Just switched resorts at our 7 month window..

smjj

Been there done that going back now as DVC member
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Jun 25, 2000
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Opinions please, we just switched from our home resort of OKW to Kidani Village 2 bedroom, savanna view. Our first chose was BCV followed by BWV but they were taken due to Food and Wine festival going on at EPCOT. We have never stayed at AKL but have visited several times. How have others found Kidani Village? We will be with our daughter, son-in-law and our two small grandkids. Thanks in advance....smjj
 
Love Kidani. You can't beat having a savanna view. Remember that if you want to go to Jambo you can take any park bus or take the shuttle that goes between the two buildings. Kidani has a great children's pool play area. If you have a chance, go out to the main viewing area at night. You will be able to observe the animals with night vision binoculars. It's a blast. There also is a fire at the fire pit in the evenings that you can enjoy.
 
We stayed in a studio Savanna view and loved it! Beautiful resort, very peaceful. If you have a car, you can park reasonably close near an elevator that will get you closer to your room. The halls are long, thats my only negative with the place, but wouldnt keep me from staying again
 

This is my home resort so of course, I LOVE IT. Kids normally like it a lot and the pools there are wonderful. Jambo is a 10-15 min walk if you want to mix it up and the rooms are lovely. I don't believe you will be disappointed.
If you are pool people, request a room close to the lobby so you are not walking to far to get to the pool though.
 
We loved Kidani, even my husband who reluctantly agreed to a stay there really liked it.. (so much so that we tried Jambo on anther trip to try a stay in both AKV locations). There's so much to visually see and explore on property.
 
AKV has a very special place in my heart, as I know it does for many people. I would say that of all of the DVC Disneyworld resorts, it is the one that feels most like a destination unto itself. It's fantastic and we plan more non-park days when staying at AKV than anywhere else.
 
Opinions please, we just switched from our home resort of OKW to Kidani Village 2 bedroom, savanna view. Our first chose was BCV followed by BWV but they were taken due to Food and Wine festival going on at EPCOT. We have never stayed at AKL but have visited several times. How have others found Kidani Village? We will be with our daughter, son-in-law and our two small grandkids. Thanks in advance....smjj

Just stayed at Kidani with SV in January, LOVED IT! the Savannah view is wonderful, and it's my most favorite pool at ANY resort. My 3 year old was not a big fan of swimming pools until we spent time in that pool, by far her favorite thing to do was going down the small kid slide.
 
Stayed in a 2 bedroom savanna view at Kidani with my sister's family, which included 5 year old twins. We all loved it. Kids especially loved the Kidani pool and the community room. Seeing all the animals from the balcony was a fantastic experience. I don't think you'll regret your choice. The Kidani dedicated 2 bedrooms are very spacious and that third bathroom is a BIG help.
 
Boy sounds like we made a good decision. We have wanted to stay there but just had too many others we had not yet tried. I requested a room close to the elevators based on others feedback. Thanks for all the great advice and recommendations...smjj
 
You didn't mention when you are making your trip, but have a great time and please report back on how you like Kidani!
 
You didn't mention when you are making your trip, but have a great time and please report back on how you like Kidani!

I guess I did not did I. We will be there Oct. 15 leaving 21st. Little side note, this leaves just BWV yet to try and we are taking the entire family in 2018 so we will shoot for there but due to fall breaks and schools it will probably be hard to get in this same time period...smjj
 
AKV is one of our home resorts (BWV the other). Do not know which 2BR you got but I would recommend the dedicated 2BR at Kidani. It gives you the second queen in the second bedroom and one long balcony that runs across the master bedroom, living room and second bedroom. With the lock-off, you get a barrier wall on the balcony between the studio and 1BR.

As to size, we consider it very spacious, but as an OKW owner, you might consider it a step to the downside since no 2BR is larger than OKW's. In any event, the Kidani 2BRs are larger than elsewhere except VGF and they have the sleeper chair and third bathroom. If you have a car, parking is ideal in the under-building, ground floor parking lot which has three elevators along each of the two wings, north and south, and thus no matter where your room is, you can get a parking space fairly close to your room. The only downside to the rooms themselves, which many do not consider a downside, is that they are darkly colored inside (earth tones) and the modern energy efficient lightbulbs leave the room somewhat dark even when lit, which can be a particular problem when trying to use the bathroom mirror.

With two small grandkids, recommend you make a request that gets you somewhat close to the lobby because from lobby to room, you can have up to 1/3 mile walk down a hallway if your room is at the end of a wing. To be closest to the pool and not far from the lobby, recommend a near the Rafiki elevator request (down that elevator on the north wing gives you the shortest possible walk from the building to a gate to the pool area). If instead, you would rather be close to the bus stop, which is on the south wing, request either close to community hall or close to the Timon elevator. The savanna views from any of those areas are very good. There is only a table service restaurant at Kidani, Sanaa, that is not open for breakfast, but I consider it one of the best restaurants at WDW. Moreover, you should take a trip to Jambo and do Boma, the buffet restaurant, which I also consider one of the best on site. The pool is excellent for kids, including because of the kids play area, which has different things for kids from toddler to young teens. I am not overly enamored with it as an older adult because it does not have an abundance of places to find shade, including because many of the trees are still growing.

One thing we have found is that the buses at AKL are generally quite good, usually timely and usually not crowded with standing room only. Also, with only two internal stops, the time it takes to get to MK, Epcot, and Studios, is not much different from other resorts that use buses to those locations even though the distance is more from AKL.The trip to AK is about 10 minutes.

Finally, if you want a 2BR at BWV in 2018, I would advise that you go between mid-Jan and late Sep if you want a real chance of getting a 2BR at 7 months out. They are not likely to be available at 7 months out during the late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan period.
 
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Finally, if you want a 2BR at BWV in 2018, I would advise that you go between mid-Jan and late Sep if you want a real chance of getting a 2BR at 7 months out. They are not likely to be available at 7 months out during the late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan period.

Thanks for all this info, it is very helpful. Unfortunately our 2018 trip is at the mercy of 2 different school systems here in Indiana and other considerations which make the Oct. or Thanksgiving dates the only viable dates for 3 different families. I also failed to mention that this 2018 trip will require a 3 bedroom villa....smjj
 
Our top 2 DVC rooms we have stayed at so far (in no particular order):
1) 2 bedroom Kidani savannah view
2) Grand Californian 1 bedroom partial theme park view

Our kids had a blast in the Kidani room and the master bathroom is our favorite dvc bathroom.
 
Kidani is one of our 3 favourite resorts and we love a Savannah view. Th three bathrooms in a 2 bedroom are great and the space is lovely. Sitting on the balcony with a bottle of wine watching the animals is great. My kids love it too.
 
As you can see in my signature, I love Kidani! I'd stay there for every trip if DH & DD didn't get a vote :rotfl: Everyone from a 2 yr old up to a 62 yr old has loved their stay with us at Kidani - you made a great choice :thumbsup2
 
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