Kidani Village-Tell me everything!

[pinkpixie0920]

Hi!

We just booked a trip for February 11-14 staying at Kidani Village with a Savannah view room. This was a last minute trip. We have never stayed at Kidani Village or AKL for that matter before. So any helpful tips or hints would be greatly appreciated. Also, I was trying to find a thread that had the information and pictures of Kidani Village but was having trouble finding one.

 

[katybug34]

Our favorite and we have stayed everywhere except Old Key West.

1. Some say it is too far away from everything. This is why we love it. When you get back to the resort, you are away from everything else. It is secluded from rest of Disney property.
2. The bus system is what I have found to be the best on property. You don't have to worry about a bus pulling up full from another resort, and you go straight to the parks.
3. Look for the animals in the mornings. In addition to the rooms, there are several viewing areas with rocking chairs that are great.
4. There is a great arcade for the kids as well as one of the best pool areas in all of Disney.
5. Food is different. You will either love it or not care for it. Boma is one of our favorites.
6. Rooms are darker than other resorts, but that is part of the environment.
7. We own BLT and Kidani, and Kidani is our favorite hands down.

 

[pinkpixie0920]

Thanks Katybug! How far is it from Jambo house? Is it a close walk or do you take a bus. The pictures that I have seen look close but I wasn't sure.

 

[drusba]

Adding:

Make a request if you can for close to the lobby and sunset savanna view. Most savanna view rooms overlook Sunset Savanna but about 15% to 20% overlook Pembe; Pembe has no giraffes or zebras. You should request close to the lobby and hope you don't get far from the lobby. The walk from the lobby down the hallway to the end rooms on the north wing of Kidani is so long that you need to take supplies with you and find a place midway to stay overnight before setting out for the rest of the arduous journey in the morning. That is an exageration but not much of one. The walk to the end of the south wing is only a little shorter. Note, if you have a car, you can park almost right under your room regardless of where it is and use a nearby elevator to get to your room.


Sanaa at Kidani is an excellent table service restaurant as is Jiko's at Jambo. Boma at Jambo is one of the best buffet restaurants on site.

Front door to front door Kidani to Jambo is 1/2 mile, you can use bus and they sometimes have a cart run. Busses for parks run Kidani to Jambo to park, for Downtown Disney Jambo to Kidani to DD.

If you actually want to see a lot of pictures and maps of Kidani, the simplest way is to go to Google images and search for kidani village

 

[pinkpixie0920]

Adding:

Make a request if you can for close to the lobby and sunset savanna view. Most savanna view rooms overlook Sunset Savanna but about 15% to 20% overlook Pembe; Pembe has no giraffes or zebras. You should request close to the lobby and hope you don't get far from the lobby. The walk from the lobby down the hallway to the end rooms on the north wing of Kidani is so long that you need to take supplies with you and find a place midway to stay overnight before setting out for the rest of the arduous journey in the morning. That is an exageration but not much of one. The walk to the end of the south wing is only a little shorter. Note, if you have a car, you can park almost right under your room regardless of where it is and use a nearby elevator to get to your room.


Sanaa at Kidani is an excellent table service restaurant as is Jiko's at Jambo. Boma at Jambo is one of the best buffet restaurants on site.

Front door to front door Kidani to Jambo is 1/2 mile, you can use bus and they sometimes have a cart run. Busses for parks run Kidani to Jambo to park, for Downtown Disney Jambo to Kidani to DD.

If you actually want to see a lot of pictures and maps of Kidani, the simplest way is to go to Google images and search for kidani village

Thank you so much! I had a feeling it was a farther walk to Jambo. And thank you for the suggestions on the room requests. We are going with another couple and are each staying in a studio so I planned on requesting rooms by one another so I will add that to my request.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

Thank you so much! I had a feeling it was a farther walk to Jambo. And thank you for the suggestions on the room requests. We are going with another couple and are each staying in a studio so I planned on requesting rooms by one another so I will add that to my request.

I have walked from Kidani to Jambo many times. Its not a bad walk. Its like being in Magic Kingdom and walking from Splash Mountain to Space Mountain.

 

[supersuperwendy]

There are times I will stop at Jahari Treasures and fill up my mug with coffee and go sit outside of the lobby. The music out there is great and there always seems to be a breeze! Also, see if you can get a room on the 2nd floor. It's the same floor as the lobby and I loved it! The kids could walk down to community hall or the lobby to play Wii..it's great!

 

[xkwisit]

We stayed at Kidani this past Aug/Sept & LOVE LOVE LOVED it! We had a savannah view too. Woke up to Long horns & Ostriches in the AM & came "home" to giraffes & zebras later. The cast members were all great. It was wonderful. We are contimplating going back again this August. There were 11 of us, 7 kids so we drove to Jamba but could have walked easily. I highly recommend it, hands down.

 

[pinkpixie0920]

I have walked from Kidani to Jambo many times. Its not a bad walk. Its like being in Magic Kingdom and walking from Splash Mountain to Space Mountain.

Oh that doesn't seem bad. Thanks for the advice!

There are times I will stop at Jahari Treasures and fill up my mug with coffee and go sit outside of the lobby. The music out there is great and there always seems to be a breeze! Also, see if you can get a room on the 2nd floor. It's the same floor as the lobby and I loved it! The kids could walk down to community hall or the lobby to play Wii..it's great!

Thanks! We are very excited to stay there.

We stayed at Kidani this past Aug/Sept & LOVE LOVE LOVED it! We had a savannah view too. Woke up to Long horns & Ostriches in the AM & came "home" to giraffes & zebras later. The cast members were all great. It was wonderful. We are contimplating going back again this August. There were 11 of us, 7 kids so we drove to Jamba but could have walked easily. I highly recommend it, hands down.

Thanks! I hope you get to go back this August.

 

[nolanboys]

Stayed there this past Oct. for our first stay as DVC members. Loved it. We had a standard room, but did request to be close to the lobby but on the side closer to Jambo. Our room location was perfect. Close to the lobby and the bus stop. The pool was a short walk and the walk to Jambo took us about 7 minutes. We walked over to lunch at Mara and thought the food was good. We also ate ate at Sanaa and Jiko and loved both of them. The bar at Jambo is great too- this was a trip without the kids! We loved hanging out in the lobby and walking out on the verandas to watch the animals. Make sure to talk to the CM's about the animals. They are very knowledgable and we learned a lot. You'll have a great time. We can't wait to go back with the kids.

 

[pinkpixie0920]

Stayed there this past Oct. for our first stay as DVC members. Loved it. We had a standard room, but did request to be close to the lobby but on the side closer to Jambo. Our room location was perfect. Close to the lobby and the bus stop. The pool was a short walk and the walk to Jambo took us about 7 minutes. We walked over to lunch at Mara and thought the food was good. We also ate ate at Sanaa and Jiko and loved both of them. The bar at Jambo is great too- this was a trip without the kids! We loved hanging out in the lobby and walking out on the verandas to watch the animals. Make sure to talk to the CM's about the animals. They are very knowledgable and we learned a lot. You'll have a great time. We can't wait to go back with the kids.

Thanks! When were you there in October? We went October 16-23 and said at VWL. We also ate at Jiko during that stay. We thought is was great! Sanaa does look good too. Thanks for all you tips.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

I also love getting a drink from the bar at Sanaa and taking it to the fire pit at night and sit in the rocking chairs. The bugs are a bother somewhat but I don't mind.

 

[brianheather]

We just returned from our first stay at Kidani Villiage. We loved it. At first I was not happy with our room placement. We had requested close to our lobby (and I know requests are not guarenteed) but we had used 105pts for a Savannah view room as it was our Honeymoon. And when I looked out our door overlooking the savannah, I saw trailers and little buildings. I was very unhappy and called the front desk. They moved us the next morning. Let me tell you the room was amazing the view was amazing. It was a totally different experiance then our stay at the Boardwalk (not so busy). It was perfect to relax from a busy day at the parks.

Saana.... was just excellent. Our waiter was great, friendly and gave us two glasses of champaign to celebrate our marraige. I cannot say enough about this resturant.

Kidani is a 10 in my book

 

[Harlemgirl720]

We just returned from our first stay at Kidani Villiage. We loved it. At first I was not happy with our room placement. We had requested close to our lobby (and I know requests are not guarenteed) but we had used 105pts for a Savannah view room as it was our Honeymoon. And when I looked out our door overlooking the savannah, I saw trailers and little buildings. I was very unhappy and called the front desk. They moved us the next morning. Let me tell you the room was amazing the view was amazing. It was a totally different experiance then our stay at the Boardwalk (not so busy). It was perfect to relax from a busy day at the parks.

Saana.... was just excellent. Our waiter was great, friendly and gave us two glasses of champaign to celebrate our marraige. I cannot say enough about this resturant.

Kidani is a 10 in my book

Congrats on your marriage. I'm glad that Kidani lived up to your expectations.

 

[LeahA]

I like the quietness of Kidani village. I like the fact the resort feels like your not smack dab in the middle of Disney. We had a savanna view room on the sunset savanna. The animals came late afternoon, other than that we really didn't see too much. Ask at the front desk when you check in what animals can be seen from your savanna and at what time. It is not 24/7. The artwork in the lobby is amazing to look at, both at Kidani and Jambo house. At Kidani they had in their library area off the lobby traditional African games and the CM's taught my kids how to play them. The bus service was fine, I think 1 day we had to wait longer going to the parks and 1 day coming back from the parks. Sanaa is amazing, the traditional bread service was yummy and the susatainable fish was amazing!!! Remember when you go to the pool to bring a couple bucks cash with you, they played bingo, and it was like a dollar a card and we had no cash with and my dh had to walk back to the room to get some money.

We had a great time, so will you!

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

At night....just out the back of the main lobby is a very nice fire pit. It's kind of like on an island a couple hundred feet out from the hotel into the savannah. Nice rocking chairs and a roaring fire. There is always a CM out there, and at least while I was there knew when to talk and not to talk. If people wanted to engage in conversation they did. If people just wanted quiet and to enjoy the atmosphere, they obliged. Mario from Nigeria, who was out there most nights in our stay, was great to talk to. Knew a lot about the animals.

If it's below 50F they keep the giraffe's inside so they might not come out until later.

The community hall is excellent. Tons of wii games to play, lots of arts / crafts activities, pool table.

If you have a car, the parking is mostly covered.

 

[PrincessMom4]

I have lots of pictures from our September trip. It is a gorgeous resort. We had a standard room and we were so close to the hallway windows with spectular views that it really didn't make a difference. We stayed in a 2 bedroom and we will be going back again.

 

[MinnieGi]

All this is making me more excited about trying to stay there for our November trip!! We stayed at AKL years ago before DVC added on there and loved it, looking forward to staying there in a villa.

 

[MrsJobba1]

This thread is great I'm looking forward to our Aug visit.
We have a 1bedroom booked at kidani with a savanna view. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Also can you tell me about the pool ?
Thank you in advance!

 

[alldiz]

Adding:

Make a request if you can for close to the lobby and sunset savanna view. Most savanna view rooms overlook Sunset Savanna but about 15% to 20% overlook Pembe; Pembe has no giraffes or zebras. You should request close to the lobby and hope you don't get far from the lobby. The walk from the lobby down the hallway to the end rooms on the north wing of Kidani is so long that you need to take supplies with you and find a place midway to stay overnight before setting out for the rest of the arduous journey in the morning. That is an exageration but not much of one. The walk to the end of the south wing is only a little shorter. Note, if you have a car, you can park almost right under your room regardless of where it is and use a nearby elevator to get to your room.


Sanaa at Kidani is an excellent table service restaurant as is Jiko's at Jambo. Boma at Jambo is one of the best buffet restaurants on site.

Front door to front door Kidani to Jambo is 1/2 mile, you can use bus and they sometimes have a cart run. Busses for parks run Kidani to Jambo to park, for Downtown Disney Jambo to Kidani to DD.

If you actually want to see a lot of pictures and maps of Kidani, the simplest way is to go to Google images and search for kidani village

Almost lost my coffee on that one

I had the Epcot ball view at BCV....end of hall.....is it a lot farther than that??
Thanks
Kerri