Telcogirl
Born to vacation.......forced to work
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
- Messages
- 750
I just want to post a review of my holiday trip. My family and I spent Thanksgiving week at Animal Kingdoms Kidani Village. We were in a 2 bed-dedicated villa; Savannah View. All totaled, there were 8 of us; 5 adults and 3 teens. The villa was really spacious and we never felt cramped at all. Having 3 full baths is such a bonus! We were all able to be ready to go at the same time. And the master bath??? WOW! It was just gorgeous and bigger than I could have ever expected. The beds were super comfy and even the kids said the pullouts were good.
I had requested a room on a lower level and a room close to the lobby based on previous posts I had read on the boards. I did online check-in. We arrived at the resort via Magical Express around noon, but our room was not ready. Was kinda bummed about that, but I knew it wasnt guaranteed until at least 4pm. We dropped our bags will Bell Services and went to Mara for lunch. YUM! The food there is a really good as a counter service option. Since we had some 1st time Disney travelers with us, it took them some time getting used to the dining plan. We got a lot of laughs out of that! Each person thought that all of the credits were their credits! So, they were thinking that they had 48 counter services to eat!!!!
(At this point, I have to join the Kidani needs a counter service restaurant club. Yes, you can walk and yes, you can take a bus, but it is just not convenient. Especially if you are enjoying the pool area, or just want to grab something real quick.)
We received a text around 3:30 that our room was ready. We had spent the time exploring the resort and had settled at the bar at Sanna with bartender Kat to watch some football! Our assigned room was 7226. It was on the 2nd floor and not too far from the lobby. So, I would say that our room requests were honored. Also, when we checked in and received our Welcome Packet, there was a hand written note that said check requests. So, it seems they do try to honor what they can and that is appreciated.
We saw plenty of animals and I can say now that I love giraffes!
They are beautiful! The balcony of the 2 bed is huge and there are sliders from the master bedroom, the living room and the 2nd bedroom to get there. You seem to get a great view from the lower level floors.
The kitchen counter space was a bit tiny. I think I prefer the SSR kitchen layout to Kidani. We had ordered groceries from Garden Grocer and counter space is limited at Kidani. This is nothing that would keep me from returning, just an observation and a preference, I guess.
Bus service was efficient all week. Our longest wait was 15 minutes to a bus to the Studios. Its nice that Kidani is the first stop; you are pretty much guaranteed a seat on all of the buses. And, of course, we were the first ones to be dropped off, too.
The pool set up is a little weird. I understand that half of the resort is a Savannah and that is the big attraction. But, having to walk thru the lobby, then a parking lot to get to the pool seems a little off. It kind of seems not as attached to the resort as other pools area. The tennis and barbecue area were a bit of a ways away also.
Crowds were more than I had expected based on reviews I had read here on the boards. They were manageable with EMH and fast passes, just larger than I had expected early in the week. Our first time Disney visitors are official converts now and we heard a lot of when we come back next year 
We would do Thanksgiving again. This was our first year going away for a holiday and it was GREAT! We were on the DDP and we had our dinners at Ohana, Whispering Canyon, Planet Hollywood, Big River Grille & Brewery, Captains Grille (Thanksgiving) and Tepen Edo.
At each of the restaurants, we were seated within 10 minutes of checking in. The food was great and the servers were awesome.
It was a little bit challenging moving 8 people around all of the parks together. (Bathroom stops; character meets and gift shops, LOL) We toured a little more commando than we usually do because I wanted to make sure that all of the highlights were seen and I think we accomplished that. More importantly, we had a great family vacation with lots of memories!
On a final note, I realized just how much we love DVC and how glad we are that we joined. Besides being able to share this with out family, my husband and I left the family on Saturday and flew to New Orleans. We checked into a Marriott and when we walked in the room, I swear I felt like we were in a CLOSET! The contrast between our DVC villa and a standard hotel room made me want to cry ..
Please let me know if you have any questions that I can answer about the holiday week. We had a few in our party that golfed and a few that went to Blizzard Beach. We covered mostly ALL of the bases!
I had requested a room on a lower level and a room close to the lobby based on previous posts I had read on the boards. I did online check-in. We arrived at the resort via Magical Express around noon, but our room was not ready. Was kinda bummed about that, but I knew it wasnt guaranteed until at least 4pm. We dropped our bags will Bell Services and went to Mara for lunch. YUM! The food there is a really good as a counter service option. Since we had some 1st time Disney travelers with us, it took them some time getting used to the dining plan. We got a lot of laughs out of that! Each person thought that all of the credits were their credits! So, they were thinking that they had 48 counter services to eat!!!!
(At this point, I have to join the Kidani needs a counter service restaurant club. Yes, you can walk and yes, you can take a bus, but it is just not convenient. Especially if you are enjoying the pool area, or just want to grab something real quick.)
We received a text around 3:30 that our room was ready. We had spent the time exploring the resort and had settled at the bar at Sanna with bartender Kat to watch some football! Our assigned room was 7226. It was on the 2nd floor and not too far from the lobby. So, I would say that our room requests were honored. Also, when we checked in and received our Welcome Packet, there was a hand written note that said check requests. So, it seems they do try to honor what they can and that is appreciated.
We saw plenty of animals and I can say now that I love giraffes!
They are beautiful! The balcony of the 2 bed is huge and there are sliders from the master bedroom, the living room and the 2nd bedroom to get there. You seem to get a great view from the lower level floors.The kitchen counter space was a bit tiny. I think I prefer the SSR kitchen layout to Kidani. We had ordered groceries from Garden Grocer and counter space is limited at Kidani. This is nothing that would keep me from returning, just an observation and a preference, I guess.
Bus service was efficient all week. Our longest wait was 15 minutes to a bus to the Studios. Its nice that Kidani is the first stop; you are pretty much guaranteed a seat on all of the buses. And, of course, we were the first ones to be dropped off, too.
The pool set up is a little weird. I understand that half of the resort is a Savannah and that is the big attraction. But, having to walk thru the lobby, then a parking lot to get to the pool seems a little off. It kind of seems not as attached to the resort as other pools area. The tennis and barbecue area were a bit of a ways away also.
Crowds were more than I had expected based on reviews I had read here on the boards. They were manageable with EMH and fast passes, just larger than I had expected early in the week. Our first time Disney visitors are official converts now and we heard a lot of when we come back next year
We would do Thanksgiving again. This was our first year going away for a holiday and it was GREAT! We were on the DDP and we had our dinners at Ohana, Whispering Canyon, Planet Hollywood, Big River Grille & Brewery, Captains Grille (Thanksgiving) and Tepen Edo.
At each of the restaurants, we were seated within 10 minutes of checking in. The food was great and the servers were awesome.
It was a little bit challenging moving 8 people around all of the parks together. (Bathroom stops; character meets and gift shops, LOL) We toured a little more commando than we usually do because I wanted to make sure that all of the highlights were seen and I think we accomplished that. More importantly, we had a great family vacation with lots of memories!
On a final note, I realized just how much we love DVC and how glad we are that we joined. Besides being able to share this with out family, my husband and I left the family on Saturday and flew to New Orleans. We checked into a Marriott and when we walked in the room, I swear I felt like we were in a CLOSET! The contrast between our DVC villa and a standard hotel room made me want to cry ..
Please let me know if you have any questions that I can answer about the holiday week. We had a few in our party that golfed and a few that went to Blizzard Beach. We covered mostly ALL of the bases!
They enjoyed both of the courses. My father's favorite is LBV. 
