Animal Kingdom Jambo House and Kidani Village
By: Sari PalmeriThis past November our family of 4 embarked on one of our most fun and memorable adventures ever. For the first time we had the pleasure of staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Resorts. We spent 6 great nights evenly split between Jambo House and Kidani Village. At Jambo House we stayed in a 1 bedroom villa in a “standard” view, but it was a partial savanna view and we did get to see animals each day. At Kidani Village we stayed in a 2-bedroom villa and although we were booked in a standard view, we were upgraded to a savanna view along the Zebra Trail. Both rooms were exactly what we’ve come to expect from Disney; clean, nicely appointed and both had that home away from home feel.
Our 2 boys, ages 6 and 4, loved Disney’s Animal Kingdom Resorts. They really took advantage of all they have to offer, including the pools, bead activities and drumming with the great staff at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Oh, and they liked the animals too. In fact, our whole family was completely enthralled with waking up each morning to giraffes, zebras and too many other animals to mention. Perhaps the most memorable part of our entire trip was how our 4 year old would check off all the different animals he’d seen on his “schedule”. That’s the name he gave to the list that they have in the rooms which shows a picture and a description of each animal on the savanna. He would go out on the balcony and if he saw an animal he hadn’t seen before he would get so excited and say, “I have to get my schedule!” He would then run into the room to grab his “schedule” and a pen so he could lie on the floor of the balcony to mark it off.
Each day they have bead activities at both resorts. You can do as many or as few as you like and for each activity that is completed you earn a bead. If you complete all of the activities you get an extra bead. My boys loved participating in the bead activities and even asked to not go to the parks because they wanted to do more of them. The different activities included things like learning about different parts of Africa, learning what pelicans and flamingos eat, preparing food for the animals on the savanna, learning how to track animals and so much more. I took my children out of school for this vacation (which for us is an unexcused absence) and they learned things that they wouldn’t have learned while in school. My boys are still talking about all of it.
One afternoon while we were looking at some of the animals near the pool, one of the Cast Members asked us if we were busy or had some time. Of course, I immediately said we had time! She brought the 4 of us in through a locked gate and we had the good fortune to help feed the warthogs. My kids will never forget that!
At first, we weren’t sure if we were going to like this property, but we absolutely loved it and can’t wait to stay there again. There was so much to do at each resort and seeing all the different animals throughout the day and night was so enjoyable. If you have any questions about either of the Animal Kingdom Resorts feel free to contact me. I’d be glad to answer your questions.