AKV 6 night stay with unexpected Kidani preview

[TSMIII]

We just came back this past weekend from a 6 night stay at AKV in a Savanna view dedicated studio and had 3 strokes of good luck while there.

Day 1 - Flew in from Stewart Intl in Newburgh, NY. First time using this airport and it is terrific. A couple of hours drive but right off I-84 and being small there was zero congestion. We normally go out of Logan in Boston but this being April vacation week for Mass. schools, airfare was too steep. Wound up getting a flight out of Stewart for $194 round trip vs. $800 round trip out of Boston. Flew JetBlue which I've come to like alot after flying them for both business and vacations.

Arrived in Orlando early and it was a good thing because after having our traditional start of vacation Krispy Kreme donut break in the airport we headed down to the Magical Express desk and found a mile long line! Waited in line for half an hour before geting checked in. Once in line for AKL, the bus came about 15 minutes later. No delays after that and arrived at AKV about 1pm. Noticed on the way in that the new gatehouse they were building when we were last here in November was now completed and in operation and noticed the big Jambo House sign on the way in.

First bit of good luck - room was ready on arrival! Last Nov. we had to wait until the guaranteed check in time of 4pm before the room was ready so we came prepared to hit the pool for a few hours while waiting for the room - much nicer to be able to settle into the room first and then hit the pool and Mara for lunch.

That evening we had ressies at Sci-Fi for dinner. We got to DHS and did a couple of things then had dinner - not the best food but the atmosphere is terrific and it's DD7's favorite restaurant.

Back to the hotel after that and got a good night's sleep - the next day we planned to hit Epcot and DHS again.

 

[TSMIII]

Well, the forecast for the day was for rain possibly heavy at times. We awoke to the next bit of good luck in that the morning was beautiful so we headed out to Epcot.

We usually do Epcot in two days - the first we'll do Future World and the second we'll do World Showcase. We arrived shortly after park opening and while I got DD a stroller, DW headed for Soarin FPs. Soarin is both DW's & DD's favorite ride in all of WDW so it is a can't miss whenever we're there.

We did a few rides in Future World but having just been there in Nov. we took our time and didn't feel pressured to get in a multitude of the rides. We let DD explore all the things in Innoventions and let her go at her own pace to let her feel in control of our destiny for awhile. She loved the fire safety exhibit where she learned how to evacuate the house in case of fire.

We had a brunch in Seasons and decided to head to Hollywood Studios in the early afternoon as we had early dinner ressies shortly after 4pm that day.

It was at this time that the sky began clouding up and we started getting rained on. We broke out the ponchos and headed for the International Gateway to catch the boat to DHS.

This was something new for us. Ordinarily, when we park hop, it is Epcot to MK or vice versa - and always by monorail. This was the first time we park hopped Epcot to DHS and I knew the boat was more efficient than any other type of transfer but I was amazed at how quick it was! We were expecting a long, ponderous journey by boat since it stopped at the Epcot hotels but it was very enjoyable, made even more so by the fact that we had a roof over our heads during the rain storm!

We arrived at DHS and figured our plans for catching Fantasmic that night were going to have to be postponed due to the weather. The rain let up shortly after our arrival and we hit several rides and shows - Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones, One Man's Dream and the Art of Animation. DD7 continued to surprise us. In Nov. I had wanted to see Indiana Jones but we ran out of time. Also, DD protested and did not want to take it in. This trip she again protested but she was going, like it or not. She came out of there loving it and wanting to see it again! Then later, after going through One Man's Dream, she started putting the pieces together about what Walt went through and how what she knows as Disney evolved over time. She was actually interested in stopping and reading the narrative of the exhibits and came out with an appreciation for Walt Disney, the man.

We had dinner at the 50s Prime Time Cafe, DW's favorite restaurant and it was excellent. There was a lively bunch in the restaurant that afternoon and the entire room we were in sang Happy Birthday, quite loudly, to one of the guests! After dinner we found the skies continuing to clear up and our Fantasmic plans were back on! We took in the High School Muscial 3 performance and then roamed around for awhile. Crowds were suprisingly light for what we had expected. Several people had forewarned us that we were crazy to go during what is school vacation week for Mass., VT & several other school systems. I don't know whether the economy had something to do with the lesser crowds or it's just beeen perceived as being a crowded time. We saw easily manageable crowd levels in all parks throughout our stay. I'm sure being outside the Easter weeks helped as well. And the forecast for rain probably kept folks away this night in DHS. Here's a look at what we found this day:

The weather continued to hold through the early evening and we arrived an hour early for Fantasmic which was plenty of time in advance as we had good seats just to the right of center stage. Fantasmic went off without a hitch and we retired from the park shortly thereafter. So far, all bus connections to and from AKL were terrific - minimal to zero wait times.

The next day we had plans for visiting Animal Kingdom all day.

 

[marvali]

Great luck with the crowd levels. Very manageable. Glad things are going smoothly for you.

Love the pics so far. Can't wait for the Kidani preview. We will be there the end of June.

 

[TSMIII]

We arrived at the park shortly after opening and while DW & DD got the stroller I shot down to Africa and got FPs for the safari. We met back up and did some minor exploration of the trails on Discovery Island then headed for the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. On the way, DD spotted the face painting booth. She had asked on previous trips, and earlier on this one as well, if she could get her face painted and this time we finally relented. She got her face painted and we headed for the train. Here she is with the CM that painted her face:

DW loves Rafiki's as DD gets some down time to pet the animals and learn about the care of the animals. They were giving one of the vultures a check up the day we were there - saw him anesthetized and then examined. He had his blood drawn and got weighed, etc. All the kids and adults were fascinated watching this take place.

So after Rafiki's we hit the safari which was excellent as always and had the best driver we've ever had on this ride - don't remember his name but he was older, maybe early 60s and knew A LOT about the animals and their habits, behaviors, etc. He was very engaging and has a great voice for giving the tour. Following the safari we did the Pangani River Trail exploration and saw some very animated behavior from the Silverback gorillas. When we came out of this, we noticed the crowds were thickening but still more manageable than our previous visits. We hit Pizzafari for lunch which was MOBBED and DW swore she'd never go back there for lunch again. Then we went to Dinoland and DD hit the Boneyard which she does every time we're there. We love it because it's such a great playground and we can get some down time to discuss plans, dinner choices, etc. and have as DW says "adult conversation" without the little urchin interrupting!

We finished up at AK in the late afternoon having done Flights of Wonder and several other things. We made plans to come back later in the week for the Festival of the Lion King show and the parade among other things and headed back to the hotel.

I forgot to mention earlier that I had not put in any requests when I made the room ressie and we were excited to find out that we had once again been given a Savanna view of the Arusha Savanna. The last trip we were all the way down on the Zebra trail about as far from the lobby as one can be. But this time we were in the first section of the Zebra trail, right off the lobby in dedicated studio 5421. The room was clean on our arrival and all mugs, glasses etc. were present. Here's some pics of the room:

This was our first stay in an AKV studio but we had previously stayed in an OKW studio. We preferred the pullout as it gave us more space during the day, as opposed to the two beds in the OKW studio, but we preferred the OKW bathroom/kitchenette setup over that of AKV.

When we got back to the room after our return from AK we got our 3rd bit of good luck - Mousekeeping had come a day early for T&T service which was a nice suprise (this also happened during our Nov. stay - maybe their schedule is off or maybe the following day was going to be too busy, not enough staff, or maybe they tried to adjust it to be in the middle of our stay...??) AND we found the following placard on our table which was not there when we checked in:

What a great surprise! I figured we wouldn't get more than an external view of part of Kidani during our stay as we were going before the May 1st opening. Well, the plans for the next day changed in quite a hurry and we finished this day with the Storytelling at the firepit and the kids dance through the lobby. Pics of our storyteller and DD with her muscial instrument for the dance:

Next up - Day 4 and our preview of Kidani.

 

[SamSam]

I'm enjoying your excellent review and all the great pics. Looking forward to the following days.
How fun, to get an invitation to Kidani!

 

[Brave teacher]

Sounds like a fabulous trip so far!

 

[TSMIII]

I had asked at the concierge desk the night before about how to get over to Kidani Village for the preview. They told me busses would be available. So at just after 8am on April 22nd, we went down to the lobby and found DVC guides at the main entrance who directed us to the DVC vans that would shuttle us over. The driver on the way over asked if we were members and then proceeded to tell us about the pool area and how the size of it pushed it into the waterpark category with the state and how it had to get a special permit, etc, etc. We knew already it was nothing like SAB but I'm sure he was coached to give that pitch to help entice prospective buyers.

We arrived at the entrance to the Kidani lobby and they had 3 CMs playing drums outside. We were greeted by a guide and brought inside to the lobby. We were given forms to fill out and were told our names would be entered into a drawing for a piece of African artwork they were giving away. It was not present for viewing and I don't remember how it was described.

We were also given a large heavy paper map of Kidani with fun facts on the back. I tried to photograph/scan it but because my scanner was too small, and I'm no expert scanner or photographer, I couldn't get the entire image at once. I have it in pieces below:

NOTE - Many pictures from the Open Mouse they held have already been posted here and other places so I'll not post what I think are repetitious pictures. I have a few I think may be unique and I'll include those below.

We waited in the lobby for 10 minutes or so for a guide to take us and another family on the tour. The guides in the lobby mentioned that in the gift shop, there was a limited edition pin available only to current members and that only 2 pins could be purchased per membership. We were told by the CM staffing the gift shop that there were only 300 total pins available - we picked up two:

In speaking with the CM in the gift shop, he mentioned that the lobby decorations shown below were actually tribal headdresses and not "big, giant candles" as DD thought they were!

A guide came to the lobby and brought us into the library. There were refreshments set up next to the fireplace and in front of the Founders Tapestries/Robes, there were also CMs in there with small show and tell type exhibits for the kids:

Our guide then brought us downstairs to Sanaa which looked great! A couple of pics of the hostess desk and the restaurant:

We were then taken down the hall and shown the Community Hall and Arcade and everyone in the group was given a pair of binoculars:

Next post will be Day 4 Kidani Preview Continued...

 

[robandkelly13]

Thanks for sharing. I'm so excited about our upcoming AKV trip!

 

[Crisgw]

I'm SO excited for our trip now even more!! Woo! Can't wait to see more!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Thanks, ready and waiting for day 4!

 

[TSMIII]

After the Community Hall and Arcade tour, we then headed for the rooms.

We were shown the dedicated 2 BR first and then the 2BR Lockoff. Both pretty much as seen at the SSR preview center. Others have posted many pictures of these if you want an idea of what they look like. I took a pic of the hallway as it struck me how much brighter the Kidani public areas were compared to Jambo. Here's one of the hallways along the Giraffe trail:

Our guide then took us down the hall and up the Timon elevator to the Grand Villa on the 4th & 5th floors - again on the Giraffe Trail (Note - we did not get to go up the Red River Hog Trail for any of the tour while there.) - I took a couple of pics from the GV balconies looking out over the Sunset Savanna:

That pretty much concluded our tour. On the way back down the guide asked if anyone was interested in talking to a guide about purchasing -I said we would. I wanted to see if they were offering any additional incentives. They had us meet with the guide in one of the Standard view rooms facing the driveway leading to the porte cochere. While we waited for the guide, I snapped a couple of pics of the Standard View:

We talked with the guide for a bit and he detailed the same incentives that have previously been reported - cash discount for 50 points and above, additional cash discount or cruise at the 100 & 125 point thresholds. Additional incentive if you bought right then and there - one of those multicolored bowls you see in the 1BR/2BR at Jambo on the wall above the dining table - not much of an extra incentive. We didn't buy and said we'd consider adding on later, which we may. He then told us we could get Fast Passes for each of us down at the Fitness Center that could be used for 3 attractions immediately upon entering whatever park we were going to. We then headed to the Fitness Center/Pool area.

Here are some pictures from the pool area:

Looking from the pool area near the Fitness Center back toward the Standard View villas - you can see the underground parking in this area:

Here are some pics of the more notable pool features -

This is from the entrance leading down into the water play area - kiddie water falls and slide on the right side and the water cannons (DD is manning the water cannon on the upper deck):

Standard View / Pool View villas:

Here are some of the other features. The best way I can describe these is to say that they're like your lawn sprinkler on steroids. One of the Lifeguard CMs mentioned that one of these various buckets and dumping stations will release randomly every 30 seconds.

Here is the playground type section at the end of the water play area just beyond the kiddie pool:

And finally some shots of the main pool, which is smaller than the one at Jambo:

That concluded our visit and we went back to the lobby to catch the van back to Jambo House and proceed to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day.

Next post will be Day 4 Continued - Magic Kingdom

 

[zulaya]

Thank you for your pictures.

I especially appreciate that you were able to show what a "Standard" view looks like. It's such a vague category. I think the landscaping looked quite nice from the room you photographed.

 

[cj9200]

Enjoying your report and pictures, especially of your tour of Kiandi. Your daughter is very cute. The face painting picture reminded me of mine when she was that age. Enjoy it while it lasts. All too soon, she will be a teenager! Glad you are enjoying the trip.

 

[TSMIII]

Enjoying your report and pictures, especially of your tour of Kiandi. Your daughter is very cute. The face painting picture reminded me of mine when she was that age. Enjoy it while it lasts. All too soon, she will be a teenager! Glad you are enjoying the trip.

Oh boy, teenager!! Yeah, just wait until I get to the post for our final day - Invasion of the Teenage Cheerleaders!!

 

[ekball]

Thanks for the great pix! I'll probably get flamed for saying so, but I reeeeeaaallllllyyyyy hope they monitor the Kidani pool area and keep it to only DVC members staying at Kidani & Jambo house. I can just imagine how crazy the splash area will be if they allow all jambo resort guests to hop over to Kidani. I guess we'll find out in 3 short days!

 

[twinklebug]

WONDERFUL pics Ty for posting. Love your trip report!

I'll probably get flamed for saying so, but I reeeeeaaallllllyyyyy hope they monitor the Kidani pool area and keep it to only DVC members staying at Kidani & Jambo house. I can just imagine how crazy the splash area will be if they allow all jambo resort guests to hop over to Kidani. I guess we'll find out in 3 short days!

I agree about reducing overcrowding of the small pool, but think it'll be a pain & near impossible for those lifeguards unless they go with the band system SAB uses. Also, wouldn't it be both DVC & hotel guests that get to use both pools & not just DVC guests? I realize our room keys will say DVC on them, but some folk are renting their Kidani & Jambo rooms directly through CRO (at an astronomical rate) and should not be excluded.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

WONDERFUL pics Ty for posting. Love your trip report!



Also, wouldn't it be both DVC & hotel guests that get to use both pools & not just DVC? I realize the room keys will say DVC on them, but some folk are renting their Kidani rooms at directly (at an astronomical rate) through CRO.

I thought the same, isn't it that way at BWV & the Inn?

 

[ftballfan7]

Excellent trip report. Very upbeat and informative.

 

[Disney Princess]

I'm loving reading your report and seeing the pictures. Thanks for posting about your tour of Kidani. I am anxiously awaiting your Magic Kingdom report and pictures! They always seem to be my favorite from whomever is posting!

 

[ccigliano]

Thanks so much for posting your report about Kidani, the pictures are great.