Kidani village - 1st DVC stay

[Jenntx]

We are thrilled! Our family just booked our first DVC vacation using points for May 2014!! We are staying at Kidani Village. We have never stayed at Animal Kingdom before so we are excited. Any cool things we should look for while we stay there? Or any insider tips from regulars @ Kidani or Jambo we should know about? We are so happy to be DVC members!!

 

[jambo5564]

Congratulations! You'll love it. The best thing you can do at kadani and jambo is just wander around. discover your favorite spot to watch animals. Best place to relax. Both pools are great. (Jambo is bigger but kidani has the better slide). Eat at the resort too. Food there is great. Enjoy!!

 

[bwang123]

night vision goggles and jiko

 

[wdrl]

There are a lot of things to do around Kidani Village and Jambo House. Remember that as a guest at Kidani you have full access to all the amenities at Jambo House, too. Here are a few things about AKV that you might find interesting:

All Disney buses going to the Parks stop first at Kidani Village and then Jambo House. The Downtown Disney bus stops first at Jambo House, then continues on to Kidani Village before going to DTD.

There is a free shuttle van that goes back and forth during the day between Kidani and Jambo. Check with Valet Service to see when the next shuttle is available.

AKV offers a night time viewing of the savanna animals. Guests can use night vision goggles to see the animals. Check with Concierge to find out where and when its offered.

A personal favorite of mine is interacting with the Cultural Representatives from Africa and the Animal Caretakers. Its interesting listening to the cultural reps talk about their home countries and how it compares to life in the U.S. The animal caretakers share insights into the behavior, quirks, and personalities of their animals, and can give tips on when or where its best to view certain animals.

Speaking of animal caretakers, AKV offers a special luncheon at Sanaa Restaurant called "Sanaa Dine with Animal Specialist." Its usually offered once or twice a week. The luncheon is limited to 10 to 12 guests and your host will be one of the Disney Animal Specialists. If you search for dining options at Kidani's Sanaa Restaurant you'll find more information about this special dining opportunity.

I'm sure you'll have a great stay at Kidani!

 

[bman388]

We just got back from Kidani on Tuesday. If you plan on eating at Sanaa, do the tour before hand. I can't remember what it is called, but we had 5pm reservations at Sanaa and the tour started at 4pm in the lobby. Our tour guide was from South Africa and she was great. She gave us the history behind many of the artifacts around Kidani and the tour ended up in Sanaa where she explained many of the artifacts and their cultures. All of the tables there have one main taller chair that is reserved for the man because he is the head of the household. In their culture if the man finds the meal unacceptable he can get up and walk away and the family must follow and not eat until the following day when another meal is prepared and he gives it another try. If the kids have any complaints, they must write them down in a note and explain their situation. Then they submit them to the father for his review. Man I love their culture!! I was one of the only ones in the restaurant sitting in the correct chair because we were the only ones on the tour. Beautiful resort but make sure you insist on a Savannah view that faces the inner loop. Even if a room is not ready when you check in, tell them you will wait for one.

 

[magicaldisney]

 

[andersonsc]

we were there in 2011. Our kids loved the community room. It had a pool table for the older boys and some free crafts for our youngest (and the older boys, too). There were also crafts for a dollar or two that you could make.

The staff was very nice and even played some board games with our youngest. There were windows to also view the animals from the community room. My boys loved hanging out there while I made dinner. I think the rules said a parent had to stay but the older boys were able to watch out for the younger one. I also enjoyed hanging out there too and playing pool. The OKW community room was such a disappointment compared to this one.

We also went to Jambo House to decorate cookies one day. That was fun, too.

We've stayed at Beach Club, Old Key West, Animal Kingdom and Grand Californian. Boys like animal kingdom the most. We had a Savannah view room right near a tree where they feed the giraffes. Very fun to watch.

 

[dianeschlicht]

In addition to the aforementioned activities, we enjoy the cultural presentations in the library in the evenings. At 7:00 they have a "drum circle " for kids and adults with some of the African exchange participants, and then at 8:15, one of the young exchange people will give a cultural presentation on something from their country. We have seen many of these and thoroughly enjoy them. In fact, even when we are not staying at Kidani, we sometimes go to enjoy the cultural presentations after a dinner at Sanaa. I always feel bad that so many times these are very poorly attended.

 

[Anal Annie]

For us, AKV has some of the best restaurants on property. We absolutely love Boma and the Mara (CS) and also enjoyed Sanaa a lot. Jiko was only OK for us (we thought it was overpriced compared to the others).

For us, we like staying at Jambo House better than Kidani - the store is much larger as is the lobby and it has more restaurants so be sure to wander over to Jambo to check things out too!

The entire AK property is the most unique place you'll ever stay at so enjoy it!!

 

[Jenntx]

Wow - thank you all for all the information on AKL!! I love the DIS boards - everyone has always been so helpful & takes the time to give so much detailed information. Thank you! We can't wait to check the place out in May.

 

[Jenntx]

http://s77.photobucket.com/user/Lunow/media/thumbnailaspx.jpg.html

Thank you!

 

[Jenntx]

We just got back from Kidani on Tuesday. If you plan on eating at Sanaa, do the tour before hand. I can't remember what it is called, but we had 5pm reservations at Sanaa and the tour started at 4pm in the lobby. Our tour guide was from South Africa and she was great. She gave us the history behind many of the artifacts around Kidani and the tour ended up in Sanaa where she explained many of the artifacts and their cultures. All of the tables there have one main taller chair that is reserved for the man because he is the head of the household. In their culture if the man finds the meal unacceptable he can get up and walk away and the family must follow and not eat until the following day when another meal is prepared and he gives it another try. If the kids have any complaints, they must write them down in a note and explain their situation. Then they submit them to the father for his review. Man I love their culture!! I was one of the only ones in the restaurant sitting in the correct chair because we were the only ones on the tour. Beautiful resort but make sure you insist on a Savannah view that faces the inner loop. Even if a room is not ready when you check in, tell them you will wait for one.

We will have to check that tour out & make sure we have a Savannah view.

 

[Jenntx]

For us, AKV has some of the best restaurants on property. We absolutely love Boma and the Mara (CS) and also enjoyed Sanaa a lot. Jiko was only OK for us (we thought it was overpriced compared to the others).

For us, we like staying at Jambo House better than Kidani - the store is much larger as is the lobby and it has more restaurants so be sure to wander over to Jambo to check things out too!

The entire AK property is the most unique place you'll ever stay at so enjoy it!!

We actually liked Jambo house better too but decided to go with Kidani because the one bedroom villa has two bathrooms. We have three boys so we thought that was best. Next time we will need to stay in a two bedroom as out boys are getting bigger so we will definitely try to stay in Jambo.

 

[Jenntx]

we were there in 2011. Our kids loved the community room. It had a pool table for the older boys and some free crafts for our youngest (and the older boys, too). There were also crafts for a dollar or two that you could make.

The staff was very nice and even played some board games with our youngest. There were windows to also view the animals from the community room. My boys loved hanging out there while I made dinner. I think the rules said a parent had to stay but the older boys were able to watch out for the younger one. I also enjoyed hanging out there too and playing pool. The OKW community room was such a disappointment compared to this one.

We also went to Jambo House to decorate cookies one day. That was fun, too.

We've stayed at Beach Club, Old Key West, Animal Kingdom and Grand Californian. Boys like animal kingdom the most. We had a Savannah view room right near a tree where they feed the giraffes. Very fun to watch.

Thanks for explaining the community room. We were wondering what it was for. How fun that they have cookie decorating @ Jambo. My boys would love that! On our family vacation in May (when we joined DVC) we visited AKL and our three boys thought it was so awesome that that had animals on property. They thought the Jambo house lobby was amazing!!

 

[Jenntx]

There are a lot of things to do around Kidani Village and Jambo House. Remember that as a guest at Kidani you have full access to all the amenities at Jambo House, too. Here are a few things about AKV that you might find interesting:

All Disney buses going to the Parks stop first at Kidani Village and then Jambo House. The Downtown Disney bus stops first at Jambo House, then continues on to Kidani Village before going to DTD.

There is a free shuttle van that goes back and forth during the day between Kidani and Jambo. Check with Valet Service to see when the next shuttle is available.

AKV offers a night time viewing of the savanna animals. Guests can use night vision goggles to see the animals. Check with Concierge to find out where and when its offered.

A personal favorite of mine is interacting with the Cultural Representatives from Africa and the Animal Caretakers. Its interesting listening to the cultural reps talk about their home countries and how it compares to life in the U.S. The animal caretakers share insights into the behavior, quirks, and personalities of their animals, and can give tips on when or where its best to view certain animals.

Speaking of animal caretakers, AKV offers a special luncheon at Sanaa Restaurant called "Sanaa Dine with Animal Specialist." Its usually offered once or twice a week. The luncheon is limited to 10 to 12 guests and your host will be one of the Disney Animal Specialists. If you search for dining options at Kidani's Sanaa Restaurant you'll find more information about this special dining opportunity.

I'm sure you'll have a great stay at Kidani!

Thanks for the info!! We will have to definitely check out the nighttime animal viewing - sounds fun!

When we stopped to visit the resort last May - I noticed the animal specialist @ their displays in the lobby. I thought the boys would love hearing what they had to say. How cool that they can learn on vacation.

 

[Jenntx]

Congratulations! You'll love it. The best thing you can do at kadani and jambo is just wander around. discover your favorite spot to watch animals. Best place to relax. Both pools are great. (Jambo is bigger but kidani has the better slide). Eat at the resort too. Food there is great. Enjoy!!

Thanks! We can not wait to explore & find our favorite places. Excited about eating at the many restaurants too but we will be eating most of our meals in our villas since we have those awesome kitchens. Can't wait!

 

[Jenntx]

In addition to the aforementioned activities, we enjoy the cultural presentations in the library in the evenings. At 7:00 they have a "drum circle " for kids and adults with some of the African exchange participants, and then at 8:15, one of the young exchange people will give a cultural presentation on something from their country. We have seen many of these and thoroughly enjoy them. In fact, even when we are not staying at Kidani, we sometimes go to enjoy the cultural presentations after a dinner at Sanaa. I always feel bad that so many times these are very poorly attended.

Thanks for the info! My boys love learning about other countries so we will have to definitely attend their presentations. So glad I started this thread - I am learning so much. Thank you!

 

[Jenntx]

My husband and I took a quick adult only trip to WDW a couple of weeks ago. While there we checked out DVC villas at Baylake, Wilderness Lodge, AKL both Kidani & Jambo. The resorts were so accommodating and helpful - they had a cast member show us the DVC rooms & give us mini tours of each resort. I recommend everyone asking to see the rooms. It helps so much to see what will be the best for your family. Also stop by the DVC booth at the resorts, they were so willing to answer questions & share their knowledge with you.

We also noticed that a regular WDW trip & DVC trip are completely different vacations. With a WDW trip (in our opinion) it's more about the parks & for us that meant going in warp speed to get it all done (which we have been fine with bc we love the parks). But a DVC vacation seems more relaxed, hanging out at the pool and spending more time in your villa (esp since it has a kitchen & more space to just hang out.) Since we will have AP tickets and can now park hop, our park visits will be more laid back. We cannot wait to start vacationing as DVC members!!

 

[gonzalj1]

One of the coolest things we did there was to take advantage of the night vision goggles to view the savannah at night. Not sure what nights this is offered but I highly recommend checking it out.