Simply ENTHRALLED with Kidani Village1

[peemagg]

The ones in the room are standard washer and dryers.

 

[taychase1015]

you stated the pull out sofa was quite comfortable. Could you describe it? I am renting a 1 br in Jambo and my brother and SIL will be on the couch. They were wondering if it is the wire kind or with wood. What kind of mattress is it?

 

[Dreamfinder2]

you stated the pull out sofa was quite comfortable. Could you describe it? I am renting a 1 br in Jambo and my brother and SIL will be on the couch. They were wondering if it is the wire kind or with wood. What kind of mattress is it?

I've never seen a design quite like this. I don't know if this will make any sense, but here goes ...

After you remove the cushions, there is a pull tab on the edge of the frame. You lift up on it and walk backwards, and the main part of the bed unfolds from the BACK of the sofa, where the backrest cushions were. It doesn't have a wire frame ... the part the matress rests on is sort of like a trampoline. The matress, which was folded in three sections, just comes out along with the frame. Unlike a lot of other convertable sofas, you don't feel wire or rods running under you. It isn't going to be as comfortable as a standard bed, but it's much better than the old-fashioned sofas from days gone by. We didn't pull out the chaise lounge single bed.

Like a PP said, I wouldn't want to do away with the library. I was just musing aloud, because there is sort of a bar area that simple continental breakfast items might be spread out on. I know that once upon a time, over at Boardwalk, they used the Belle Vue Room for a simple breakfast.

I'm sure there will be plenty of fine tuning to come. I'm still really, really pleased.

 

[photobob]

Thanks for the report, I may have to give the place a try! The extra bathroom sounds like a huge plus.

 

[peemagg]

I laid down on the chair bed the one afternoon and found it quite comfortable. It seemed to be some sort of a firm foam mattress about 4 inches thick.

 

[AKV707]

They are still working on the north wing so I would rather see them put a CS on the ground level of the north wing with windows overlooking the savanna as they have done with Sanaa. It would mean losing some parking spaces from the under-building garage but it seems the most logical place to put another restaurant. Guests in the north wing will have the longest walk to The Mara and to the Kidani bus stop if they prefer to take a bus to Jambo House so having the CS in the north wing would be very convenient. The loss of north wing parking would be a problem however since they won't have any outside parking once you get past the pool area.

Great idea Lisa!

 

[Dreamfinder2]

I took a peek at the menu for the Beach Club Marketplace:

Ham and Cheese Omelet Croissant $5.99
Cheese Omelet Croissant $4.89
Made to Order Yogurt Parfait $4.49
Fresh Baked Pastries $2.19 - $3.59

This seems pretty simple ... along with these items, they have grab 'n go options, too. It just doesn't seem that it would take this much space to make these available.

Maybe the simplest option would be to set up a counter of some sort for breakfast items at Sanaa ... they do, after all, already have a kitchen, and folks could pick up items to eat in their rooms or elsewhere. And the pool bar is there, too. I was thinking in terms of not having to brave the weather when it's bad. Of course, if you're at OKW or SSR, you'll have to deal with weather there, too, so maybe it 's a moot point.

Like I said, there'll be plenty of fine tuning to come. I recall how the Turf Club had to be added because folks wanted more options at SSR.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Thank you for the great review.

I may have to put on the fire protection gear for saying this...but, it is very refreshing to hear that your college aged daughter's boyfriend slept on the couch ALONE.

Secondly, I'm laughing very hard about hearing that the ceiling leaked right above the DVC sales station. "Come buy into a leaking mess."

The Southeast has seen a lot of rain. There is more to come.

From all reports, DVC did a wonderful job developing this resort. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Mickey's Apprentice, I almost forgot to respond to this one!

Yeah, DD and DWBF were indeed in seperate spots. I mean, come on ... here I am, a Southern Baptist youth minister, and his mom is a church secretary, so we at least gave it the old college try in raising our collective kids "right." (By our standards, at least.) And, seeing you're from Montgomery, which is my wife's hometown, and I served a church there way back when, and was raised in Elba, Alabama ... I'm just guessing we were raised pretty much the same way, too.

Believe me, the irony of that leak right above the DVC sales kiosk wasn't wasted on me. I got to talking to the young lady working there one afternoon, and you could see a bulge in the ceiling where water had collected under the paint, and she said they were taking wagers for when that bubble would burst.

I just know that new buildings have to have the kinks worked out, and there was no way they could anticipate any leaks until after the fact. I hope I haven't given the impression that everything was shoddy. Far from it. I'm telling ya, they got it right, and they'll address the food service stuff soon enough.

 

[dizzneebabe]

I loved your report!!!! It makes me very excited to stay there in December this year! We loved Jambo last Dec and knew then we had made the right decision to own there!

Quick question...is there an indoor fire pit like in the Jambo lobby? DH and I spent about an hour there every night just relaxing after the long days. I know you mentioned a library with fireplace, but wondering if it's the same type of setting? TIA!

 

[LisaS]

Quick question...is there an indoor fire pit like in the Jambo lobby? DH and I spent about an hour there every night just relaxing after the long days. I know you mentioned a library with fireplace, but wondering if it's the same type of setting? TIA!

No, Kidani does not have an indoor fire pit. The fireplace area in Kidani's library is very nice, warmly lit and very inviting. The warm lighting gives it a very different feel to Jambo's indoor fire pit which, due to the dim lighting in Jambo, would allow you to feel like it was just the two of you sitting there. You won't get the same feeling of privacy sitting around the library fireplace but it is a nice spot to relax. There are large windows in the library that look out over the savanna and a balcony as well if you want to step outside to look at the animals.

 

[5forDiz]

Enjoyed your TR Dreamfinder & I'm very happy for all AKV owners out there and also those lucky members who are among the first to stay at Kidani So far from what I've read & photos I've seen it seems AWESOME

Our family can't wait to stay there for an upcoming trip

 

[bobbiwoz]

I enjoyed your report, and think that our 2 bedroom dedicated savannah view villas was the nicest villa that we've stayed in on property!

The standard view studio that our DFs had did face the parking lot. I felt bad that the waitlist for savannah view didn't come through for them.

Bobbi

 

[Bouncin-Tigger]

Our first trip is in 3 weeks and we are worried about the morning food situation, we do the ddp and like to use the counter service on breakfast and get a hot breakfast and a few drinks and off we go til our adr's at night, how far from kidani have 3 yr old and 7 mos pregnant wife and are there any morning hot brekafasts that would be considered a counter service (ie. artists palette @ ssr).

 

[whitfamily]

Our first trip is in 3 weeks and we are worried about the morning food situation, we do the ddp and like to use the counter service on breakfast and get a hot breakfast and a few drinks and off we go til our adr's at night, how far from kidani have 3 yr old and 7 mos pregnant wife and are there any morning hot brekafasts that would be considered a counter service (ie. artists palette @ ssr).

We just got back this morning for our first stay at BWV and AKV Jambo. We walked over to the Kidani to use the pool and check out the resort as a whole. With a one night stay at Jambo we made the walk twice. Our 2 yo DS was in a stroller and our DS9 had no complaints about the walk even after being in the park. Jambo's Mara CS had a good variety of breakfast items. From my understanding there is nothing offered at Kidani that would qualify as a CS.

It's a really neat resort (your 3 yo will love the pool and play area!)...enjoy your trip!!

 

[LurkingRob]

Thanks for the insight. I'll be there in 9 days!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Mickey's Apprentice, I almost forgot to respond to this one!

Yeah, DD and DWBF were indeed in seperate spots. I mean, come on ... here I am, a Southern Baptist youth minister, and his mom is a church secretary, so we at least gave it the old college try in raising our collective kids "right." (By our standards, at least.) And, seeing you're from Montgomery, which is my wife's hometown, and I served a church there way back when, and was raised in Elba, Alabama ... I'm just guessing we were raised pretty much the same way, too.

Believe me, the irony of that leak right above the DVC sales kiosk wasn't wasted on me. I got to talking to the young lady working there one afternoon, and you could see a bulge in the ceiling where water had collected under the paint, and she said they were taking wagers for when that bubble would burst.

I just know that new buildings have to have the kinks worked out, and there was no way they could anticipate any leaks until after the fact. I hope I haven't given the impression that everything was shoddy. Far from it. I'm telling ya, they got it right, and they'll address the food service stuff soon enough.

Thank you for saying that. On several occassions I've seen posts non-chalantly mention the DD and DBF sleeping situation and never see it challenged. It was important to say "Right on" for parents at least trying to raise the kids in a more traditional manner. You may also want to search for a thread called "Alabama DVCers." I think you would enjoy it.

I also felt quite sure that the building wasn't shoddy, just ironic.

 

[Sojas3]

When I joined DVC, I was worried about having a home resort that I was "stuck" with if it was a resort that I didn't like. We are not big SSR fans so when AK Kidani came through we jumped in. Everyone said that when you find your true "home" resort, the one you always book at...you'll know it. Luckily Kidani is both for us. I freaking love this place!!! We are staying in a 2 bedroom dedicated and I could spend my whole day here, forget the parks. The rooms are gorgeous and with three kids under 7, the living space is just perfect for us.
I agree though, we need a CS food station of some sort. We did in room dining yesterday for breakfast, but after a $70 bill, it's not something that we could do every day of our stay.

 

[tink too]

Although SSR is our home resort - and we loved it - we are really looking forward to staying in Kidani Village in the future.

Because of all these fabulous reviews and photos we've seen since opening day, I think I am coming down with a severe case of addonitis!

 

[Dreamfinder2]

One thing the Kidani Village designers realize is that AKL is ultimately all about the animals. Duh. So having windows in Sanaa overlooking the savannah is kind of a no-brainer, y'know?

Bouncing-tigger, we just about always just fix breakfast in our room when we're at any DVC property. We keep it simple, although I have been known to get ambitious and do the whole bacon and eggs thing. But, we had CS credits we needed to use for breakfast somewhere, hence, the Mara. I thought about a covered walkway between buildings, but I don't see any way that would be practical. It's a minor quibble.

Let me say something about the desk and concierge staff. They were the best I've seen at any Disney property. No kidding. I chatted with them off and on during our stay, and they were always available and chipper.

We had one billing glitch. When I got a copy of our folio bill, I saw a charge to 'Ohana for about $180. There was a seperate charge that was the gratuity we had charged to our room, since we were on the DDP.

I knew that charge wasn't ours. We had another family join us for dinner our first night at WDW at 'Ohana, and they paid for their meal with a credit card.

So I got to play "stump the concierge." I showed them the charge, explained what I thought had happened - that their charge, which they paid, somehow ended up on our room account. So the two young ladies made the appropriate phone calls, scratched their heads, mused as to how they could remove the charge from our bill, etc. (I will say that 'Ohana was off their game that night. We've been scores of times, and this was the first time ever we've had service issues. EVER. Our server was almost nonexistant, and really struggled when she was around._

Anyway, some beancounter in accounting called our friends, who assured them they'd paid for their meal.

Then ... Edward (I think was his name - don't hold me to that) emerged from a back office and introduced himself to me. He listened patiently to what I had to say, nodded to the two young ladies who'd been assisting me, and said, and I quote: "Mr. Martin, I will solve your problem for you."

One more phone call. He apologized profusely for the trouble and said that he had simply charged the amount back to 'Ohana. "They can sort it out themselves," he said, and apologized again for the inconvenience.

On a couple of other occasions I've seen Disney cast members who were empowered to make things right when there was a problem. This older gentleman pretty much rode to the rescue for me, and once again, I got to experience that legendary Disney service. I bet he's been with the company for years. He sure didn't come across as a rookie!

Again - I am so pleased with Kidani. SSR is our home resort, and we love it. Heck, we love 'em ALL. Our least favorite is the Beach Club, which is heretical to say, I know, but I'd stay there anytime. Because it's DISNEY. But we'll definitely return to Kidani Village.

 

[gpaddlefoot]

Great review! We hope to stay there in June 2010. All the info really helps. Is Kidani much nicer than Jambo or all they both nice? How old are they and do they have 2 queen beds in 2nd bedroom of the 2BR? Thanks for any info.