Kidani Village to open Winter of 2008?

[NorCalTim]

I haven't visited for awhile but I still notice people talking about an '09 opening for Kidani Village at AKV. We recently closed an add-on and within our paperwork was a "Final Time-Share Plan Public Report" revised in 6/07 as required for the State of California. In it it states:

"Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas is being completed in phases. Improvements to Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, construction Phase I, is expected to be completed Fall 2007. Construction Phase II is currently scheduled to be conpleted in Winter of 2007, Phase III is scheduled to be completed Spring 2008. Phases IV and V, both located in the new building, separate from the Existing Hotel, are scheduled to be completed Winter 2008 and Spring of 2009, respectively."

Don't know if this has been brought up before and I realize Public Reports are not always reliable but it seems to show that DVD was at least aiming for a 2008 opening as far back as June. With the recent notifications of 24hr construction noise in March '08 and the removal of the old schedules for completion on the sales site maybe this is one more indicator that they are really pushing to open earlier so they can keep those sales going. We're planning our Dec. '08 trip right now and I'm hoping for a 2-bedroom in Kidani Village!!

 

[tomandrobin]

Its been known that Disney has been aggressively working on completing the renovation of AKL to meet demand. But I don't think there has been any new information of completion of Kidina.

 

[RobDoc]

I'd expect that "Winter, 2008" for Kidani must be a typo. Winter, 2009 is more likely.

They have accelerated the construction schedule for the Jambo House renovation and are ahead of their original plan, but Kidani has a looong way to go. I would believe something at Kidani may be completed by Winter and/or Spring, 2009 but that nothing at Kidani could possibly be ready for occupancy in the next 4 months.

 

[jbrowna]

Doesn't "Winter 2008" begin in December of 2008? That would be more like 13 months from now. I suspect that is more of a possiblity.

 

[tomandrobin]

It is possible to have something done by the winter of 2008. Time will tell on how aggressive DVC is on building the new buildings.

 

[LisaS]

It appears that something is up with the Kidani construction schedule. A couple of people have reported being told that the first phase will open earlier than the "early 2009" date originally published. And as you noted, that date used to be posted on the public DVC website and has recently been removed. Add to that the notices that construction crews at AKV will be working longer hours each day and it does seem to point to the possibility of a "late 2008" opening for the first phase of Kidani rather than an "early 2009". Maybe they are working towards having part of Kidani open for the holidays next year.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

We just bought an AKV add-on yesterday. I asked our guide about the 2 BR and Kidani and whatnot, since I had no clue what the schedule was. We are planning a trip the end of October 2008 for a week. He said that if they keep up at the current rate of construction, the first phase of Kidani very well could be open by then. He did say, of course, that it was not guaranteed, things can and will happen.

When I talked to MS today, I mentioned I would be calling starting next week to book the 2BR. I told her that I know Jambo House has all lock-offs and the dedicated 2BR will only be in Kidani. I asked her about switching the reservation later to a dedicated if Kidani ends up opening units by October and she said that I should not worry about it, that MS has not been updated that it will open earlier than 2009.

So, I am guessing they are ahead of schedule, but until they are sure about the date, they won't be making any announcements.

 

[tjkraz]

Doesn't "Winter 2008" begin in December of 2008?

Yeah. By my reckoning "Winter 2008" would run from Dec '08 until late-March '09. That 3-month time frame seems like a safe bet.

 

[Donald is #1]

Wow! If Kidani Village really does start that open early, I may have to change some of my '08 plans. I am currently planning on staying at Jambo house for an long weekend next October or December and then convert a December ('08) Jambo house reservation to either BWV or BCV at 7 months. If Kidani opens early, then I may rethink my plan. Of course this is a great problem to have!