Need help with room request for Kidani

[katmittens]

We will be at Kidani in Nov. in a 1 bedroom sav view. We have never stayed here before. We will have a car and use it for all parks except MK. I also have a scooter that I use. I would appreciate any help in helping me decide what to request. Not concerned about pool just lobby and bus. Thanks for any help

 

[supersnoop]

If you have a car, pretty much anywhere works. You park under the building near the elevator closest to your room.

 

[Frederic Civish]

I’d request somewhere as close as possible to the lobby.

You will still want to be closer to the store, and the restaurant Sanaa, which is near the lobby.

Also, the frequent, quick shuttle over to Jambo House, for the breakfast cafeteria (Mara) and the restaurants - Jiko and Boma - is near the front door of the lobby.

And, the bus loading zone is near the lobby, AND near the right wing (right when facing the building).

But, since you have a scooter, it isn’t as important.

Our trips to AKL, including staying at Kidani, have been our favorite trips to Disney World.

Enjoy.

 

[katmittens]

Thanks for info but is there a floor anyone would recommend

 

[Frederic Civish]

I don't feel like the floor matters as much at kidani Village as it does at some places. That is just my personal opinion and I may be wrong so maybe other people could comment.

All of the rooms start on what is essentially the second floor or higher. Second floor could put you close to the lobby which is essentially on the second floor. Or you might still be a long ways away . It is a very big building. That is why I suggest requesting close to the lobby or close to the central area.

You have a Savannah View so you will want to be able to see the Savannah well. A higher floor might see a bit farther away more easily because it will look over some of the trees, and kind of see the "Savannah" stretching awsy. We loved our top floor View. But there aren't that many trees, that they block your view a lot, and you should have an excellent view from the second or third floor and possibly be a bit closer to the animals than the upper floors.

 

[rg35]

Floor doesn't really matter at Kidani, IMO.

 

[drusba]

If you want fairly close to lobby and close to bus station, request room close to the Timon elevator -- its is the elevator on the south wing of Kidani (lobby faces west) between the second and third building units from the lobby; down that elevator to second floor leaves short walk to the door that goes directly to the bus stop; that area has also has good views; floor really does not matter. Do not agree with advice above that location does not matter. The Kidani building is more than 2/3 mile long and if you get room at end of one of the wings, trip to lobby and amenities is forever, and your having a scooter does not mean all in your party will have one.

I personally would not request "close to lobby." That is the one request at Kidani that is requested more than any other with the result that many who request it don't get it and end up far from the lobby (if they cannot meet a location request, they do not try for something close to it but instead give you any still available room which is often one far from the lobby).

 

[Frederic Civish]

If you want fairly close to lobby and close to bus station, request room close to the Timon elevator -- its is the elevator on the south wing of Kidani (lobby faces west) between the second and third building units from the lobby; down that elevator to second floor leaves short walk to the door that goes directly to the bus stop; that area has also has good views; floor really does not matter. Do not agree with advice above that location does not matter. The Kidani building is more than 2/3 mile long and if you get room at end of one of the wings, trip to lobby and amenities is forever, and your having a scooter does not mean all in your party will have one.

I personally would not request "close to lobby." That is the one request at Kidani that is requested more than any other with the result that many who request it don't get it and end up far from the lobby (if they cannot meet a location request, they do not try for something close to it but instead give you any still available room which is often one far from the lobby).

I could also agree with this. We stayed by the Timon elevator one time, and it was easy to the lobby, to the parking, and out to the bus stop

 

[katmittens]

Timon request is what I'm going for. How many floors are there? There will be three other adults with me and yes I am the only one with the scooter. DD and her boyfriend don't mind the walking too much but DH will not be happy if we have a long walk.

 

[mdinme]

Kidani is huge and spread out but beautiful.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Kidani is huge and spread out but beautiful.

Ditto on all that. Personally, I don’t understand why Animal Kingdom Lodges isn’t one of the very most popular destinatiions in Disney World, bar none. It is AAA rated as a four diamond resort. That puts it on a par with places like Grand Floridian and Polynesian, and (at least according to AAA rating), ahead of places like Bay Lake Tower, Boulder Ridge, Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas. Oh, wait, it has 1300 rooms, and they are always full. Maybe it IS one of the most popular destinations. Certainly it is unique among hotels in the United states.

 

[drusba]

Timon request is what I'm going for. How many floors are there? There will be three other adults with me and yes I am the only one with the scooter. DD and her boyfriend don't mind the walking too much but DH will not be happy if we have a long walk.

There are rooms on floors 2 through 5; the ground, first floor, is a parking lot under the building (except that under the lobby is the restaurant on the ground floor). To understand the size of Kidani, look at this way: if you have an end room on the north wing, the walk from the room to the lobby is about the same distance as the walk from the base of World Showcase at Epcot (after coming over the bridge from Future World) to Germany.

 

[Matty B13]

Ditto on all that. Personally, I don’t understand why Animal Kingdom Lodges isn’t one of the very most popular destinatiions in Disney World, bar none. It is AAA rated as a four diamond resort. That puts it on a par with places like Grand Floridian and Polynesian, and (at least according to AAA rating), ahead of places like Bay Lake Tower, Boulder Ridge, Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas. Oh, wait, it has 1300 rooms, and they are always full. Maybe it is one of the most popular destinations. Certainly it is unique among hotels in the United states.

I think the image of AK Lodge is mostly based off of the "easy" access to parks, which it doesn't have. Most DVC resorts, I think, are graded by access to Disney Parks, like monorail or just walking.

I would like AKV a lot more if it had a walking path to AK Park, I know most people wouldn't want to walk that far, but a lot of other people enjoy long walks even after a whole day at the parks. I would much rather walk an extra mile or two with my kids in a stroller (double stroller) than to have to wait for a bus and then try to load the stroller and kids on.

Also, Boma might be the best buffet that WDW has.

 

[Disw4kids]

Do you know how long the walk is from Kidani to Jambo? Just thinking that if my husband or I wanted to go grab some breakfast while the kids are still sleeping, want to know how much time to invest in the walk.

 

[Disw4kids]

I think the image of AK Lodge is mostly based off of the "easy" access to parks, which it doesn't have. Most DVC resorts, I think, are graded by access to Disney Parks, like monorail or just walking.

I would like AKV a lot more if it had a walking path to AK Park, I know most people wouldn't want to walk that far, but a lot of other people enjoy long walks even after a whole day at the parks. I would much rather walk an extra mile or two with my kids in a stroller (double stroller) than to have to wait for a bus and then try to load the stroller and kids on.

Also, Boma might be the best buffet that WDW has.

I love the idea of a walking path to AK!

 

[Matty B13]

Do you know how long the walk is from Kidani to Jambo? Just thinking that if my husband or I wanted to go grab some breakfast while the kids are still sleeping, want to know how much time to invest in the walk.

About 5-10 minutes from the Kidani lobby, from what I recall.

 

[Disw4kids]

About 5-10 minutes from the Kidani lobby, from what I recall.

Oh, that's not bad at all! Thanks!

 

[Frederic Civish]

Google maps lists it as a seven minute walk from the lobby at Kidani to the lobby at Jambo House. That is if you go out the front door and follow the sidewalk down the road.

I was going to say that when we stayed in Kidani village near the timon elevator which is in the south wing, (the wing on the right as you face the building,) the walk from that point was only about a quarter-mile. Many people in our group did that several times a day. The rest of us just went to the lobby and took the shuttle which runs constantly.

Personally, I would mostly try to avoid the north wing, the wing on the left, since I don’t think it has a lot of advantages.

 

[drusba]

Do you know how long the walk is from Kidani to Jambo? Just thinking that if my husband or I wanted to go grab some breakfast while the kids are still sleeping, want to know how much time to invest in the walk.

From front door to front door, it is about 1/2 mile. From end of Kidani north wing to Jambo front door is about 5/6 mile. From the Zazu elevator on the south wing of Kidani (last elevator on that wing), it is about 1/4 mile. If you get a room near the Timon elevator, you would walk down to the Zazu elevator and go from there, total trip of about 2/5 mile. There is a shuttle that runs continuously from morning through evening from front door to front door (wait simply depends on where it is when you arrive but wait is generally not longer than 15 minutes).

Be aware that the restaurant at Kidani, Sanaa, serves breakfast, see menu: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani/sanaa/menus/breakfast/

 

[mdinme]

• Ditto on all that. Personally, I don’t understand why Animal Kingdom Lodges isn’t one of the very most popular destinatiions in Disney World, bar none. It is AAA rated as a four diamond resort. That puts it on a par with places like Grand Floridian and Polynesian, and (at least according to AAA rating), ahead of places like Bay Lake Tower, Boulder Ridge, Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas. Oh, wait, it has 1300 rooms, and they are always full. Maybe it IS one of the most popular destinations. Certainly it is unique among hotels in the United states.

AKV and AKL are awesome. Notice the period to the left <<<<<! We did Kadani right after it opened in 2010. Kids were 9 and 12. We froze, had some days in the low 40's, was warmen in Maine where were from. Still loved it, esp when it hit 65.