Staying @ Kidani this summer....any advice, tips?

[NoleFan]

parking, activities for kids, must do, must see, standard view requests, pool, dining, bus.

Thanks in advance for any tips & advice.

 

[hakepb]

A great side benefit of Kidani is most parking is under the resort, so your car is in the shade. Each character has its own elevator do you can usually park near that elevator.

Check out your activity guide for kids programs and pool games. Definitely plan a pool afternoon or 2 . Be sure to check out the time for night vision viewing of the animals.

For standard view, it depends on your priority. Near the bus, Near the lobby, Near the pool, or a partial savanna view? (You can request Pembe at online checkin)

Dining. Kidani means no breakfast, so be prepared with some food in your room or take a shuttle van to Jambo. (Where I think Boma is the best breakfast food of any WDW buffet) or Mara the QS location.

For lunch there is poolside delivery or Saana (dinner too)
In addition to the shuttle van that goes from lobby to lobby, ypu can take any park bus to the Jambo stop, or you can walk.

 

[hmcfall711]

My suggestion, especially if you have children, is to plan a day to just kick around the resort.

There is a lot you can do. The pool & splash area are great. They have the pool games/ party in the afternoon. Animal watching can take up a good bit of time if you are not in a rush. There are activities in the guide. Pay attention because a few have additional cost. The community hall has coloring, a pool table, and games all the time and most of the time they have assorted crafts you can do. In the evening most nights they have marshmallow roasting near the pool. Some nights they have the outdoor movies.

I suggest trying the dining both at Kidani and Jambo. We love the Indian bread service from room service as a late night snack. Sanau is pretty good but not budget friendly if you are feeding a big crew. I suggest going early to mid-afternoon. Go after lunch but before dinner service. We have found there is virtually no one there but the staff and you pretty much pick where you sit.
Boma is great, especially if you are a little adventurous when dining, but also has great alternatives if you want chicken nuggets and mac & cheese. Mara is OK- typical breakfast fare and dinner/lunch is similar to other places but has a few "African inspired" foods. I like the flatbread.

Chat with the cultural representatives they are wonderful. If you get a chance go to one of their presentations by all means go. They are great.

A random side note: they have Minute Maid Light Pomegranate Lemonade at the drink station! We have found this stuff to be addicting, and we are not lemonade people. The down side is that we have NEVER found it anywhere outside of WDW in the southeast US. Between this and fresh pineapple at the resort I am constantly full.

Info overload?

We love our DVD home resort and although we have never had a park free trip, I could image spending a few days just hanging at the villas. There are many days that DH and I say we wish we were sitting on the back side of the pool deck drinking lemonade and watching our pet okapi.

I hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[princesscinderella]

We had a savannah view last time we stayed and we looked out to the pembe savannah and loved it. It does not have the zebras or giraffes but it had the big cattle and the okapi and it felt more authentic as you looked out at only the trees in the distance not the rooms at the other side of the resort. I would request the pembe savannah again. We also love to eat at Saana in kidani.

 

[NoleFan]

Thank you everyone for the great input. We are truly looking forward to our 1st stay @ Animal Kingdom. We are planning on doing 1 day at resort with no park to just enjoy all that the resort has to offer. It sounds so unique & amazing!

 

[WoodysHat]

We just got back from a week at Kidani and it was heaven! I second the addictive pomegranate lemonade, it's so good. Fun tip: We grabbed pool loungers directly across from the movie they played at the Kidani pool at night (Brave was showing) and ordered from the private dining menu which they deliver to your chair in large wooden bento boxes. It was such a nice dinner/movie/pool experience! The African drummers that perform in the library were amazing and they let the kids join in too.

Have a great trip!! We can't wait to return!

 

[NoleFan]

OMG, getting so excited for our 2 upcoming trips!! BCV in 2 weeks & then split stay AKV & BWV in 5 weeks!!

 

[P-elmo]

We went to one park in the morning ... MK, EP, or HS. Usually for 3-5 hours. We usually then took a break.

In the evening, we often drove over to Animal Kingdom for an hour or two. You're so close to AK, it is really easy to pop over there for just an hour or two. We were able to do all the stuff we wanted to do at AK all in three evenings and didn't need to spend our morning time there. If you have park hopping abilities, this is a great option.

 

[NoleFan]

We went to one park in the morning ... MK, EP, or HS. Usually for 3-5 hours. We usually then took a break.

In the evening, we often drove over to Animal Kingdom for an hour or two. You're so close to AK, it is really easy to pop over there for just an hour or two. We were able to do all the stuff we wanted to do at AK all in three evenings and didn't need to spend our morning time there. If you have park hopping abilities, this is a great option.

Great idea. Yes, we will have a car as well as annual pass so we can easily park hop.

 

[joelp]

You'll have a great time at Kidani!!

Don't forget you also have access to Jambo House - so you have 3 TS restaurants, 1 CS restaurant, 2 pools (with pool food/bar service), hot tubs galore, 2 arcades, 2 gift shops ...

I can heartily recommend Boma for dinner and breakfast ... Sanaa is strongly oriented to Indian flavorings (not my cup of tea - but the DW liked it) ... Jiko to adults without kids (never eaten there - but my DW, Mom, and BIL/SIL had a great dinner there a few years ago ...)

If you wanna "dump" the kids one night, there's Simba's Clubhouse at Jambo House ...

Definitely check out the Activities Guide you will get at check-in. Not all activities take place every day, so you may want to adjust your plans if there's something you really want to do ...

Oh, yeah - there's animals, too!!!

 

[lck33]

Thanks for this thread! We leave in 3 days and my DD and I are so excited!! We are staying for the first time in Kidani. And that lemonade sounds yummy. Hope they still have it. And if I may ask is there coffee at the drink station? And where is the drink station? Thanks.

 

[NoleFan]

Thanks for this thread! We leave in 3 days and my DD and I are so excited!! We are staying for the first time in Kidani. And that lemonade sounds yummy. Hope they still have it. And if I may ask is there coffee at the drink station? And where is the drink station? Thanks.

Please post when you get back. We are going the end of July!

 

[amyy]

I agree with all the comments about spending time at the resort (our home resort). So much to see and do. One trip we spent 1 night at the cultural presentation and story telling by the fire at Jambo House and 2 nights at the cultural presentations at Kidani. Unless things have changed the presentation at Jambo is "created" by Disney and the ones at Kidani by the cultural representative giving the presentation. We loved both and the man at Jambo added in his own experience. When we were one Kidani presentation was about their family trips to Kruger National Park and the other was on the cultural representatives research. You can check the activity boards in the hall to find out more if you are interested. And has anyone mentioned zebra domes A dessert which I think is unique to AKL and you can get at Boma or Mara. Breakfast at Boma is a must do in my opinion. Enjoy your stay!!

 

[bilzer]

The drink stations are conveniently located near the pool and inside the store. Ask for hot chocolate from the counter in the store, they keep it in the drawer.

 

[lck33]

Thank you... We can't wait to explore the resort and watch the animals. I will post when we can back!