AKL Kidani Village

[EAP'sDAD]

Well we just got back from our first trip to the new Kidani village at AKL and all everyone could say was WOW. We got a great room 7210, which was a one br with SV. it was right by the door to go for the buses and 5 doors down from the community hall. While it had a lot of traffic, the way the rooms are set-up you can not hear it. The Master bathroom was the size of a regular hotel room and the pull out chair in the living room was a great 3rd bed for DD. While it was not crowded last week, we were able to enjoy this because schools in Ct had that as Spring Break, they had qall the activities going on at the pool and in the CH
A lot of activities were going on and my 2 DS felt that this was the best community hall, their favorite part of the DVC. About 4:00 me and DW would open a bottle of wine and just sit on the balcony and watch the animals, really nice.
The second bathroom was great for the "hurry and get ready to go to the park" portions of our trips.
Anyone have any questions please feel free to ask away.
DS9 has stated that this is by far his favorite and only wants to stay here from now on. Everyone seemed to agree in the family.

 

[vicki_c]

We stayed in 7208 in January (a studio - maybe it was connecting with 7210, I didn't really notice) - that was a great location, IMO.

 

[Brave teacher]

I'm glad to hear your family enjoyed Kidani so much! My DS7 said the same as your son after being there for a day.

 

[es45]

Thanks for the report; I never thought about using the second bathroom that way. I always wondered why it would really be a significant benefit for a small family.

I'm glad that you had a good vacation.

 

[ToddyLu]

"Your son will grow up to be a very wise man, grasshopper!"

 

[LaurenT]

We also loved Kidani when we stayed there in Feb - we had a 2 bedroom just a couple of sections down from yours.
While we are staying at Beach Club for F&W, I will always prefer Kidani for trips when being next to Epcot is not of primary importance!

 

[CruznLexi]

We are comming on Aug 16 for 3 nights and then in Oct for 3 nights.

 

[1153rsmith]

we are staying at Kidani starting 5/1.....can't wait. I haven't told the kids we have a Savanna view. (I'm actually amazed that we got this view since we booked through RCI, but I will certainly take it.)

I just hope we are near the pool.

Do you know how many places at Kidani are refill stations for the refillable mugs?

 

[bgsnmky]

Totally shocked you got this through RCI.that is awesome!!

we are staying at Kidani starting 5/1.....can't wait. I haven't told the kids we have a Savanna view. (I'm actually amazed that we got this view since we booked through RCI, but I will certainly take it.)

I just hope we are near the pool.

Do you know how many places at Kidani are refill stations for the refillable mugs?

 

[islandtimect]

Hi EAPsDad,

We're also in CT and are staying at Kidani in 2br at Christmas. Will have nephews ages 7 and 8 with us, so glad to hear your boys loved it. Can you go into detail about what you mean about the noise not being bad because of the layout of the room? Do you mean that the master br is away from the hallway so you can 't hear the noise? I'm not sure where the 2nd br sits vs the hallway in a dedicated 2br, but would like to request a room near the pool. We have a standard view and don't want to walk the long halls with my bad back. thks

 

[EAP'sDAD]

Hi EAPsDad,

We're also in CT and are staying at Kidani in 2br at Christmas. Will have nephews ages 7 and 8 with us, so glad to hear your boys loved it. Can you go into detail about what you mean about the noise not being bad because of the layout of the room? Do you mean that the master br is away from the hallway so you can 't hear the noise? I'm not sure where the 2nd br sits vs the hallway in a dedicated 2br, but would like to request a room near the pool. We have a standard view and don't want to walk the long halls with my bad back. thks

The layout for the 1 bedroom has the master bathroom and the extra bathroom between the hallway and the bedroom or kitchen. This was a big blocker for any noise. The walks look very long and as long as your on the side of the pool it shouldn't be to bad.

Have a great trip. The boys loved the community Hall and the story telling each night by the fire.

 

[EAP'sDAD]

we are staying at Kidani starting 5/1.....can't wait. I haven't told the kids we have a Savanna view. (I'm actually amazed that we got this view since we booked through RCI, but I will certainly take it.)

I just hope we are near the pool.

Do you know how many places at Kidani are refill stations for the refillable mugs?

I know of 2 refill stations there may have been more but there was one in the gift shop w/coffee. Then there was one at the bar in the pool area.
The Savanna view is great, just sitting on the balcony was a great stress reliever.

 

[HomerHog]

We enjoyed our 3rd stay at AKV, 1st at Kidani over spring break. We really enjoyed the resort. Had a good room, close to the elevators. We could see the middle part of the savanna where the animals most frequently were. The only drawback for us was food. The Sanaa menu does not appeal to us and there really isn't a counter service option there. They've done a great job with it, but we haven't fully converted from Jambo House yet.

 

[EAP'sDAD]

While we did not eat out, cooked in the room, I did notice the same thing. For lunch I ended up taking a ride over to Publix, which was only a 5 minute drive away. on sunday I went to have a beer and watch the Masters at Sanaa while the family slept and there really wasn't anything on the menu for a quick bite.

 

[kittylady1972]

We were one of the first to stay there after it opened and we absolutely loved it. We had a 2BR Savannah View and it was just outstanding. Having that extra bathroom sure was nice...especially after the pool and water park and getting 3 kids and ourselves all cleaned up.

This is why I'm so torn for our next trip. We are hoping to go back in June of next year. Part of me would be fine with another stay at our home resort of SSR again, but another part of me would LOVE to stay at Kidani again. We know we'll be spending lots of time at a pool in June and we LOVED the pool setup there! Then again, with SSR building a new pool too, maybe we would like that one as much or more. Decisions, decisions!

 

[virginiamama]

At Kadani with savanna view, is the view better on the lower floors or upper floors? (Sorry to hijack.)

 

[kehunc]

Did you feel like you had to walk a lot?

 

[TINKERIFIC]

At Kadani with savanna view, is the view better on the lower floors or upper floors? (Sorry to hijack.)

I do not know from personal experience, but I have noticed that the general consesus seems to be the lower floors.

My room request = a villa on the lowest floor possible close to the lobby/bus stop.

 

[tbjam01]

Boy was I happy to read your post. I just got reservations at Kidani Village for Nov. and can't wait to see it. I am happy you had a good vacation.

 

[EAP'sDAD]

Lower is better in the way of views. 2nd floor seemed the best you were eye level with the giraffes and were able to see the whole savanah. The top floors were looking down and the trees seemed to hide some of the animals.

Walking was about the same as any of the DVC resorts. While the end of the resort seemed to be in another zipcode the parking lot is set up great where you park your car underneath your room area. But I would ask for a room close to the lobby.

My request was for a low level close to lobby and I got both which was great.