First stay at AKV Kidani and loved it!

[jmatias]

Just returned from our WDW trip. First week was offsite at Marriott. Vacation really started when we checked into Kidani for the 2nd week.

Quick Mini Report:

- Stayed in room 7312 which is a 2 bedroom dedicated savanna view room on the 3rd floor. Great room, great location near the lobby, community hall, etc. We are a family of 5 and the room was very spacious. The details in everything from the furniture, to the sheer curtains was amazing. Having animals outside to watch all day was pretty cool too! Found ourselves late several times since we couldn't pull away from watching the animals.

- Every CM we met was friendly, polite, helpful, etc. If they didn't know the answer, they tried their best to find out.

- Sanaa is great! Ate there the last night of our stay and the food was delicious. Will be on our must go list from now on.

- Kids loved the pool area. It was busy but not overly crowded. But may be pretty busy once the entire resort opens.

- CMs in the Community Hall were very friendly and great with the kids. DD enjoyed the crafts, especially coloring the mask, and working with clay. DS loved hanging out with other kids in the hall.

- Our boys enjoyed the basketball courts and tennis courts. You can borrow the basketball and tennis rackets & balls free from the Community Hall.

- Loved the covered self-parking!

- Walk to Jambo House was easy, with signs along the way asking animal trivia questions. We walked in the resort as long as possible to stay in the AC and would take the Zazu elevator down to the parking level. Then just follow along to Jambo House.

- Couple of things we noticed:

- Lighting in master bath is a bit too dark.
- First thought that Kidani lobby was too small ( compared to Jambo ) but realized that its just right for Kidani. And at night, the Kidani lobby is beautiful with those gorgeous light fixtures.
- Rooms on 2nd floor get a lot of foot traffic. We wouldn't want a room on the 2nd floor.
- DD went to the story telling which is done in the Library. But there was also other kids in there with the Camp Kidani group so it was hard for the little ones to stay focused on the story. Should find a different story telling location, or change the time to make sure the room is not so busy.

We loved our stay at Kidani. It was so cool to see our family name on the quilt in the Libary. Can't wait to get back.

Jen

 

[bobbiwoz]

How wonderful, it sounds like you really enjoyed yourselves.

My family, especially the 3 DGC loved Kidani's pool and the activities that they have around the pool. We haven't made the walk back/forth yet, but I stayed in Jambo this week, and told some DVC folks about it. They thought they had to wait for a bus. I did see small sandwich signs along the path around Kidani, but didn't notice any signs near the Jambo lobby. Where does the path begin at Jambo?

Bobbi

 

[bama106]

Enjoyed reading your trip report, glad you had a good time. We can't wait for our first stay at Kidani in October.

 

[DVC Mike]

Nice TR. We're trying Sanaa in August.

 

[Monorail Purple&Gold]

Great stuff, sounds like you all really took full advantage of the KV offerings! Glad all was great!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

How wonderful, it sounds like you really enjoyed yourselves.

My family, especially the 3 DGC loved Kidani's pool and the activities that they have around the pool. We haven't made the walk back/forth yet, but I stayed in Jambo this week, and told some DVC folks about it. They thought they had to wait for a bus. I did see small sandwich signs along the path around Kidani, but didn't notice any signs near the Jambo lobby. Where does the path begin at Jambo?

Bobbi

When you walk out the doors from the lobby and look straight across the porte cochere you will see a sign for the path to Kidani. The confusing part for me was once I got to the bottom of the path and was at the parking lot. I was uncertain if there was a new path - but learned you just take a right and follow the sidewalks along the parking lot.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thanks for the help,KAT4DISNEY! I'll look for it in September! Boy, I'm home for 2 nights, and September seems like such a long time away. I left AKV thinking I would try to get another quick trip in July, but airfare and point balance set me straight!

Bobbi

 

[holcomb-mania]

- Lighting in master bath is a bit too dark.

Agree with this big-time.

I also think there is not nearly enough storage space in the kitchen. We took a bunch of stuff for snacks and meals and we were hard-pressed to find spots for it.

The 3rd full bath was excellent, though.

 

[DizDays]

Does anyone else think that there should be artwork on that big blank wall in the kitchen? It looks so bare! I think it really needs a little something.

 

[jmatias]

Does anyone else think that there should be artwork on that big blank wall in the kitchen? It looks so bare! I think it really needs a little something.

DH did mention that wall would be a good place for more shelving.

A little larger kitchen/more shelves would have been nice, but the 3rd bathroom for us was even better.

Jen

 

[helenk]

We stayed at Kidani from 6/13-6/20 and we loved it. We were in a 1 bedroom, 5th floor room #7522 and had a savannah view. I must say the animals were plentiful!
We felt the same way about the storage in the kitchen. We moved some of the glasses around for some space.
The rooms were a nice size and we loved the master bathroom, since there were 4 adults in our party having the second bathroom was a god send.
I was a bit dissapointed with the buses though, they were really hit and miss. One day we were going to go to Epcot, we waited over a 1/2 of an hour while 2 buses for each of the other parks came and went. When the 4th bus came for the MK and still no Epcot bus, we decided to go to the MK. After that we decided to drive to the parks.
I really found the CMs to be cheerful and very helpful. Everyone we came in contact with seemed to be very proud of the resort and the special touches.

 

[Lildalejrfan]

Thanks for such a great report. We'll be @ Kidani in December. We'll be staying in a GV. I can't wait.

 

[d-r]

we were there last week

the cms ARE great

loved the savanna

a great bbq area, we had a cookout with 29 people! And two other families cooked out while we were there! So much fun. They did a great job with that. And the courts area.

We were at the pool everyday. SAB is better, but wow what a great pool. wow.

The store was a little too small.

Great parking and proximity to super target, publix, etc.

I liked sanaa. I'd rather go there than post-Annette jiko, jmho.

I like the library space.

I hope it doesn't feel more crowded when more opens.

It does have less closet and kitchen storage space.

Really sharp knives be careful.

Middle bathroom = great.

VERY CROWDED BUSSES, but summertime.

Shuttle drivers would not come back there for airoort retuurn.