Just returned from Kidani Village!!!

[disney1474]

We had a great time and we thought the resort was awesome!! Yes, the lobby is smaller than Jambo's but we like it much better. It really makes you feel at home. Don't get me wrong though...the lobby isn't small, just smaller when comparing to it's big brother
A lot of people I spoke with at the resort didn't even know the rest of the resort wasn't even open yet. We think they did a good job of disguising the other side of the pool area. This is where the new savanna will be. I didn't know that you will be able to see this new savanna and it's new animals while in the pool area. Our room (1 BR) was great!! Everything worked perfectly.
My two girls (3 and 5 ) loved the pool and big waterslide. The slide is pretty fast and the lifeguard said it is one of the best slides on disney property.
The busses were great. Never waited long at all. Sometimes only waited a couple of minutes. Bus to Epcot took 13 min, AK took 5 min, and MK took 17 min. When we went to Jambo house we took any park bus and we were there in like 2 minutes.
The parks were busy but not as busy most people were worried about. Most rides had 10-15 min waits. The major attractions did have 40-50 min waits but we used fastpassess for them.
As usual the pineapple floats were awesome!!!!
This was just a quick report. Oh...I almost forgot. Sanaa was great. We ate there twice and very much enjoyed it.
Overall we fell in love with our new home resort. It's just an awesome place. All the landscaping looked great and will only get better when it all fills out. Always saw the animals from our balcony.
One side note. If you are on the DDP like we were it is a bit of a hassle to have to go to Jambo to get lunch if your not going to be at a park on that certain day. We were swimming in the pool at Kidani, had to get out and hop on a bus to Jambo, eat lunch, and hop on a bus back to Kidani. We would like to have some DP offerings at the pool bar. We did talk to the general manager of Kidani (who was very nice by the way) and she was going to pass the word on. A lot of other members complained about this also. Any questions you have I will try and answer. We can't wait to go back next year!!

 

[amandelba]

Great news! Thanks for the TR.

 

[MnMomW3Boys]

Thanks for the trip report...we are checking in tomorrow. The temp's are suppose to be in the 90's all week so we will get some great use out of the new pool.

 

[RLRDA]

Glad you had a great trip! From all of the pictures I've seen of the common areas (lobby, comm. hall, pool) the resort looks fabulous. Can't wait to see it in person in August - we're staying at Jambo but are looking forward to exploring Kidani.

 

[stopher1]

Glad you had a good trip. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Brave teacher]

Thank you for report of Kidani. We certainly are excited to see it in person at the end of the month.

 

[ShuisFan584]

Thanks for sharing your trip report with us and I'm glad you had such a good time. All these trip reports are making me more and more excited about my upcoming trip! And I might just have to try out that slide.

 

[tecodis]

One side note. If you are on the DDP like we were it is a bit of a hassle to have to go to Jambo to get lunch if your not going to be at a park on that certain day. We were swimming in the pool at Kidani, had to get out and hop on a bus to Jambo, eat lunch, and hop on a bus back to Kidani. We would like to have some DP offerings at the pool bar. We did talk to the general manager of Kidani (who was very nice by the way) and she was going to pass the word on. A lot of other members complained about this also.

So people have to get into dry clothes, shlep onto a bus with park goers and do it all again just for a good variety meal?
And the planners of the resorts operations team didn't see this complaint coming long in advance?? Hmmm...
(where's a scratching head emoticon when I need one)

I guess the other DVC resorts are like that though. OKW, SSR all can be pretty far from their casual dining locations. Personally, I think there should have been a special safari truck going across Sunset Savannah for guest transport solely between the two buildings. How sweet would that have been?

 

[magicaldisney]

What floor did you stay on? Were you higher up for a good view of the animals?

 

[disney1474]

What floor did you stay on? Were you higher up for a good view of the animals?

I think it is considered the 2nd floor. We were on the same level as the lobby in room 7210. Just pass the gift shop, take a right and we were about 8-10 rooms down. It was a 1 BR SV. Awesome room and location! Great view of the animals too!!