Okw- 2 bdrm, Animal Kingdom Savannah view 1bdrm, or Boardwalk Garden View 1 bdrm?

[Lexygrl1]

Which resort would you recommend?

We love OKW because the rooms are so spacious. We love the Turtle Pond pool too. We have a party of 5, 3 adults and two children. Point-wise we have enough for the 2 bedroom villa at OKW. The drawback is we're usually far away (not in walking distance) from the main lobby, so we don't normally participate in the activities organized, like crafts, roasting marshmallows and the movies.

We have never stayed at the Animal Kingdom. They have a Savannah view one bedroom villas at the Kidnani building available. My kids would probably love seeing the animals there. My daughters favorite park is Animal Kingdom. I just wish it wasn't so far away from the other parks. I believe the Kidnani has a quick service restaurant which is nice being the other two do not. I also heard the have a nice pool. Is there anything else that stands out to you about the property & Kidnani villas?

We haven't stayed at the Boardwalk in 20 years. We currently have reservations for a one bedroom garden view room there. I heard there will be a lot of construction the time we are there, & two restaurants are under renovations. I wish there were more eating options, but we do have a kitchen which makes it convenient for meals. It's nice they have a lot of resort/boardwalk activities there. It's also nice you can walk out to the boardwalk to see the nightly fireworks.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I believe the Kidnani has a quick service restaurant which is nice being the other two do not.

Kidani does not have a QS. They have a pool bar that serves food, but the QS at Animal Kingdom is at Jambo House (10 minute walk or there is an inter-building shuttle bus).

I also heard the have a nice pool.

True, with a splash area.

Something to realize with Kidani is that the resort is very large because it spreads out around the savannah. So that you don't do organized activities at OKW because of distance may also apply at Kidani depending on room location (and lots of people request "near lobby!").

If you want a QS and less of a walk, Kidani may not be a great fit. On the other hand, it's not a lot different from OKW in that regard and has a great pool, and animals.

 

[DenLo]

The community hall is at Kidani and there are just as many activities at Kidani as at Jambo House. In fact you can easily attend either one with the shuttle between the two resorts.

The downfall to Kidani Village is the long hallways. You are about a third of mile (it's a quarter of mile at Jambo House) from the lobby at the furthest end. The last room is a grand villa so it would be a little less than for a 1BR if you were unlucky to be assigned so far away. You could always request a sunset savanna view near the pool so that you wouldn't be too far from the lobby yet really close to the pool.

Since you have a 1BR it would be easy to fix quick meals for lunch in the room like sandwiches or frozen entrees in the microwave. And if you have a car, you can park right below your room area as there are multiple elevators to the underground garage. We usually have a car, but I have to admit we still usually ride the bus from AKV especially to Magic Kingdom as the buses drop you off closer to MK than you can park which is at the TTC overall arrive to the MK entrance is less via bus. We rode to MK three times in December and it only took 20 minutes via bus. And I think we only waited no more than 5-8 minutes for a bus. Especially in the mornings they even had buses that didn't stop at Jambo House after leaving Kidani Village as a separate bus went to Jambo House. One morning we had a pre-opening breakfast at MK and we were the only two on the bus from Kidani Village heading to MK.

Here is a link to a November activity guide for AKV - http://images.hosting-disney.com/PostBookingStream/Resorts/RecCalendars/current/1Q-RecCalendar.pdf

 

[Lexygrl1]

Thank you for both so much for that information. Good to know about the quick service restaurant, also about the parking. We will have our car, I didn't realize the parking was so convenient. My only reservation about the resort is that it is so far away from the parks. Out of all the resorts which is your favorite.

 

[nolanboys]

All 3 resorts are great. I voted for OKW because you can get a 2 bdrm there. We are early risers, so I like being able to relax and make coffee in the morning while the kids sleep in the other bedroom. Most of the rooms at Boardwalk have been renovated, so it has that going for it. We have stayed at Kidani and Jambo. I do prefer the rooms at Kidani and the master bathroom if phenomenal. I know at OKW it is a trek, but often we bus it to the HH and walk across to the first bus stop to get back to our room so we are able to enjoy the activities at the main pool. Can't beat the extra space and privacy you get there, but all 3 are great options.

 

[Lexygrl1]

Thank you for all the responses. We decided to do a split stay. We have never stayed at Animal Kingdom before & we know we love OKW. So, we will be staying at the Animal Kingdom Kidani SV in a 1 bedroom villa for 4 days and at Old Key West in a 2 bedroom villa for 4 days. This way we can see how much we like the Animal Kingdom Lodge.