2nd LIVE REPORT......Live from Kidani Village....sad to leave BCV but....AKV is .....

[RLRDA]

T Rex was packed..................our ressie was at 7:00 and the chaos of getting in was crazy. The line for people without ressies was veryyyyyyy long. Then the line for people with ressies was quite chaotic. It was not very organized. Once we got seated...all was well. The food was good, pricey but good. I have been twice now. We went for lunch in Nov. and we were there when it was not crowded. Everyone should try it once .......just to check it out. We had rain after dinnner not heavy but annoying. We did a little shopping and then got out before it got any worse. Tonight is our last night. The time went by very fast. My advice is to stay for at least 3 or 4 nights when visiting Kidani or Jambo. We hung out in the comfy/cozy room right off the observation deck. I love this room. There is a fireplace and some really neat furniture. I just love the atmosphere of AKL/AKV.
Tomorrow we fly home at 3:45. I am always sad when we leave but......it isn't as hard now to leave because we know that another DVC trip is around the corner in Dec. Plus it will be a new adventure for us. We have never been to HHI. Being a DVC member makes it even more exciting.

We have a 5:30pm ADR at T-Rex one night....hopefully it won't be too crazy at an earlier time slot. How long past your 7pm ressie did it take you to be seated? I agree - it's one of those restaurants we want to say we tried. Not sure if it'll become one of our favorites but we'll see!

My kids get very sad on the day we check out! I do too but I have to suck it up and stay positive so that they don't get even more upset. We only go once a year though so our trips aren't usually right around the corner

Have a safe trip home - thanks for taking the time out of your trip to share your thoughts with us.

 

[tmgandolph]

Loving your thread!
I am a new DVC owner (haven't even stayed at a DVC resort yet!)
We just bought at BLT.
You are staying at the places we would like to try- POLY, BCV, AKV.
See you are a Marylander too! Hailing from Hanover now.

Really looking forward to seeing some pics if you get a chance to post them.

 

[DeeCee735]

I'm there with my two cousins on an all girls trip!!! WOO HOO from Nov 8th thru the 11th. A quick trip, but my first stay at AKV Kidani Savannah View, their first stay in DVC at all!!!!

 

[Disney Princess]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I hope your family has safe travels home. I know the last day is sad, but you have the right attitude in looking forward to another trip.

 

[DenLo]

Before staying at AKL (haven't made to Kidani yet, we're newbies) one of our favorite attractions was the Safari ride at the Animal Kingdom Park. After our savanna view room, the ride seems so .....boring. We saw so many animals morning and evening, giraffes, zebras, wildebeasts, elands, East African cranes, Marabou storks all from our balcony and even from inside the room. It was interesting to see the animal interact with each other. One zebra was not happy that a herd of wildebeast came up on him from behind. He kept looking over his shoulder and when one wildebeast stepped too close--wham out went a hind leg in one swift kick. The wildebeast didn't cross into the danger zone after that. It was also fun to see a baby giraffe chasing an East African crane. We were dining at Sanaa and the waiters said they hadn't seen that before. Also the cranes didn't care that there was an electric fence, so they came in closer to the resort. They knew where the gaps were a little wider or once when one couldn't find a gap, the crane just jumped over the fence!

We really enjoyed staying there. Hopefully we'll enjoy staying at our home resort of BLT as much. Hope the rest of your stay is fantastic. Don't forget about the night viewing at the savanna just beyond the jacuzzi at Jamba House.

 

[Anal Annie]

I cannot believe you are on your way home already! WOW...I hate how fast vacations go! I am not going to say I told you so... But just WAIT until I get back from our trip and I rub in how great VB is (since you WERE orig. going to go there too and then didn't)!! I just KNOW we are going to love VB and are going to wish we'd done more than just 3 nights there!

T-Rex was packed whenever we went in May too...and it was STORMING so hard the water was over the tops of our ankles going in...the front ressie desk was a MESS then too. Could hardly get up there to check in...but our table was ready within about 5 min. so we were pleased with that. DS loved it.

I do not think we would like Kidani only bcuz of the lack of CS food. We DO like to grab stuff when we're out by the pool so that lack of anything to choose from would be a problem for me. I would not like that. The Mara always has such a good selection. OH, and you MUST try Boma for dinner the next time you go! OMG...breakfast is nothing compared to dinner!!

OK, report in when you get home & let us know how your trip home was!

 

[edk35]

Hah! No, that wasn't me. I would be too afraid of the antlers on some of the cattle and antelope to do any balcony-jumping! I was even afraid to run the clothes dryer because I was afraid lint would blow from the vent into the Savannah! Glad you had a good dinner at TRex. What room there did you eat in? Have you tried Sanaa yet? The bread service is so good, and thinking of that juicy burger on naan bread is making me very hungry right now.

I think we were in the "water room" It had the fish tanks and all the sea stuff on the walls. No we didn't eat at Sanna but our friends did and they too loved the bread. I loved AKV Kidani. I could just go there for a few days and never go to a park.

 

[edk35]

Okay let me recap HOW MUCH WE LOVED KIDANI VILLAGE. It was so beautiful and clean. The employees were so nice and helpful. The detail in the decor is just amazing. I could just walk around admiring the detail that went into this resort. It is unreal. I really felt like things "caught my attention" at this resort.....the small things that go unnoticed at other resorts. It is hard to describe, but once you stay here or at least visit.... you will understand.

I finally tried Zebra domes for the first time. They were really good. After we checked out yesterday....we went to Mara at AKL to eat and spend a little time with our friends before they drove back to MD. They were very yummy. Laurie brought some to the pool one day and I tried them. I expected them to have a coffee taste for some reason.... however they didn't. I just had to get them again before leaving Mara yesterday. I can see why people love these babies.

We had about 1 1/2 hours to kill after lunch before our driver picked us up...so we hung out at Kidani watching the zebras and giraffes. They have these really nice "comfy cozy" rooms (I called them) with these big windows and a door that goes out on the observation deck, so we just hung in there. I took so many pictures of the giraffes. I loved them. Next time we stay at Kidani...... we will stay at least 4 nights there. I will also splurge for a savanna view again. My request will always be lobby level (2nd floor) near lobby.

 

[edk35]

Loving your thread!
I am a new DVC owner (haven't even stayed at a DVC resort yet!)
We just bought at BLT.
You are staying at the places we would like to try- POLY, BCV, AKV.
See you are a Marylander too! Hailing from Hanover now.

Really looking forward to seeing some pics if you get a chance to post them.

WOW you are close to where we live in Severn. You must be close to the Arundel Mills Mall area then. We live close too.

 

[edk35]

Before staying at AKL (haven't made to Kidani yet, we're newbies) one of our favorite attractions was the Safari ride at the Animal Kingdom Park. After our savanna view room, the ride seems so .....boring. We saw so many animals morning and evening, giraffes, zebras, wildebeasts, elands, East African cranes, Marabou storks all from our balcony and even from inside the room. It was interesting to see the animal interact with each other. One zebra was not happy that a herd of wildebeast came up on him from behind. He kept looking over his shoulder and when one wildebeast stepped too close--wham out went a hind leg in one swift kick. The wildebeast didn't cross into the danger zone after that. It was also fun to see a baby giraffe chasing an East African crane. We were dining at Sanaa and the waiters said they hadn't seen that before. Also the cranes didn't care that there was an electric fence, so they came in closer to the resort. They knew where the gaps were a little wider or once when one couldn't find a gap, the crane just jumped over the fence!

We really enjoyed staying there. Hopefully we'll enjoy staying at our home resort of BLT as much. Hope the rest of your stay is fantastic. Don't forget about the night viewing at the savanna just beyond the jacuzzi at Jamba House.

I told my husband and friends how I enjoyed the AKL side too. I think the 2 bedrooms are smaller over there though. I just loved the size of the Kidani 2 br. I so enjoyed our stay. My only regret.....not staying 4 nights at Kidani instead of staying 2 at Poly at the start of our trip. We should have split with 5 at BCV (which we did stay 5 nights there) and 4 at Kidani. We all said we could stay at Kidani and not even hit a park. We loved it there.

 

[edk35]

I cannot believe you are on your way home already! WOW...I hate how fast vacations go! I am not going to say I told you so... But just WAIT until I get back from our trip and I rub in how great VB is (since you WERE orig. going to go there too and then didn't)!! I just KNOW we are going to love VB and are going to wish we'd done more than just 3 nights there!

T-Rex was packed whenever we went in May too...and it was STORMING so hard the water was over the tops of our ankles going in...the front ressie desk was a MESS then too. Could hardly get up there to check in...but our table was ready within about 5 min. so we were pleased with that. DS loved it.

I do not think we would like Kidani only bcuz of the lack of CS food. We DO like to grab stuff when we're out by the pool so that lack of anything to choose from would be a problem for me. I would not like that. The Mara always has such a good selection. OH, and you MUST try Boma for dinner the next time you go! OMG...breakfast is nothing compared to dinner!!

OK, report in when you get home & let us know how your trip home was!

I hate how I seconde guess and make changes on our trips. grrrrrr


Well I did find out that you can "get private dining" at the pool too. They have a pool menu. You can get more stuff...they just add the 18% gratuity and a 3.00 delivery charge. They got that one day when Brittany and I went to Boma's for breakfast and the guys were at Typhoon.

I can't wait to hear about Vero. We are tossing the idea of doing a NON PARK trip next summer. We are considering a few nights at AKV and a few at Vero. However we might just do a week at HHI. I am not sure yet. We are going to skip the 4 parks for a while.

 

[edk35]

Have a safe trip home! Thanks so much for sharing your vacation with us - I am hoping you will post some pics when you get home. I especially enjoyed your TR because we will be staying at BCV in a month, and then have a Dec trip to AKV to look forward to! I will request a room near the lobby as per your recommendation.

We really liked being on thet 2nd floor and if you request near lobby hopefully you won't be put way out on the outer edges. That would be a really long walk.

 

[edk35]

We have a 5:30pm ADR at T-Rex one night....hopefully it won't be too crazy at an earlier time slot. How long past your 7pm ressie did it take you to be seated? I agree - it's one of those restaurants we want to say we tried. Not sure if it'll become one of our favorites but we'll see!

My kids get very sad on the day we check out! I do too but I have to suck it up and stay positive so that they don't get even more upset. We only go once a year though so our trips aren't usually right around the corner

Have a safe trip home - thanks for taking the time out of your trip to share your thoughts with us.

It is sad to leave....I agree. We are actually only planning one trip a year from now on. However I might take my youngest son Oct. 2010 so we can do the Halloween party at MK. We have been 8 times since Jan. 07 and I do love it but the parks are not changing that much so we are taking a break.

We actually didn't wait too long.....but it was rainy, the lines were long for people with no ressies. Then the people that had them....were confused as to where they should be. It was chaotic. It was maybe a 15 min. wait if that. It was just crowded and there was no where to stand.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Really enjoyed both your reports!!

I also came to the same conclusion early on about splitting stays. I try to stay at least 5 nights before we move. I start getting anxious around 36 hours before a move! Dont fret too much, we all have to find what's right for us.

We stayed at Jambo in June and we did not hit the parks at all. We swam, visited Kidani, resort hopped, etc. We also rented movies and stayed in a few nights. Dh really liked Kidani and all the common areas. I think we will also get the Sav View more often than not. It really adds to the enjoyment of the resort especially when you spend alot of time there.
I enjoy DVC even if we dont do the parks.
We love the Waterparks too! J

 

[edk35]

Really enjoyed both your reports!!

I also came to the same conclusion early on about splitting stays. I try to stay at least 5 nights before we move. I start getting anxious around 36 hours before a move! Dont fret too much, we all have to find what's right for us.

We stayed at Jambo in June and we did not hit the parks at all. We swam, visited Kidani, resort hopped, etc. We also rented movies and stayed in a few nights. Dh really liked Kidani and all the common areas. I think we will also get the Sav View more often than not. It really adds to the enjoyment of the resort especially when you spend alot of time there.
I enjoy DVC even if we dont do the parks.
We love the Waterparks too! J

Thanks!!! You know....we loved skipping the parks and just doing our own thing. It gets tiring especially in the summer heat when you are getting up early, staying up late and spending hours at the pool inbetween. We did a movie night at BCV and we relaxed while at AKV it was just not long enough. I know what you mean.....you tweak these trips and finally do figure it out. I mean..nothing was ruined by any means by staying at Poly.....it was just a lesson learned. We now know we prefer our DVC resorts and we prefer ONE move is we split. I agree.....you need to have 4 or 5 nights first before moving. Our first split was 5 and 3 and I still felt like we didn't have much time at the 2nd resort.

I can see future trips where we skip a long trip to WDW and go for maybe 5 or 6 days and just stay at the resort for most of the trip. Maybe just doing the DTD thing, mini golf and a movie. My kids love the pools and can easily stay at the pool for hours.

 

[saratogagirl]

I loved reading your review, we are excited for our first trip to Kidani in December. May I ask which Flippers location you ordered from, DH and I would like to spend an evening in on our second night enjoying the view, and a pizza delivery sounds great - thanks in advance...

 

[edk35]

I loved reading your review, we are excited for our first trip to Kidani in December. May I ask which Flippers location you ordered from, DH and I would like to spend an evening in on our second night enjoying the view, and a pizza delivery sounds great - thanks in advance...

We got the menu from bell services and they brought me one with our delivery so I kept it. When staying at Kidani....we ordered from the Old Town Celebration location at 5770 W. HWY. 192. The number is 407-397-9509. There is another number we called first that said LBV/Disney thinking that was it but it wasn't.

We thought it was good and they have quite the menu. Try going online. Enjoy!!!

 

[saratogagirl]

We got the menu from bell services and they brought me one with our delivery so I kept it. When staying at Kidani....we ordered from the Old Town Celebration location at 5770 W. HWY. 192. The number is 407-397-9509. There is another number we called first that said LBV/Disney thinking that was it but it wasn't.

We thought it was good and they have quite the menu. Try going online. Enjoy!!!

thanks so much for your help, I have saved the number to my phone, DH has already checked out the online menu and decided what he would like

 

[rocknspots]

Our trip to Kidani begins Nov 2. I've requested a lower level room because of bad knees and feet... darn! that getting old thing... 1 bedroom savana view. I hope I didn't do the wrong thing asking for a lower lever. Anybody know??? I'm now worried that the "view" won't be as good. Are trees tall enough yet to block what you see as you look out over the savana? Someone posted somewhere that lower level is best. Help!!! There's still plenty of time to request a change... (Why do I worry like this???)

 

[DebbieB]

Our trip to Kidani begins Nov 2. I've requested a lower level room because of bad knees and feet... darn! that getting old thing... 1 bedroom savana view. I hope I didn't do the wrong thing asking for a lower lever. Anybody know??? I'm now worried that the "view" won't be as good. Are trees tall enough yet to block what you see as you look out over the savana? Someone posted somewhere that lower level is best. Help!!! There's still plenty of time to request a change... (Why do I worry like this???)

There are elevators to each floor so I don't think you need to request lower level because of your knees. What you do want to request is close to lobby because the hallways are quite long. You could be on a lower level but a mile from the lobby and bus stop.

The rooms in Kidani are on floors 2 to 5. The first floor is parking, the lobby is on the 2nd floor. Someone had mentioned requesting 1st or 2nd floor, there are no rooms on the 1st floor.