Resorts Gal Routes: How to Get Between Jambo House and Kidani Village

Staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is a treat. We rank the hotel as our top choice for deluxe resorts at Disney World. But many don’t realize that the resort comprises two entirely separate areas, Jambo House and Kidani Village. Jambo House is the main portion of the resort that’s home to the “lodge” with its incredible lobby. From the moment you enter the resort, you’ll feel like you’ve entered a magical realm unlike anywhere else you’ve visited.

Kidani Village is a completely separate hotel that sits on the same property. It is a sizable resort with a breathtaking yet boutique lobby. Both hotels are pretty spectacular. But there’s one catch. If you’re staying at Kidani Village, you’ll likely want to visit Jambo House for most of your dining. Likewise, if you’re staying at Jambo House, you’ll probably want to visit Kidani Village to dine at Sanaa, or if you have small children, you might enjoy spending time at the Samawati Springs Pool. Children enjoy the aquatic playground near the pool. (It’s pretty cool.)

So, how do you get between Kidani Village and Jambo House? The answer: You can walk or take the resort shuttle! On our last stay, we did just that! I took a few photos and measured the details to share with you along the way.

Here is a photo of a map posted at Kidani Village. It shows both the resorts’ sizes and their unique horseshoe footprints, which allow opportune viewing areas of the animals on the savanna.

Jambo House and Kidani Village Resort Shuttle

First, we’ll discuss the simple and often quickest way to get between Jambo House and Kidani Village: the resort shuttle. In the photo below, you’ll see the white shuttle van sitting outside the entrance of Kidani Village. This shuttle runs approximately every 15 minutes between the resorts. It’s a quick five-minute drive to the lobby, and the driver usually plays some fun Disney tunes.

You do not need to walk to the bus stop for the shuttle. It picks up and drops guests off under the covered walkway near the lobby entrance.

The Walkway Between Kidani Village and Jambo House

You can also walk between Kidani Village and Jambo House. It’s a simple walk that takes approximately 10 minutes from start to finish. You do have to cross a small intersection in the parking lot and another internal resort intersection. However, this is not a high-traffic area.

We’ll take a photograph walk from Kidani to Jambo House. When you exit the resort lobby, you’ll take an immediate left and walk to the resort’s bus station. The sidewalk extends past the bus stop, and you’ll continue in that direction. You’ll see directionals along the way. From Kidani Village, you’re headed to Jambo House, and vice-versa from Jambo House.

You’ll soon reach the area shown in the photo below. If you’re interested, you can take a right here to access some of the resort’s little-known amenities, such as tennis courts, basketball courts, shuffleboard, and a barbecue area. For our venture, we’ll stay slightly left to continue to Jambo House.

This is where you cross the parking lot. In the photo below, you take the crosswalk and then take a right in front of the parking deck entrance. If your room is near the parking deck, you can take an elevator down to the lower level and join the walkway.

As you continue, you’ll see signs assuring you’re going in the right direction.

Before you reach Jambo House, you’ll cross one more intersection. This is a private area in the resort where service trucks deliver goods.

A few minutes later, the sidewalk will make a hard left turn at Jambo House.

Jambo everyone! That’s the Swahili welcome you’ll receive when you reach the resort.

This beautiful lobby will soon greet you. If you’re visiting for dining or the pool at Jambo House, stairs and elevators are available on the right side of the lobby. You will take them down to the resort’s lower level, where all the dining options (and the pool) are conveniently located.

If you’re leaving Jambo House for Kidani Village, you’ll take a right when you exit the Jambo House lobby and follow the same 10-minute path to Kidani. If you’re headed to the pool at Kidani Village, you’ll continue straight past the Kidani lobby entrance. The walkway continues to the pool area, which is on the left side of the resort. If you’re visiting Sanaa, you’ll enter the lobby. Stairs at the back of the lobby lead directly to Sanaa. Or, if you need to take an elevator, you can take the hallway at the back of the lobby to the right, and you’ll run into an elevator on the left.

For more information on Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, you might enjoy a detailed account of our last stay in our review of Jambo House. We have a separate review of Kidani Village, which is our go-to resort when the weather gets bad in the area (think hurricane forecast). We also have a dining guide for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge that discusses where you might want to eat during your stay. But our most important article for the hotel is our Animal Kingdom Lodge transportation guide. It shares our practiced tips for how to get to and from the resort to other popular destinations on the property.

Here are a few other quick tips for getting around Walt Disney World:

• Walking from Hollywood Studios to Epcot (Via the Boardwalk)
• How to Get to Disney Springs (via the Congress Park bus stop from Saratoga)
• How to Get to Hoop Dee Doo Revue (Every Way)
• How to Get to ‘Ohana (with Resort Transfers)

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Did you find this tip helpful? Have you ever stayed at either resort and wondered how to get around? What other questions do you have about getting around Walt Disney World? We love to hear your responses and are happy to answer questions based on our experiences.