Kidani vs Jambo for small kids

[mrsgoose8]

Hi!
I am still relatively new to all things disney planning... any help is appreciated!
With two small kids (ages 2 &4) , would you recommend Jambo or Kidani? I am leaning towards a 1 bedroom for our visit because I could potentially have a newborn also (yes we are crazy!)
Thoughts!?
Thanks,
A

~~New to DisBoard and DVC~~

 

[erionm]

The 1-bedrooms at Kidani Village are approx. 100 sq feet larger than those in Jambo House. The KV 1-bedroom will also have 2 bathrooms (JH 1-bedroom only has 1 bath).

Kidani Village does not have a quick service restaurant, you would need to go to Jambo House if you want QS dining.

As a AKL/AKV resort guest, you have full use of all standard resort amenities at either building.

 

[mrsgoose8]

is the walk between buildings long? the extra space would be nice but not at the expense of the lack of dining... for example, we stayed at pop century at the very back of the resort.. so it was at least a 5 min walk with our kids in a stroller to the dining. are we talking a 10-20 min walk between resorts?

 

[erionm]

is the walk between buildings long? the extra space would be nice but not at the expense of the lack of dining... for example, we stayed at pop century at the very back of the resort.. so it was at least a 5 min walk with our kids in a stroller to the dining. are we talking a 10-20 min walk between resorts?

The walk between the main entrance of each building is between 10 and 15 minutes. Bell Services runs a van between the buildings and Disney's buses make stops at both.

Buses headed to Downtown Disney will stop at Jambo House first and then Kidani Village.
Buses headed to a Theme Park will stop at Kidani Village first and then Jambo House.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'd recommend Jambo myself. I've stayed at both resorts, and am taking our DGDs, who'll be 2 & 4 next year, so I thought about this. Unfortunately at Kidani, the walk to my room was incredibly long, I was in the 7th "pod", yes near the end, even though I'd requested "near lobby". Also, with children it would be a real plus to have CS right downstairs. I've heard that the pool area at Kidani is nicer, but you can use both, just ake the little shuttle bus over to Kidani and back if you want. Besides I think the pool at Jambo will be real nice.

 

[nooch]

I have kids the ages you described - 5,3, newborn. We recently went and stayed at kidani. The walk from our room to Jambo was maybe 10 minutes, which was manageable for my wife and I. The 5 year old also walked it regularly. I think the main reason to stay at Jambo would be food in that kidani doesn't have a quick service or buffet. Sanna, the restaurant in kidani, is one of our favourite a at Disney though. If the majority of your eating will be in room then kidani is a great fit. The pool area at kidani was quieter and had more shade and the resort itself was a little more relaxed. In order to split the difference between the two you could request a room by the Zazu ( named after the bird from the lion king) elevator, which will give you direct access to the walkway that connects the two buildings without having to go through the kidani lobby. A room there would also be located near the community room, which can be a useful diversion for the two older kids if the newborn is napping in the room. We had a savannah view room, which was great in morning and evening. Given that AKL isn't our home resort we thought we'd go in for it as we don't know when we'll have a chance to go back; it was worthwhile and we aren't sorry we did it. We had previously stayed at Saratoga Springs with our older two and the rooms at Kidani felt much larger even though we now have a third child. Bus rides and disney transport are a wash between the two, although when busy kidani gets first dibs.

To summarize I suppose if you stayed at Jambo you would have little reason to go to kidani and if you stayed at kidani you'd have little reason to go to Jambo unless it were to eat. We were happy with our choice of kidani given the quieter and shadier pool and didn't mind the walk when we made it because it gave us an excuse to stretch our legs. Id be surprised if you were unhappy with your either way choice. Enjoy the trip!

 

[mrsgoose8]

good point, its disney! I am sure we will have fun no matter what!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I would pick Jambo because of the counter service. There's a kiddie pool, a small playground, and the pool and counter service are very convenient if you are on the Arusha savannah.

 

[surfer_ed]

I wish there was counter service at Kidani because the pool there is so much better for little ones. It is a mismatch to have counter service (better for young families) at Jambo, with the splash area at Kidani.

 

[mrsgoose8]

i think if we go to kidani, we would be comitting to a lot more in room eating!
which... if we aregoing for a 3rd time in a year... probably a good idea! LOL.

right now im trying to figure out use year and borrowing points and all that jazz. my head hurts!!

 

[rkold]

One thing you could do if you want to stay in Kidani and assure yourself you won't be all the way out on the end furthest from the lobby is book standard. ^^; When we stayed in Kidani, we pretty much had the last 1BR that was standard view and it overlooked the pool and an edge of the savannah. The walk was about 10 minutes from our room to Jambo, and we did it with my 4 month old DD every day we were there.

We tried Kidani in 2011 and are trying Jambo in 2 weeks.

 

[mrsgoose8]

follow up question, or maybe it should be a new thread... but is AK the best resort for small kids? We are headed in June for 5 nights. We booked VGF and i have since come to think our kids might not appreciate that as much as I will. And AKV would be a lot less points used...ahhhh

 

[RachaelA]

Kidani because of the 2nd bathroom if one of your kids will be sleeping in a PnP. The PnP fits in the bathroom (you have to take it out to use the tub or toilet though). Pool area is awesome for young kids

But BLT will always be our go to resort since we have young kids (hence why we bought there). Walking distance to MK is worth the extra $/points. We spend a lot of time at MK. Then Epcot. So much easier to walk back with a sleeping kid in a stroller for nap time or at night (or catch the monorail if we are at Epcot). Way easier if you forget something in the room and you are at MK. DH forgot our backpack once when we got to MK and we were staying at Kidani. That was a long trip back!

 

[rkold]

The best resort for small kids really depends on you and your kids. DD has stayed at: GF, Kidani, BLT, Poly, and YC between the ages of 4 months and 3 years and has enjoyed all of them even when I have not. For us, DD likes going to the parks. She likes meeting characters and she likes some rides. She also likes the pool. Most kids enjoy pools, but not all kids are quite as into the characters as mine. >>; We find DHS is the hardest park to spend a lot of time. Other than the shows, Toy Story Mania is pretty much the only attraction she can enjoy there. (under 40 inches) My DD loves Epcot (lots of character meet-n-greets, as well as Living Seas.) She also likes AK and MK.

We're staying at the VGF in Oct. The theme is a bit adult, but DD loved the YC, so I am sure she will like the VGF. The fact we can see fireworks from the grounds will make her happy. We're going to prob sign up for the Very Princess Tea Party as a birthday treat. VGF *IS* a lot of points though.

 

[mrsgoose8]

What's YC? see, im such a newbie, hhaha.
My kids love the character meet and greets too, and also love MK, which is why I was pro the GF. we bought into AKL because it was the cheapest at the time of our purchase, got an extra year of points etc. BLT is my first choice for add ons... then maybe Poly when avail or VGF. BLT is not availavle for our june trip which is why i did VGF. ...

I think we will be happy there, dont get me wrong. But if i can convince my hubby to do a 3rd trip in 2014, I think we need to skip the VGF this time...

 

[erionm]

What's YC?

Yacht Club.

 

[mrsgoose8]

ahh thanks. The abreviations are obvious...once you get them ! LOL.

I have searched and searched threads and ultimately i guess its just time to make a decision, lol!

 

[rkold]

What's YC? see, im such a newbie, hhaha.
My kids love the character meet and greets too, and also love MK, which is why I was pro the GF. we bought into AKL because it was the cheapest at the time of our purchase, got an extra year of points etc. BLT is my first choice for add ons... then maybe Poly when avail or VGF. BLT is not availavle for our june trip which is why i did VGF. ...

I think we will be happy there, dont get me wrong. But if i can convince my hubby to do a 3rd trip in 2014, I think we need to skip the VGF this time...

Sorry about that! But yes, YC==Yacht Club. We stayed there 4x before joining DVC just recently. We loved the YC and will miss staying there now that we're DVC.

Epcot has some great character meet-n-greets and frequently has shorter lines than MK. In Jan 2013, we literally had no wait for Winnie and Tigger. And if you've not heard, starting at the end of January, Sofia and DocMcStuffins are coming to the Hollywood and Vine Disney Jr. character meals (Breakfast+Lunch only) We're super excited about this, as the wait for Sofia was 1 hour in Oct. ~.~

I know this is not a popular opinion, but I personally am not a Poly fan. I love the location and the grounds, but they don't have a hot tub, and the room we were given was the darkest dankest room I've ever had on property. I'm not keen to ever stay there again.

BLT has the terrific walk to MK and I love the decor (though it honestly feels more like decor I would want for my home vs a hotel) but I don't like the pool there either. The pool was small and nondescript. (Though we are staying there in Feb.)

I like AKV. The pools are amazing at both Kidani and Jambo. Of the places I've stayed, only the YC/BC/BCV pool was better. (I've not been to the GF/VGF since the children's water play area was added though.) VGF is our home resort, but we're still happy to stay at Jambo in 2 weeks. I admit, we like the food options at Jambo. Buffets are pricey, but easy to do with little ones because there is a limited wait and there are more food choices than QS. We liked Jiko too, I'm unsure if we would take DD there or try babysitting. We really liked Kidani as well.

If you want to go a 2nd time, then yes, trying to stay somewhere fewer points is a great idea. We always try to fit in several trips a year as well.

 

[mrsgoose8]

Thanks this is all really helpful!
we are actually going in a week for the first time with our DVC! we are staying in Jambo but it's just me and hubby. woot woot!

because we (the adults!) are going 2x this year, AP made sense for us. I want to go a 3rd time since we will have the APs anyway.

If I have a December use year, when can i borrow from 2015? because if we can borrow from 2015 then i think we could do three trips and stay at GF.

hubby really wants to stay at VGF this June trip, where as I really want to do 3 trips! LOL.

 

[rkold]

Thanks this is all really helpful!
we are actually going in a week for the first time with our DVC! we are staying in Jambo but it's just me and hubby. woot woot!

because we (the adults!) are going 2x this year, AP made sense for us. I want to go a 3rd time since we will have the APs anyway.

If I have a December use year, when can i borrow from 2015? because if we can borrow from 2015 then i think we could do three trips and stay at GF.

hubby really wants to stay at VGF this June trip, where as I really want to do 3 trips! LOL.

I'll be honest as a DVC newbie myself, I can't answer the borrowing the question, but from what I've read, I think technically the points you are currently using are your 2013 points and you would be getting your 2014 points in dec. Our UY is April, which makes it simple for figuring out which years points we are using but challenging for us, since we tend to travel after the banking deadline.

Yeah, DD and I are getting APs. (DH doesn't usually go to WDW with us, it's usually, me, my mother and DD, and my mom doesn't go to the parks.) We're so far doing Jan, Feb and Oct so the AP is definitely worth it. I wonder if our trips overlap at all, we arrive the 13th! One option for you is see how you like AKL first before you decide if you want to stay there in June. We don't usually rent a car (car seats at the airport are just miserable!) so I'm curious what the buses will be like myself, since I only went to AK when I stayed at Kidani. Loved YC, but nearly every time I tried to get back to it from MK the wait was 30-40 minutes for a bus (and then the 20 minute bus ride.) That was another reason we bought VGF. While we can't walk like with BLT, you can always take the express monorail to the TTC and walk from there. The walk from the TTC to GF never seemed that long to me, I think I timed it at about 10-15 minutes and we were in the key furthest from the main building. VGF is a bit closer towards the Poly.