Room request at Kidani

[Pluto80]

Our 7 month window is about to come around and we’re hoping to book a studio at Kindani. We’ve already decided on a Savanna view if we can get it. My daughter adores giraffes so would love to get a room where we can see them. This will be our first stay at Kidani, and our first DVC stay in fact!
Is it possible to request a room where we’ll be able to see giraffes? Also, how do I make such a request? We really don’t have any other requests. I know the walks to the rooms can be long, but this doesn’t really bother us to be honest.
I’ve only ever done room requests on Touring Plans, but is there a way you can request when booking?

 

[DenLo]

Asking for a room where you see giraffes requires you make a request for a view via member services. The remark should say, "A Sunset Savanna View". You can contact member services after you make the reservation online either via the phone, chat or email to add your view request.

Please keep in mind that it is not a guaranteed view. And the animals are not stationary but move around during the day grazing or having fun. The zebras and wildebeests often start teasing other animals and sometimes a chase will ensue where other animals with join in for fun. Also each morning the animals go to the barns for a medical check up. So for a 1-3 hours you might not see animals in the morning.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Good luck with your room request at Kidani. It's the one resort where none of my room requests have ever been met. But I realize, that someone can probably say that about every DVC resort.

 

[drusba]

Kidani has a very large savanna, Sunset, and a fairly small one, Pembe. Sunset has giraffes, Pembe has none. More than 80% of the savanna view rooms at Kidani overlook Sunset so requesting room overlooking Sunset savanna has a good chance of being granted. As to the possible success of requests, the following are the ones I made for the last five trips to Kidani, and all of them were met. Before those five trips I was doing what far too many were doing, making a request for close to the lobby. When Kidani was in its infancy, I actually got that request a few times but then it started getting rejected and instead they started giving me rooms as far from the lobby as you could get. I then started using requests like the following: lead request: Sunset savanna view: second request: either close to the Rafiki elevator (has the exit closest to the pool area), or close to the Timon elevator (close to the door on the second floor that leads directly to the bus station), and those have thus far succeeded.

 

[LAX]

For those of you who have stayed there, is it better (for viewing animals) to stay in the upper or lower levels?

LAX

 

[Pluto80]

How do you actually do your request? Is there an option to when booking?

 

[Simba's Mom]

For those of you who have stayed there, is it better (for viewing animals) to stay in the upper or lower levels?

LAX

We like being on the lower levels so that we can hear, as well as see, the animals. Nothing like hearing that clip-clop

 

[DenLo]

For those of you who have stayed there, is it better (for viewing animals) to stay in the upper or lower levels?

LAX

We like being on the lower levels so that we can hear, as well as see, the animals. Nothing like hearing that clip-clop

So true! You can even hear the knees clicking for the Elands as they walk around.

Definitely a lower level. There aren't any rooms on the 1st floor as that is restaurant and parking. We prefer 2nd (lobby level) or 3rd level. You can even from your balcony talk to the animal care giver cast members on the savanna and ask them questions if your room low enough. The problem with higher floors that the animals are just like us they seek shade in the heat of the day, so a tree can prevent you from seeing the animals on a higher floor.

Although I would prefer to have a room close to the lobby, I will gladly take a room at the end if that is where the animals gather. BTW, we also like to see the Okapi, who is a relative to a giraffe on the Pembe savanna. But there are more animals on the Sunset savanna as it is so large.

 

[drusba]

How do you actually do your request? Is there an option to when booking?

There are three options to make requests and all of them require you to first already have a reservation: (a) you can call Member Services and add requests to your reservation; (b) you can go to the DVC member site, sign in, then open "Help & Contact" in the upper right side, click on "Contact Us," and then click on "Email" on the right side of the page; that takes you to the page where you can send MS an email that adds requests but in doing so make sure you provide your reservation number and room and vacation time in the email; or (c) you can wait until 60 days out when you can check-in online and add a request via the choices in the request page for that check-in; however, that method allows only a limited number of requests and making any at that time wipes out requests you previously made via a call or email to MS, and thus it is far better to make requests either by calling MS or via email to MS.

 

[Pluto80]

That’s a great help, thanks. Think we’ll probably email then. We won’t be doing online check in as we’ll need to check in manually to get our Magic Bands (we’re coming from the UK so don’t get them posted out).