Kidani Village-Tell me everything!

[PrincessMom4]

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!

The pool is a zero entry pool, its as if you are walking into the ocean. Its a gorgeous pool. There is a snack/beverage place there too to grab a quick bite.

 

[dgaston]

This thread is great
We have a 1bedroom booked at kidani with a savanna view.
Also can you tell me about the pool ?

I really like the Kidani pool. There are two hot tubs and a much better slide than at Jambo house. The CMs are great, and the pool games are a lot of fun. I even won a small stuffed giraffe playing Disney Trivia. They told me his name was "Kidani" of course!

 

[MrsJobba1]

Thankyou so much.

Could I aslo ask is there a fitness centre / spa or is that at Jambo house?

 

[Castillo Mom]

You're going to love Kidani Village, it's wonderful. We stayed in a one bedroom villa last trip, savanna view. We were near the lobby and had a great view of the animals every day. It was amazing! It's true that the resort is a bit removed but that can be a plus at the end of a long day at the parks.

Here's the view from our room in case you're interested:

We have a 2 bedroom savanna view this time since my sister and her family will be joining us and I can't wait for them to experience it.

 

[DebbieB]

I agree with the suggestion of requesting Sunset Savannah, close to lobby. We were about half way down the hall at the bottom of the "U" on the south side. The giraffes & zebras only came down to our area in the late afternoon when they were fed there. They seemed to stay closer to the lobby. We had a car, so parking was great!

 

[S'sMom]

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.

I agree that the walk was not bad at all. Matter of fact, it was quicker than I thought because for some reason, I was thinking that the trail went along the road (WRONG!) . No more than 4-5 minutes, if that.

We love it. We had a room close to the lobby on the same floor as the lobby. We did have a Savannah view and the kids loved it.!! I loved the parking because it was completely covered. That made it even better in the hot sun to get into our car.

Then they brought out the Wii for the kids in the lobby, which was fun for dd (7). Not sure if they do that anymore.

The pool area!! Spectacular, except I thought that it would be like behind the resort, instead it was down the hill a bit from the front entrance to the lobby. Not a full scale lobby like Jambo, but good just the same.

Overall, LOVED LOVED it!!

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

thanks for the wonderful info! were looking at going over christmas and hoping to stay at akl....not sure if we will get what we want since its not our home resort. but the info you've shared is great.

 

[bytheblood]

We just returned from our first stay there as owners. Our observations were this:

First of all, we loved it. Other than the Wilderness Lodge at Christmastime, this is now my favorite resort. Our entire experience here was wonderful with one exception. The rooms were nice, the Lobby is in close proximity to all the rooms, the entire place was clean, the bus service was fantastic and the majority of the CMs were fantastic. The only negative part of our experience was the CMs in the giftshop on the Kidani side. They were all curt, to the point of being rude. Each time we went in there for a drink, purchase or food item, they acted like we were bothering them. They never smiled, greeted us or said thank you. Even when we would wish them a nice day, they would say nothing in return. This is not something that would keep me away - outside of this, our entire stay was wonderful.

Buses - - - For the parks, Kidani is the first stop with Jambo being the second. Jambo is first for DTD. We found walking to be easier and quick. It was about 7 minutes the first time and we had no idea what we were doing.

For Kidani, you either get a savanna view or parking lot view. The pool view is even more of a parking lot view than the pool unless you are on the top floor.

With a standard room it is still a great stay. There are so many viewing areas for the animals that truly, unless you spend a lot of time on your balcony, you would not miss anything by having a standard room.

Some Kidani & Jambo comparisons:

• Kidani is more quieter while Jambo is louder
• Kidani is much smaller and easier to get around inside while Jambo is larger.
• Kidani's bus stop area is much smaller, Jambo larger
• Kidani has a VERY small lobby and Jambo has a big beautiful lobby
• A Kidani 1 bedroom villa has 2 bathrooms where Jambo has just one
• Kidani has only 1 table service restaurant while Jambo has several restaurants as well as a quick service option.

We liked the layout, size, viewing area, dining options and lobby at Jambo more, but we preferred our room at Kidani.

 

[nytimez]

I prefer Jambo because it has more amenities -- but I love Kidani. One of the best things about it is the parking -- if you have a car with you, it's awesome. You can usually park right below your room (or thereabouts) and get to and from it quickly and easily. Jambo, just getting to your car is always a hike.

 

[chepic]

Can't wait to read more....going there in May for the 1st time so I really "need to know"....

Cheryl

 

[MommyBell08]

Well be at Kindani in March 8th-15th.. Thanks for the great question!

 

[Spazzie]

We stayed at Kidani Village last Feb in a studio room Savannah view (top floor).

We've stayed at lots of other Disney properties (DVC and regular rooms) and unfortunately it was not one of our favorites.

Rooms are very dark and not very big. We're spoiled been OKW owners (big rooms). The bus stop and Jambo House bldgs are located to the right side of the bldg. and even staying on that side of the bldg it was quite a walk especially at night with sleeping preschooler in tow.

Animals were nice to see although they are still quite a bit away.

Enjoy!

 

[eva]

I'm so excited to read this thread. We are staying at Kidani for the first time in May. All this information is great. Has anyone done the Wanyama Safari? Anyone know the cost? Oh, and how is the fitness center at Kidani? Is it free? What about the fitness center at Jambo House?