A Week at AKV - Kidani Village - LOVED IT!

[eporter66]

Wow - I will keep this short as I plan to do a full trip report later. We just got back (2 hours ago :sad2:) from 6 days at AKV's Kidani Village. We absolutely loved the resort, our DD(5) was crazy for the animals.

Let me just say Disney nailed this one. What a great resort. We stayed in Rafiki building, a 1 bedroom Standard view (Room 7911). We had such a quiet room - and only people on one side (a studio). Top floor - close to the elevators. The elevators are incredibly fast, you dont wait long at all.

An amazing place, they did some great activities with the kids - our daughter danced with the staff on Wednesday night. At 8:15 they do a little thing in the lobby playing drums and just dancing around - she loved it.

BOMA was fantastic, I highly recommend it. We did not try the other restaurants at AKV (although I wanted to). With the one bedroom we try to have a few meals in the room to save a little, and of course our EPCOT days was all about the Food & Wine Fest. The Ancho ribs at BOMA are out of this world good!!!

I would be glad to answer any questions, but I have to say that AKV will be tops on our choices for coming vacations. Not sure why the points are cheaper than the others - but I sure hope it stays that way...we loved it.

If you have any questions - please send them along.

[rmonty02]

Great to hear you had such an awesome time:yay: I'm planning a vacation to WDW for Thanksgiving 2010. AKV is at the top of our list, but we'll have to see what's available at the 7 month mark:confused3. If you explored Jumbo, how did you like that vs. Kidani?

[SLM]

I'm so glad you had such a great stay-I think it's a wonderful resort. We found it really hard to leave the villa some days! :)

[bobbiwoz]

I'm glad you had such a great time! AKV is a lovely resort, both buildings!

Bobbi:goodvibes

[dizney4us]

Glad you had a nice trip. We are hoping to try the same thing in January 2011. :cool1:

[lsutigger2]

Thanks for the great report with all the positives. We have a reservation for May 15-21, 2010. We're excited to try out one of the new resorts.

For those that are interested and keep up with the data, I was able to get a 1-bdrm savanna view in Kidani exactly 7 months out. It was a breeze!

{We need some little zoo type animals smilies}

[purpliequeen]

Aw welcome home and thanks for the review. :)

[ACDSNY]

It's great to hear nice reports about AKV...15 more days and I'll get to see for myself. :thumbsup2

[Muhlenberg]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! We really liked it too...and as you said...what a great resort!

[eporter66]

Great to hear you had such an awesome time:yay: I'm planning a vacation to WDW for Thanksgiving 2010. AKV is at the top of our list, but we'll have to see what's available at the 7 month mark:confused3. If you explored Jumbo, how did you like that vs. Kidani?

Jambo house was very impressive. It reminded me of the main lobby for the Wilderness Lodge in layout, obviously the theming makes them each unique. The main pool at Jambo was very big, but we spent a day at the Kidani pool and it was not very crowded, that was more to our liking. You have more restaurant options at Jambo than at Kidani, and a bigger store for merchandise. Both have Savannah viewing, and a fire pit area where the guides will tell stories or just talk to you about the animals.

I did hear a few people complaining about the walk from Kidani to Jambo, but there is a nice walking path, probably 5-10 minutes to walk down. I did not mind that at all - I enjoy exploring the resort.

I just mapped out points for a 1 bedroom, same time for next year and the new points charts surprise me. BWV, AKV, and OKW are all very close in points (standard view for BWV & AKV). We might choose BWV's if they are open at 7 month for the F&W Fest, but I certainly would love going back to AKV if that is an option.

[fishermouse]

Glad you had a great time! We just got home at 2AM this morning- We had a 1 BR Savanna view room 7454. It was beautiful. We probably saw you at the pool- we were there on Tues afternoon, Wed morning and all day Friday. We loved it too and Sanaa was excellent. I will write a report too this week. A great stay and the CMs are fabulous there. AKV Kadani ROCKS!!!!

[Brave teacher]

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Kidani so much. It truly is fantastic. We did that walk to Jambo a few times in May/June. It is not too bad. I walked from our room near the lobby elevator to Mara and back one morning in less than 12 minutes. I was surprised it was so quick.

[disneynutz]

Wow - I will keep this short as I plan to do a full trip report later. We just got back (2 hours ago :sad2:) from 6 days at AKV's Kidani Village. We absolutely loved the resort, our DD(5) was crazy for the animals.

Let me just say Disney nailed this one. What a great resort. We stayed in Rafiki building, a 1 bedroom Standard view (Room 7911). We had such a quiet room - and only people on one side (a studio). Top floor - close to the elevators. The elevators are incredibly fast, you dont wait long at all.

An amazing place, they did some great activities with the kids - our daughter danced with the staff on Wednesday night. At 8:15 they do a little thing in the lobby playing drums and just dancing around - she loved it.

BOMA was fantastic, I highly recommend it. We did not try the other restaurants at AKV (although I wanted to). With the one bedroom we try to have a few meals in the room to save a little, and of course our EPCOT days was all about the Food & Wine Fest. The Ancho ribs at BOMA are out of this world good!!!

I would be glad to answer any questions, but I have to say that AKV will be tops on our choices for coming vacations. Not sure why the points are cheaper than the others - but I sure hope it stays that way...we loved it.

If you have any questions - please send them along.

Glad that you had a wonderful time. Looking forward to you full trip report. :goodvibes

:) Bill

[Cee]

Wonderful! We too love BOMA and hope to one day stay at this amazing resort.:thumbsup2

[farmergirl]

Glad to hear you had a great time but now I must say I am confused. :confused3 We always book top floor no matter where we stay but out last trip when we were on the top floor in Jambo the noise on the top floor from the A/C was terrible. It squeaked day and night so this trip we reserved 3rd floor. Now I am wondering if that was a mistake. :confused3

[fishermouse]

Glad to hear you had a great time but now I must say I am confused. :confused3 We always book top floor no matter where we stay but out last trip when we were on the top floor in Jambo the noise on the top floor from the A/C was terrible. It squeaked day and night so this trip we reserved 3rd floor. Now I am wondering if that was a mistake. :confused3

Just stayed on the third floor, view was great they say second is good here also, puts you a little closer. We really liked the 3rd high enough to see far but still close to animals. I'm sure you'll love it.

[farmergirl]

Just stayed on the third floor, view was great they say second is good here also, puts you a little closer. We really liked the 3rd high enough to see far but still close to animals. I'm sure you'll love it.

Thanks! We are here now and LOVE IT!!!! Can't get over how nice and quiet the resort is. It's great!

[JasonDVC]

Glad to hear the nice report from our home resort! We'll be there in April! Can't Wait! :thumbsup2

[CaptHomer]

We stayed one night on the 24th at Kidani in a studio savannah. The room was very nice. Being able to park underneath the hotel was nice. It made getting the bags to the car a lot easier than tramping through the lobby with them.

Depending on where your room is, it can be a long walk to your room from the lobby. The lobby is a huge let down compared to Jambo. There wasn't enough room in the lobby for all the people checking in. It was very crowded. I think the lobby in Jambo is the best lobby in WDW. Kidani would be at the bottom for me.

It is also a long walk to Jambo. They are doing construction on the bus stop now so you have to walk on the street some.

I booked a stay in a 2br savannah for Kidani next year but I might have to change it to Jambo. If it is someone's first time to stay at AKV, then I would suggest staying at Jambo to get the full AKV experience

Homer

[toniosmom]

I'm so excited to read that you enjoyed Kidani. We will be there in March for a week-long stay and plan to spend about half of our week not going to the parks. It's going to be our first trip where we don't leave the resort fo ra few days and I'm really looking forward to it. I think my son (who will be 5 by then) is really going to love seeing the animals whenever he wants to.

[christa112]

Thanks for the review. :thumbsup2 I can't wait for our 1st DVC trip in Jan!!!

[BUDDYBEAR]

we love kidani village

[rigsby25]

We loved Kidani Village also. We bought 100 pts. there as an add on and when we stayed at Jambo house we were a little disappointed. We weren't able to book a savannah view though. But the room (1br) just seemed small and cramped. The 1 br at Kidani had that extra bathroom and that was fantastic. I still don't know why the bathrooms are so large. I think they should have made the bathrooms a bit smaller and the kitchens wider. Any way - Jambo just had an "island" I think, whereas Kidani had the whole counter thing. I never noticed this before, so it may be just at Kidani, but the covers on the bed fit like a box top on a box. It was SO easy to make the bed in the morning. Our first night we tried to go to Sanaa, but they didn't have any seating, and we were really tired and hungry, so we went to Mara. Actually - we didn't like the selection there too much but what can you do? The next day we went grocery shopping, so we didn't worry about counter service.

[bfosbenner]

How do you get from Jambo house to the Animal Kingdom?

[Silver Queen]

There is regular bus service from both Jambo House and Kidani to all of the parks and Downtown Disney.

[eporter66]

I'm so excited to read that you enjoyed Kidani. We will be there in March for a week-long stay and plan to spend about half of our week not going to the parks. It's going to be our first trip where we don't leave the resort fo ra few days and I'm really looking forward to it. I think my son (who will be 5 by then) is really going to love seeing the animals whenever he wants to.

We really enjoyed just having a day and a half just to spend at the resort swimming, exploring and relaxing. We liked it so much, that we plan to add an extra day to our trip next year for the same reason :goodvibes

Our daughter loved it (she is 5) and I am sure your son will too. There are some nice viewing areas at Kidani to see the animals, and the CM's were very attentive to the kids.

[mickeys girl 52]

[QUOTE Our first night we tried to go to Sanaa, but they didn't have any seating, and we were really tired and hungry, so we went to Mara. Actually - we didn't like the selection there too much but what can you do? The next day we went grocery shopping, so we didn't worry about counter service.[/QUOTE]

I am staying at Jambo for a couple nights with my grandkids before our cruise in Maerch. They are such fussy eaters. :confused3 Can you get burgers, fries, chicken at Mara or are there just traditional "African" foods? Thanks

[bobrex]

[QUOTE=mickeys girl 52;34244045
I am staying at Jambo for a couple nights with my grandkids before our cruise in Maerch. They are such fussy eaters. :confused3 Can you get burgers, fries, chicken at Mara or are there just traditional "African" foods? Thanks[/QUOTE]

Mara serves traditional counter service food. So burgers and chicken are on the menu. I think allears.net has a menu for Mara.

[DenLo]

[QUOTE Our first night we tried to go to Sanaa, but they didn't have any seating, and we were really tired and hungry, so we went to Mara. Actually - we didn't like the selection there too much but what can you do? The next day we went grocery shopping, so we didn't worry about counter service.

I am staying at Jambo for a couple nights with my grandkids before our cruise in Maerch. They are such fussy eaters. :confused3 Can you get burgers, fries, chicken at Mara or are there just traditional "African" foods? Thanks[/QUOTE]

They have a grill that serves hamburgers/cheeseburgers and for the kiddies they have the most of usual menu, no chicken tenders though:

Kids Picks - Ages 9 and under

Kids Burger with Apple Sauce $4.99
Rotisserie Chicken with Apple Sauce $6.49
Macaroni and Cheese with Apple Sauce $4.99
Pepperoni or Cheese Piza $4.99

If you like chocolate, they do have a great desert called Zebra Domes. My DH loves them. They are in the refrigerator section at Mara. Allears.net has the menu at Mara: http://allears.net/menu/menu_marald.htm

[lkenyon]

We just came back - I stayed in room 7358 (dedicated two bedroom) Savanna view for eight days. We were not impressed enough to ever go back. There was no Disney Magic in our opinion. The room was pretty, but not functional. The main lobby of the resort is a watered down low budget version of Jambo house. The animals were okay, but not enough to warrant the stay. There simply was not a wow factor. The pool was okay, but not better than Storm Along Bay or even the Polynesian pool. I guess we expected so much from the hype, but nothing we heard was accurate or spectacular - the pool is ot total zero entry as hyped, the parking is not underground at all - it does offer an overhang for part of the visitors, but the rest are out in the open. I wanted to like it so bad, but it just did not happen everything felt too remote - the accommodations as well as the hospitality. There were 14 of us (3 of us are DVC owners with multiple memberships), and all agreed that this was not what we thought it would be. I guess we are a fussy family... We all love Old Key West (the units at the back not up front).