Wish they would open Mara - right now there are no "American" style food offerings at that resort at all! Going in December with large group and looks like we will have to go off site for every meal or cook a lot!
We just got back last night from a 10 day stay at Kidani, which we were very happy with, but I am SO glad we didn't stay at Jambo House this time. I thought I'd run over there to visit their larger Gift Shop/General Store, and it had a sign saying that it was closed and people should just visit the shop at Kidani.
Also, with NO restaurants open at Jambo it is very inconvenient. Sanaa is a fine restaurant, and I like it a lot (except for their Disney breakfasts), but it just isn't enough by itself. At least it is AT Kidani, so we had something available. We scheduled some takeout, and yes, you DO need to go on the app and preschedule takeout.
We love the Mara, Boma and Jiko, and being at Jambo without having them available would really be bothersome to me.
But this trip was the least we have ever used restaurants and the least money we have ever spent on restaurants at DW. Normally, I budget about $100 per person, per day for food at DW. (And, let's face it, if often costs more.) By the time you do one dinner, for around $50 (more or less, including tip) plus a breakfast at $25 and lunch at $30, it gets expensive. But we had a 2 bedroom at Kidani and I finally figured out the correct kind, and amount, of groceries to order. The end result was that of the 8 people in our room, TWO of us went out for breakfast one day. And we ordered Pizza one night from Giordanos. We also had 1 evening meal at Il Mulino, over at the Swan and Dolphin, but that was it.
Most breakfasts and dinners, and some lunches we just did in our room, and I really came to appreciate having a full kitchen. Besides, truthfully, getting some frozen waffles, breakfast sandwiches, eggs, bread, condiments and various TV Dinners for lunch and dinner, is actually much more delicious than a lot of offerings from Disney breakfast restaurants and fast food restaurants. I can't stand the cheap, crummy, flavorless breakfasts that you get at most Disney places (Rivera is an exception, as are Character Breakfasts - which they didn't have). I think most Disney breakfasts are not even as good as breakfast at Denny's.
Sorry about the rant. We did enjoy the stay, but I am not recommending Jambo house until they open their restaurants.
