the room in the morning. have a shaded balcony until afternoon, and provide pleasant sunset views.
Last edited:
nursejackie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2014
I've only stayed at Kidani (on rented DVC points) but I would not stay again. Just a small shop and no dining options. I wanted to be in Jambo house the whole stay. Just my opinion of course.
Peaseblossom36
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2018
I would pick Jambo. We stayed at both and preferred Jambo pool. Our kiddo wasn't a fan of the splash pad at Kidani and the pool there seemed smaller. I also wouldn't want to be in a seperate building from the quick service. Our room at Jambo was also much nicer.
Mirabell Rose
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2023
Value view is only available at Jambo. I like them both. Neither is a clear winner over the other for us. I book value a lot, so when I don’t we always stay at Kindani since our value stays are always at Jambo.
stinkpickle
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2013
No dining options??? Did you miss Sanaa?
nursejackie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2014
Not our cup of tea I'm afraid, I should have said no dining options for us. For me Kidani felt like an annexe rather than the main attraction, even with a Savannah view. This is just my view on it, I appreciate others love it.
AKL is the cheapest deluxe option for UK visitors so I will get to stay in Jambo house one day
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