Complaints about Kidani

[bunny]

We just spent two nights in a savannah view studio at Kidani. This was our first visit to the resort and my last.

Here are my complaints:
1. Extremely long hallways
2. Very limited food options- no food courts and absolutely no where to get breakfast
3. TV reception horrible- no HD
4. Hallways filled with cleaning carts
5. Sofa bed was thin and extremely hard. Linens were low cost. Blanket was thin.
6. Saw very few animals (I know this was not Disney's fault but the extra points were wasted).
7. Far from everything

I really wanted to love this resort, but truthfully my stay at the Residence Inn the night before was way more enjoyable. If I had paid cash for this resort, I would have been really upset.

 

[Dean]

We just spent two nights in a savannah view studio at Kidani. This was our first visit to the resort and my last.

Here are my complaints:
1. Extremely long hallways
2. Very limited food options- no food courts and absolutely no where to get breakfast
3. TV reception horrible- no HD
4. Hallways filled with cleaning carts
5. Sofa bed was thin and extremely hard. Linens were low cost. Blanket was thin.
6. Saw very few animals (I know this was not Disney's fault but the extra points were wasted).
7. Far from everything

I really wanted to love this resort, but truthfully my stay at the Residence Inn the night before was way more enjoyable. If I had paid cash for this resort, I would have been really upset.

These are all issues that one could know and for most, should have known prior to the visit. I realize that knowing and experiencing are not the same thing. IMO, they should have built some type of transportation option into the resort. Maybe a light tram system or an elevated walkway or tunnel that went from the far end to Jambo with stops at strategic points along the way.

 

[Sammie]

We just spent two nights in a savannah view studio at Kidani. This was our first visit to the resort and my last.

Here are my complaints:
1. Extremely long hallways
2. Very limited food options- no food courts and absolutely no where to get breakfast
3. TV reception horrible- no HD
4. Hallways filled with cleaning carts
5. Sofa bed was thin and extremely hard. Linens were low cost. Blanket was thin.
6. Saw very few animals (I know this was not Disney's fault but the extra points were wasted).
7. Far from everything

I really wanted to love this resort, but truthfully my stay at the Residence Inn the night before was way more enjoyable. If I had paid cash for this resort, I would have been really upset.

Except for 6 and 7, your comments could fit any DVC resort. Are you a new member?

 

[Sammie]

These are all issues that one could know and for most, should have known prior to the visit. I realize that knowing and experiencing are not the same thing. IMO, they should have built some type of transportation option into the resort. Maybe a light tram system or an elevated walkway or tunnel that went from the far end to Jambo with stops at strategic points along the way.

They run a shuttle back and forth all day.

 

[Dean]

They run a shuttle back and forth all day.

But that only helps if you're at the entrance. The walk from the far ends to the lobby is quite long, probably longer than any BWV trek. I feel they might have done something else.

 

[bunny]

No, I am not a new member and I did know these things ahead of time, but I guess I am becoming disillusioned with the DVC resorts and Disney in general. I am glad I own DVC because Disney way overcharges for what they deliver. For $475 a night I would expect top quality linens, HD TV, somewhere to eat breakfast, and comfortable beds. I also agree that the resort design with those hallways is a fail.

 

[Sammie]

No, I am not a new member and I did know these things ahead of time, but I guess I am becoming disillusioned with the DVC resorts and Disney in general. I am glad I own DVC because Disney way overcharges for what they deliver. For $475 a night I would expect top quality linens, HD TV, somewhere to eat breakfast, and comfortable beds. I also agree that the resort design with those hallways is a fail.

Due to the need for as many Savannah rooms as possible, I am not sure they could have done anything much different.

The distance from lobby to furthest room is long, but so are many other Disney resorts, simply because they are just big resorts.

As to the beds, I too hate the linens but we bring our own, Owner's Locker is great for that, as to the mattress, we find them extremely comfortable, so I guess that is personal choice which I understand. Hard to please everyone on mattress comfort.

At Disney high cost is due to location, certainly not room amenities, I agree that our last Residence Inn was more comfortable and in better shape than our last DVC stay at BCV.

 

[Sammie]

But that only helps if you're at the entrance. The walk from the far ends to the lobby is quite long, probably longer than any BWV trek. I feel they might have done something else.

I know you travel a lot to other timeshares. Do other large resorts provide transportation from the furthest edge to the main areas. I know the ones we have stayed at, don't.

I did not find the walk from the furthest room at Kindani to be any longer than many other Disney resorts. At least you are inside while many places you aren't.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We just spent two nights in a savannah view studio at Kidani. This was our first visit to the resort and my last.

Here are my complaints:
...2. Very limited food options- no food courts and absolutely no where to get breakfast
....

Dang, I thought they offered breakfast at Mara and Boma and they are pretty close (at least as close as Southpoint villas at OKW to Goods to Go and Olivia's) unless they stopped offering breakfast food there. Or the parks. Or other resorts. Absolutely nowhere to get breakfast. Wow!

4. Hallways filled with cleaning carts

Where do you propose the housekeepers keep their carts while they are working?

7. Far from everything

Everything? Not even close to Jambo House or AK? Or Blizzard Beach?

Where do you stay at DVC that everthing it ideal every moment of every day? I want to stay there.

 

[Dean]

I know you travel a lot to other timeshares. Do other large resorts provide transportation from the furthest edge to the main areas. I know the ones we have stayed at, don't.

I did not find the walk from the furthest room at Kindani to be any longer than many other Disney resorts. At least you are inside while many places you aren't.

I'm not sure there's another resort that's comparable to this situation. Many provide a shuttle that has multiple stops and many will provide either a shuttle or golf cart on a moments notice. My point is that it was a predictable issue that could have been handled relatively easily with planning. To me it's not a deal breaker but does mean more car trips if we're at the far end. I wonder what the walking distance is from the far end of Kidani to say Mara and compared to say BWV to ESPN or the outer reaches of OKW to the HH of SSR to the main area, resorts where there is a shuttle with multiple stops.

No, I am not a new member and I did know these things ahead of time, but I guess I am becoming disillusioned with the DVC resorts and Disney in general. I am glad I own DVC because Disney way overcharges for what they deliver. For $475 a night I would expect top quality linens, HD TV, somewhere to eat breakfast, and comfortable beds. I also agree that the resort design with those hallways is a fail.

But much of this info was easily available and one could have known ahead of time with very little effort about the long hallways, variability of animals, food issues, pull out beds, and the remoteness of the resort. TV issues in general have been discussed for years with Disney. The only issue that I don't think one could have easily anticipated would be the carts and that's usually during the day and I don't see it any different than say BWV, I'm just glad if they're cleaning. We routinely (about every 18 months on average) plan a large family trip with anywhere from 24-40 people. My assumptions for unit assignments and who to invite are no couple's and no real adults on pullouts of any kind, only kids to single young adults.

 

[Sammie]

I do know that if you are at any resort and a luggage golf type cart is empty and headed back to the lobby area, they will give you a lift, all you have to do is flag them down.

Well at least they always give me rides,

Maybe on my next trip I will get one of those wheel things that measure distance and take some measurements, it would be fun to know as sometimes the actual distance is not as long as we think. I know it is always longer coming back from the park tired, than it is in the morning.

 

[Kidanifan08]

This sounds a lot like BWV and BLT, with the exception of the lack of animals. We have seen lots of animals every time we have stayed at Kidani. We have even been in a standard view overlooking the pool and saw a ton of animals on the far edge of the Pembe savanna.

AKV is one of our favorite resorts because of the remoteness of it. I get tired of hearing train whistles, crowds on the boardwalk, and the electric light music until 10 PM on the Seven Seas Lagoon. Sometimes it's nice to sit on the balcony and have peace and quiet.

 

[dis-happy]

Okay, I for one happen to like the carts in the hallway. It's much easier to snag some extra tp or dw soap from a cart. While staying at SSR or BCV where they use the baskets it's much more of a hassle to get things when they run out. I've walked for ages trying to find someone, to no avail and didn't want to call and wait for housekeeping. So, to each his own, but imo long live the carts!

 

[gdrj]

No, I am not a new member and I did know these things ahead of time, but I guess I am becoming disillusioned with the DVC resorts and Disney in general. I am glad I own DVC because Disney way overcharges for what they deliver. For $475 a night I would expect top quality linens, HD TV, somewhere to eat breakfast, and comfortable beds. I also agree that the resort design with those hallways is a fail.

As we are planning our next trip we do take into account the +'s and -'s of each resort. Most of your concerns should not come as a surprise.

As far as the lack of animals, everytime we've been there, or went to Jambo for Dinner we've always seen a lot of animals. Summer heat could be part of the issue. To replace TV's with HDTV impacts you as a owner with maint fee's. Personally I'm not concerned with the tV too much on vacation. If reception on TV was poor, it would be poor on HDTV too.

Totally agree about lack of food, thats why we dont stay there.

As far as the $475 a night, as a owner, I don't care what the retail price is. While non-Disney "resorts" may have better linens, they can't compare (for me) in the other things, especially in the Orlando area.
A friendly staff and a pleasant welcome, a transportation system that provides, boats, buses and mono-rail from resorts, have a early access and late access to themeparks. Resort themed pools that are wonderful.

I stayed at a pretentious hotel off-site, paid xtra to park my own car, a staff that was not the least bit helpful, had to drive to DIsney and park at theme oark unless I was willing to come and go based on off-site limited bus schedule.

While each resort at Disney has its flaws (if you want to look for them), for me there is nothing that gives me the vacation feel like Disney, from the Magical Express if I fly or from when I park my car for the week and hardly touch it.

My intention is not to attack your opinion, it's your and your entitled to it.
Just that each resort can be nitpicked.
1-BWV (our favorite) some might say too loud on Boardwalk at night, or too loud on poolside, no dining in resort, have to go outside to eat.
2-BCV- lack of views, far from hotel Lobby
3-BLV- Have to walk to contemporary for food. High Rise not appealing and those noisy fireworks everynight
4-Sartaoga- Too big too spread out bus service issues, Food can be far
5-WLV- no views

and so on.

I'll end my thoughts with this. IMO a not so good day at Disney is still better than a day not at Disney

 

[dianeschlicht]

No, I am not a new member and I did know these things ahead of time, but I guess I am becoming disillusioned with the DVC resorts and Disney in general. I am glad I own DVC because Disney way overcharges for what they deliver. For $475 a night I would expect top quality linens, HD TV, somewhere to eat breakfast, and comfortable beds. I also agree that the resort design with those hallways is a fail.

When did they downgrade the linens? We were there in December, and it was the same linens we have had at all other DVC resorts.

We think the beds at Kidani are better than most, and there is definitely breakfast served at Sanaa. I don't worry much about that though, since I much prefer to have breakfast in my villa.

As for the hallways...Yes, they are horribly long, but it has to be that way so more rooms can be savanna view. You can't have one without the other. Also, Kidani does a great job of making your walk interesting by providing lots of windows out onto the savanna, and also lots of interesting African artifacts along all of the hallways.

I guess no matter where you are, you need to be a "glass half full" person to enjoy everything, and that goes for everywhere...not just Disney.

 

[MouseMomx2]

We think the beds at Kidani are better than most, and there is definitely breakfast served at Sanaa.

Breakfast is not served at Sanaa. At one point they did a trial run of a Sanaa breakfast but it didn't last long.

Personally we don't miss a breakfast option at Kidani as we almost always have breakfast in our villa. If we really wanted to eat out we would head over to Jambo by catching any park bus.

 

[Lucia_27]

We stayed at Kidani for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it! We actually just booked a return trip in Feb. for my DD's 8th birthday.

We saw tons of animals on Friday and Saturday, but none before check out on Sunday. Just the luck of the draw - they were out there, just not by our room!

Didn't notice any issues with the TV... and we get a villa just so we can eat breakfast in our room, so...

I can see how the long hallway would be tiresome, but since we were near the lobby, the only issue we had was parents who let their kids yell and scream as they ran down the hallway at 11pm.

My one and only complaint was the housekeeping staff - they knocked on our door on check out day at 9am and we told them we would be out by 10:15. They proceeded to hover outside our door until we left. Every time we made a trip down to the car with stuff, they asked is if we were done. We had until 11am to check out, and we were thought we were being good by getting out by 10:15! I know that they just want to turn the room around, but it was annoying. Almost made another pot of coffee and sat on the balcony animal watching until 11am, but decided to be nice.

Oh, and our smoke detector started beeping non-stop at 1am our first night. I couldn't get mad about that, because that happens at home all the time! Maintenance was there in 30 minutes to fix it, and all was well.

 

[jennypenny]

I think they should build a covered walkway (like the one from WL to WLV) from the far end of Kidani to AKL.

Counter service is a problem at most of the DVC resorts. We just had an almost inedible breakfast from BCV Marketplace.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think they should build a covered walkway (like the one from WL to WLV) from the far end of Kidani to AKL.

Counter service is a problem at most of the DVC resorts. We just had an almost inedible breakfast from BCV Marketplace.

That's why I prefer to make my own in the villa.

 

[DeeCee735]

We just spent two nights in a savannah view studio at Kidani. This was our first visit to the resort and my last.

Here are my complaints:
1. Extremely long hallways
2. Very limited food options- no food courts and absolutely no where to get breakfast
3. TV reception horrible- no HD
4. Hallways filled with cleaning carts
5. Sofa bed was thin and extremely hard. Linens were low cost. Blanket was thin.
6. Saw very few animals (I know this was not Disney's fault but the extra points were wasted).
7. Far from everything

I really wanted to love this resort, but truthfully my stay at the Residence Inn the night before was way more enjoyable. If I had paid cash for this resort, I would have been really upset.

Sorry you were so disappointed with your Kidani stay.

As far as long hallways, and I've said this before, I'd rather walk a long hallway in the air conditioning than be walking forever outside (OKW/SSR - both of which I love by the way). I just don't see the long walks any different than any other DVC resort. OKW is huge, as is SSR. BCV is a long way from the BW area for dining and entertainment options. In short, Disney = walking. Even the hotels are huge with far walks, look at Polynesian, Carribbean Beach and Coronado Springs.

As far as breakfast goes, Mara offers an excellent choice of breakfast items, as well as lunch and dinner. Is it a hike to get there? Not really because if you decide you want to go out for breakfast you've gotta travel somewhere. If you're at the BWV at the end of a long hall and you want bakery, that's not close either. You could always buy the items the night before and leave them in the frig in the villa for a nice relaxing breakfast....I'm just sayin

TV reception bad? Call maintenance, could be poor wire connections. Remember what it was like before they had flat screens! We've never had a problem with that, don't really watch much TV on vacation anyway though.

Few animals? Which savannah were you on? What time of day were you looking? Can't control what they do, but you can bet they are around at feeding times. If you don't see them from your balcony, you can almost always see them from the viewing areas.

While we always go with the savannah view (which is why we added on there), for those who find it a "waste of points", a standard view is the best option, with time spent hanging around the viewing areas in those huge rockers.

Again, sorry you were so disappointed, but to tell the truth, if everyone were happy with that resort, it would too hard for those of us who love it to get into

Happy DVC planning for the future...