Complaints about Kidani

[Ariel8676]

We just got back from our fourth stay in Kidani, it is our favorite place to stay. We get a 2 bedroom villa and it is perfect for my family of 6. My kids love the resort ( especially the pool!). The walk doesn't bother us ( although this trip we had a perfect location)... And not having counter service is fine with me.. I go food shopping and have my own. I love the fact that is is quiet and not crowded or hectic...

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I think we've stayed at AKK probably 6-7 times now. Personally, I'm very happy they don't like it there. Better room selection for us!

 

[jjtr]

We stayed in a Sunset Savannah room at Kidani two weeks ago and loved it. A CM at one of the viewing stations told us that they bring a lot of the animals in from that savannah from 8:30 am to 10:00 am every morning, perhaps that was when the op was looking for them.

 

[rentayenta]

We just got back from our fourth stay in Kidani, it is our favorite place to stay. We get a 2 bedroom villa and it is perfect for my family of 6. My kids love the resort ( especially the pool!). The walk doesn't bother us ( although this trip we had a perfect location)... And not having counter service is fine with me.. I go food shopping and have my own. I love the fact that is is quiet and not crowded or hectic...

Care to share the perfect location? We'll be there in a 2 bedroom in October and I'd like to request a great location.

 

[appleorchard]

We just returned from a 1 night stay at Jambo House and 5 nights at BLT. It's
hard to imagine two more different DVCs than these two. We loved seeing the animals and the peacefulness of Jambo house. But when you have a 4 year old with you who loves MK, nothing compares to BLT and walking to and from your room. Yes, it's sterile decor and the pool is too small. The studio is small but the kitchen is bigger than most of the other DVC studios, and we bring lots of stuff that we could easily store there. There's tons of storage, which helps make up for the lack of space. My 7 year old DGD I'm sure will prefer AKL, because she's hugely into animals and AK.My DH and I prefer the Boardwalk to anything else! Every place has its fans and is "perfect" for someone. Our "best resorts" vary depending on who we're with.

 

[mumto3girls]

We stayed at Kidani for the first time in late January for 5 nights. I loved the resort. I thought it was stunning and we really enjoyed our Sunset Savannah view of the animals.

I did think the hallways were incredibly long, but I get that is what makes the savannah view rooms possible. I hear people complain about the long hallways at BWV all the time and although that is where we stay most often, I never noticed the hallways there being unusually long. Maybe it is just the location of the one bedrooms which is what we typically stay in. At Kidani we were almost in the last set of rooms closest to Jambo House.

I was thrilled with the food court area at Mara. There is nothing like that at BWV and we really enjoyed having that option. We actually ate dinner there several times and didn't mind the walk over there. We typically eat breakfast in the room since we try to be at the parks early and want to maximize our sleep!

I think the biggest detraction for us with the resort was its distance from everything else. Probably our favorite part of BWV is the walk to 2 parks and here that wasn't possible with any. We often take a mid day break and although we don't always do that now that our children are a bit older, DH and I often want the break for ourselves and we found the length of the bus rides to and from the parks multiple times in one day to be a pain.

I definitely plan to stay at Kidani again, but I think it will be a time when we aren't planning to spend as much time at the parks. There were a ton of activities at the resort that I wished we had time to do and although we did go to the pools several times, we could have definitely spent more time there. DH and I could have spent a significant part of the day just animal watching we enjoyed that so much.

The carts don't bother me at all. They are in every hotel, not just DVC or Disney hotels. We don't watch much tv on vacation so I can't comment on that.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all the resorts, but there aren't any I would refuse to stay at.

 

[CocosMeme]

Ditto!

Double Ditto!!!

 

[CocosMeme]

Love this resort !

1. Love being able to take an elevator to my car, love the fact the car is under cover
2. Love the seclusion and atmosphere
3. Love my savannah view balcony
4. Love the master bathrooms in the 1 and 2 beds
5. Love being close to Jiko, one of the best resturaunts on property IMHO
6. Love the helpful staff.
7. Love the pool area and kids play area at Kidani
8. Love the wine they sell in the gift shop! Yum yum!
9. Love morning coffee on my balcony animal watching
10. Love having all the amenities offered by AKL close at hand.

Double Ditto!!

 

[nmmom95]

We just returned from our first stay at Kidani yesterday. DH, DS14, DS9 and I were in a 2 bedroom savanna view. We absolutely loved it! The resort was beautiful, the staff was wonderful. We saw a lot of animals on the savanna. The giraffes were, hands down, our favorites. I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. The hallways were long, but the view was worth it. This was during an afternoon break:

 

[BEASLYBOO]

nmmom95 Nice pic! Never tire of the view!

3 weeks ago we brought friends who had never been to AKV/Kidani to spend the week with us and they fell in love with it

 

[bunny]

I am the OP. Thanks for all the replies. I do think my review was somewhat influenced by my medical condition. I had just come off a cruise and was exhausted. My ankle was swollen and my knee was also in bad shape. I had initially booked at Kidani as a no parks end to my vacation. The long hallways did me in. Also we didn't plan eating in the room since it was only a couple days and did not supply our room with food. We came back to the resort late and could not find anywhere to eat. We got up early but the kids slept in, so we didn't feel comfortable going to Jambo without them for breakfast. I was planning on spending some of the time watching TV and did find it weird that Disney, an entertainment company, did not have HD TV. Then I had to sleep on the sofa bed and it was hard as a rock. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. Also I have decided no more studios for us.

Next summer I am booking 11 nights in a 1 bedroom at OKW. I can't wait to spread out and relax. I will be sure to order groceries so I don't run into any more food quandries.

 

[rentayenta]

We just returned from our first stay at Kidani yesterday. DH, DS14, DS9 and I were in a 2 bedroom savanna view. We absolutely loved it! The resort was beautiful, the staff was wonderful. We saw a lot of animals on the savanna. The giraffes were, hands down, our favorites. I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. The hallways were long, but the view was worth it. This was during an afternoon break:

Amazing! What villa number did you have? I'd love to request it or one nearby.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I am the OP. Thanks for all the replies. I do think my review was somewhat influenced by my medical condition. I had just come off a cruise and was exhausted. My ankle was swollen and my knee was also in bad shape. I had initially booked at Kidani as a no parks end to my vacation. The long hallways did me in. Also we didn't plan eating in the room since it was only a couple days and did not supply our room with food. We came back to the resort late and could not find anywhere to eat. We got up early but the kids slept in, so we didn't feel comfortable going to Jambo without them for breakfast. I was planning on spending some of the time watching TV and did find it weird that Disney, an entertainment company, did not have HD TV. Then I had to sleep on the sofa bed and it was hard as a rock. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. Also I have decided no more studios for us.

Next summer I am booking 11 nights in a 1 bedroom at OKW. I can't wait to spread out and relax. I will be sure to order groceries so I don't run into any more food quandries.

Not feeling well can influence any stay. IF you ever go back to Kidani don't forget about room service. It's one of the nice things about the hotel connected properties.

 

[twooley2]

we were at kidani two summers ago the long hallways were a definite joke we had and I say this because we made the best of a bad situation we would joke and say they need people movers in the hallways for the end of the night when you return. The savanah view was great but for the points we could have done without the view. The rooms were great and large and the large bathrooms in the villas were wonderful. Very nice resort and very quiet at the end of the night.

 

[CruznLexi]

We have our 4th stay at KV in Jan. all stays have been nice. The last time we had my 79 mom with me and lucky for me I had a scooter for her. The hallway was long but hey you are at Disney and not at work. It really was not that bad . If we want to go to the Mara we can walk or take the bus or the shuttle. We typically go to the parks for a few hours eat lunch at the Mara the turkey sandwhich is really good. Then walk back to the pool for pool games and then return to the parks for diner and more fun then come back for hot tub.

 

[nmmom95]

Amazing! What villa number did you have? I'd love to request it or one nearby.

We were in 7332.

 

[rentayenta]

We were in 7332.

Thank you, thank you!