SSR or Animal Kingom Kidani village?

[mkmkjkhk]

The only resorts available for the week I'm planning is Saratoga and Animal kingdom kidani. I love the atmosphere of AK but fear the bus transportation (I will not have car). I've never stayed in either. Which one should I choose?

 

[WizardLarz]

SSR is also said to have bad bus service, but unless you're at the EPOCT or Magic Kingdom Resorts busses will take some time. I think AKV offers the better Restaurant choice. With SSR you need to go over to DTD to get more than the 2 on site eateries, where as at AKL&V you have 4 choice close at hand.

 

[rentayenta]

I've stayed at both and didn't have any sort of bus issues. At SSR we stayed in the THV and they were amazing! At Kidani we had a 2 bedroom SV and it was also very cool. Both are beautiful resorts. It depends on what kind of theme you prefer. I'd gladly stay at both again.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Both have dedicated bus service and I wouldn't worry about it at either or use that as a factor for deciding. Instead I'd choose whichever resort itself you are interested in.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

If you look a bit further down on the thread list, you'll see a thread I started about a week ago called 'Loved SSR - AKL not so much".

 

[Kidanifan08]

The buses at Kidani are generally very good. Kidani is the first stop for the park buses, and they are usually empty when they arrive. The ride back from MK seems long, particularly after Wishes when the buses are full, but other than that, we have been happy with Kidani bus service. We stayed at SSR years ago in January, and the bus service seemed good then, but it was not very busy at the time we were there.

 

[SusieBea]

The only resorts available for the week I'm planning is Saratoga and Animal kingdom kidani. I love the atmosphere of AK but fear the bus transportation (I will not have car). I've never stayed in either. Which one should I choose?

We've stayed at Kidani twice. We never had a problem w/ the busses - ever. I think there's a lot of exageration of a non-existing problem there. We've also stayed at SSR. I'd pick Kidani hands down.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Ask a million people, get a million opinions.

The poster above said "kidani hands down" - my family would say "SSR hands down". No right or wrong answer here - it's not as if you're trying to compare a Four Seasons with a Super 8.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

We were at both last month. My husband would say SSR hands down. I would say SSR based on our last visit. Here are the reasons that I have changed from AKL to SSR. Time of year matters, the savanna is very brown right now and looks like a warn out zoo. I am sure that it will look better as spring approaches. We were at the very end of the hallway. It is a very, very long hallway. We did not like the walk and I think that the animals did not like the walk either. Even though we have a preference for SSR right now, you cannot go wrong with either resort. WE LOVE WDW

 

[jacesmommy]

We've stayed at both and loved both. No bus issues that I can remember. No matter where you stay you'll be farther from somewhere..... Just depends on what you like for a theme! Love them both!

 

[Sammie]

Bad bus transportation at SSR is an urban rumor, there is nothing wrong with their transportation, good grief they are only a couple of miles from Epcot.

No resort has excellent transportation to all the 4 parks. Pick what you would enjoy after you get back to the resort.

Base it on theme, grounds, landscaping, staff, food, pools but not transportation.

Both are fun places to stay.

 

[Sammie]

SSR is also said to have bad bus service, but unless you're at the EPOCT or Magic Kingdom Resorts busses will take some time. I think AKV offers the better Restaurant choice. With SSR you need to go over to DTD to get more than the 2 on site eateries, where as at AKL&V you have 4 choice close at hand.

What time of year were you at SSR that you had bad transportation, to which park and how long of wait.

 

[Main Street Matilda]

I've stayed at both and the transportation was really similar. They both had good and bad moments - but not enough bad moments that I would base my choice on that alone. I happened to find the resorts so different that I find them difficult to compare. SSR was more tranquil while AKL seemed to have more activity. The pool at Kidani is better if you have small children because of the play area but otherwise I liked both pools equally. Turf Club at SSR is usually overlooked as a restaurant choice but even with a limited menu, we found the food surprisingly good. I did like that SSR was more self-contained whereas Kidani shares some amenities with Jambo.

 

[Minniesgal]

At least Kidani is near a park. SSR isn't really close to any of the parks.

i really like SSR but love Kidani so for me it would be a no brainer!

 

[Disneylvr4]

The only resorts available for the week I'm planning is Saratoga and Animal kingdom kidani. I love the atmosphere of AK but fear the bus transportation (I will not have car). I've never stayed in either. Which one should I choose?

Alot depends on what YOU like? Those two are very different resorts. Are kids going with you? Kidani has a much better pool/play area for smaller children and theyd love the animals, SV room or not. We've always had a car, so I can't comment on the bus service to either, BUT some say its fine others say not.

IMO, personal experiences will always differ and there are no promises of one being better then the other at any given time, it's more about personal choice and what you want out of your accomodations. Check both out online, decide which ammenities you'd rather have and go!

 

[MrShiny]

Since they GPS enabled the buses, they do seem to be better all around. Never had a problem at AKV. At SSR, the only time I had an issue was going to DTD - walking would have been faster! Even that I think might be better now.

If I had to choose between SSR and AKV (and those are the two I own), I would probably do AKV for the interior corridors, dining and animals. But, I would take a SSR THV over a AKV 2 bedroom.

 

[disneyfan246]

If you look a bit further down on the thread list, you'll see a thread I started about a week ago called 'Loved SSR - AKL not so much".

Oh no! We are going to stay at AKL this year. I will look for your post. I didn't like SSR when we stayed. It just wasn't for us. But not everyone likes the same thing.

 

[staceymay00]

Oh no! We are going to stay at AKL this year. I will look for your post. I didn't like SSR when we stayed. It just wasn't for us. But not everyone likes the same thing.

You really have to try a resort for yourself to know for sure. We just stayed at AKV Kidani for the first time and loved it. Our other stays have been at OKW, which we also love. We have not tried SSR. I'm sure it is a nice place to stay, but it does not appeal to me at all for some reason.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Sammie]

At least Kidani is near a park. SSR isn't really close to any of the parks.

i really like SSR but love Kidani so for me it would be a no brainer!

SSR is a little over a mile to Epcot, closer to MK and Studios than AKL.

 

[mom of princessx2]

They are our 2 favorite DVCs but they are so different. We love the quiet serene feeling at SSR and our kids love the splash park at the Grandstand pool as well as swimming in High Rock but something about AKV is just warming to me. I do not like the long hallways at AKV and the lobby at Jambo (we haven't stayed at Kidani yet) can be very busy both early in the morning and late at night. IMHO I can't really come up with a negative for SSR. No problem with buses or service or rooms. We also enjoy hopping on the boat and heading to DTD in the evening for dinner.

Good luck with this one because it would be a hard decision