Calling all those that have stayed at AKV Kidani Resort - Advice Please!

[Mickeydad]

We are heading down to the House of Mouse in 2 days and if you've stayed at AKV Kidani Resort, please tell me the MUST do's .

I am traveling with my DW, DD16, DS13, DD4 . We are DVCer's and are staying at the Kidani Resort for the first time.

So, any advice you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated .

Thanks,

Mickeydad

 

[Kelblum]

We just went in November and we loved it! It is so unique. We didn'st spend tons of time there, but had the savanah view room and watched the animals whenever we were in the room. So, if you don't have the savanah room go to the viewing area, very cool to see them right outside your window. We did do the night vision animal watching and that was pretty cool too! The pool area was nice, but once again I think we were mostly at the parks so only went to the pool once.

Have a great time!

 

[Mickeydad]

Sorry, should have mentioned that we are staying in a Savanna View 1-bedroom.

Mickeydad

 

[skylynx]

First of all, prepare yourself for a really wild time! I think Kidani has great animal viewing from your room balcony (if you have a savannah view) or from the main viewing area near the lobby. There are wonderful rocking chairs outside the lobby where you can sit and watch the critters. There's also a cool "story rock" where the storytelling takes place at night that you can walk out to that's in the midst of the savannah. When we were there the giraffes were the closest we'd ever seen! If you get a chance to do the storytelling, it's really cool.

The pool is a bit tricky to find, but your 4 year old is probably going to really love the water playground. It's a much smaller pool area than at the main Animal Kindgom Lodge building (Jambo House) but also less crowded. You might want to plan time to walk over and enjoy that pool, too. It's about a ten minute walk between buildings.

We liked being able to park the car under the Kidani building (in the shade and out of the heat). I also think the parking location helped offset the walk down what can be endlessly long guest room hallways (especially when you are coming back from theme parks, carrying a sleeping child).

Note there's no counter service restaurant at Kidani, though you can get some lunch-type snacks at the pool bar. We always do breakfast in the room (bagels and such we buy from Publix in advance) because it's a haul to the Mara at the main building, and we are usually jetting out to parks and don't want to take the time for a longer breakfast.

We haven't used the game rooms or kids' clubhouse ourselves, but we always peek in when we go by, and it looks like the kids in them are having a blast.

If you can get your teens to babysit your youngest a while, it might be nice for mom and dad to go enjoy a beer or glass of wine at the Victoria Falls bar in the main building. The aromas coming up from Boma are equally as intoxicating as anything you can drink, and it's dark and romantic.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[dgaston]

I love the CMs at the Kidani pool -- if you can tear your family away from the parks, enjoy some time there. I second using the night vision goggles over at Jambo. The room request I recommend is "lower floor, close to the lobby" for better animal viewing, and (hopefully) avoiding some of the loooong walks.

 

[ruddydvc]

Go to the activity center and play African board games with the CMs. If you have little ones make sure you hear some of the story times. the AKV CMs are great.

 

[Greatfalls]

The best thing to do at Kidani is not to overplan. Kidani is very intimate and relaxing, and will be a great break from the Spring break crowds at the parks. So give yourself time to sit on the balcony with a cup of coffee in the morning or a beverage of your choice in the afternoon or evening and relax.

 

[pjstevens]

We love spending some time around the fire pit in the evening talking to the CM's and hearing about their experience (they are all (or most) international students in the CP). I love the various accents for the differnet regions they are from. They are very informative and make for some relaxing time.

 

[lilpooh108]

Make time to eat at Boma at Jambo. I usually hate buffets...hate them hate them....I was so pleasantly shocked that Boma was great!!! The selection is varied, the meats were good, the soups were yummy and the dessert selection was fabulous. There really is something for everyone in the family at Boma. YUM!

 

[Harlemgirl720]

If you hang around the pool around the hours of 2-4pm, they have a pool party with trivia games and dancing. On certain evenings you can watch a movie at the pool. That is fun. If you don't want to go to Victoria Falls for a drink, go downstairs to Sanaa. They have a bar there and you can have a few drinks and even take them outside to sit in a rocking chair by the firepit and spot a giraffe or two.

 

[Tink316]

This is all great information... we are new DVC members - and will be staying for the first time as members at Kidani in November...so we'll be using some of these great tips as well.

My DS11 has special needs so we've requested a savannah view room (which we have) close to the lobby as suggested by others previously (which we hope we get) since he has low muscle tone and has difficulty walking/standing for long periods of time. (We'll be renting a wheelchair for use in the parks)

We are so excited.... Can't wait to see the animals up close and personal (sort of).

To OP...looks as though we may be colleaues...since it appears we live in the same town.

 

[DCLbrideSept2009]

When you get there, check the activities schedule (there should be one in your villa). It will have the schedule of activities for Kidani as well as Jambo House. They have trivia by the pool as well as pool parties with other games. Our oldest, then almost 16, LOVED the trivia cuz she's a huge Disney trivia nut! When we got there, the original plan was to hit AK that day, but by the time we got there and got checked in and then had to go to the grocery store (left the kids at Kidani to explore - with 2 teenagers as chaperones), we realized we weren't going to make it to a park that day, but the kids didn't care! They were just excited to explore the resort! The loved the pool too!! (And DH and I loved the pool bar!)

 

[hmdelf]

As already stated, definitely check out the story rock. The evening tales are awesome as is the fire pit! My children 3&5 and my DN&DN (3&5) loved going to the activity center. There are arts and crafts that they can do as well as games to play. We liked the pool area OK but prefer BCV pool (for obvious reasons). We did spend a whole day at the big pool.
Parking is great as your car doesn't get overheated (if you rent or are driving)
The lobby is spectacular but the best advice I have is to check the agenda when you get there.

 

[hmdelf]

Just an FYI Jiko was one of the best meal DH and I ever had if you can get a night away!

 

[DVCProPlan]

We stayed in a 2 bedroom savanna view. Very nice room with a beautiful view, although we were in a room closer to the end away from the lobby.

The only issue we had was there is only one bus stop for the parks which is at the lobby. The morning walk was alright, but the trek home could get quite long after spending the day in the park. Even the kids were dragging by the time we got to the room.

We spent some time around the fire and chatted with the guide there. This was quite fun and relaxing. I happen to mention my aching feet from the walk to the bus and back. The guide told us Kidani was designed after a necklace. This design allows Kidani to be much more quite then the other resorts, and this was the purpose of Kidani. To be a quite and relaxing resort. You will also notice the the entrance to the restaurant Sanna is not located in the lobby, but away from it further adding to the quite and peacefulness.

--Scott

 

[bakenatj]

Our kids loved the animal check list. They have a list of all the animals at AKV and you check off every animal you see. Our kids would go around and talk to the CM and the CM would show them the animals and tell them something abut the animals. They loved it! We really liked Savanna view, worth the extra points. We will definitely go back to Kidani.

We were there over Halloween and they had a pumpkin carving contest. That was really neat. Some pretty impressive pumpkins I must say.