Animal Kingdom pool closure - better to stay at Wilderness Lodge?

[ClouseHouse]

We are planning 3 days at WDW before a Disney Cruise in September. We’ll spend a good amount of time at the resort as we’re only planning 1 day at Animal Kingdom.

I was originally thinking AKL but see their pool will be closed. How easy/convenient is it to use the Kidani pool? Or are we better off staying at Wilderness Lodge?

 

[Wild4Walt]

We had the same dilemma. We've been booked at AKL for our honeymoon for 10 months and we're there during the pool closure. We don't spend a lot of time at the resort typically and will make the trek over to Kidani for the pool 1 day. It's about a 10 minute walk from what I've read.

Now if I was planning on doing the pool for more than a day, I'd probably make the switch.

 

[oceanmarina]

Kidani is not that far from Jambo House, it was like a 2-3 minute shuttle ride from what I remember. (I was told when I stayed there that the walk is about 9 minutes, but I wouldn't want to do it in the September heat)

The pool might be very crowded though with both resorts using the Kidani pool.

WL has a fantastic pool complex. I've stayed in both resorts and love them both.

As a rule, I usually avoid hotels with construction going on so my vote would be WL since you are spending a good amount of time at the resort and planning lots of pool time.

Good luck & let us know what you decide!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If your only park day is AK, I would stick with AKL. Getting to Kidani from Jambo is super quick on the shuttle and AK has better resort activities than WL, IMHO. It also has better restaurants.

 

[Marionnette]

We are planning 3 days at WDW before a Disney Cruise in September. We’ll spend a good amount of time at the resort as we’re only planning 1 day at Animal Kingdom.

I was originally thinking AKL but see their pool will be closed. How easy/convenient is it to use the Kidani pool? Or are we better off staying at Wilderness Lodge?

The Kidani pool is considerably smaller than the Jambo pool. With both sides of the resort being told that Kidani's is the only feature pool available to them, expect it to be crowded.

The walk from Jambo to Kidani is about 10 minutes along the pathway - lobby to lobby. The Kidani pool is on the other side of the resort and will add another 5-10 minute walk. However, they will be running shuttle buses between the resorts, as they usually do.

I had a 1-night reservation at Kidani before starting out stay at SSR. The plan was to spend that day at the pool because our flight arrives very early in the AM (which means being at the airport by 3 AM!). When I learned about the pool closure, I switched. If we were there for a park-centric visit, I might have toughed it out just because the resort itself is so relaxing. But with construction going on at Jambo it just wasn't meshing with our plans.

IMO, if you're planning to enjoy the pool at the resort a lot during your stay, then switching to WL is probably a good idea.

 

[mickeynut1]

WL has a fantastic pool complex. I've stayed in both resorts and love them both.

my vote would be WL since you are spending a good amount of time at the resort and planning lots of pool time.

IMO, if you're planning to enjoy the pool at the resort a lot during your stay, then switching to WL is probably a good idea.

I agree with both of the above