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

Note: guests in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House are eligible for Disney World’s Early Entry program, and have the ability to pre-book as early as  seven days before check-in Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass rides. They are also eligible for its Extended Evening Hours.

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 fourth overall for first-time visitors, but specifics vary a little for by room type.

THE DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORTS

You can have a spectacular visit at any Walt Disney World resort.

However, this site recommends that typical first time visitors to Walt Disney World avoid the Disney Vacation Club resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first.

(You can find extensive detail on the DVC resorts here.)

The recommendation comes from the simple fact that the distinguishing feature of these resorts–extra space and full kitchens–(the Jambo House Villas kitchen in One and Two Bedroom Villas is above) will not be of much value to first-time visitors following one of the itineraries on this site, as they won’t be used much.

However, the Disney Vacation Club resorts represent more than 10% of Walt Disney World’s total rooms, and are very appropriate for first time visitors with large families, needing extra sleeping spaces, or looking for a more comfortable place to stay.

Because of this, I’m providing a series of up-to-date reviews.

We’ve stayed in Jambo House Villas five times, and this review is based those stays.

DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM VILLAS–JAMBO HOUSE

Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.

On this basis, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House comes in fourth overall of the Disney Vacation Club resorts. (See this for resort rankings.)

However, there’s a little variability here depending on room type and family size. You’ll find more detail on this below, but the upshot is this:

• Regular Studio rooms: fourth-best, after Studios at the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows,  the Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and the Copper Creek Villas at the Wilderness Lodge
• Regular One-bedroom Villas: fourth-best, after after the Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, the Copper Creek Villas at the Wilderness Lodge and Kidani Village
• Two-bedroom Villas: for families that can fit into two queens in one bedroom and a king in a second, third-best after  the Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and the Copper Creek Villas at the Wilderness Lodge . For families that can’t, and thus also need to use the sleeper sofa and/or sleeper chair in the combined living/dining/kitchen space, third after Copper Creek Villas at the Wilderness Lodge and Kidani Village
• Grand Villas: Second best of the DVC resorts with high kid appeal, after those in Copper Creek

(Note that  these rankings apply only to regular studios and villas–not “value” ones–and only to rooms with savanna views.)

This review has five pages

• The overview page you are now on
• Theming and accommodations at the Jambo House Villas
• A photo tour of a refurbed Jambo House Studio
• A photo tour of the kitchen/dining/living space in a refurbed One Bedroom Villa at Jambo House
• A photo tour of the bath/master bedroom space in a refurbed One Bedroom Villa at Jambo House

Kid Appeal. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas Jambo House share the services, resources and lobby of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge–Jambo House, plus compatible theming.

The spectacular kid appeal of Jambo House, especially its lobby, its art, and its views of animals, makes it fourth on the kid appeal list, and the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House share this ranking. (For more on the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge–Jambo House, click here.)

Convenience. For first time visitors following this site’s itineraries, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas–Jambo House are the 8th-most convenient of all the Disney resort hotels, and the sixth most convenient of the DVC resorts.

You will see some nonsense about how far away Jambo House is from, for example, the Magic Kingdom–e.g. that it’s a 25 minute drive.  I’ve timed this drive multiple times and it’s 12-15 minutes, less if you drive past Coronado Springs rather than take Disney’s suggested route.  That said, the complex is the most isolated of the Disney World deluxe resorts, and one of the least convenient.

THE JAMBO HOUSE VILLAS VERSUS KIDANI VILLAGE

If all else was equal, you’d prefer the DVC options at Jambo House to those at Kidani Village.

The Jambo House villas are both more kid-appealing (because of the Jambo House lobby) and more convenient, because Jambo House has a complete quick-service restaurant and Kidani Village does not.

But all is not equal.

For all room types except Grand Villas, Kidani Village options are larger than those at Jambo House.

Moreover, Kidani Village One and Two-Bedroom Villas have one more bath than do those at Jambo House.

The difference in Studios is just a few square feet, immaterial, and as noted Grand Villas are larger at Jambo House.

So for Studios and Grand Villas you’d prefer Jambo for its kid appeal and convenience.

For One-Bedrooms, I give the nod to Kidani Village.

See the floor plan to the right for Kidani Village, and above for Jambo House.

Kidani Village’s extra width makes the living room more usable when the convertible seats are opened into their bed position.

And the extra bath can be a godsend.

For Two-Bedroom Villas, my recommendations vary depending on how you mean to use the space.

• If you won’t be sleeping in the living space, then for Two-Bedrooms go with Jambo House, as the extra space and third bathroom at Kidani is not enough to make up for Jambo’s appeal and convenience advantages.
• If you do need the living space to sleep in, then Kidani Two-Bedrooms beat Jambo House, for the same reasons that give it the preference for One-Bedrooms.

BEST AND WORST ROOMS AT DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM VILLAS–JAMBO HOUSE

See the image for a map of Jambo House. (As always on this site, click it to enlarge it.)

This site usually suggests that first time visitors stay in standard rooms, not preferred rooms. This is because they won’t be spending much time in their rooms. The single exception is for visitors to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, who should always pay for savanna views.

Rooms fronting Arusha savanna are the most popular. But be sure to reserve a savanna-view room.

The DVC options are mostly on the fifth floor of Jambo House, with some on the sixth.

Request a fifth floor room, about halfway down the trail. The fifth floor rooms have better views than those on the sixth, and halfway down the trail gives the best balance between quiet and walking distance.

BEST FOR:

First time family visitors looking for extra or more comfortable space, who don’t mind the inconvenience, and prefer its theme to that of  the Polynesian or The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge.

WORST FOR:

Families on a budget; families looking for convenience; families seeking a One-Bedroom Villa (see above for Two Bedroom Villas)

ACCOMMODATIONS AND THEMING AT DISNEY’S JAMBO HOUSE VILLAS

This review continues here.

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Click the image to enter!!!

(For the first page of this review of Kidani Village, see this.)

THE SAMAWATI SPRINGS POOL AT KIDANI VILLAGE

The Samawati Springs pool at Kidani Village is one of two pools at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge–the other is the Uzima Springs pool at the main Jambo House.

Guests at Kidani can use either.

Some prefer Uzima, despite the distance, for being a little more verdant.

But Samawati Springs is a great pool, and of course much more convenient.

Samawati is not the kind of low-amenity quiet pool that you will find near some other DVC resorts, but rather comes with all  the pluses that you’ll find at any main pool.

My favorite feature, though, is simpler–it’s the vista from the zero entry side. I love the sky and trees…

Here’s the pool from another angle–this shows the smaller of the two slides here.

A couple of shots of the larger pool slide:

There’s also two hot tubs, one by the pool deck…

… and a more secluded one on an upper level:

Nearby is a water play area…

…the water play area at night…

…a playground for kids…

…and a ping pong table.

There’s also a bar. It has a real menu–albeit not with a lot of options. See the  bottom of the image (click it to enlarge it):

Near the bar is a refillable mug station.

Also in the pool area, in an upper level, is the spa.

Kidani guests are also welcome at the Uzima Springs pool at Jambo House, and can walk, take a theme park bus (check with the driver first to see if the bus is stopping at Jambo) or take the couretsy van at the guest drop-off point.

 THE THEMING AND ART OF KIDANI VILLAGE

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(For the first page of this review of Kidani Village, see this.)

AMENITIES AT KIDANI VILLAGE

Kidani Village is paired with nearby Jambo House and its services and amenities, but is so distant that it also functions as a stand-alone resort–more like Saratoga Springs than like the Beach Club Villas.

See the map (as always on this site, to enlarge it, click it).

Kidani’s layout maximizes views of the savanna, and there are no paths through the savanna.  So those at the far end–marked with an orange “x”–have quite a hike to get to the great amenities and services at the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Jambo House.

So Kidani was designed with its own drop off (see the top of the page), check-in lobby…

…with a cool view to the savannas beyond…

…and gift shop. More, probably too much,  from the gift shop, with a focus on food and places to use your refillable mugs, given all the kitchens–and the weak counter service–at Kidani:

Back outside, there’s a bus stop.

Buses (except to Magic Kingdom) are shared with the stop at Jambo House–which means you can use them to get back and forth–just ask the driver or you may end up at Epcot.

Signs indicate the projected time of the next bus. There’s also a little shuttle van–ask for it at the guest drop-off outside the lobby.

You can also walk (to Jambo, not Epcot), or of course drive–although the layout of parking at both facilities means you’ll likely face a bit of walking anyway.

Across the street from Kidani is a little-noticed or used simple recreation area with shuffleboard, a basketball court, barbecue grills…

…and a pair of tennis courts.

DINING AT KIDANI VILLAGE

Downstairs from the lobby is the wonderful table-service restaurant Sanaa…

…and its bar.

Sanaa celebrates the African-Indian cuisine that’s been developing for centuries from Indian Ocean trading routes. Here’s the review from The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit:

From many parts of Sanaa you can see the savanna and whatever animals may be at play there.

In late 2016, Sanaa began offering quick service breakfast from 7a to 10a. At first an experiment, this offering now seems quite official.  See this for a review of breakfast at Sanaa.

There’s more dining at Jambo House.

There’s also a path out to savanna viewing areas…

…and a firepit…

…not currently offering roast zebra.

And then there’s the great pool complex!

THE SAMAWATI SPRINGS POOL AT KIDANI VILLAGE

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: SEPTEMBER 6 TO SEPTEMBER 14, 2014

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.

For more on September 2014 at Walt Disney World, see this.

[Read more →]

(For the first page of this review of Kidani Village, see this.)

OVERVIEW OF ACCOMMODATIONS AT KIDANI VILLAGE

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

However, I have come to count them as eleven and rank them as ten

Ten because two of the resorts–Saratoga Springs and the Animal Kingdom Villas–have two very different areas, and a third– the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows–has too different an offering to include in the rankings.

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.

(I don’t include the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows in this ranking, as the offerings there–except Studios–are so different from all the rest. Ranking solely among Studios, the Poly Studios would come near the top of the list.)

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 except the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows have studio rooms, One-Bedroom Villas, and Two-Bedroom Villas.

Most have Grand Villas as well.

Kidani Village floor plans of all room types are on this page.

Note: Kidani rooms will be completing a minor refurb in early 2017. This refurb simplifies fabrics, lightens walls, and adds power points. My Studio images are from a refurbed Studio; the rest of my images are from un-refurbed rooms.

At Kidani Village, Studios sleep four and have a microwave and mini fridge.

One-Bedroom Villas have a master bedroom with a king and a private master bath.

They have as well a particularly livable full kitchen/dining/living space with a second bath, and sleep 5.

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

Two-Bedroom Villas add a second bedroom with a queen and a sleeper sofa (two queens in some rooms) to the amenities of a One-Bedroom, and sleep 9.

Grand Villas at Kidani Village sleep 12 in a little less than twice the space of a Two-Bedroom Villa, in three bedrooms (one with a king, and two with two queens) plus sleeper sofas.

At Kidani Village, Grand Villas are two-story spaces.

The master bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen are on the first floor, and the two other bedrooms are on the second.

Also on the second floor is a smaller sitting area, lofted to the main living room.

(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.)

AMENITIES AT KIDANI VILLAGE

This review continues here!

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