Does anyone think or hope they put a counter service place at Kidani??

[edk35]

You have Mara. And the take out at the pool. What more do you need???

You are just trying to start a mess on here. Mara is at Jambo and I specifically asked about Kidani in my thread. You are nit pickin my posts to death on the thread I started. Just dont' add your 2 cents please because it is obvious you are just trying to start something. Go start a fire elsewhere. As my 15 year old son says to people that bug the heck out of him..."hop off my swag".

 

[paulh]

we loved Kidani but i found the lack of CS a bit short sighted By DVC.And where were the Quiet pools? told none in the works for VAKL
Paul

 

[edk35]

Yes.

The condo style resorts are just different in layout and so my expectations on CS are different for them.

I think that every hotel style DVC ought to have food options that can be reached without having to walk thru the rain if it's raining. And it rains in FL! BCV does have options at the Marketplace. VWL you can use the covered walkways and go thru the main lodge. BLT has the walkway to CR. At Jambo house you have a covered walkway to Mara. Kidani ought to have something. I think BWV ought to have something.

Why exercise rooms at both places but not CS? Why pools at both but not CS. Why kids rec rooms at both places but not CS? I think it was short sighted and is a ding against the resort. I haven't liked it since I learned of it and after staying at Jambo and touring Kidani my thoughts have not changed.

YEP I agree.....

 

[BEASLYBOO]

CS is for hotels and inns, DVC villas have full kitchen facilities, that's the way Disney DVC planned it from the beginning. Personally I prefer Kidani over Jambo and the lack of CS doesn't bother me.

 

[edk35]

CS is for hotels and inns, DVC villas have full kitchen facilities, that's the way Disney DVC planned it from the beginning. Personally I prefer Kidani over Jambo and the lack of CS doesn't bother me.

I enjoyed our stay at Kidani very much. However....there is CS at OKW and SSR and they too are DVC. It would just be nice if they had something at the pool or near the pool like at Jambo. Hurricane Hannahs is great for BC in my opinion. There is nothing better than hanging at the pool and having lunch and never having to go out somewhere or up to your room. You can do this while staying at BCV, OKW and SSR and even VWL.

 

[BigEeyore]

Those who have visited Kidani - would there be room in the shop for a small CS, like what they have at the BC Marketplace? Just a small set-up with some decent sandwich options, snacks, and drinks would be helpful. Or perhaps they could expand the pool-side snack place.
If they gave Kidani its own TS place, why not its own CS?

 

[BEASLYBOO]

There is nothing better than hanging at the pool and having lunch and never having to go out somewhere or up to your room.

The Kidani Village Maji Pool Bar offers food, a limited selection perhaps, but still a few choices. I don't see a change happening, but hey! maybe if enough people, who knows!

 

[edk35]

The Kidani Village Maji Pool Bar offers food, a limited selection perhaps, but still a few choices. I don't see a change happening, but hey! maybe if enough people, who knows!

Yeah they offered like 2 sandwich choices for adults which were good. They were pre-made. Not sure what the choice was for kids..but it was also a sandwich. I know you can do like a room service type thing with a few more choices but it cost more and of course you have a surcharge/tip to add. They have a full service restaurant there..seems like it would be doable to me.

 

[edk35]

Those who have visited Kidani - would there be room in the shop for a small CS, like what they have at the BC Marketplace? Just a small set-up with some decent sandwich options, snacks, and drinks would be helpful. Or perhaps they could expand the pool-side snack place.
If they gave Kidani its own TS place, why not its own CS?

The store is pretty small. However they have a nice Community Hall room and arcade.....would be nice to have a small place even if it was like the one at OKW. IT doesn't have to be huge with sitting areas.

 

[wheelcap]

Let me add a piece to this puzzle. If the guests at Kidani want a counter-service meal, they have to go to Jambo - right? Did they make changes to that area at Jambo? NO! For instance, I had to WAIT in a line of about 25 people to order the food, then WAIT about 1/2 hour in another line of 25 people to get the food, then WAIT in line to pay for the food, then WAIT in a line to fill my drink cup . . . get my point yet? And this was called a "grab and go" place!?!

When you finally get your food and drink, and you're ready to sit down to try to enjoy it (after the frustration of all the waiting), did they add dining space to accommodate the Kidani guests? NO! If there's not an empty table, you can "hawk" a table, or you can go sit on the concrete by the pool, or take it into the lobby. By the time this whole process is done, your food is cold and you probably won't feel like eating it anyway.

Mara was designed for the number of guests staying at Jambo, not both! I just think that if they're serious about NOT putting in a CS in Kidani, and they actually expect the Kidani guests to go to Jambo, they need to re-plan the place so that it can actually handle the crowd. The way it is now, it's not fair to the guests of Jambo or Kidani.

 

[edk35]

Let me add a piece to this puzzle. If the guests at Kidani want a counter-service meal, they have to go to Jambo - right? Did they make changes to that area at Jambo? NO! For instance, I had to WAIT in a line of about 25 people to order the food, then WAIT about 1/2 hour in another line of 25 people to get the food, then WAIT in line to pay for the food, then WAIT in a line to fill my drink cup . . . get my point yet? And this was called a "grab and go" place!?!

When you finally get your food and drink, and you're ready to sit down to try to enjoy it (after the frustration of all the waiting), did they add dining space to accommodate the Kidani guests? NO! If there's not an empty table, you can "hawk" a table, or you can go sit on the concrete by the pool, or take it into the lobby. By the time this whole process is done, your food is cold and you probably won't feel like eating it anyway.

Mara was designed for the number of guests staying at Jambo, not both! I just think that if they're serious about NOT putting in a CS in Kidani, and they actually expect the Kidani guests to go to Jambo, they need to re-plan the place so that it can actually handle the crowd. The way it is now, it's not fair to the guests of Jambo or Kidani.

WOW you know what. YOU ARE SO RIGHT. Do you know when we were there we had longggggggggggg lines but thought it was due to being there in July. I never thought of that. WOW this really makes one wonder why they didn't add a CS at Kidani. Plus when we were there in July all of Kidani was not even opened yet. Also, it is easy to hop over to Jambo on any of bus or walk. However we wanted to ride back to Kidani on the bus because we had tons of take out to carry back. Well after waiting to do all of the above you described....we had to wait about 15 min. for the DTD bus to arrive at Jambo to take us back to Kidani. SO it isn't always easy to get over there and back. Going over yeah.....but coming back with a lot for 5 people...not so easy. It was myself and my dh and the kids were back at the pool with our friends.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

You have Mara. And the take out at the pool. What more do you need???

Mara is awesome, but definitely a hike from Kidani.

 

[tjkraz]

Why exercise rooms at both places but not CS? Why pools at both but not CS. Why kids rec rooms at both places but not CS?

Because member dues pay for those amenities.

Restaurants are owned and operated by Disney (or a third-party) and expected to hit certain profitability goals. I'm sure they are losing some business by not adding a CS to Kidani. The question is whether the business lost is greater than the cost of operating the location. Apparently Disney doesn't think so.

 

[movie77]

Do the majority of members who paid for DVC at Kidani want it? Yes
Will they add it? Doubt it.

That would require they care about their members opinions. Before I get all the replies on how great they are about listening. When I see CS added at Kidani, I'll believe it then.

 

[movie77]

Let me add a piece to this puzzle. If the guests at Kidani want a counter-service meal, they have to go to Jambo - right? Did they make changes to that area at Jambo? NO! For instance, I had to WAIT in a line of about 25 people to order the food, then WAIT about 1/2 hour in another line of 25 people to get the food, then WAIT in line to pay for the food, then WAIT in a line to fill my drink cup . . . get my point yet? And this was called a "grab and go" place!?!

When you finally get your food and drink, and you're ready to sit down to try to enjoy it (after the frustration of all the waiting), did they add dining space to accommodate the Kidani guests? NO! If there's not an empty table, you can "hawk" a table, or you can go sit on the concrete by the pool, or take it into the lobby. By the time this whole process is done, your food is cold and you probably won't feel like eating it anyway.

Mara was designed for the number of guests staying at Jambo, not both! I just think that if they're serious about NOT putting in a CS in Kidani, and they actually expect the Kidani guests to go to Jambo, they need to re-plan the place so that it can actually handle the crowd. The way it is now, it's not fair to the guests of Jambo or Kidani.

Bingo! You got it. They certainly don't care about the guest "experience" when something so obvious as this happens...

 

[WolfpackFan]

That would require they care about their members opinions.

FWIW - WDW did install a TS restaurant at SSR based upon membership opinion.

 

[tjkraz]

Do the majority of members who paid for DVC at Kidani want it? Yes
Will they add it? Doubt it.

That would require they care about their members opinions. Before I get all the replies on how great they are about listening. When I see CS added at Kidani, I'll believe it then.

Just like any other hotel operator or timeshare developer, Disney isn't going to throw common sense out the window when making business decisions. If you ask "the majority of members who paid for DVC" whether they want character meals at their resorts, pools as big as SAB, rooftop fireworks viewing decks and monorail transportation to theme parks, you would get a lot of positive responses as well. But that doesn't make any of those options viable.

It's also worth noting that restaurant operating decisions are made within Disney's Parks & Resorts division. DVC managers and execs can pass-along feedback received from members, but they don't have any real decision making authority on this topic.

As for overcrowding at Mara, the question is how frequently excessive waits occur. To be painfully blunt, Disney isn't going to add another restaurant just to reduce wait times from 20 minutes to 10 minutes during the short peak dining periods. Doing so leads to a lot of wasted overhead during the long daily stretches when two locations are not justified.

Since DVC arrived at this resort, total occupancy of Jambo House declined by several hundred guests. They took 2 guest rooms out of service for every One Bedroom villa (max occupancy of 4/5) and 3 rooms for every Two Bedroom villa (max 8/9 guests.) Given factors like reduced total guests staying at Jambo, groceries added to the resort gift shop and full kitchens in most DVC guest rooms, the addition of Sanaa and poolside service at Kidani, it's not necessarily a given that traffic at Mara has increased.

 

[edk35]

This thread is going down hill fast.......OH MODS...............feel free to lock it up and throw away the key. I really thought that people would just answer the question if it pertained to them. I didn't post a poll or a "what do you think type question." I surely didn't intend for this question to be debated.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Let me add a piece to this puzzle. If the guests at Kidani want a counter-service meal, they have to go to Jambo - right? Did they make changes to that area at Jambo? NO! For instance, I had to WAIT in a line of about 25 people to order the food, then WAIT about 1/2 hour in another line of 25 people to get the food, then WAIT in line to pay for the food, then WAIT in a line to fill my drink cup . . . get my point yet? And this was called a "grab and go" place!?!

When you finally get your food and drink, and you're ready to sit down to try to enjoy it (after the frustration of all the waiting), did they add dining space to accommodate the Kidani guests? NO! If there's not an empty table, you can "hawk" a table, or you can go sit on the concrete by the pool, or take it into the lobby. By the time this whole process is done, your food is cold and you probably won't feel like eating it anyway.

Mara was designed for the number of guests staying at Jambo, not both! I just think that if they're serious about NOT putting in a CS in Kidani, and they actually expect the Kidani guests to go to Jambo, they need to re-plan the place so that it can actually handle the crowd. The way it is now, it's not fair to the guests of Jambo or Kidani.

Sounds a whole lot like WL and VWL to me.

 

[tomandrobin]

I don't see Disney adding a CS option to Kidani Village. I just hope the variety at the pool is enough.