Category — q. Reviews

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GRAND VILLAS AT JAMBO HOUSE

Grand Villas at Jambo House sleep 12.

They have three bedrooms (one with a king, and two with two queens) plus a sleeper sofa.

They also have a kitchen, dining room, living room, game room (with a pool table, not the card tables indicated in the floor plan), 3 large balconies, and 4 baths.

Note from the floor plan that two baths are private to bedrooms (the king bedroom, and one of the queen bedrooms) while two others are available to all.

Note also the two entry doors–one to the living room, and one to the queen bedroom area.

All Grand Villas are about twice the size of a Two-Bedroom Villa, while having only one more bedroom.

This makes them in effect 6 bays–a bay being about the size of a Studio.

So a way to think about the livability and design problem of a Grand Villa is that it adds one bedroom but three bays to the size of a Two-Bedroom. So what to do with the other two bays?

One part of the answer is consistent across all Grand Villas–at least one of the two extra bays is used to double the size of the shared kitchen/dining/living space compared to that of a Two-Bedroom Villa.

At first blush, this seems enough, as it doubles this space while adding only 50 percent more capacity.

But as noted on the prior page, the shared space in the Two Bedrooms is too small for their capacity. Just doubling it does not leave enough comfortable chairs in the living room space of Grand Villas for 12, nor in many cases enough room at the dining table for that number.

Most DVC Grand Villas are two-story spaces, and they resolve this issue by having the 6th bay, over the living room, combine a lofted space with a two-story ceiling over the living room.

See the Kidani Village Grand Villa floor plan to the right for an example.

In the lofted space you’ll find a second convertible couch and a TV.

This adds some needed living space, and provides the option for people to sleep in this space without disordering the living room by sleeping on its couch.

Moreover, the two-story ceiling in the living room enables two-story windows, and these add drama to the design.

Unlike at most DVC resorts, at Jambo House, Grand Villas are one story spaces. (BoardWalk and Grand Floridian Grand Villas are also one story spaces.)

Jambo House Grand Villas use the sixth bay as a game room.  This neither expands living room-style space nor provides an alternate sleeping spot.

With one exception, the layout of the one-story BoardWalk Grand Villas is much better. (See image above.)

In the BoardWalk Grand Villas the sixth bay is used to expand the living space.

However, BoardWalk Grand Villas have only three baths, and the master bath is the only one accessible to guests sleeping in the convertible sofa.

Grand Floridian Grand Villas use the 6th bay as a media room, and put the last two sleeping spots there–thus making them in effect four bedroom villas while also increasing livability.  They also have four baths.

Despite the fact that I am not keen on the use of the 6th bay as a game room, I still rank Jambo House Grand Villas as the number one option for first time family visitors.

This is partly because the Animal Kingdom Lodge itself is my highest-ranked resort with Grand Villas, and partly because for reasons noted on the first page of this review all things being equal the Jambo House Villas are to be preferred to those at Kidani Village.

And I don’t see the differences between the one and two story options as so material as to overcome Jambo House’s advantages in convenience and kid appeal.

That said, a family with a size or structure that means it will be using the sleeper sofa should carefully compare the Kidani Grand Villa floor plan with that of the Jambo House plan, and make its own call…

(To each of the capacity figures above, you can add one more kid under 3 at time of check in who sleeps in a crib.)

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MORE ON JAMBO HOUSE AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM VILLAS

There are currently 8 official Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World.

However, I have come to count them as ten, because two of the resorts–Saratoga Springs and the Animal Kingdom Villas–have two very different areas.

In order of their appropriateness for first time family visitors to Walt Disney World, they are:

1. The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
2. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House
3. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Kidani Village
4. Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
5. The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa
6. Disney’s Beach Club Villas
7. Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
8. Disney’s Old Key West Resort
9. Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, main resort
10. Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort, Treehouse Villas area.

These resorts are available to anyone to reserve through the regular Walt Disney World website or the resort reservations phone number at 407-939-7675.

They also are available to the general public at great discounts through renting points from a Disney Vacation Club member.

All Disney Vacation Club resorts have studio rooms, One-Bedroom Villas, and Two-Bedroom Villas.

Most have Grand Villas as well.

Jambo House has all room types, and floor plans of all its standard room types except Grand Villas are on this page. Grand Villas will be covered on the next page.

Jambo House has an addition two unique types of villas–concierge villas and value villas.  Concierge and value villas are not covered by this review.

STUDIOS AT JAMBO HOUSE VILLAS

At Jambo House, Studios sleep four and have a microwave and mini fridge.

The microwave is one of several ways Studios are different from regular rooms at Jambo House.

A second distinction is that the second bed is a fold-out couch.

This increases the livability and flexibility of the space.

Finally, these rooms are longer than regular Jambo House rooms.

Since regular Jambo rooms are tied with the Wilderness Lodge as the smallest deluxe rooms at Disney World, these extra few feet do make the space feel more comfortable and luxurious.

These studios go for 10-20% more than regular rooms, and I don’t see that the above features create enough extra value to be worth it.

ONE-BEDROOM VILLAS AT JAMBO HOUSE

One-Bedroom Villas have a master bedroom with a king.

They have as well a full kitchen/dining/living space, and sleep 5 in about twice the space of a studio.

The three additional sleeping spots are on fold-out furniture in the living room space.

The bath is shared, with access to it from both sleeping spaces through the small hall between the master bedroom and the bath.  Kids don’t need to enter the master bedroom to get to this bath.

Unlike most DVC One-Bedroom Villas, these rooms have a full-width balcony accessible from either space.

One-Bedroom Villas are among the most comfortable ways to stay at Walt Disney World.

The additional space, full kitchens, and living and dining furniture are hard to beat, even though if you are following one of this site’s itineraries you won’t be in your room much to enjoy them!

At 50-60% more expensive than a regular Jambo House room, they aren’t for everyone…but the value is there if you can afford it.

Of the Animal Kingdom Lodge One-Bedroom options, Kidani Village is the better choice, as it offers a second bath and even more space, for just a few dollars more a night.

TWO-BEDROOM VILLAS AT JAMBO HOUSE

Two-Bedroom Villas add a second bedroom with a queen and a full sleeper sofa, and another balcony, to the amenities of a One-Bedroom, and sleep 9.

Two-Bedroom Villas can be either cramped or comfortable, depending both on how you use them and what you are comparing them to.

Like almost all DVC Two-Bedroom Villas, in Jambo House Two-Bedrooms there isn’t enough seating space in either the living room or in the dining spaces for all the people these rooms will fit. (Old Key West Resort and the Treehouse Villas are exceptions.)

The living room chairs will seat three to five people, with two more chairs available at the dining table, and the dining table will seat four to six, with the range depending on the width and friendliness of those seated.

So if you are filling a two bedroom with 8 or 9 people, things can get awkward compared to the ease with which One-Bedroom Villas fit the people they can sleep. (And if you have this many people, Kidani Village is the better Animal Kingdom Lodge choice anyway…)

This is part of the reason why these rooms are only about 40-50% more expensive than One Bedroom Villas, even though they have more than double the sleeping capacity.

On the other hand, depending on the price season, a Two-Bedroom is only ~$100 more expensive than two regular Jambo House rooms, but provides 50% more space, and, compared to those rooms, all that extra kitchen/dining/living space and furniture.

If your family’s sleeping needs will fit in the bedrooms–that is, you have six or fewer people, and don’t need to use the fold-out beds in the living space–Two-Bedrooms are a particularly comfortable option.

In this case the Jambo House Villas are a better Animal Kingdom Lodge choice than Kidani.

GRAND VILLAS AT JAMBO HOUSE

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OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM VILLAS–JAMBO HOUSE FOR FIRST TIME VISITORS

Most room options at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House (a Disney Vacation Club resort) are wonderful places for returning visitors to Walt Disney World to stay.

For typical first-time visitors, I don’t recommend the Disney Vacation Club resorts.

That said, these “DVC” resorts can be a great choice for first time visitors with large families, needing extra sleeping spaces, or looking for a more comfortable place to stay.

Among the Disney Vacation Club resorts, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House ranks second overall for first-time visitors, but specifics vary a little for by room type.

THE DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORTS

[Read more →]

LIGHTS MOTORS ACTION

I review rides only when they are new or after they have changed, on the theory that first time visitors ought to try them all and hence don’t need reviews.

(For those without the time or energy to try them all, there’s a
comprehensive guide to Disney World rides and attractions here and also a list of Disney World rides that might be skipped here.)

Lights Motors Action Extreme Stunt Show opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2005 as a close adaptation of a similar show running at Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris.

Earlier this year it had a minor change–the addition of Mater and Lightning McQueen–which gives me an excuse to review it.

LIGHTS MOTORS ACTION EXTREME STUNT SHOW WITH LIGHTNING MCQUEEN [Read more →]

SPLASH MOUNTAIN

I review rides only when they are new or after they have changed, on the theory that first time visitors ought to try them all and hence don’t need reviews.

(For those without the time or energy to try them all, there’s a
comprehensive guide to Disney World rides and attractions here and also a list of Disney World rides that might be skipped here.)

Splash Mountain has had a minor recent change–the addition of lap bars–just enough of a change to give me an excuse to review it…

[Read more →]

(This is the second page of this review.  For the first page, click here.)

LOEWS ROYAL PACIFIC RESORT: BEST PLACES TO STAY

The Royal Pacific is laid out like a big Y.

See the not-so-great map below (It’s a photo of a sign; I could not find printed maps to scan…)

The ends of the Y are three room towers, themselves Y-shaped.

The tower on the upper left–labeled 23, and known as Tower 2 or the Leeward Tower–is the least convenient to the pool and boat docks/walkways to the theme parks.

The other two towers–22 on the lower left, known as Tower 1 or the Windward Tower, and 24 at the right center, known as Tower 3 or the Royal Tower–encircle the pool and are closer to the boat dock and theme park walkway.

The boat dock to the parks is just visible as the green point labeled 19 at the bottom of the map.

The walkway to the parks follows the upper part of the same lagoon (barely visible on the map) the boat dock is located on, and heads leftwards past the Windward Tower (on the map) along the boat canal to Islands of Adventure.

Convenience to the pools, the boat dock and the theme park walkway makes the Windward Tower the best of the three options.

GETTING TO THE THEME PARKS–AND ESPECIALLY THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER

You can take the boat or walk.

The boat is more fun and easier.

For most families, walking is faster unless the boat has no line and is ready to leave when you arrive.

Either way, once you are moving, getting to the entrance to Islands of Adventure takes about 5-10 minutes.

My trip, carefully but not thoughtfully designed to put me first in line for the wand choosing the wizard at Ollivanders, went as follows:

• Walk from my ground floor Leeward Tower room to the boat dock: 4 minutes
• No line for the boat at 7.28a; 4 minute wait for the boat to leave
• 6 minutes to the dock at Universal’s Citywalk, between NASCAR and the Hard Rock, with a very entertaining boat skipper
• Realize at 7.43a that I left my room key locked in my room, so won’t be able to get in for the early admission to the Wizarding World
• By 7.57a I had walked back to the Royal Pacific, gotten a dupe of my room key, and returned to the boat dock
• This time there was a longish line for the boat, but I got on the next (8.01a) departure anyway, was back at the Citywalk dock by 8.06a, and in Hogsmeade by 8.16a

MORE ON THE ROOMS AT THE ROYAL PACIFIC

As noted on the first page of this review, Royal Pacific rooms are on the small side and hold four.

As you enter, the split bath will be on one side and the closet and connecting door on the other.

The bath has one sink (this compromise lets the bedroom space be a little bigger) and a semi-screened cutout between the sink area and the bedroom.  This cutout will be a negative for most families, as it limits the ability to manage noise and light from the sink area.

In the bedroom area you’ll find two queens and an upholstered chair on one side.

The other side has a largish round table with two chairs, and a credenza with drawers, a small TV, a mini-bar (but no separate fridge) and a coffee maker.

(You can order a mini-fridge for an additional fee.)

As noted on the first page, there’s no balcony.

These rooms are adequate for a family of four.

There’s enough space, but no more than enough.

The theming of the rooms (and the room towers) is scant; one could be anywhere.

MORE ON THE ROYAL PACIFIC RESORT

The best overall features of the Royal Pacific are its pool, its general theming, its price, its access to the parks, and all the sit-down dining options it provides.

The pool is particularly a marvel, and in its size, meandering, distinctive areas, and decoration has few peers at Walt Disney World.

My photos of the pool–on this and also on the first page of this review–don’t begin to do it justice.

The Royal Pacific is pet-friendly and takes a European attitude to smoking.

It has price seasons similar to those at the Disney World resorts.

Before Harry Potter opened, additional discounts were widely available.  They are now much less common.

Military families may find special discounts at various times of the year. See Universal Parks Military Discounts.  Some specific 2011 Universal military discounts are here.

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