Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House

Overview

With its incredible savannas that are home to over 200 animals and its extensive African art collection, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas is one of the best places to stay for a resort-only vacation. Animal Kingdom Villas consists of villas located at Jambo House as well as those at Kidani Village. DVC Members who own points at Animal Kingdom Villas have home resort advantage at both buildings. Jambo House has a mix of hotel rooms and DVC villas whereas Kidani Village only has DVC villas. Guests can easily travel between the two buildings via a walking path or resort shuttle. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas opened in 2007, and DVC contracts there end on January 31, 2057.

The villas were last refreshed in 2016 and are not scheduled for their next refurbishment yet.

What DVC Fans Have to Say about Jambo House

Pros

One of the most beautiful and most lushly themed DVCs. A true WDW original. Magnificent dining and endless activities. Authentic, original art, culture ambassadors. The most resort-like of all DVCs. Reasonable resale contract price and point chart. Lengthy expiration date. –Peter O.

Kilimanjaro Club, Value Rooms, Freakin’ Savanna, Boma for Zebra Domes and great soups. If you don’t own there, you should really add on some points for the first two reasons. –Troy J.

Great dining variety and choices, beautiful lobby, the people doing the animal carvings and extra crafts around the holidays. The different animal viewing opportunities. –Adam P.

Activities with the cultural reps. The drumming fills the lobby and makes you want to dance! –Debra C.

It’s one of the few larger than life, classic Disney World resorts. They don’t make resorts like this anymore. It’s a great location if you have a car –Jason R.

Cons

Only option for transportation is the bus and that is shared with Kidani. Sometimes the bus is almost full when it arrives. –Denise G.

No outdoor walking paths. I love resorts that I can wander around the beautifully landscaped grounds. To walk to Kidani and get to the sports courts, or Sanaa or Kidani pool is through the parking lot and on a street and not very picturesque. –Lori B.

Not pleasant for transport if you don’t have a car. Room decor and amenities feel lower tier for deluxe accommodations (Rooms don’t feel posh like GF [Grand Floridian] or Riv. [Riviera]) –Peter O.

Rooms are too dark, only buses, not all savannas are created equal, the bathroom/showers are not nearly as nice as other DVC resorts. –Dennis O.

The SV [Savanna View] rooms are higher up, giving you more of an expansive view of the savanna but also further away from the animals than say 2nd floor SV rooms at Kidani. –Kelly L.

Resort Map

Room Details

Room categories at Jambo House include Value Accommodations, Standard View, Savanna View, and Kilimanjaro Club Concierge. Value Accommodations are converted hotel rooms, so they are slightly smaller than the villas in the other categories. However, they make up for this with their very low point values, which make them hard to book. Standard View villas overlook the parking lots or pool, while Savanna View villas have a view of the Uzima Savanna, the Arusha Savanna, or the Sunset Savanna. With the Kilimanjaro Club Concierge villas, Jambo House is also the only DVC resort to offer club-level rooms. These villas have access to a lounge with complimentary food and beverages. The villas themselves have savanna or pool views. Like the Value Accommodations, the concierge ones are very difficult to book, even for those who own points at Animal Kingdom Villas. A map of the Jambo House villa numbers can be found on the DISboards.

Villa types at Jambo House include Deluxe Studios, One-Bedroom Villas, Two-Bedroom Villas, and Three-Bedroom Grand Villas. One-Bedroom Villas and larger have full size kitchens stocked with pots, pans, and kitchenware and washers/dryers. Detergent is provided. Deluxe Studios have kitchenettes with a microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, mini-fridge, and sink. They also have paper plates, bowls, towels, and cups as well as plastic cutlery and dishwashing liquid.

Deluxe Studios

At 316-365 square feet, Deluxe Studios accommodate up to 4 guests with a queen-size bed and a queen-size sleeper sofa, and they have 1 bathroom. Though there are 128 Deluxe Studios at Jambo House, they are typically the first rooms to book up.

One-Bedroom Villas

These 629-710-square-foot villas can accommodate up to 4 guests in the Value Accommodations or 5 guests in the other room categories. One-Bedroom Villas have a king-size bed and a queen-size sleeper sofa, and those that sleep up to 5 guests have a single sleeper chair. There is 1 bathroom. There are 82 One-Bedroom Villas at Jambo House, and they tend to have better availability than Deluxe Studios.

Two-Bedroom Villas

Jambo House does not have any dedicated Two-Bedroom Villas. This means that they are all lock-offs that consist of a One-Bedroom Villa and an adjoining Deluxe Studio. The 945-square foot Value Accommodations fit up to 8 guests with a king-size bed, a queen-size bed, a queen-size sleeper sofa, and a double-size sleeper sofa. The Two-Bedroom Villas in the other room categories are about 1,075 square feet and have a king-size bed, a queen-size bed, a queen-size sleeper sofa, and a double-size sleeper sofa plus an additional single sleeper chair to accommodate up to 9 guests. All of the Two-Bedroom Villas have 2 bathrooms.

There are about 82 Two-Bedroom Villas. Since the Two-Bedroom Villas partly consist of Deluxe Studios, the availability patterns for Two-Bedroom Villas follow those of Deluxe Studios.

Three-Bedroom Grand Villas

There are 6 Grand Villas at Jambo House. Each is about 2,349 square feet and can accommodate up to 12 guests with a king-size bed, 4 queen-size beds, and a queen-size sleeper sofa. There are 4 bathrooms. With so few Grand Villas available at Jambo House, availability is often limited at the 7-month mark and under.

Transportation Options

Magic Kingdom: Bus

Epcot: Bus

Hollywood Studios: Bus

Animal Kingdom: Bus

Disney Springs: Bus

Dining

Quick Service

The Mara (Breakfast platters, flatbreads, sandwiches, salads, and resort mug refills at Jambo House)

Casual Table Service

Boma – Flavors of Africa (Located at Jambo House, this buffet serves breakfast and dinner and has more than enough variety to satisfy adventurous and picky eaters alike.)
Sanaa (Located at Kidani Village, this savanna view restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fan favorites include the bread service and butter chicken.)

Signature

Jiko – The Cooking Place (Indulge in steak, chicken, seafood, and plant-based entrees with fragrant spices inspired by African, Indian, and Mediterranean cuisine and a variety of South African wines. You’ll find this fine dining establishment at Jambo House.)

Bars and Lounges

Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar (Located near Jiko, this bar specializes in wine from South Africa.)
Maji Pool Bar (At Kidani Village’s Samawati Springs Pool, this bar offers cocktails, beer, wine, sandwiches, salads, and snacks.)
Sanaa Lounge (Adjacent to Sanaa, this lounge serves cocktails, beer, and wine plus favorites from Sanaa like the bread service.)
Uzima Springs Pool Bar (At the Uzima Pool at Jambo House, this bar offers cocktails, beer, wine, sandwiches, salads, and snacks.)
Victoria Falls Lounge (Located at Jambo House near Boma and Jiko, the lounge serves cocktails, beer, wine, and light bites.)

Amenities

Pools

Samawati Springs Pool (This Kidani Village pool has a 128-foot waterslide, 2 whirlpool spas, and a water playground.)
Uzima Pool (This Jambo House pool located near the Uzima savanna has 2 whirlpool spas and a children’s wading pool.)

Shopping