Just back from AKV-Kidani and won't want to stay there again.

[pooh2007]

Every Resort Will not Please Everybody. Thank goodness there are so many Resorts at Disney to choose from so that everyone has a choice. If you were not happy with Kidani Village then maybe the next resort you choose from will make you extremely happy. My husband and I absolutely love Kidani Village and that is why we purchased our DVC points there and anxiously look forward to our May 2010 trip. HAPPY VACATIONING EVERYONE!!!

 

[jpeka65844]

Vacation is what you make it. I am sure there are plenty of people who would have loved to be at DIsney world cold weather or not. THere have been many reports from people who were there at the same time and had a blast despite the cold.

A bad day at Disney is still better than a good day at home! That's what we always say!!!

We were there Marathon weekend and in spite of the cold, we DID have a blast! DS4 was a go-getter and we did SO MUCH due to the low crowds (who were probably afraid of the weather!) and had such a great time! No regrets here!

The weather was historic for just about everyone in the country and when we look back on the Great Cold Snap of 2010, we'll laugh and say "We spent it at Disneyworld!!!"

 

[dclfun]

I'm not fond of Kidani either- we stayed there on the opening day for a few days in a studio. I'm willing to give it another chance though since I don't feel I should judge solely on my first and only impression. My grandson loved the pool "waterpark" area but I'll admit it was a long hike in the summer heat. I also didn't like the soda refill area being in the gift shop and the lack of CS. If we'd had a larger unit and wanted to cook-fine. We just wanted a short getaway and didn't want to cook or bring food, so the hike to Mara- in the heat or rain, was very tiring with a 2 year old. Bus service was spotty, although I REALLY felt it at Jambo this past Dec. when we waited...and waited for the shared busses vs. the quicker transportation Jambo had before Kidani was built. Actually, I liked AKL much more before it became DVC. Concierge has changed quite a bit, and not for the better.---Kathy

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We were at Disney for the same week, and stayed in Jambo house at AKL.

Yes, the cold put a real damper on the vacation. I bought a Disney Jacket that I will probably not wear at home. I wear an odd size and bought the first jacket that I found. Fire engine red is not my color, and I found others in better colors as the week progressed.

HOWEVER, we braved the cold in the early morning hours, and rode many rides. We rode about 8 rides and ate breakfast in the MK before 11 am. We didn't go to early EMH, but we were there for ROPE DROP that morning. We had also went to the MK on the day that touringplans.com suggested.

We left at 1:30 while our friends stayed. We then met them at Ohana at 5pm. They told us that they saw 2 attractions while we were gone.

A lot of the productiveness of your trips depend on when you travel, what days you travel, and what time you arrive in the parks.

We noticed a lot of people arrived in the parks after the worst of the morning chill, making the bottle neck worse in the early afternoon.

 

[zalansky]

A bad day at Disney is still better than a good day at home! That's what we always say!!!

We were there Marathon weekend and in spite of the cold, we DID have a blast! DS4 was a go-getter and we did SO MUCH due to the low crowds (who were probably afraid of the weather!) and had such a great time! No regrets here!

The weather was historic for just about everyone in the country and when we look back on the Great Cold Snap of 2010, we'll laugh and say "We spent it at Disneyworld!!!"

Agreed. I already mentioned it in this thread but we were there at the same time and had a blast. We live in Florida and tuned in to the weather channel for a week prior to the trip so we brought cold weather gear with us. I can't see Disney selling cheap gloves ruining a vacation. I hate to also sound harsh but it sounds more like an attitude issue than anything else.

 

[Dean]

I didn't write what made the trip so bad, just what I didn't like about Kidani and why I wouldn't want to stay there again. A list of what made my trip so bad .......

• The cold !! Was almost as cold as back home, didn't have to drive 1,400 miles to be that cold.
• DD13 got really sick one night
• DS6 got really sick one day and was sick for 3 days, coulnd't make it to the parks or even leave the room so we never got to be at the park as a whole family.
• $62 on a new outfit for DS6 who got sick all over himself while at the park.
• Missing items from my food shopping that were to be meals that I paid for but never made it into my cart
• the long walks and waits for the bus in the cold wiht an Aunt who could not walk them.
• Not so many animals, probabaly due to the cold but still disappointing
• DH was not well and injured himself running the marathon so he couldn't walk much either
• fear that we caused my Aunt a heart Attack on TOT but thankfully she was just getting ready to gt sick and had to skip the park the next day and skip most rides the day after that.
• We missed out on most of our Epcot park day cuz we were all freezing waiting for DH to finish the marathon and used to freezing at home but not in FL
• Spending $30 ona hat and gloves for DH to run in cuz he didn't know he needed to bring his cold weather gear to FL to run.
• Nothing in the room to entertain sick DS especially without those cartoons and being too sick to let him go to the community hall
• Kids really didn't like the Disney school and wished they hadn't gone to it.
• No time wiht me and DH that we didn anything together or as all together as a family. That is what makes my trip great ... family time ! Never happened.

It was all these little things plus the things I didn't like about Kidani that just made it a bad vacation. the thought that I made my aunt sick, much less thinking that we gave her a heart attack on a ride was just horrifying ! never thought about driving between the resorts for food, we don't usually touch the car aside from driving down and back in it. plus most days someone was sick so we couldn't all go out anyways so some food had to be brought back to the room. Publix food also cost more than I would pay for food here so I only bought the neccessities for breakfast and a couple dinners, didn't plan on being in the room so much.

And 16 or 17 rides in 4 days is horrible for us. We are people who are there when the park opens, or soon after, and leave when they kick us out. The first time my Aunt came with us, we did every ride/attraction in MK in the hours of a P&P Party. We've never seen an entire parade or sat and waited for a fireworks display but that is just how we tour the parks. We always need a vacation from our vacation at Disney. our downtime vacation is only a few hours from here and it happens in the summer. We rent a beach house and the only thing we do all day for a week is go out to the beach. No video games in the center or internt or video game systems in the house and only basic cable. I don't go to Disney to sit around and do nothing, I LOVE the parks and all we can do there. The gorgeous of the resorts are just a perk that we get when we sleep in the rooms and to use on our arrival and departure days.

Sounds like no large issues and no controllable or Disney related items that were not easily known up front. Now you know and can move on with the things you prefer. We love to try different restaurants but if we go somewhere that ends up not being that good, then we wish we'd gone to somewhere we knew we liked.

 

[pyrxtc]

Sorry to be harsh but alot of the OPs issues seemed to be weather related, which disney has no control over.

Perhaps you should have done a few things:
Looked at extended forcasts. If you had you should have packed hats and mittens. We were there over christmas and it was cold. the weather in Florida was a major news story for a number of days

If you Aunt couldn't make long walks it is obvious that Kindani would not be a smart choice.

4 rides in 16 days. Maybe you should have planned a little better

christmas decorations up. oh well weather related. Cast can only get them down overnight with parks closed. SOrry disney didn't put the health of castmembers at risk to accomodate you. Next year, since you come from a cold climate go out and take your own decorations down in extremely cold tempatures in the middle of the nights.

It is unfortunate that your kids got sick. It happens. My husband was two days late getting to Disney for our trip because of the blizzard in the north east. we didn't let it ruin the rest of the trip.

vacation is what you make it. I am sure there are plenty of people who would have loved to be at DIsney world cold weather or not. THere have been many reports from people who were there at the same time and had a blast despite the cold.

I looked but the cold weather wasn't showing that cold yet. it was 16 rides in 4 days not the other way around and I didn't say it was Disney's fault, I said I didn't like Kidani.

 

[pyrxtc]

I will still be going back someday, it's not like I'll run out and sell my DVC over this. We were already getting burned out doing Disney and this vacation just pushed it. I LOVE Jambo and would stay there anytime, I also really like Boardwalk and Beach Club (haven't stayed anywhere else yet). First post says I didn't like Kidani, not that I blame anything on Disney.

 

[Dean]

I will still be going back someday, it's not like I'll run out and sell my DVC over this. We were already getting burned out doing Disney and this vacation just pushed it. I LOVE Jambo and would stay there anytime, I also really like Boardwalk and Beach Club (haven't stayed anywhere else yet). First post says I didn't like Kidani, not that I blame anything on Disney.

It doesn't sound like you have a large supply of points and you've stated you're taking a break from Disney. Have you considered other timeshares.

 

[danielle782001]

We also missed having the cartoons in the room and we really want there to be a counter service of some kind

 

[disneylovin24]

I have never had any intrest to stay at AKL. It's a nice place to visit and eat at, but it's too secluded for me. Not enough to do there, you have to leave the resort when you want to do anything.

 

[tjkraz]

With respect to SSR, they will have another CS located at the new proposed pool at the Paddocks area.(Please correct me if this is not so).

Yes, that's true. But it could very well be stuff like the sandwiches and salads which are currently being sold at the Kidani pool bar.

And SSR is nearly 3x the size of Kidani.

 

[BlakeNJ]

To each his own....We loved Kidani during our November stay. I was well prepared and did my research before I left!

We made sure we had plenty of groceries so no need for Mara. I think $8 for some egg beaters, greasy sausage is a rip off and prefer to cook my own breakfast. We did take the bus one night over to AKL to get the kids ice cream at Mara. Not a big deal at all but not something I would want to do for a snack or breakfast.

We requested a room close to the lobby so no need to walk the long hallways.

We always pack our own hats/mittens when traveling in the cooler months--you just never know. Always better to have than have not. I'd hate to pay Disney prices--especially when the gloves I brought along for the kids were $1!

The parking garage didn't bother me. I don't expect much from a parking garage. The elevator was sloooowwww! No more inconvenient than walking from the parking lot of BCV to your room.

I have to disagree and feel AKV is worth of a DVC title. I bought DVC for the space, upgrade in rooms and full kitchen. AKV has all those and more for my family and I. If AKV didn't meet your expectations then it's one resort you can cross off your list for future stays--making your decision even easier!

ETA: I agree the walk from the pool to the lobby is long but if it was that cold, I would have brought a change of clothes and changed into something dry before heading back to the room! If I remember correctly, the walk from the BCV pool is pretty far--you have to go out of the pool area and around into the main lobby and over to the DVC wing--right?

 

[danielle782001]

We requested a room close to the lobby so no need to walk the long hallways.

You got lucky...We have been to Kidani twice...Requested room close to the lobby twice...Both times we did not get our request...We had very long walks both times...So even doing your homework in advance does not always help...I requested actual room numbers the second time and did not get any where near where we requested...

So you cannot hang your hat on that

 

[pyrxtc]

It doesn't sound like you have a large supply of points and you've stated you're taking a break from Disney. Have you considered other timeshares.

We own 320 and have used up all the past years and borrowed 50 in next years. I think that's a good amount of points to own. I like that the rooms fit all of us but don't care if there is a kitchen or not since I don't think cooking in the room is a vacation. We almost always eat breakfast in the room unless we have an ADR somewhere.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I looked but the cold weather wasn't showing that cold yet. it was 16 rides in 4 days not the other way around and I didn't say it was Disney's fault, I said I didn't like Kidani.

I agree about the weather being a surprise.

We had to tell our pet sitter to have the dog boarded at the vet's office on the Monday of our trip.

 

[Anal Annie]

I didn't write what made the trip so bad, just what I didn't like about Kidani and why I wouldn't want to stay there again. A list of what made my trip so bad .......

• The cold !! Was almost as cold as back home, didn't have to drive 1,400 miles to be that cold.
• DD13 got really sick one night
• DS6 got really sick one day and was sick for 3 days, coulnd't make it to the parks or even leave the room so we never got to be at the park as a whole family.
• $62 on a new outfit for DS6 who got sick all over himself while at the park.
• Missing items from my food shopping that were to be meals that I paid for but never made it into my cart
• the long walks and waits for the bus in the cold wiht an Aunt who could not walk them.
• Not so many animals, probabaly due to the cold but still disappointing
• DH was not well and injured himself running the marathon so he couldn't walk much either
• fear that we caused my Aunt a heart Attack on TOT but thankfully she was just getting ready to gt sick and had to skip the park the next day and skip most rides the day after that.
• We missed out on most of our Epcot park day cuz we were all freezing waiting for DH to finish the marathon and used to freezing at home but not in FL
• Spending $30 ona hat and gloves for DH to run in cuz he didn't know he needed to bring his cold weather gear to FL to run.
• Nothing in the room to entertain sick DS especially without those cartoons and being too sick to let him go to the community hall
• Kids really didn't like the Disney school and wished they hadn't gone to it.
• No time wiht me and DH that we didn anything together or as all together as a family. That is what makes my trip great ... family time ! Never happened.

It was all these little things plus the things I didn't like about Kidani that just made it a bad vacation. the thought that I made my aunt sick, much less thinking that we gave her a heart attack on a ride was just horrifying ! never thought about driving between the resorts for food, we don't usually touch the car aside from driving down and back in it. plus most days someone was sick so we couldn't all go out anyways so some food had to be brought back to the room. Publix food also cost more than I would pay for food here so I only bought the neccessities for breakfast and a couple dinners, didn't plan on being in the room so much.

And 16 or 17 rides in 4 days is horrible for us. We are people who are there when the park opens, or soon after, and leave when they kick us out. The first time my Aunt came with us, we did every ride/attraction in MK in the hours of a P&P Party. We've never seen an entire parade or sat and waited for a fireworks display but that is just how we tour the parks. We always need a vacation from our vacation at Disney. our downtime vacation is only a few hours from here and it happens in the summer. We rent a beach house and the only thing we do all day for a week is go out to the beach. No video games in the center or internt or video game systems in the house and only basic cable. I don't go to Disney to sit around and do nothing, I LOVE the parks and all we can do there. The gorgeous of the resorts are just a perk that we get when we sleep in the rooms and to use on our arrival and departure days.

I don't know what I'm missing here? I count like 3 things that are Kidani gripes. Tell us again, one more time why Kidani is being blamed for a bad luck, bad karma kind of trip? I feel bad that you had a lousy time...but it happens. But I fail to see what roll Kidani played in your kid getting sick on his new $62 outfit? Would it have been different somehow if it had been a $17.99 Walmart special?? How can you blame Kidani for your messed up grocery order? I'm sorry, I'm just not seeing it. Help me connect the dots!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm really sorry that you didn't have a great trip and hope your next one is better, much better!

Bobbi

 

[pyrxtc]

I don't know what I'm missing here? I count like 3 things that are Kidani gripes. Tell us again, one more time why Kidani is being blamed for a bad luck, bad karma kind of trip? I feel bad that you had a lousy time...but it happens. But I fail to see what roll Kidani played in your kid getting sick on his new $62 outfit? Would it have been different somehow if it had been a $17.99 Walmart special?? How can you blame Kidani for your messed up grocery order? I'm sorry, I'm just not seeing it. Help me connect the dots!!

You really have to learn to read what is written. Nobody blamed Kidani for the bad trip, not once. And my DS did not get sick on a $62 outfit, read it again, slowly !

 

[riu girl]

As for the Channel 96 cartoons thing, we had a few long posts in the Resorts board on this. The end result -- that channel is available on TVs in the majority of the resorts but Channel 96 is not always programmed into the TV, as Dean said. If it's not - you would have to go into the menu setups and add that channel back in to find it. So I plan on checking it out at Kidani this week myself!

Sorry I must have missed this..what station is channel 96?

Thank you