Review: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House, Page 6

(For the first page of this review of the Villas at Jambo House, see this.)

MORE ON THE JAMBO HOUSE VILLAS AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is described on Walt Disney World’s website as an

“African lodge-style resort amidst a 43-acre wildlife preserve. The Resort offers authentic African-inspired architecture and the kraal African-village landscape design—a semi-circle design popular in Africa which offers expansive views of the surrounding savanna and its many animal inhabitants. Thatched ceilings, large beams, hand-carved golden-tone furnishings, real African artifacts and a vast mud fireplace in the main lobby surround you in the inimitable spirit of Africa.”

“Just outside the main lobby, an elevated rock platform—Arusha Rock—offers up-close glimpses of the animals and a panoramic view of the sprawling grounds. In addition to animals, thousands of indigenous African shrubs and grasses—including the most recognized canopy tree of Africa, the copperpod—paint a picture reminiscent of the unspoiled African grasslands.”

The resort opened in April 2001 and since has been changed twice.

• In the first change, Disney Vacation Club villas replaced a number of rooms in the Animal Kingdom Lodge itself.
• In the second, a new Disney Vacation Club resort in a new building–Kidani Village–opened next door. At the same time as Kidani Village opened, the name of the main resort building was changed to Jambo House.

So the Animal Kingdom Lodge is now the whole thing, and the building that holds the Jambo House villas and the resort’s regular hotel rooms is now Jambo House.

Jambo House is one large building.

You enter into the glorious lobby, with check-in and other services on the left, and a gift shop on the right.

Further on the right but down a few levels are Jambo House’s two great restaurants–Jiko and Boma, and its quick service option, Mara.

Between the lobby and these restaurants is a wonderful bar, the Victoria Falls Lounge.

Still further on the right is the spectacular Uzima pool.

The lodging components of Jambo House are divided into four “trails,” Ostrich, Giraffe, Zebra and Kudu. (There’s a resort map on the first page of this review–click here to get to it.)

• Giraffe Trail has only pool and standard views–avoid it
• Ostrich Trail is short and very lightly trafficked, and convenient to the lobby. About half its rooms have views of the Sunset Savanna. A savanna view room here is the best choice for families looking for quiet.
• Kudu Trail is very long. It rooms almost all have savanna views–most of the Sunset Savanna, but many of the Arusha Savanna. Kudu Trail has less traffic than Zebra Trail, because it is not convenient to anything.
• Zebra Trail is as long as Kudu trail, but more convenient to the restaurants and pools. Its rooms have a mix of views–pool views, Uzima Savanna views, and Arusha Savanna views.

The Jambo House Disney Vacation Club Villas are on the fifth and sixth floors.

Besides the “regular” villa types, which this review addresses, you’ll also find two other villa types unique to Jambo House:

“Value” villas and studios. These rooms are smaller–shorter–than the equivalent room types in the “regular” villas, and in the case of One-Bedroom and Two-Bedroom villas, value villas hold one person less–4 instead of 5, and 8 instead of 9.

These rooms are smaller because they were rebuilt from standard Animal Kingdom Lodge rooms, not its former “Deluxe” rooms, longer by the width of a balcony.

“Club Level” villas and studios. A few of the Jambo House villas are also part of the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s club service. “Club service” is what Disney calls what the rest of the world calls concierge service.

These rooms are the only DVC accommodations on property that also provide concierge service.

Jambo House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge’s strengths for first time visitors are its stunning theme and great kid appeal, it pool, and its great dining at Jiko and Boma.

Its DVC villas share these strengths, but, as noted on the first page, for some room types Kidani Village is the better choice.

Jambo House’s principal negative is its distance from the rest of Disney World, other than the Animal Kingdom itself.

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EXTERNAL LINKS FOR DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM VILLAS:

• Official Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge site
• Official Disney Vacation Club Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas site
• Cool unofficial fan site
• Wikipedia on Animal Kingdom Villas

MORE ON WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• For where to stay, see this
  • For your next best choices, in order, see this
  • For picking your resort based on appeal to kids, see this
  • For picking your resort based on convenience, see this
  • For where not to stay, see this

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• For what you get in each resort price category, see this
  • For Walt Disney World resort price seasons, see this
  • For resort reviews, see this
  • For the value resorts, see this
  • For the moderate resorts, see this
  • For the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For suites at the deluxe resorts, see this
  • For the Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) Resorts, see this

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• For a (geeky) overview of comparative room size, see this

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• Large families should look at this, and also at
  • Large Families Looking for Value Pricing at Walt Disney World
  • Large Families Looking for Deluxe Accommodations at Disney World
  • Beds and Sleeping Spaces at the Walt Disney World Resorts
  • Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
  • Suites at Walt Disney World

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• Military/DOD families should look at this

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• Tightwads should look at this

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• Families seeking the most comfortable place to stay should see this

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