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You may have heard that Walt Disney World has an amazing deluxe resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge, an African-themed hotel where you can literally watch giraffes and zebras outside your hotel room. Well, I have stayed there before and I can truly tell you that staying there is even better than I imagined. You completely get lost in the theming and feel as if you are staying at a grand East African lodge and while you can’t always count on seeing the animals roaming around, when you do, it’s amazing!
Now, if you have looked into staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, you may have noticed you can book a stay at Jambo House or Kidani Village. You might be wondering what on earth is the difference.
Well, Jambo House was the original Animal Kingdom Lodge hotel. It consists of mostly hotel rooms, but there are also Disney vacation club units that have been built in the hotel. Kidani Vilage, on the other hand, came after Jambo House and it only consists of Disney Vacation Club units. If you are still confuse as to what the Disney Vacation Club is, please see this information regarding the Disney Vacation Club.
Well, I have stayed at both the Jambo House and Kidani Village, and first of all, I must say that, no matter which place you stay you and your family will have an amazing experience This is truly an amazing experience where you really feel like you have stepped into an East African lodge and no matter where you stay, you will have this great experience. But having said this, there are differences that I think you should know when choosing where to stay.
1Animals
Both Kidani Village & Jambo House offer rooms with wonderful views of animals if you book a savanna view. But even if you don’t book a savanna view, there are viewing areas where you can sit and look at the animals, and you can just look out the window. I have stayed at both a savanna view room and a non-savanna view room and I can honestly staying at the room without a savanna view did not hurt my enjoyment of the stay and I still saw tons of animals. And I can say that I had great experiences seeing animals at both Kidani Village and Jambo House
Advantage: Draw
2Rooms
On average, the rooms at Kidani Village are roomier. And all rooms at Kidani Village have full kitchens which could allow you to bring your own food and save a lot of money on your vacation.
Advantage: Kidani Villlage
3Beds
At Kidani Village, if you stay at a standard villa, then you’ll get one queen bed and a pull-out sofa. I have slept on the sofa and I would say in terms of comfort level of Disney pull-out sofas, it ranks low on the comfort level. Now, depending on who you stay with, this may not matter. Often kids don’t care because they’re so excited they are at Disney World. But if you are staying with a picky sleeper, you might want to stay at Jambo House, where you can stay in a standard room with 2 queen beds.
Advantage: Jambo House
4Dining
Kidani Villlage has a table-service restaurant in Sanaa that now does offer a quick-service option, but Jambo House has multiple restaurants: Jiko, a signature dining restaurant; Boma, a buffet and The Mara, which offers quick service options for breakfast, lunch & dinner. When you stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge you can eat at either place, but it’s a lot of walking to go back & forth between Jambo House & Kidani Village, and so far that reason, it’s just a lot easier to get to convenient dining options at Jambo House.
Advantage: Jambo House
5Parking
When you stay at Jambo House, you have to park quite far away from the hotel, and honestly, it is a gigantic pain when unpacking your car, or if you have to go back to your car for whatever reason. It’s also a huge pain in the summer when it’s incredibly hot in Orlando. But Kidani Village has underground parking. You can park your car and take an elevator up to your room. Far more convenient, and you are protected from that Florida heat. And here’s an added bonus of Kidani Village: if you book your room through David’s Vacation Club Rentals, you don’t have to pay for parking, whereas parking at Jambo House can cost you $33/night.
Advantage: Kidani Village
6Décor
Both Jambo House & Kidani Village have beautiful lobbies & hallways, with great African artwork and architectural design. But I would have to give the advantage to Jambo House. Their lobby may the best lobby of all Disney resorts. I absolutely love the grandiose lobby.
Advantage: Jambo House
7Price
Now, price often depends on availability, but for the most part, I have found better deals by booking a Disney Vacation Club Rental for Kidani Village to be the most affordable option (I recommend doing this through David’s Vacation Club Rentals). You can sometimes get a great deal though on stays at Jambo House; I have found the best prices for stays at Jambo House through Undercover Tourist.
Advantage: Kidani Village
