Just back from kidani opening

[mickeyworld]

I a mjust back from a quick weekend at Kidani for the grand opening. I will file a trip report tomorrow but here are the few things I wanted to mention right away.
Remember, there is no breakfast available without a LONG walk or a bus ride. Many people were quite upset wih little ones their forst morning there and nowhere to eat.

The pool is better than all of your dreams. The salads and sandwiches at the bar are not on DDP but tasty.

Giraffes and ostriches, oh my!

It is quieter and smaller than Jambo house(like I expected) and the service is fabulous!!!

I have learned that I like a big lobby and many food options, so Jambo HOuse is for me.... but staying at Kidani was wonderful!:cheer2:

Feel free to ask questions....

[whitfamily]

Thanks for the report! We just bought in to AKV and had concerns about the lack of CS at Kidani. We are staying in the Jambo 1bdrm Value in October and were wondering if the one bathroom has access from both the main room and bedroom?

[corvair]

thanks for the reveiw...how did you think the busses were? Also...what do u think in your opinion would be a good location....if you were at the very end of the hall, is the lobby far away..and how far would the pool be? I am checking in may 17th...i was hoping maybe close to the lobby so the pool would be convienient...what do u think..

I guess I will have to pack my own coffee and hoping there is like a box of donuts in the store...

thanks..amy

[Doug7856]

With regard to breakfast, feedback is important. When SSR opened there was no sit down downing, now there is because of member feedback.

[mickeyworld]

There are bagged donuts in the
merchandise shop at Kidani. There are coffee pots and coffee in the room. My advise if you have a car, stop at a store and get stuff for breakfast!
The busses seemed fine, I was mosstly laying by the pool or watching giraffes but heard no complaints.
I agree about customer feedback... counter service is really needed, or at least serve breakfast somewhere!
The halls were not That long. I requested near an elevator.. explain the walking probblem and they were very nice.

[Mr. Disney 652]

Just got back also. Bus service to and from is similar to other resorts. To get from Jambo to Kidani take the Downtown Disney bus (it runs backwards than the others). To get from Kidani to Jambo take any of the other busses...it works great!

[4 Little Bears]

Thanks for the update about Kidani. I love everything about Jambo house and would choose to stay there also when we visit.

[christa112]

Thanks for the info. :thumbsup2

How far is Kadani from Jambo by foot? Is the walk ridiculous?

[psimon]

The pictures suggest it is can be a long walk from the lobby to the end of the wings.... is it? Are elevators only in the center or throughout the wings?


Thanks...


---Paul in Southern NJ

[mickeyworld]

The walk to the room I was in wasn't as long as the one I had in Jambo.. there are elevators in the hallways, not just lobby. It jusst depends where your room is. Be sure to request close to the lobby if it is a concern.

[TSMIII]

I a mjust back from a quick weekend at Kidani for the grand opening. I will file a trip report tomorrow but here are the few things I wanted to mention right away.
Remember, there is no breakfast available without a LONG walk or a bus ride. Many people were quite upset wih little ones their forst morning there and nowhere to eat.
The pool is better than all of your dreams. The salads and sandwiches at the bar are not on DDP but tasty.

Giraffes and ostriches, oh my!

It is quieter and smaller than Jambo house(like I expected) and the service is fabulous!!!

I have learned that I like a big lobby and many food options, so Jambo HOuse is for me.... but staying at Kidani was wonderful!:cheer2:

Feel free to ask questions....

It will take a while, but people need to come to the understanding, and maybe Disney needs to emphasize it more, that Kidani is not like the Jambo side of AKV which inhabits part of a full service hotel with all of its amenities.

When thinking of Kidani Village, I will be expecting more along the lines of OKW, or the soon to open THV at SSR - if you want breakfast, and aren't going to prepare it yourself in your room, then you're going to have a little bit of travel to do to get it. And the same thing will apply if you want a CS option.

[mickeyworld]

I totally agree about the communication part. For those of us who bought AKV as our first home location, I can't compare it to other locations because I have never been there. If the plan is to not have a place to buy breakfast, just let guests know. Then a person can make their own decision....

[Crisgw]

Thanks for the report! I'm so excited :cool1::cool1:

[christa112]

We are planning on having breakfast in our room to save time & money, which works great for us and then we can be on our way to the parks without having to walk and wait in lines at the cafeteria.

[ekball]

We are planning on having breakfast in our room to save time & money, which works great for us and then we can be on our way to the parks without having to walk and wait in lines at the cafeteria.

Yes, this works. Also - planning ahead when you are at Mara or other CS locations.....we would spend a few snack credits (bagels, fruit, etc.) to have for the next morning. On Sunday we went to DTD for Earl of Sandwich and ordered 2 sandwiches each - one for Sunday, one for lunch on Monday. It just took a little planning ahead to keep us from going hungry. Is it ideal - no. But you can make it work.

[Robo-Daddy 3000]

We are planning on having breakfast in our room to save time & money, which works great for us and then we can be on our way to the parks without having to walk and wait in lines at the cafeteria.

Thats the way we do mornings too. Having breakfast in our room is the perfect way to start our day. :thumbsup2 S

Since joining DVC, breakfast has always been in the room (well, except for that one morning when we did the Sunrise Safari!).

[La2kw]

It will take a while, but people need to come to the understanding, and maybe Disney needs to emphasize it more, that Kidani is not like the Jambo side of AKV which inhabits part of a full service hotel with all of its amenities.

When thinking of Kidani Village, I will be expecting more along the lines of OKW, or the soon to open THV at SSR - if you want breakfast, and aren't going to prepare it yourself in your room, then you're going to have a little bit of travel to do to get it. And the same thing will apply if you want a CS option.

Dining at OKW is not as far away from your room as that of THV or Kidani. Many rooms at OKW are within steps of Good's to Go and Olivia's, which both serve breakfast.

[TSMIII]

Dining at OKW is not as far away from your room as that of THV or Kidani. Many rooms at OKW are within steps of Good's to Go and Olivia's, which both serve breakfast.

While it's true some are, and these would equate to AKV Jambo, many also are not.

We've stayed in two different villas at OKW before, both along Old Turtle Pond Road, and these are definitely not within close proximity of Olivia's or GTG. Likewise for those villas on South Point Road and the upper end of Miller's Road.

[bobbiwoz]

Can you buy a box of cereal, bananas and milk in the little store in Kidani? We only have 1 night...11 people, just want something in the room for breakfast in the morning. We're coming from a cruise, so not going grocery shopping, and we have dinner reservations for the night before, so just wondering if we could "do" breakfast in the rooms easily. I know the famiy justs wants to hang around in Kidani until the ME bus picks them up in the PM...they have late flights, we go out around noon. I see that you said the sandwiches in the bar are tasty, so that should tide them over until they get to the airport, IF we can get the cereal for breakfast.
Bobbi:goodvibes

[ekball]

Can you buy a box of cereal, bananas and milk in the little store in Kidani? We only have 1 night...11 people, just want something in the room for breakfast in the morning. We're coming from a cruise, so not going grocery shopping, and we have dinner reservations for the night before, so just wondering if we could "do" breakfast in the rooms easily. I know the famiy justs wants to hang around in Kidani until the ME bus picks them up in the PM...they have late flights, we go out around noon. I see that you said the sandwiches in the bar are tasty, so that should tide them over until they get to the airport, IF we can get the cereal for breakfast.
Bobbi:goodvibes

Yes, you can. Plenty of cereal options (all sizes - large boxes, single serving bowls, and a pack of multiple small boxes), milk, oatmeal, donuts, danish, etc. You'll find plenty to get you through one breakfast at Kidani. :thumbsup2

[Lexxiefern]

Thanks for the review! Can't wait to try out the pool! How was the slide?

[bobbiwoz]

:thumbsup2Thanks for the reply about breakfast stuff!

Bobbi:goodvibes

[La2kw]

While it's true some are, and these would equate to AKV Jambo, many also are not.

But we were referring to Kidani, not Jambo. You have to either take a bus or walk a distance (possibly up to a mile) to get to breakfast if you are staying at Kidani.

We've stayed in two different villas at OKW before, both along Old Turtle Pond Road, and these are definitely not within close proximity of Olivia's or GTG. Likewise for those villas on South Point Road and the upper end of Miller's Road.

I've stayed at about 15 different villas at Turtle Pond (our favorite area) as well as multiple times at South Point. Those units are defnitely a walk (or bus ride) to Hospitality House for dining. However, OKW has a booking category which will guarantee a location within steps of Hospitality House. Kidani has no such booking category, so that means the analogy of Kidani or THV being similar to OKW in respect to dining is not completely accurate.

[jblrn2b]

Thanks for all the information. I am so excited to see it! Since we are not too big on breakfast, we will probably just eat in the room also. If we have breakfast we are usually doing a character one anyway.

[LisaS]

Thanks for the info. :thumbsup2

How far is Kadani from Jambo by foot? Is the walk ridiculous?We walked it several times. Lobby to lobby took about 7 minutes at our fastest pace, 10 minutes when we strolled (and stopped once or twice to take a few photos).

If your room is in the south wing of Kidani, the walk will be shorter. There are two elevators in the south wing that go all the way down to the under-building parking area. From there you can join the path to Jambo House. If you were in the south wing near the Zazu elevator for example, you could be at Jambo's lobby in 5 minutes or less. The walk from that part of the south wing to the Kidani lobby would be about the same or slightly less -- 3 or 4 minutes. It took me 5 minutes to walk from the Kidani lobby to the very end of the south wing of Kidani.

We did see a man and two little kids returning to Kidani from Jambo via the "Cast Members Only" area (the delivery area in between Kidani and Jambo) and no one stopped them. There is a door at the very end of Kidani and some stairs going up to all floors but no elevator at that end. If they continue to allow guests to use that entrance, those at the very end of Kidani will have a very short walk to Jambo and back provided they are OK with using the stairs instead of an elevator.

[mybabesuz]

I was wondering if all the play areas are WET?
We are going in December with a 3 and 4 yo.
I am a little concerned that the play areas all look wet.
You know kids and water...:rolleyes:
The kids really love the playground at Jambo.
It might get a little chilly in Dec.
I am thinking about switching to Jambo...:confused3
I just can't decide...
We will be eating at Boma a lot too.
But Kidani is new...
But we love Jambo already...