Jambo Kidani rooms

[hakepb]

lots of great info here...

Does the dedicated 2 BR at Kidani also have the kitchenettes, or is that just lockoffs?

Just lockoffs.
Despite having the pull out in the studio, some prefer the lockoff because the kitchenette with 2nd coffee pot, plus the studio has its own thermostat.

 

[mmdisneylover]

My biggest issue with Kidani is the lack of QS.

Agree I hated have no place to eat, except Sannaas. We don't really do African food so we had to go the Jamboree house to eat or leave resort all together.

 

[mmdisneylover]

Agree I hated have no place to eat, except Sannaas. We don't really do African food so we had to go the Jamboree house to eat or leave resort all together.

We stayed here last July 2012 and loved the resort but if you stay and kadini village be prepared to walk a lot. We go a free savannah view room just by requesting it on your online reservation page. Wasn't sure how it worked but didn't use anymore extra points and got a Pemba savannah view. I guess it's a savannah that doesn't always have animals in it but enough animals for us especially for free. I would stay again but with husband being disabled it made it hard when you want to get a QS meal you had to go all the way to jambo house which was a pain with a scooter on the buses. A car is needed but if you don't have a disability it isn't a bad. Only complaint I have is no QS, being a new resort you would have thought they would have thought better and added on. They have sandwiches at the pool but not much to choose from and room service.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Only complaint I have is no QS, being a new resort you would have thought they would have thought better and added on. They have sandwiches at the pool but not much to choose from and room service.

Kidani Village is not a new resort. It's just an addition to an existing resort. The other part of the resort has a counter service and two table service restaurants. Each villa also has either a full kitchen or kitchenette.

It's a timeshare, not a hotel.

 

[dgaston]

Here's my usual summary:

Comparison of Jambo and Kidani

Jambo:
large impressive lobby, larger gift shop
busier atmosphere
larger pool, wimpy slide (IMHO)
steam room in workout area
counter service at Mara
value and concierge rooms
Two sinks in studios
rooms retrofitted from existing hotel rooms
Master bath has shower/jetted tub combo plus toilet in one room (toilet is split off)
Parking in lots
Bus to DTD first stop
Rooms on 5th floor, except for 5 2br lockoffs on 6th for concierge

Kidani:
smaller, more intimate lobby and gift shop
quieter atmosphere
splash area at pool, and better slide (IMHO)
rooms designed for DVC
extra bath in one and two bedrooms
separate shower and jetted tub in master bath
community hall
Under building parking
Park buses first stop
Rooms on floors 2 through 5

HTH

 

[Idreamodisney247]

Jambo is the original AKL building where DVC is on the fifth floor (sixth for concierge) and the hotel is still the rest. It has no dedicated 2BRs, only lock-offs. All the smaller "value" rooms are at Jambo, same for concierge. other than the small number of values, the rooms are in the same size range as BWV, SSR, BCV, and VWL. Except for the values, the 1BRs (and 2BRs) have the extra sleeper chair that pulls out to twin size. The 1BR (and thus) 2BR master bath has a combined tub and shower not separate. That bathroom is also not directly connected to the bedroom and you walk across a small hallway that can be seen from the living room to get to it. Parking is in a lot across from the front of the building. It has three good restaurants, Jiko (table service), Boma (buffet) and Mara (counter service). Pool area is excellent with lots of places to find shade. Pool has small slide. Has the larger pool of the two resorts and a much larger store. Kidani is all DVC rooms, giving you the opportunity for lower floor view of savanna) and has both dedicated and lock-off 2BRs; dedicated have one entry door and two queens in the 2d bedroom; the 2BR lock-offs (at both Jambo and Kidani) have a queen and pull out couch double in 2d bedroom. All the 1BRs and 2BRs at Kidani have the extra sleeper chair. The studios are about the same size as Jambo but the 1BRs, and 1BR side of a dedicated, are 100 sq ft larger than Jambo's standard and savanna views (that is a significant and very noticeable difference). There is an extra bathroom in the 1BR and thus three in a 2BR. Separate tub and shower in the master bath in the 1 and 2BRs, which is accessible only through the bedroom. One advantage of a dedicated 2BR is that the balcony is one long balcony across the entire unit rather than having the wall that splits the 1BR balcony from the studio's. Only restaurant is Sanaa, table service, no breakfast, but one of the best at WDW for atmosphere and food. Pool is smaller than Jambo but it has the much longer slide and the area has an elaborate kid's water play area. Shade trees are still growing and finding shade can often be difficult. Kidani has a community hall, Jambo does not. It also has ideal under-building parking, and with elevators along the wings, you can always park fairly close to your room. My personal rule for choice of building: if getting a 1 or 2BR, go with Kidani; if getting a studio or GV go with Jambo. As for requests with savanna view, when at Jambo we usually request Arusha savanna view (one in the middle of the building) along Zebra Trail (the right wing of the U-shaped building); besides having good views, those rooms face west and thus you get to watrch pleasant sunsets but avoid the glaring sun on the porch in the morning. As to Kidani, our requests boil down to one that avoids getting rooms near the end of the wings and gets the sunset savanna which has giraffes. There is no longer walk in any hotel in the world (the earth not just WDW) down an internal hallway from end rooms to lobby than the one on the north wing of Kidani; it actually takes about five minutes at normal adult pace and a few minutes longer if smaller kids are with you. Guests who stay at rooms near the end of the wing often take their cars to the lobby. To avoid those end rooms and get closer to the lobby which puts you close to all amenties including pool, store, restaurant and bus stop, you can choose any of the following non-guaranteed requests: (a) close to lobby (if successful that also puts you on Sunset Savanna and thus you don't need to add Sunset Savanna as a request); (b) close to community hall (same effect as to sunset savanna as the close to lobby request but puts you on the south wing and close to lobby and thus on wing where bus stop is); (c) close to Timon elevator (puts you on the south wing on Sunset savanna fairly close to lobby and very close to the bus stop); (d) sunset savanna and close to the Rafiki elevator (that dual request puts you within easy walking distance to lobby and the closest you can be to getting to the pool -- down the Rafiki elevator and then a short walk to a nearby gate entrance to the pool; you need the Sunset savanna request for that one because some of the Pembe savanna rooms are also fairly close to that elevator).

I'm not sure if I made a silly request. Could you tell me if I am totally off the mark? My reservation is for kidani savanna-- I requested sunset savannah nearest to Jambo. Does that make sense or should I change request? I am wait listed for jambo

 

[dgaston]

If you are without a rental car, you could have a really long walk to your room.