Jambo or Kidani

[Briansmom]

Where is AKL DVC Club level and Savannah view better …… Jambo or Kidani? Thinking of renting some DVC points to add a couple nites to our stay as a treat. Never stayed at a deluxe not to mention DVC so need some opinions on this, please! And trying to decide between Club Level and Savannah view as well, so opinions welcome on that too!

[Tri Minnie]

I am not sure if this is helpful or not, as we haven't stayed club level or had a savannah room, but we love Kidani. We rented points there for our trip last December. The pool is great, and the bus picks up and drops off there first.

[DizneyRox]

Kidani is quiet and more relaxed than Jambo. It's also 75% of the time (more if you don't go to DtD) the first bus stop (pickup and dropoff).

I would go Savanah View over Club Level. While its nice, I didn't find Club Level to be worth the premium over at AKL. If you are going to take some of the Club Level only activities, then maybe, but it's an expensive upgrade and only available at Jambo.

[CanadianWDWFan]

Kidani without a doubt. We stayed at Jambo House and found ourselves wishing we had chosen Kidani. We liked the smaller size and the pool was better, though smaller, for us. As noted upgrading to Club Level is a huge difference. Now if you were planning on spending all day at the resort and enjoying all of the amenities offered then maybe it would be worth it.

[AgentC]

I have not stayed at club level or done the Savannah view but I have stayed at Jambo three times (twice pool view and once standard) and just stayed at Kidani in a 1 bedroom villa in April.

I have never paid for a Savannah view because I feel the opportunities to see animals are everywhere at both resorts so it is not worth the extra me for me. I do understand why others might like it.

Jambo:

-has all the restaurants plus the quick serve
-has the larger gift shop
-has the more impressive lobby
-a beautiful oasis like pool
-is noisier and may be busy with visitors and people dining at the restaurants
-pool view as an option. Pool view will usually give you a room located near the lobby and other service areas.

Kidani
-has a small gift shop with limited food options
-pool bar with limited food options
-beautiful pool with a large water area/play ground
-smaller but attractive lobby
-a quiet peaceful feel
-no preferred or central location can be booked.
-close garaged parking

Both have
-great cast members
-health club/spa services
-room service
-fantastic theming
-lots of activites

After staying at both my preference is for Kidani though I would like it more if they offered a pool view or preferred location. Both resorts can have quite a walk if you are at the far end. I think either is a wonderful place to stay. It just depends which amenity is more important to you.

[Gator]

I stayed at Kidani, and it was really nice. But when I had to travel all the way to Jambo for a counter service, and then saw how nice the lobby was, I think Jambo may have a slight edge. But that's just conjecture.

[Mousemates]

We love the grand lobbies of jambo (and of ocurse WL)...we also like to be more" where the action is"...so for us jambo is more to our liking.

[JPL]

I haven't stayed at Kidani but I visited it a few times and prefer Jambo House. I like have the restaurants and the better gift shop at my disposal. I never really found it to be overly busy either.

[ThanxForNoticin]

Our perfect situation - stay at Kidani, but ask for a room that is closer to the Jambo House entrance. That puts you in the middle of most of the important points of interest at AKL. You'll be a 5-10 minute walk from both pools, from Sanaa (Kidani), Boma (Jambo), Jiko (Jambo), and Mara (Jambo).

If you decide you want to do Club Level, then you will get to enjoy Jambo (no Club Level at Kidani). We've done AKL Club level several times, and it's definitely our favorite concierge service. But you can certainly enjoy the resort without it. One of our favorite events is the Sunrise Safari for AKL Club Level guests only. Lots of fun with the animals and an awesome breakfast. Good luck with your decision. You have 2 great choices!

[Briansmom]

Thanks for all the amazing information! Alas, it looks like I (as a rookie to renting DVC points) have waited too long and none of the options we want are available for the days we were looking at. I know now that I need to try to book them WAY before 2 months out. But all this information has been tucked away in my brain cuz guess who will be on top of her game next go round?!??