Just returned from AKV; Kidani's not quite ready for prime time

[gkrykewy]

There are, in fact, signs for this.

Well then there's the problem

what would the fix be in your opinion? A dedicated bus between Jambo and Kidani?

NO THANK YOU. That cost would come right out of our dues.

 

[Demosthenes]

Because one can't 'hear' the tone of my post, let me just say that I don't mean this to sound snarky in any way...

Can I respectfully ask, what the 'inefficiency' is? And more importantly, what would the fix be in your opinion? A dedicated bus between Jambo and Kidani? I can't imagine Disney would ever do that. They are offering some sort of bus service between the two locations, they run similarly to other resorts that have multiple stops, so they really have offered Kidani/Jambo guests the same service as any other Disney owned resort. Why would we expect anything different at AKV? Now, if the complaint is that the busses are running very slow, than that's a whole other story. But that's one that's relevant to all resorts, not just AKV. And most likely, as usual, it's all about timing....when you happen to hit the bus stop....right before a bus comes, or right after one leaves. And that's just the luck of the draw. I was at Kidani last weekend, like you, and I guess we were lucky because we seemed to catch the busses at the right times. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus.

I guess I'm just wondering what the solution would be for those who are so worried about the bus situation. And I don't mean that in a 'holier than thou' attitude or tone, just pure curiosity. I felt like we were offered multiple solutions for going back and forth between Jambo and Kidani - walk over or take the bus, but just like any other bus trip you may need to wait a little bit. It's what I have come to expect when I'm at Disney and if I ever get too tired of it, I guess I'll rent a car.

Frankly, when I go with just my wife and child, it doesn't make much of a difference. I'd walk. We take one trip a year with my mom who, while not confined to a wheelchair normally, rents one in the parks. For her it would be hard. My proposed solution is simple: Right now, the 4 theme park busses go to Kidani first, then Jambo, while the DTD bus goes to Jambo first, then Kidani. The simple solution to me would be to have one of the theme park buses stop at Jambo first as well. That way, there would be two busses from Jambo to Kidani, and three busses from Kidani to Jambo...for NO MORE COST you could have added benefit of a more efficient system.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I disagree. For the most part, Disney resorts are large, sprawling, and require a significant amount of walking. Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans, Coronado Springs, All Star... the list goes on. If you are staying on Disney property, you are usually walking a good bit, and it's often outdoors on landscaped paths between buildings, to the pool, to the lobby/arcade, etc. This is really no different at all.

In fact, I just measured it in Google Earth, and the outdoor walk between the Kidani and Jambo lobbies is roughly equivalent to the walk between some of the more distant Caribbean Beach buildings and the main central pool - about 1,700 feet.

I can assure you that DVC did not intend for buses or cars to be the primary means of transportation between Kidani and Jambo. One look at the site plan should tell you that.

and I'm sure that's why so many people take their cars to the pools and the restaurants and the buses/cars to HH at OKW to get coffee in the morning. I love to walk, I don't have any issues but many will at Kidani, just like SSR and OKW. Another issue at Kidani is the lack of a food court, there isn't a Mara at Kidani for the simple reason that DVC doesn't put in food courts at DVC Resorts, the villas have kitchens, hence SSR, OKW, VB, HH. Hotels have food courts, the Boardwalk Inn, Animal Kingdom Lodge etc. For some the walking is going to be an issue and those people will choose to stay at Jambo. Just like the pools, Jambo's pool services both hotel guests and DVC members, that's why it's always so crowded, now the Kidani pool won't just service DVC customers, I'm sure lodge guests will use it too.

Those DVCr's that don't like the remoteness/ accessability to food & services of SSR and OKW will not like Kidani for the same reason and will prefer Jambo. By the same token I will prefer Kidani to Jambo for exactly those reasons.

 

[gkrykewy]

and I'm sure that's why so many people take their cars to the pools and the restaurants and the buses/cars to HH at OKW to get coffee in the morning.

"So many" = "the minority"

But they're certainly entitled.

Frankly, when I go with just my wife and child, it doesn't make much of a difference. I'd walk. We take one trip a year with my mom who, while not confined to a wheelchair normally, rents one in the parks. For her it would be hard. My proposed solution is simple: Right now, the 4 theme park busses go to Kidani first, then Jambo, while the DTD bus goes to Jambo first, then Kidani. The simple solution to me would be to have one of the theme park buses stop at Jambo first as well. That way, there would be two busses from Jambo to Kidani, and three busses from Kidani to Jambo...for NO MORE COST you could have added benefit of a more efficient system.

I agree that your solution sounds practical on the surface, and I'm all for it if it can be done at no cost

 

[laughinplace199]

We just returned from 8 nights at AKV. We had a nice time, and got to experience Kidani for the last 3 nights. The resort is nice, and the interior looks great. The Kidani pool is way better than Jambo's pool; in my personal opinion, Jambo has the worst pool of any DVC resort, and easily the worst slide. The pool at Kidani was very nice, and we were very pleased to not have to pool hop the last few days (we spent the first part of the week in Coronado's pool). The slide is very nice, and while pretty much another corkscrew slide (like many of the other DVC resorts), it is themed well, and was plenty long.

The restaurant was smallish..., and the store was as well. That is a little surprising considering the apparent size of the finished resort. It was no problem this week, but the place was pretty empty (rooms were booked to capacity, but CMs were telling us that there aren't that many rooms ready for use). The savannah feels more intimate and closer to the rooms and public areas than Jambo. I also like the parking; much of it is under the buildings, so you keep out of the heat (kind of like Vero, though the garage is more open).

A few things were disappointing this week. One thing that surprised me was how much the exterior public areas still lack to be finished. None of the Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) walls in the parking garage area were painted. That is normal for a parking garage, but this is open to public view. It looks really distracting, and if it isn't on a punch list, it needs to be added. It looks really tacky. Also, as you approach the building, the siding has no trim nor design of any sort. I have to believe this will be changed later; it looks like a metal fabricated building, and is not very attractive. They may think that one day the vegetation will block the eyesore view, but it looks awful right now. All around the resort, there is a lot of construction debris, building materials, mulch, tools, etc. The site really needed another week to be properly prepared for guests to arrive. This was not in the savannah areas, but in and around the rest of the resort it looked this way. It was very bad show on Disney's part. My wife was shocked by it; as was I (I am a commercial builder, and I've never turned over a hotel in such a state before; they clearly were struggling to make substantial completion).

I really hope they work out the busses as well. Since we were at AKL all week, we saw the resort with Jambo only, and with Kidani. With only Jambo, the busses were significantly more efficient. When Kidani was added to the loop, efficiency was really hampered. It takes 6 minutes to get from the Jambo bus stop to the Kidani bus stop (seems long, but I timed it on multiple trips; part of the problem seems to be some sort of direction the drivers have been given to crawl down the streets once inside the resort). Also, many times when you take the Epcot bus from the park , and always for the MGM bus from the park, you go to Blizzard Beach, and sometimes also to AK during the slower parts of the day. It takes forever, and would seem interminable if you were the going on to Jambo house. Also, for some reason, all busses from theme parks go to Kidani first, then Jambo. That would be fine, except that without a walkway from Jambo to Kidani, your only means of transport from Jambo to Kidani is the Downtown Disney Bus, which seems to be the least frequent of all the busses. It works fine going from Kidani to Jambo, because you can catch basically any bus; the problem is coming from Jambo to Kidani. I waited 40 Minutes on Friday night to get from Jambo to Kidani after dinner at Boma. That was ridiculous. I think they should make it so that Epcot and MK go to Kidani first, and AK and DS go to Jambo first. That way the internal transportation would be greatly improved. I know they will have to work out details, but this is one they have to work on, and soon.

I don't want to sound all negative. We did enjoy our stay. Our 5 year-old loved looking for the animals each day, and while his mother and I hated the Jambo pool, he loved it (though he too preferred Coronado's pool). We also really enjoyed the Mara and Boma (breakfast and dinner). I love the exotic smells coming from the kitchens of Jiko and Boma each time you walk into the resort. I also loved the CMs out at Arusha Rock and the storytelling (BTW, at Kidani, the stories are told in the library overlooking the savannah, not outside). We also loved Zawadi Marketplace; that store has more unique items than any other resort store we've been to before.

I'll post some pictures when I get them uploaded, but if anybody has any questions, feel free to fire away.

Thanks for your report. I'm glad you mentioned the garage because I was beginning to think I was the only one who had a problem with how it looked. We had dinner at Jiko on 4/28 and drove over to Kidani afterwards to see what it looked like. I was shocked at the way the garage area looked. I really hope that they're not done. I would expect at least a coat of paint on the ugly cinderblock walls.

We're thinking of staying there next year. The pool area sounds great!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Thanks for posting your review and honest thoughts on the resort. We are staying at Kidani in December and are hoping that the kinks, especially with the bus service, will be worked out by then.

 

[Demosthenes]

Corkscrew slide! How fun! Can't wait to see more pics of the Kidani pool!

This is the best I can do:

 

[TagsMissy]

Thanks for your report. I'm glad you mentioned the garage because I was beginning to think I was the only one who had a problem with how it looked. We had dinner at Jiko on 4/28 and drove over to Kidani afterwards to see what it looked like. I was shocked at the way the garage area looked. I really hope that they're not done. I would expect at least a coat of paint on the ugly cinderblock walls.

We're thinking of staying there next year. The pool area sounds great!

There are environmental reasons for not painting concrete. I have no issues with a parking garage being concrete.

 

[GuySmiley]

We can't have bus drivers other than the DTD drivers go the opposite direction. You see, the DTD drivers are the best of the best, kind of the top-gun drivers of Disney drivers. They can handle complex instructions like, 'go opposite of all the other drivers.' If you gave those instructions to an Epcot driver, for instance, he'd probably just cry, at best, and worst, he'd run over children. Do you want the buses to run over children? I didn't think so. Its the same lazy attitude that makes you want to ride a bus instead of walk that made you over-look these facts in the first place!

 

[jade1]

We can't have bus drivers other than the DTD drivers go the opposite direction. You see, the DTD drivers are the best of the best, kind of the top-gun drivers of Disney drivers. They can handle complex instructions like, 'go opposite of all the other drivers.' If you gave those instructions to an Epcot driver, for instance, he'd probably just cry, at best, and worst, he'd run over children. Do you want the buses to run over children? I didn't think so. Its the same lazy attitude that makes you want to ride a bus instead of walk that made you over-look these facts in the first place!

 

[Demosthenes]

A few more pics:

 

[lugnut33]

We can't have bus drivers other than the DTD drivers go the opposite direction. You see, the DTD drivers are the best of the best, kind of the top-gun drivers of Disney drivers. They can handle complex instructions like, 'go opposite of all the other drivers.' If you gave those instructions to an Epcot driver, for instance, he'd probably just cry, at best, and worst, he'd run over children. Do you want the buses to run over children? I didn't think so. Its the same lazy attitude that makes you want to ride a bus instead of walk that made you over-look these facts in the first place!

I drove our rent-a-car from Kidani to Jambo!!! Take that!!

Oh, and Epcot drivers only drive into the future, that's why they stop at Kidani first!!

 

[lugnut33]

A few more pics:

Those are some pretty cool red x's they have at Kidani.



(I know you're trying, so thanks)

 

[Demosthenes]

We can't have bus drivers other than the DTD drivers go the opposite direction. You see, the DTD drivers are the best of the best, kind of the top-gun drivers of Disney drivers. They can handle complex instructions like, 'go opposite of all the other drivers.' If you gave those instructions to an Epcot driver, for instance, he'd probably just cry, at best, and worst, he'd run over children. Do you want the buses to run over children? I didn't think so. Its the same lazy attitude that makes you want to ride a bus instead of walk that made you over-look these facts in the first place!

LOL!

I can't believe my folly; I apologize for my short-sightedness.

 

[Demosthenes]

Sorry if there is a problem with the pictures not showing up; they show up on my browser. If anyone want to check out the photos, you can go here:
http://gallery.me.com/pc_frailey/100090

 

[jns]

A few more pics:

anyone else not seeing the photos
Thanks for your honest report

 

[GuySmiley]

I drove our rent-a-car from Kidani to Jambo!!! Take that!!

Oh, and Epcot drivers only drive into the future, that's why they stop at Kidani first!!

LOL, yeah, but don't dare try to tell them to come back! Loved your trip report by the way. My wife and I are going to Kidani without kids in Oct also. But we are going back in Dec with them, so they can't feel too bad.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Sorry if there is a problem with the pictures not showing up; they show up on my browser. If anyone want to check out the photos, you can go here:
http://gallery.me.com/pc_frailey/100090

Excellent photos. Thanks for posting the link!

 

[Demosthenes]

Corkscrew slide! How fun! Can't wait to see more pics of the Kidani pool!

This is the best I can do:

 

[Demosthenes]

A few more pics: