Just got back from a week at AKL Kidani and wanted to share my thoughts. We were a group of 9 and stayed in a dedicated 2 bedroom, with Savanna view. We own at BLT, and this was our second time staying at Kidani.
Room: Location was spectacular. We requested 2nd floor near the Timon elevator. Perfect location being on the lobby level, not to far from the lobby and very convenient for the buses. Only a 5-7 min walk to Jambo House. Was very happy with the room and location.
Three issues that we had that were very negative:
1.) The bees near the pool. Both times we have stayed there now, this has been an issue and other people were complaining as well. Something needs to be done about this.
2.) Bus transportation was awful. Waited 25-30 minutes multiple times. Also, when leaving the parks at closing, there are so many people waiting for a bus at the AKL stop, that rarely did we ever get on the first bus. By day 3, we were all saying that this is why we own at BLT.
3.) Service at The Mara is terrible. They have one person taking all of the orders. Every time we went there for breakfast or lunch, the line was at least 15 people deep. Contempo Cafe is so much more efficient with ordering at the kiosks. Why not do that at the Mara as well?
Food: We were on the dining plan and I thought the food at the TS and QS restaurants were they best they have been in years. Had great meals at Yak and Yeti, Via Napoli, 1900 Park Fare (breakfast). Only bad meal was at Paradiso 37 at Disney Springs. Bad service and food quality was OK at best. Also found quick service options at Pizzarizzo, Flame Tree BBQ and San Angel Inn to be better than previous visits.
FP+: I still have major issues with this and see no benefit to it. We do not get on as many rides as we used to and the standby lines for all rides are much longer than they used to be. We would finish our first 3 FP's by 12:30 each day, and most of the best rides had no FP availability for the rest of the day when we went to book our 4th FP. After spending a week at Disney, we went and spent 4 days at Universal and stayed on site and had Express Pass. What a joy! It is absolutely superior to FP+ and makes the vacation much more relaxing and enjoyable. Disney should offer an incentive to VC members with additional FP opportunities.
Overall, there were many good things and some negatives from the trip. Will probably not stay at AKL again for a long time because of the issues mentioned above. This trip just confirmed once again why we own at BLT. Being able to walk to MK is absolutely the best feature of any VC property in our opinion.
Room: Location was spectacular. We requested 2nd floor near the Timon elevator. Perfect location being on the lobby level, not to far from the lobby and very convenient for the buses. Only a 5-7 min walk to Jambo House. Was very happy with the room and location.
Three issues that we had that were very negative:
1.) The bees near the pool. Both times we have stayed there now, this has been an issue and other people were complaining as well. Something needs to be done about this.
2.) Bus transportation was awful. Waited 25-30 minutes multiple times. Also, when leaving the parks at closing, there are so many people waiting for a bus at the AKL stop, that rarely did we ever get on the first bus. By day 3, we were all saying that this is why we own at BLT.
3.) Service at The Mara is terrible. They have one person taking all of the orders. Every time we went there for breakfast or lunch, the line was at least 15 people deep. Contempo Cafe is so much more efficient with ordering at the kiosks. Why not do that at the Mara as well?
Food: We were on the dining plan and I thought the food at the TS and QS restaurants were they best they have been in years. Had great meals at Yak and Yeti, Via Napoli, 1900 Park Fare (breakfast). Only bad meal was at Paradiso 37 at Disney Springs. Bad service and food quality was OK at best. Also found quick service options at Pizzarizzo, Flame Tree BBQ and San Angel Inn to be better than previous visits.
FP+: I still have major issues with this and see no benefit to it. We do not get on as many rides as we used to and the standby lines for all rides are much longer than they used to be. We would finish our first 3 FP's by 12:30 each day, and most of the best rides had no FP availability for the rest of the day when we went to book our 4th FP. After spending a week at Disney, we went and spent 4 days at Universal and stayed on site and had Express Pass. What a joy! It is absolutely superior to FP+ and makes the vacation much more relaxing and enjoyable. Disney should offer an incentive to VC members with additional FP opportunities.
Overall, there were many good things and some negatives from the trip. Will probably not stay at AKL again for a long time because of the issues mentioned above. This trip just confirmed once again why we own at BLT. Being able to walk to MK is absolutely the best feature of any VC property in our opinion.
Bill
