We're here at Kidani! photos added

[KAT4DISNEY]

The Scimitar-horned Oryx were 'teasing' the lions by walking right on the edge of the lion exhibit. Of course, there is a deep gorge inbetween them, and the oryx know the lions can't get them The lions do take notice though! That's why they were both looking in the same direction.

They were doing the same thing on the last safari ride of the day we took in Nov!!!

 

[lugnut33]

I love KV. It's also the #1 rated resort in the unofficial guide.

 

[LisaS]

Next I go to settle into the master bath….oops…one big huge institutional looking room that has no intrigue at all….open toilet, no drawers or shelves, small closet that is absolutely useless because it houses the high chair and safe, so no room to hang anything much in it. I decided it was strange to have the high chair in the bathroom, so I’m off to see if it fits in the front closet (with the washer and dryer). Nope, that is full with the pack and play and the vacuum cleaner. Oh well, again I decide I can deal with it.

The closet situation at Kidani is annoying. I've found that if you turn the high chair upside down, you can maneuver it into the front hall closet. (I think what I did was remove the pack and play, turn the high chair upside down and put that in the closet, then put the pack and play inside the overturned high chair.) Otherwise, as you say, there is no room to hang up anything in the closet in the master bath. And even if there was plenty of room despite the high chair, I find it is often sticky and I do not want it in the same closet as my clothes!

 

[spleen]

Some pictures from our "trek".

Diane - thanks for the great pics and I also think that you're being very gracious about living within the limitations of the HA villa.

Can you give a little more detail about the food supplied? I can't quite figure out what the pink rolled up thing is in the middle of the pic - some kind of cold cut with cream cheese or salmon???? And what's the cake/pie thingy in the bottom left? The mind boggles at the possibilities.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Diane - thanks for the great pics and I also think that you're being very gracious about living within the limitations of the HA villa.

Can you give a little more detail about the food supplied? I can't quite figure out what the pink rolled up thing is in the middle of the pic - some kind of cold cut with cream cheese or salmon???? And what's the cake/pie thingy in the bottom left? The mind boggles at the possibilities.

Of course! the top tray contained yogurt with a fresh made oatmeal/cranberry granola on top, the other two cups contained fruit balls, and brie with dried apricots. The lower tray contained a jicama slaw with a smoked salmon/cream cheese rollup on top (the pink thing), a container of air dried sliced meats (beef and procuito sp?), and a tin of fig and almond bars that were amazing! That bottom tray also included some small pita rounds, and top one included an edible orchid. FYI, I ate EVERYTHING. Yes, even the flower. It had virtually no taste though.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'm getting used to the HA kitchen, but I will NEVER enjoy the dark decor at AKV. Maybe it's our age, but I can't see a darned thing in here! We have decided we're going to take a break from Kidani for awhile. I just find myself frustrated by the inconvenience of it all. LOVE the savanna and the decor is beautiful, but it doesn't function well for me. This time I got close to the lobby so we don't have that horrendous long hallway to deal with, but I think the hallway would almost be easier than the HA unit.

On to happier stuff though....our trip. We have had a wonderful trip with mostly incredible weather. We've gotten to see a few internet/DVC friends so far too. Besides everyone we saw at the OL meet last Tuesday, we saw Webmaster Doc at the annual meeting, and today I met an occasionaly DIS board/DVC visitor who's handle I have trouble remembering. I believe he might have been at another one of my meets a couple years ago too. Sorry, but I think it is is Skooch to Sklooch or something like that. We listened to a wonderful Voices of Liberty concert with him and his wife.

 

[kristenrice]

Thank you for the info on the Wild Africa Trek.

My DD8 and I are getting so excited to take this tour. Did you book it at 180 days, or is it less? We want the first one of the day, which I think is 8am, since we are traveling with the whole family and we want to maximize our time with them.

Question...I know that you cannot wear sandals, but would you recommend hiking boots/shoes or will sneakers suffice?

 

[LisaS]

Question...I know that you cannot wear sandals, but would you recommend hiking boots/shoes or will sneakers suffice?

When DH and I took the tour, we wore our usual running shoes that we wear to the parks. They don't take you anywhere that would require hiking boots.

It is a wonderful tour. I really like hippos so it was such a treat to get so close to them. I enjoyed the food they served too. DH and I are vegetarians and I made sure to mention it when we booked the tour. Our meal was all vegetarian and everything was unusual and very tasty.

 

[spleen]

Of course! the top tray contained yogurt with a fresh made oatmeal/cranberry granola on top, the other two cups contained fruit balls, and brie with dried apricots. The lower tray contained a jicama slaw with a smoked salmon/cream cheese rollup on top (the pink thing), a container of air dried sliced meats (beef and procuito sp?), and a tin of fig and almond bars that were amazing! That bottom tray also included some small pita rounds, and top one included an edible orchid. FYI, I ate EVERYTHING. Yes, even the flower. It had virtually no taste though.

Yum, everything sounds great! (well, besides the orchid) Thanks for the details!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yum, everything sounds great! (well, besides the orchid) Thanks for the details!

I actually got a kick out of eating the orchid, but you are probably used to that in Hawaii.

I thought I would post a few pictures of our HA unit for those of you who have never had the "pleasure".

Here is the kitchen...low counters, no storage under the sink, microwave taking up precious counter space, and no island. Also the fridge is not in the kitchen.

Excuse our "mess" in the bathroom, but here is the institutional part of it.

 

[El&Asmom]

Glad you are enjoying your trip, but wow. I would have requested a change immediately from that HA room. You paid good money for this timeshare and annual dues, so you deserve to enjoy your stay. I would be very upset with that unit.
Hope you have a magical remainder of your stay. Dh and I did the Trek last January, and were the in the second group on the very first day it was offered. We loved it. Especially since I am a vet and love seeing the animals up close. Funny enough, the hippos didn't cooperate for us either. The crocs were the best.

 

[lugnut33]

After seeing the photos of the room I definitely wouldn't want a HA room.

 

[rentayenta]

You are a far more tolerant person than I am because I would have requested a villa change immediately.

Enjoy your trip and thank you for sharing.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Who would have thought that they'd get a worse design for an HA room. Placing the fridge next to the dining table? Really??????

We've had a couple of HA rooms - BWV and VWL and while I missed the counter space that the microwave took up it really didn't bother me otherwise. However the Kidani layout is pretty strange. And the sink still looks like it would be too high for someone in a wheelchair.

The big thing that stands out to me in the HA rooms is the lack of shelves in the bathroom. Why Disney doesn't think that storage there is required or helpful escapes me.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Who would have thought that they'd get a worse design for an HA room. Placing the fridge next to the dining table? Really??????

We've had a couple of HA rooms - BWV and VWL and while I missed the counter space that the microwave took up it really didn't bother me otherwise. However the Kidani layout is pretty strange. And the sink still looks like it would be too high for someone in a wheelchair.

The big thing that stands out to me in the HA rooms is the lack of shelves in the bathroom. Why Disney doesn't think that storage there is required or helpful escapes me.

Actually, the sink and counters are way too low for us in the kitchen. I have made such a mess in front of the sink every day, because the water seems to run off the front no matter what I do. And yes, the lack of storage in the bathroom is annoying, but with two bathrooms, I have taken to using the smaller one for make up...It keeps the clutter down a bit in the master bath.

Anyway....I've gotten over the inconvenience of the HA unit. In fact, I consider myself lucky to have never gotten one before this. We've been members for nearly 15 years, and this is a first. Well, a first for a full sized unit. We did have a HA studio once before at Jambo. That was only for a couple nights though, so it wasn't an issue.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Has anyone else here on the board taken advantage of the cultural exchange talks each night in the Kidani library? I didn't find them until a couple nights ago, but they have been such fun and amazing information. Saturday night we had Titus from Namibia who told us about his tribe (I think it was Wongo) and their culture and the fact that he could speak 22 of the 28 African dialects. He had videos of the women in his tribe dancing and of the men (him included) jumping over each other. That was the most amazing thing! They literally jump completely over the head of the next person! The person he had to jump was significantly taller than he. He also told us about running 17 kilometers to school each day. Can you imagine that? ONE way too! He said he had to leave at 3:30 AM and wouldn't get home until well after dark. It's no wonder so many people from African countries win marathons and Olympic running sports!

Last night we heard Harold from South Africa speak. It looks to me like South Africa is the most urban of the African continent, and seems to be very industrially developed. I can't wait to hear who is speaking tonight too! Now I wish I would have discovered these presentations a week ago when we arrived! They aren't very well publicized, but they are mentioned in the little info sheet they give you at check in.

Here are some the animals on our part of the savanna last night.

 

[magicaldisney]

Has anyone else here on the board taken advantage of the cultural exchange talks each night in the Kidani library?

Yep, we did!! Loved it!! We enjoyed the dance that they perform before hand as well.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Thanks for the report and the pictures, Diane. We stayed at Kidani in October and were not thrilled with our visit. We had a SVH studio but there were so many variables with the stay that just didn't suit us. We'd be happy at Jambo house, though.

Also, we were given a HC 1BR a few years back and asked to be moved. With our kids there is no way we could have a HC villa - just way to easy for them to get into mischief with everything at their height. We did get moved, but it was to a room that ended up stinking of smoke the whole visit. Oh well! We've had more great locations and rooms than not so it was just a bit of a kink in our visit history.

Keep up the reporting! I'm enjoying your posts!

 

[momof2disprincesses]

Has anyone else here on the board taken advantage of the cultural exchange talks each night in the Kidani library?

We did that last summer when DH and I went alone to Kidani for our anniversary. It was the highlight of our trip! We were the only ones there so we got a personal presentation and asked lots of questions.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We were the only ones at the presentation last night too! We will be leaving in a few minutes for tonight's presentation, and I'll report back later.