Kidani Village vs SSR

[Mouse Mom]

Going to WDW in mid feb . I have a 1br STD view in Kidani Village. Theonly other resort available is a 1 br at SSR. Stayed at SSR when it first opened. Nice room but huge property. Stayed at AKL before it went DVC -thought it was nice as well. I usually stay atBWV or BCV so what to do? I'm leaning towards Kidani since it is so different but downside it is isolated. Plus there are no rooms the nite I arrive so I'm wait listed. SSR has all nites available but for some reason I can't bring myself to go back unless I have no other choice. Any advice would be helpful. Than

 

[Brandis]

I would do AKV, Kidani ist beautiful and feels so relaxed.

I agree, it FEELS remote, that's actually part of the attraction to me and in reality, it isn't that far away. If I didn't know where the resort is located and I would hear people say "It's so far from everything" I would think like 1h transfer, but to the MK it's maybe 15 min. by car and less to anything else.

 

[Tracyvp]

We're at Kidani now, and we stayed at SSR last trip. I like them both and I really don't feel that Kidani takes any longer to get to than SSR did.

I do like SSR's proximity to Downtown Disney, and overall it's a much "brighter" feeling property. Kidani is very unique and we love seeing the animals but it's very dark. We're always running around turning on every light in the room trying to brighten things up!

Also, the store isn't nearly as well-stocked as at SSR, which really isn't a huge problem unless you're not planning to go shopping on our own or use a shopping service (we used WeGoShop and were very happy).

And last, unless you get your request to be close to the lobby, it can be a VERY long walk (VERY!) to your room at the end of a long day in the parks. For us, all of those tiny inconveniences are more than made up for by the presence of the animals, but I wouldn't necessarily stay here again. It's been a wonderful, unique experience and I'm so glad we did it but it probably won't be our favorite resort.

All in all, they're both great properties and you really can't go wrong with either one.

 

[CarpeDisney]

If you haven't stayed at Kidani yet, I'd say try it out. We've stayed at both SSR and Kidani, and while we like both, we prefer Kidani. The 1BR unit at kidani, although "darker" to some, feels much more spacious and open than the 1BR at SSR. The second full bathroom off of the living area in Kidani is a great improvement over the design at SSR, and the master bathroom at Kidani is wonderful.

As for location and the amount of time it takes to get to the parks, I'd agree with a previous poster that there isn't a tremendous difference. In SSR there are more internal resort stops prior to leaving the property and heading to the parks, and at AKV there are only two which are then off-set by a slightly longer ride once you leave the resort grounds.

 

[Mouse Mom]

Thanks for the insights. So if I stay at Kidani def ask for room closer to lobby? If u have stayed at Bwv u know u can walk the halls for miles before getting to your room which is a pain , but I still love it . Is Kidani similar in that respect ? Long walk from elevator to rooms? Any particular floor for a Standard view? What's not in the store that is available at other properties? Is there a place for coffee in the am for my refillable mug

Ok SSR next I stayed there probably five years ago. I was in a remote location and but for the fact that I happened to have a car which I usually do not, it was a long walk to that artist food court. There was no formal restaurant and the pool area was ok though I did like being close to DTD. Are there bldg requests to ask (bldg numbers). Did they ever build a couple more pools? I know there's some sot a restaurant there now instead of just a bar? Sorta reminds me of OKW where everything is so spread out. I'm assuming Kidani is not like that because it is one structure as opposed to clusters of bldgs.

Thanks again


Still leaning towards Kidani

 

[lrichardson]

Definitely AKL - the theme and atmosphere alone makes you feel that you are in an Animal Kingdom in Africa. I think SSR is boring. SSR has everything you need but I just don't think it is as magical as the rest of the resorts.

 

[jasonfc13]

Kidani Village/AKL can be tricky because if you have a room at the end of one of the VERY long corridors you can be walking a lot more than you would if you stayed at SSR. I think SSR is a lot better of a resort than Kidani Village, I hate walking down those never ending corridors. If you know what areas to book at SSR you could be at the last bus stop and close to the main pool, I believe this area is called the Paddock. Good Luck!

 

[sweetdana]

I like SSR more than AKV, BUT I would say others LOVE AKV once they have stayed. I think you should try it. especially if you have little ones that would like the play ground splash area. It is different than SAB pool, but just as fun. Water guns and such. Due to how far AKV is, if you are up for it, split stay 1st 3 nights - 4 nights or so at SSR closer to all the parks and 2nd half AK more relaxing, better/different views and different resturaunt choices. Some won't/hate spliting I love the option to get the best of each resort while on vacation.

 

[Main Street Matilda]

I've stayed at both and liked both, each for their own reasons. The only thing about Kidani that would make me think twice about it was that there is no counter-service restaurant. You have to go over to Jambo House for a CS meal (which really was a bus ride away - walking to Jambo is not practical if you're bringing back food) and I found that inconvienient since we were on the DDP. However, with no dining plan, I would not hesitate to stay at Kidani again. It was beautiful.

 

[hockey6]

AKV! I feel it is a destination, I would enjoy a week there even w/out the parks. There are areas for animal viewing if your in a standard view so don't worry. Enjoy!

 

[Brandis]

AKV! I feel it is a destination, I would enjoy a week there even w/out the parks. There are areas for animal viewing if your in a standard view so don't worry. Enjoy!

That's what we're doing next week. 4 nights at AKV to enjoy the pools, have some good meals, do some resort hopping and just relaxing, but no park visits.

Ah, I love DVC! Would you ever do that if you stayed at a regular WDW resort? No, of course not.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Rather than move, I would stay at SSR and enjoy it!
Bobbi

 

[karana]

I have stayed at SSR and we are staying at Kidani for the first time this April on our way out to a Disney cruise, so only will be there for one night.

I LOVED the workout room at SSR, it is much better than AKV which we toured last January, however, we were not there to visit the parks, but to relax. If I were you, I would choose the resort based on the type of vacation you want. With all the choices we have, it's easy to forget the "big picture".

Good luck and have fun no matter where you stay.

 

[jenstall]

I own at SSR, but AKL is where I stay most often. That said, after staying at Kidani last year, I wouldn't do it again. If they can't book me into Jambo House, I'd just rather stay at SSR. At Jambo House, I feel like I'm in the middle of all the fun. Kidani feels like a backwater.

I think the lack of a counter service restaurant at Kidani is a huge pain, the gift shop is tiny, the hallways are long and I don't care for their parking structure.

I always have my car with me so I don't bother with the buses and I just find it much faster to drive around SSR if I'm feeling too lazy to walk. The car is nearly right outside the door.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We likE the pool at Kidani better than SSR. We also like the theming of AKL better. So we would vote for AKL. And "remote" at Disney is a nice contrast to the parkhopping and activities around the world.

We drive though and usually end up driving places instead of using busses.

*we did only stay at Jambo house, so mine is more a vote for AKL. But Kidani Village places you closer to that awesome pool.

 

[Kimmy]

We stayed at Kidani in Oct & loved it. We didn't think it was an issue with the distance to the parks. We had better bus service at AKL than we did at SSR. When we stayed at SSR it seemed like we were always waiting for a bus for 30 min. The atmosphere at AKL is amazing. Have a great trip!

 

[drusba]

Thanks for the insights. So if I stay at Kidani def ask for room closer to lobby? If u have stayed at Bwv u know u can walk the halls for miles before getting to your room which is a pain , but I still love it . Is Kidani similar in that respect ? Long walk from elevator to rooms? Any particular floor for a Standard view? What's not in the store that is available at other properties? Is there a place for coffee in the am for my refillable mug

Ok SSR next I stayed there probably five years ago. I was in a remote location and but for the fact that I happened to have a car which I usually do not, it was a long walk to that artist food court. There was no formal restaurant and the pool area was ok though I did like being close to DTD. Are there bldg requests to ask (bldg numbers). Did they ever build a couple more pools? I know there's some sot a restaurant there now instead of just a bar? Sorta reminds me of OKW where everything is so spread out. I'm assuming Kidani is not like that because it is one structure as opposed to clusters of bldgs.

Thanks again


Still leaning towards Kidani

No, the potential walk to end rooms at Kidani is not the same as the potential walk at BWV. The walking distance from lobby to end rooms at Kidani is actually three times longer than any potential walk to end rooms at BWV. In other words, it makes BWV look like the shortest walk in the world. However, the standard view rooms are clustered closer to the lobby so you do not have the real long walk risk with those. Also, if you have a car, Kidani is ideal because you park on ground floor under building and there are welevators along the wings so you can always park close to room.

You can refill mugs in Kidani store but for soda; I do not think they have coffee there but not sure. Kidani is not the place to be if you must have refillable mugs or counter service restaurant. Store is small at Kidani and has limited choices; store at Jambo, a half mile away, is large and fully stocked.

Bus system at AKL with only two stops is very good and beats SSR's multiple stop system anytime. SSR does have quiet pools now and table service restaurant and they are building another main pool. To be fairly close to main pool or better bus stops at SSR you want to request Springs or Grandstand area. If you want one of best views in WDW and have quiet pool right next to building, request Congress Park area, lake view.

Kidani has a table service restaurant, Sanaa. At Jambo (walk 1/2 mile but can take bus or shuttle), you have table service (Jiko), buffet (Boma) and counter service (Mara). Personal view is that Sanaa, Jiko and Boma are excellent and among best at WDW.

If I had your choice, I would definitely do Kidani but for one fact. I do not do AKL without savanna view and standard view at Kidani is, well, truly standard view (you might request pool view which is the better of the standard views)

 

[MDDisneyDevotee]

We've stayed at both and are doing a split stay in a couple of weeks at both because I couldn't get all twelve nights at Kidani. I prefer AKV-K over SSR, but my son likes them both. We didn't eat in the room at AKV-K at all last trip and I wasn't bothered by the lack of counter service as we either took the very short trip to Jambo or ate in the parks. I actually don't see how the trip to Jambo was that much worse than trying to get to the Artist's Palette if your staying anywhere other than the Springs, but I'm sure others will disagree.

As for coffee, you can get coffee in the gift shop in Kidani. The coffee is to the right of the soda refill machine.