Oh! Oh! Oh! Questions I have intimate knowledge of!
We stayed at Kidani in a Savanna view back in August. We requested a room through the TP room request function on the Sunset Savanna. We got a room on the Pembe Savanna. I was really disappointed at first but grew to love it. Pembe is separate from the larger savannas (which seem to be interconnected) and is home to smaller beasts like the tiny Steenbok. This is also where you’ll see the Okapi and Casanova. If you haven’t watched the AK series on Disney+ you should! They also use this savanna when they want to separate females from males. So you might get the female red river hogs while the males are on the larger savanna, etc. There are lots of animals there and because the savanna is smaller, they are almost always in view. But if you want to see giraffes, they are not on Pembe. It is closer to the pool, but everything is a long walk there.
This is a link to our trip report. The very beginning has my angst over the room with a few pics.
At Kidani the parking is underneath the building. I think the long hallways are less of an issue with a car. I am requesting a room in the far end near Jambo (I am pretty sure they will gladly give it to me). I spent so many years non preferred at POR that indoor air conditioned hallways will never bother me.
Very nice! We’ve talked about taking on the beach but I honestly think my kids will be done at that point. We’re doing 14 nights total, the first two at Universal then 12 at WDW. We’ll see…the beach for a few days afterwards sure sounds relaxing.
When we did Disney in 2010, we stopped on the way back for a few days at a beach condo in Fort Walton. It was totally the right call with the kids being DD9, DS6, and DS9m twins at the time! I think DH would have fell over if he’d tried to go straight back to work.
Okay, so my AKL room plot thickens! I haven’t hacked into DH’s MDE yet to check the second room, but I was able to link our first room to my MDE and it is in fact…Jambo House!
(Wow! I had no idea how satisfying it would be to see something back in My Plans again!)
Now, I’m trying to decide if I actually have a preference, and if so, if it’s strong enough to try to move it over to Kidani. After all, it’s just one night. And no idea on availability anyway.
Do all of the Jambo savanas have giraffes and zebras? I think the kids would prefer those, so staying put would neatly sidestep the Pembe possibility. (I think we overlooked Arusha savana both of our two previous visits.)
Is there any significant difference between the 2 pools?
I have heard Jambo has a weird “ghost town” atmosphere right now with most of the services closed. Will that be depressing after its vibrancy when we ate at Boma last January when it was still all decked out for Christmas? Or will we enjoy “having it to ourselves”? Do I just need to spin it that way to the fam?
Parking shouldn’t be a big deal since it’s only one night and we plan to eat on-site. It will be a bit of a trek to Sanaa but we need to warm up for the parks anyway.
And…I’m pretty sure I do still have 2 Mara lifetime refill mugs. Maybe Mara will even have longer hours by then? (DS16 made a sport of how fast he could run from the room and return with filled mugs at BC last year.)
Lol! I can totally see this being beneficial. DH actually is only joining us for a weekend in the middle of our trip. Otherwise it’s my kids, my dad and I. DH would probably join us for the beach after tho!
This sentiment has been echoed on a few trip reports here. It makes me a little bummed as this trip will be our first time staying in Jambo. I really wish they’d reopen Boma. Or Jiko. Or both. Gah. They are both so wonderful.
my kids’ view? No, both super fun. Jambo uzima somewhat more Epic, but who cares. adult perspective: jambo is more spread and impressive, but thus harder to manage littles
its less which lodge and more which savanna. at Jambo, Arusha. At Kidani, Sunset. in truth, don’t stress. any savanna view is great for littles. my ranking is Jambo Arusha, then Kidani sunset, but all are joyful and fun
Maybe Mara will even have longer hours by then? (DS16 made a sport of how fast he could run from the room and return with filled mugs at BC last year.)