Question re Animal Kingdom

Bertiebear · 15 Feb 18, 12:39 PM

I’m possibly thinking of renting points for first nights stay rather than booking a normal room through Disney as it’s far cheaper. AK is our first park day before moving to villa. My question is do you check in a seperate part form hotel? Are there two areas for villas? When looking at points guide on here are any of the studios etc able to view the animals? What about buying food etc when we arrive? Will we have to go to the main building? Sorry for all the questions

**Mexy02** · 15 Feb 18, 01:02 PM

We rented and you go to the normal check in desk . We rented a 1 bed villa in jambo ( I do here again ...fabulous ) and they are down a corridor same as the other rooms so not separate. It has its own kitchen. You can see the animals from anywhere in ak so a savannah view isn’t essential at all. We couldn’t get a value room so plumped for the 1 bed as it was all that was available and there were 5 of us. You can eat at Victoria falls , boma, Jiko , Mara ( quick service grab and go or sit and eat by the pool ) or saana. The shop also sells food like pizza etc .or you can pop on the 192 which is about 10mins drive max . They are all within the resort and easy to find . It’s a beautiful resort and feels like paradise .

Bertiebear · 15 Feb 18, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by Mexy02

We rented and you go to the normal check in desk . We rented a 1 bed villa in jambo ( I do here again ...fabulous ) and they are down a corridor same as the other rooms so not separate. It has its own kitchen. You can see the animals from anywhere in ak so a savannah view isn’t essential at all. We couldn’t get a value room so plumped for the 1 bed as it was all that was available and there were 5 of us. You can eat at Victoria falls , boma, Jiko , Mara ( quick service grab and go or sit and eat by the pool ) or saana. The shop also sells food like pizza etc .or you can pop on the 192 which is about 10mins drive max . They are all within the resort and easy to find . It’s a beautiful resort and feels like paradise .

Oh wow thank you! Looks amazing.

YorkshireT · 15 Feb 18, 02:10 PM

1) Davids say they wont normally rent points for one night, but people do report if you contact them they are flexible. If not you may have to go with another agent.
2) DVC areas are in 2 areas in AK. The first is in the main hotel, Jambo House, where they converted some hotel rooms to villas. This is where Mexy above ended up stopping. The second area is only DVC called Kidani Village. That is next door. That has its own lobby (a shrunken version of the main lobby) and check in. Both areas are very nice, I am staying in Kidani.
3) If you book a standard studio, you have more chance of seeing animals from the room at Jambo than Kidani, because some Kidani rooms are on the back of the resort. I would personally not be overly concerned with this for 1 night- you will arrive in the evening when it is or will soon be getting dark, and you have to check out by 11.
Jambo v Kindani- Jambo is busier, more in the lobby and more restaurants. For 1 beds and up Kidani has much bigger rooms with 2 bathrooms. Kidani has the better pool. Both are great you will not be disappointed with either if you stay there.
Re availability if you are after a studio, Jambo has no standard studios for 9/8, just Savannah at 19 points. Kidani Savannah are the same, standard are 16 points so would save you about $50.

Bertiebear · 15 Feb 18, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

1) Davids say they wont normally rent points for one night, but people do report if you contact them they are flexible. If not you may have to go with another agent.
2) DVC areas are in 2 areas in AK. The first is in the main hotel, Jambo House, where they converted some hotel rooms to villas. This is where Mexy above ended up stopping. The second area is only DVC called Kidani Village. That is next door. That has its own lobby (a shrunken version of the main lobby) and check in. Both areas are very nice, I am staying in Kidani.
3) If you book a standard studio, you have more chance of seeing animals from the room at Jambo than Kidani, because some Kidani rooms are on the back of the resort. I would personally not be overly concerned with this for 1 night- you will arrive in the evening when it is or will soon be getting dark, and you have to check out by 11.
Jambo v Kindani- Jambo is busier, more in the lobby and more restaurants. For 1 beds and up Kidani has much bigger rooms with 2 bathrooms. Kidani has the better pool. Both are great you will not be disappointed with either if you stay there.
Re availability if you are after a studio, Jambo has no standard studios for 9/8, just Savannah at 19 points. Kidani Savannah are the same, standard are 16 points so would save you about $50.

Lovely than you

**Mexy02** · 15 Feb 18, 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by Bertiebear

Oh wow thank you! Looks amazing.

It truly was, I rented off a dibber and they helped me plan the room etc .went through pros and cons of both jambo and kidani and as it was a surprise for my eldest we decided jambo had the bigger wow factor . It certainly blew us all away. Good luck whatever you decide