All's Quiet from Kidani on Opening Day

[mikeandkarla]

Kidani pool: click on pic to enlarge

 

[mikeandkarla]

Maji pool bar food menu, click to enlarge

 

[mikeandkarla]

refillable mug station at Kidani pool!

 

[mikeandkarla]

1st floorparking at Kidani

 

[DisneyCruisin']

I just got back from the Wanyama Safari and this was explained. They stagger "breakfast times" for the animals at each savannah location. The Sunset savannah animals at Kidani have breakfast between 8:30 and 10:30 am. I imagine when Pembe savannah opens at Kidani in the fall they will have a different breakfast time as they have their own barn that is separate so I guess it will depend on which side you are facing.

Yes, we were told the same thing two weeks ago on the Sunrise Safari. The caretakers start at 6:30a.m. bringing in the animals for food/medical treatment/vitamins/nutritional needs. They rotate the animals in and out and are completely done by 12:00noon. They did state that they do it in the morning as most guests get up and leave the hotel in the morning and would rather have the animals out and about during the afternoon and evening hours.

We also were told that they routinely move animals from AK to AKL to separate daddys from daughters (for breeding purposes).

Also, we were told Kidani is the baby Zebra not the baby giraffe.

 

[WolfpackFan]

They rotate the animals in and out and are completely done by 12:00noon. They did state that they do it in the morning as most guests get up and leave the hotel in the morning and would rather have the animals out and about during the afternoon and evening hours.

I find this odd as I would think Kidani would be the type of resort that guests would stay at more rather than go to parks. I know if I was going on a non-park visit, I'd stay at AKV rather than some other resort. My guess is that they only have a finite number of animals keepers and those folks concentrate on Jambo first over Kidani IMO. May not be a biggie to some folks but to me it is kind of a downer as I do enjoy sitting out on my balcony in the morning watching the animals while I eat breakfast.

PS - WOW, I just noticed this was my 1500th post.

 

[DeeCee735]

I find this odd as I would think Kidani would be the type of resort that guests would stay at more rather than go to parks. I know if I was going on a non-park visit, I'd stay at AKV rather than some other resort. My guess is that they only have a finite number of animals keepers and those folks concentrate on Jambo first over Kidani IMO. May not be a biggie to some folks but to me it is kind of a downer as I do enjoy sitting out on my balcony in the morning watching the animals while I eat breakfast.

PS - WOW, I just noticed this was my 1500th post.

I agree, sitting on the balcony in the a.m. with coffee to see the animals is a biggie for us too. ESPECIALLY when it's an adult only trip and we can take the time to enjoy. I'm bringing my cousins for the first time (we own most of our points at BWV), and they specifically asked me if we could stay at AKV for lingering in the morning and watching the animals. I was hoping they'd buy into DVC, so I hope this stay impresses them, rather than disappoints!

Oh, btw, congrats on your 1500th post.....we do "talk" alot on these boards don't we!

 

[kid-at-heart]

I agree, sitting on the balcony in the a.m. with coffee to see the animals is a biggie for us too. ESPECIALLY when it's an adult only trip and we can take the time to enjoy. I'm bringing my cousins for the first time (we own most of our points at BWV), and they specifically asked me if we could stay at AKV for lingering in the morning and watching the animals. I was hoping they'd buy into DVC, so I hope this stay impresses them, rather than disappoints!

Oh, btw, congrats on your 1500th post.....we do "talk" alot on these boards don't we!

Here too! We are early risers (5ish) and really enjoy sitting on the balcony relaxing with a cup of coffee. I do hope a change occurs so the animals will be out for morning viewing or we may need to rethink our plans to buy AKV points.

 

[Pinmaniac]

We stayed the weekend at Kidani in a savanah view studio. We were quite surprised as it seemed very few people were there.

Loved being the first stop for the resort buses.

I enjoyed our dinner at Sanaa but the rest of the group wasn't too impressed. I had the Shrimp with green curry (just ok) and the chicken with red curry (very good). The mango margaritta what great was well.

The lack of a counter service restaurant must be everyone's comment to the staff (ours as well). Everyone we mentioned it to suggested that we make a point to include it on the comment card that we would be receiving in the mail. We will do so.

The sundries store is much too small in my opinion, but with Jambo's large store close by I can understand why they made it so small.

The view from our room (7708) was great. Enjoyed the 4 giraffes, zebras, cattle and the occasional bird that wandered by. Slightly missed seeing the animals in the morning but my DMIL who got up earlier than I did (about 6am) said the animals were there for her to enjoy while she drank her coffee. From several previous stays at Jambo I recall periods in the morning when the animals were not around so I wasn't really surprised this time at Kidani.

My DD loved the pool. Usually we are more park people than pool people but we walked around the pool Friday night when we arrived and all day at the park Saturday my DD asked if we could go to the pool. We spent time there Saturday afternoon/early evening. DD had a blast with the childrens area and in the pool.

Overall we are very happy with our purchase and are looking forward to returning soon.

 

[corvair]

Pinmaniac,
Thanks for the report..I will be there the 17th...Can u tell me alittle about the store....Did they have snack food? and like milk and cereal?and info would be great...I usually go to the store in the resort and get that kind of stuff...

thanks..amy

 

[Pinmaniac]

Pinmaniac,
Thanks for the report..I will be there the 17th...Can u tell me alittle about the store....Did they have snack food? and like milk and cereal?and info would be great...I usually go to the store in the resort and get that kind of stuff...

thanks..amy

To be honest I didn't look at the food all that closely as we drive and bring our own, but I did see milk, soft drinks, beer, water and other items in the cooler and snack food type items on shelves/displays. I don't recall if they had cereal specifically, but I'm sure there is some.

There were some Kidani specific items at the store (bought myself a Kidani Village baseball hat) as well as other types of clothing (DD got a cute dress), some DVC items, and some plants that I recall seeing. The cash registers take up close to 1/3 of the back of the store with liquor bottles behind them.

If you are facing the registers the food/drinks/other items (medicine, magazines/books, etc) are to the right taking up about 1/3 of the store and to the left are the clothing type items taking up the remaining 1/3 of the store. There are two entrance/exits on the opposite wall of the registers at either end of the store.

Hope that helps.

 

[jblrn2b]

Kidani pool: click on pic to enlarge

Thanks for posting this. It looks awesome and your the first to get this perspective that I have seen. My kids are going to love it.



Pinmaniac thats for your info also.

 

[corvair]

Thanks for all the great info...good to know there is medicene and milk and stuff like that in the store.

 

[corvair]

Anyone who has been there...What would be a good location for a room in your opinion? Is the end of the hall way....really far from the lobby? and if you are at the end of the hallway....Is it really far from the Pool?

thanks..amy