SSR vs Kidani

[BraveLittleToaster2]

So we are trying to decide between Kidani (One of our favorites theme wise) or SSR.
We have been to Kidani about 3 times already and love the savannah view and lobby etc. My main concern is I've heard it is long overdue for a refurb and I hate to spend all that money and have a room that looks dirty and run down.
We have never been to SSR before but I have always wanted to try it and I LOVE the look of the new updated rooms. We will have our car with us so we will only be using buses for MK days. My only hesitation with SSR is that the room is motel style, with us traveling during hurricane season we like to be attached to a lobby so on rainy days we can access arcades, food etc without having to go outside and get wet. Do you think that's a huge deal?

Which would you choose? It's 5 of us and both have plenty of space for us.

 

[Cfabar1]

I wouldn't worry so much about the hurricanes... If DVC is worried they'll evacuate you and move you to another hotel that is safer/more secure or tell you to leave... Plus you're in Orlando, not Naples or Vero Beach... I wouldn't worry too much about that....

Regarding the other question I think it depends on where you would rather have as a "home base"... SS is more centrally located with more dining options, however there's nothing like staying on an actual savannah!

Either way you can't go wrong! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Crescent_Lake]

So we are trying to decide between Kidani (One of our favorites theme wise) or SSR.
We have been to Kidani about 3 times already and love the savannah view and lobby etc. My main concern is I've heard it is long overdue for a refurb and I hate to spend all that money and have a room that looks dirty and run down.
We have never been to SSR before but I have always wanted to try it and I LOVE the look of the new updated rooms. We will have our car with us so we will only be using buses for MK days. My only hesitation with SSR is that the room is motel style, with us traveling during hurricane season we like to be attached to a lobby so on rainy days we can access arcades, food etc without having to go outside and get wet. Do you think that's a huge deal?

Which would you choose? It's 5 of us and both have plenty of space for us.

We love SSR! That said, we only stay there during mild weather, such as cooler temps and low rain seasons. During those times we embrace all of the walking. I would never stay there in the dead of summer or in early fall when the temps are still bad and the humidity is maxed out. A super rainy week would not be desirable.

 

[Mortie]

Haven’t stayed in Kidani or SSR post COVID but did before. Prefer Kidani theming is better. Also found that as we used Disney transport took an age to get out of SSR with all the stops (stayed near Grandstand stop). Did like SSR but would rather stay somewhere that still has character than be “motel” like and of course Kidani has giraffes so no contest for me!

 

[tidefan]

Either is great, especially for having your own car. On the plus side for Kidani, there is parking underneath the building, so that is very convenient. I prefer the pools at SSR.

What type of room are you looking at? The extra full bathroom in Kidani 1 and 2 bedrooms is a nice feature.

 

[SpicyMcHaggis]

You didn't mention specific timing for the trip you are planning apart from hurricane season, but the renovation for Kidani is scheduled to take place in 2025 (they haven't announced specific dates to the best of my knowledge.) If you're traveling in 2025, you might be there in the middle of renovation, or potentially afterward. I'd probably not want to be there in the middle of renovation, but if you are looking to go later in the year you might be able to snag a newly-refurbished room.

I'm planning a big trip staying at Jambo or Kidani with my extended family in early 2026 and really hope refurbs are completed by that time.

 

[zackiedawg]

If you love theming more, and your party includes children that might really love the animals, then Kidani would be the better choice. If your party is all adult, and you may want to stay up later at night, do any music, cocktails, etc then SSR has the big advantage of being able to walk into Disney Springs anytime for desserts, snacks, bars, music, etc. Though you'll have your car, it's obviously better if you're doing an adult trip to not have to drive.

I love the theming of AK Lodge and Kidani, love walking the grounds, love seeing the animals...but as a person with no children who goes to Disney usually with friends, some family, or sometimes solo, I prefer to stay where there's easy walkable entertainment - so I usually end up choosing Boardwalk or SSR, sometimes Wilderness Lodge - each has close access to a park or entertainment area, and things to do at night. When I'm at one of the more dis-connected resorts, I tend to go to bed earlier and just plan most of the day at the parks as once I get back to the resort, there's not a lot to do.

 

[MrsM]

I'm sure it may come down to the specific room you get but we just returned yesterday from a stay at Kidani. It's one of our home resorts but we haven't stayed there for several years. After reading posts here, I expected that the room (2BR savanna view) might be run down or in disrepair. It was neither of those things, I would say it was in practically the same shape as our last stay years ago. Yes the rooms are dark but they've always been that way.

I will say that now that our kids are now young adults, they noticed for the first time how removed the resort was from everything else after having stayed at some of the other DVC resorts where they could easily walk to other places.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Agree with MrsM, we stayed at Kidani for several nights in the 1BR savanna view back in March, and the room was great. Nothing we considered rundown or a problem. All the DVC villas get used hard, and sometimes it's luck of the draw which room you get. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at Kidani just based on a few folks talking about the rooms needing a refurb. I would keep an eye, though, as to when the refurb happens in 2025 - that, to us, would be more impactful and something we'd prefer to avoid. But the underground parking at Kidani is awesome, and the access to both pools at AKL and some of the best resort dining on property - we'd choose AKL (Jambo or Kidani) over SSR every time.

 

[StarCruzer]

As others have said, it depends on the type of vacation you're planning! When we are doing a more relaxing vacation with less park days, we tend to stay somewhere more heavily-themed like Kidani. If we want to do nice dinners outside the parks every night, places like OKW, SSR, and POR are better options. When we want to do a lot of park time, resorts with less bus stops or walking distance from one of the parks.

If you're not looking for something specific, do SSR just to try a new resort. We did this with our first ever OKW visit when we had some points that were going to expire and we were pleasantly surprised by the experience.