Reviews of Animal Kingdom Lodge JAMBO House (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our favorite Disney gem. Amazing restaurants (especially for a vegan family like us), beautiful scenery, comfortable rooms, and at a good price (for Disney).
Pros:
Where else can you watch a zebra play while having your coffee?Cons:
Rooms dimly lit. A bit of a hike to dining options from some rooms.Reviewed by lizzie1974 Review Date: 02/12/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
Overall, we love AKL, both Jambo and Kidani.
On this trip though, we had to wait until 7 o'clock for a room to be ready. The CM who ultimately took care of us was very professional. We were given 3 extra fast passes for the next day, which turned out to be very important. It was a really busy day at Magic Kingdom.
I'll never know what room we were supposed to get because there was a mechanical issue (thus the reason for the late check in). We ended up in 5356, Kudu trail. This is very far from the lobby. Laundry for DVC is on the 4th floor, on the other side of the lobby. So, that was a hike.
I really wish they had some alternate exits (say at the end of those super long hallways) so we could access the parking lot faster, rather than going all the way through the lobby.
The biggest thing with the room was the condition of the pullout sofa. This thing has had it's day. Happily, I have a child who doesn't complain! She slept on it ok, but I thought we were going to break it pulling it out and putting it away!
The mara was excellent. Victoria Falls lounge was great.
It's tough to beat this resort but it needs a little TLC.
Pros:
Beautiful hotel. rooms were very quietCons:
room needs a refurbReviewed by senseicj Review Date: 08/17/2017
Rating: (8) Recommended
This is an amazing hotel. The restaurants including the counter service are delicious and can accommodate any palate. The views of the animals are amazing and I love the story time around the fire pit. Last time we were there a cast member gave my son a shark tooth which he has since put on a necklace and will remember that forever.
Pros:
The views and amenities are incredibleCons:
too far from the rest of WDWReviewed by allec999 Review Date: 07/07/2017
Rating: (8) Recommended
Stayed here for a couple nights in late June, in a studio with a Savannah view. At first, I was not at all pleased when I looked out the balcony to a view of another building maybe 100 feet away. Not exactly the view of animals I was hoping for. I was proven wrong the next morning, by a giraffe, a zebra, and a few other animals lounging around directly below our room. Great resort overall.
Pros:
ViewCons:
NoneReviewed by nrymut Review Date: 03/31/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed in a one bedroom villa the beginning of March. The room had a savanna view. The villas here are smaller than the one bedroom villas at Kidani Village, but the room was fine for just the two of us. The refurbishment here was not as modernized as in some other villas. Sheer curtains were plain and the animal motif was gone. Animal print carpet was replaced with plain carpet. But the lighter paint on the walls really brightened it up and the African decorations are still there. Bed was very comfortable. Love the duvet instead of a full spread. Cast members all friendly and helpful.
Pros:
Room, more peaceful than some resortsCons:
Some of the Disney touches gone after refurbishmentReviewed by clayalex02 Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
Our stay did not start out to well. We had a not so great cast member checking us in. We had two rooms that I had cross referenced requesting that they be adjacent or adjoining. I realize that the cast member was not in charge of the room blocks but the way she handled it was not in the typical Disney style. We eventually got two adjoining rooms at the very end of the hotel, an extremely long walk each day especially for our 75 yr old mother. While it was a savannah view it was not a great one. Animals were only there during the early morning hours and when they were taken to the barn. The rooms were lovely, smaller than the contemporary but fine for us. We did enjoy the pool and the food court. The buses were inconsistent one day running smoothly the next we waited and waited. Our mugs were stolen at the pool one day and the cast member in Mara replaced them with no issues. We did enjoy our stay but would not rate this as a must return.
Pros:
beautiful surroundingsCons:
check inReviewed by Angelakc6yit Review Date: 05/27/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
Trip timeframe (Mid May). 4 nites at Jambo , room on Kudu trail , floor 5 and boy was the view to die for. Had tons of giraffe, zebra, gazelle and others basically all times of the day . Odd # rooms seem to have a better view of savannah though no guarantee of course:
Room: Very elegant , roomy, well taken care of . Had full kitchen (1 BR) but totally didn't need it .
Restaurants: Boma , Boma, Boma. Did I say Boma? We did the breakfast and I don't care what you like or don't like, there is something for you to eat. Pastries and bread pudding are to die for and for like $20 or so, you can't beat it. A quick serve meal is $10 at Mara . While Mara is okay, found there could be a few more cooked options to choose from but the African stew again to DIE FOR! Flatbread not too shabby either.
Walk to and from rooms is hit and miss. Sometimes it seems a bit far but oh so worth it.
Busses: ONLY issue we had was to Hollywood Studios both times - not sure if that was a coincidence or not. But even so, no longer than like 15 minutes. All others were 2-10 minutes MAX
Our home DVC resort and we keep saying we'll try somewhere else - never happens as there is just too much to love about this place
Pros:
Basically EVERYTHINGCons:
NoneReviewed by disneymom35 Review Date: 11/17/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
I love Jambo House. It isn't even my home resort, but as soon as I walk through the doors I feel like I'm at home. I've always had nothing but good interactions with all the staff there. The pool area could use a little improvement. It's just so small and loses sun so early. Bus service was great except when going to MK.
Pros:
Friendly staff, great themingCons:
MK bussesReviewed by tinkmama60 Review Date: 10/12/2015
Rating: (9) Recommended
We always love staying at the AKL. Resort is beautiful, clean, and great cast members. The only negative was that the room had an odor of mildew that never really went away. We were only staying a few days, so we didn't complain. It would not keep us from staying there again.
Pros:
Beautiful ResortCons:
Room smelled mildewyReviewed by purplestarlisa Review Date: 12/15/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed for 7 nights in a deluxe studio villa with a savannah view. The resort is themed beautifully. The lobby is breath taking. Our room was comfortable. The lighting in the resort is very dim so putting eye make up on was a challenge! I think the lighting added to the ambience of the resort, though.
We have avoided staying here out of fear for how long it would take to get to the parks via the Disney bus system. We were very pleasantly surprised at how efficient the buses were. We never waited very long, and the furthest park was at most a 20 minute bus trip.
The Mara (the quick service restaurant on site) was excellent, although a very long walk to our room if we wanted to bring food back.
The staff were friendly.
All in all, we had an excellent stay at AKL Jambo House!
