Tell me about AKV-Kidiani, arriving in 6 days!!!

[kgkmom]

Hi Everyone!

My DS and I are arriving at AKV-Kidani in 6 days. Tell me the good, bad, and the ugly

Thanks! Sarah

 

[ppony]

You'll want to seek out the AKL thread. It's chock full of info. But the one tip I wanted to pass along is do NOT miss the pool there if you like pools. It's the whole pool area at Kidani that is AWESOME!!!! My kids LOVE it. Other than that, we loved Kidani in it's quiet ambiance. I love coming and going and not seeing a soul most of the time. ALK is our home resort. ENJOY!!!!

 

[Sammie]

The major con is no quick service. Other than that, a nice resort. I prefer Jambo House, but Kidani is nice.

 

[MMS1125]

Let me know how you end up liking it!! I have AKV-Kidani in the running for our April trip and have never stayed there. I like that the 1BR has 2 bathrooms

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Stayed at Kidani with ds in April/May and had a great trip. Your son will love the Kidani pool area for sure, and try to watch a movie poolside one evening if you can.

We were in a studio in the low 7200's and I really liked being on the main floor and not having to take an elevator. At first I was not happy because I felt it was a little far down the hall, but there was a side exit door right out to the buses which turned out to be great.

You can walk through Kidani almost to the end of the resort and then exit for the walk to Jambo if it's hot out. We went to Jambo for one afternoon to check it out the pool and eat at Mara. I did like it but preferred the Kidani pool and didn't need to go back for the remainder of our trip. I didn't need a quick service because I had food in the room from Garden Grocer, and went to the lounge area in Sanaa if I wanted something hot.

Have a great time!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

LOVE kidani! We stayed in a one bedroom and I think it was the nicest villa we've ever stayed in on property. The master bedroom bathroom was HUGE, and it was so nice our two kids had their own bathroom near the front door, plus two pullout beds was nice so they didn't have to sleep together. I love the dark wood and dark colors, everything felt so luxurious and comfy. We all enjoyed the pool and ordered food there which was good. We didn't miss not having a food court, I despise them anyway. If we needed drinks, bottled water, snacks, candy, etc, we bought them in the store in the lobby. The kids liked the arcade and community hall for playing games. DH and I spent time at the Sanaa bar several times, very nice as well. We love our "mini-jambo"!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Here's my Kidani trip report: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2620587

 

[RDP]

Its gorgeous! relaxed, you must book a Savannah View. Get a room near a lift, if your not near the lobby. Request a low floor, level 2 or 3. Enjoy!

 

[kgkmom]

Sammie-thanks for the info-good to know that there's no quick service! I'll have to bring some breakfast supplies for the first few days.

Thanks!

 

[iluveeyore]

We stayed in a studio (just DH and I) last month, and now it's our new favourite! Had savannah view on Sunset Savannah, 5th floor near the lobby. Quick walk to refill our mugs in the gift shop, quick walk to the pool - we loved the pool the most of all resorts we have stayed, so beautiful, peaceful, lots of chairs, great area for kids to play. We had a car, and they had underground parking, which was awesome for keeping out of the Florida sun's heat. If you don't have a car, the buses there are great - if you want to jot over to Jambo for a meal, just hop on the first park bus that comes, Jambo is the next stop. To come back to Kidani, just take the DTD bus (don't take that one from Kidani, it already stopped at Jambo, unless you are going to DTD to shop and eat). The decor is amazing, the animals can be seen from many locations besides the savannah rooms, and there is lots to do around the resort every day. Enjoy!

 

[magicLAL12]

We stayed at Kidani in early June and had a great time- you can read my TR via the link below!

Request the Sunset Savannah if you can, and ask to be on the 2nd or 3rd floors.

I'd definitely recommend bringing breakfast foods, that is what we did and it certainly made the trip more enjoyable. Plus, it's extremely relaxing drinking your coffee out on the balcony in the morning

Our 1-bedroom ended up being extremely far away from the lobby- which was nice in terms of quietness and isolation; however, at the end of a long day in the parks- the extra 3/4 mile walk to our room was quite tiring. You may want to ask to be closer to the lobby if that concerns you!

I've heard complaints about the dim lighting at Kidani- while I will agree that the lighting isnt as bright as many other rooms which I have stayed in, you certainly get used to it during your stay and it didn't cause too many problems. I was able to apply make-up, etc.. without any frustration. In fact, I found that I missed the dimmer lights when we returned home!

I've also heard some complaints about the water pressure in the Kidani showers- there is a knob which you can turn under the temperature dial in the shower which will adjust this. Once we started playing around with this knob, we had absolutely no problem!

Hope you have a wonderful time! Enjoy!

p.s. If you have a jacuzzi tub in your room, my personal advice is: DON'T IGNORE IT. The tub is extremely relaxing after a long morning/afternoon of walking around!

 

[mickeyplanner]

I can't find the AKL thread. Can someone help me find it?

Also is there somewhere at Kidani to fill your refillable drink mugs?

We just booked at Kidani for part of a split stay in January 2013. Our kids are so excited about the savannah view.

Any other tips or pointers anyone would like to share?

 

[greeneggs1082]

I can't find the AKL thread. Can someone help me find it?

I haven't been able to find the AKL/AKV thread either!! At least I know I'm not alone, lol.

 

[mickeyplanner]

I think I might have found it but not sure because the Title for it is not like the other resort threads. Something about number 7 and then it says something about AKL. Is this the right thread for AKL/AKV?

 

[ppony]

I think I might have found it but not sure because the Title for it is not like the other resort threads. Something about number 7 and then it says something about AKL. Is this the right thread for AKL/AKV?

Yep, that's it. You'll find that all of the resorts have a thread with a group of people that regularly chat on there. But you can break in at any time and ask questions or search of answers. Some of the "main stays" of the thread will be able to direct you to info quickly. Kimmar for one!

 

[MissouriPrincess]

We stayed at Kidani during the first week of June. We loved it! It was my first trip in about 20 years, and I had never stayed onsite before. We rented points for a 2-bedroom. My parents also joined us for this trip.

I think I am spoiled as far as staying anywhere else. I keep thinking, "Could somewhere else be as good as staying here was?" We didn't even have a savannah view.

Our room was between the lobby and the pool. I really don't understand the people who say it is such a long walk, so we must have had a great location. To me, walking around World Showcase is a long walk.

We had so much space, and it was wonderful to return to a dark, cool room each day, even in the pouring rain. We like dark, cool places. It was a great place for a nap.

You can refill your mugs in the gift shop, and we did every afternoon and evening. The walk was not too far for us, but some people do talk about this. They must be on the far ends of the resort.

We did breakfast in the room every morning except for one. We drove, so we did take the car to Walmart the day we checked in and bought bottled water and breakfast items. Although we had a car, we mostly used buses to get to the parks.

The pool was really nice, and the zero-depth entry is great for young ones. The slide was even fun. It was faster and longer than I expected!

The downside is there is no counter service, but we ate at the Mara at Jambo twice. The first time was on check-in day because our room wasn't ready yet in the early afternoon. We had been to MK before checking in (stayed offsite for two days before visiting the parks), and our room was ready while we ate. My party had chicken nuggets, hamburgers, and pizza. Everyone liked everything, and the fountain pop there has Mr. Pibb!

You can use the buses to get to Jambo. We never walked because it rained a lot.

As you can tell, I really like staying there. Kidani was more peaceful than Jambo, in my opinion. Again, I liked it so much I don't know if another resort would be a let-down after staying at Kidani.

 

[ppony]

Here it is. You had to read the whole title but it's always on the first or second page of the resorts forum.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2871510

 

[sbeaulieu]

We stayed there last week and loved it! We were pretty far from the lobby, but didn't mind the walk too much. We were really close to the last elevator and we drove, so we were super close to our car. We usually use a mix of disney transportation and driving, but seeing as our car was so close (and I'm pregnant so we didn't have to worry about drinking/driving issues) we drove everywhere.

The lighting in the bedroom is really dim...we had to turn every light on at night to see anything, but it didn't bother me too much. We were in a 1BR and I loved that the kids had their own bathroom right inside the door.

We went to the store on our first night so we ate breakfast in the room every day and made our own coffee. That saved a lot of time and money. We had two "break" days, so the lack of food court affected us more than those who are in the parks everyday. We walked to Jambo on one of the days and used the pool there and ate at the Mara.

Our kids went to Simba's Cubhouse two nights and we had to drive to Jambo to drop them off. I might choose Jambo next time for easier access to Simba's because they were sleeping when we picked them up and transferring from stroller to car to room was a little difficult.

Have fun!

 

[iluveeyore]

Also is there somewhere at Kidani to fill your refillable drink mugs?

Yep, gift shop in the lobby, and beside the pool bar.

 

[kathleendsm]

We LOVE Kidani. Stayed last Thanksgiving in a savannah view 1BR on points. Our room was really close to the lobby, the CM was super nice in helping us get a great one. The decor is gorgeous, maybe the best bathroom of any of the DVC resorts I have stayed in (BWV, AKV, BLT). The pool is fabulous too with lots of nice shade if you like shade. We do, and found it a great oasis especially compared to the stark concrete jungle that is BLT's pool.

The buses seemed fine, we had a car so we really just used them to get to MK. The parking, if you have a car, is fabulous, right under the building. You can get close to your room (thus bypassing any issues around walking too far), and the car stays cool in the garage. Since we tend to like to eat off property too, AKV has a nice location because you can hop through a shortcut and get right onto 192 with tons of restaurants.

We also loved walking to Jambo House to eat at Jiko and exploring there. I think it might be our current favorite resort!