Where are the Kidani grand villas?

[shortypots]

My DH and I are planning on taking my entire family (Mom, Dad, sister, BIL, 2 brothers, 2 nieces, and nephew) with us to Disney next year, and we thought it would be a good opportunity to try out the Grand Villas at AKV.

Our original plan was to get a 2bd and 3 studios for all the separate families, but that would put 1 person in 1 room, and seemed like not a wonderful use of points. Also, with people having kids with separate bed times, that entire family unit would need to leave to put the kiddies to bed and stay there. With a grand villa, they could still stay in the general vicinity of the rest of us, and just put the kids in the next bedroom. Funny enough, for 1 week in April, it is fewer points to get a grand villa.

We have looked at both Kidani and Jambo house's villas, and I like the concept of Jambo house's villa because it is all one floor and my dad is handicapped (he can walk stairs, it is just more difficult for him, and he has been known to fall down them every now and again. I don't suspect this will be a problem in Disney since he will be in a wheelchair all day), but the two story floor plan has a separate loft area that would at least give some privacy in regards to the 1 person sleeping on the couch bed. But, even with going with the Grand Villa, we are still faced with the dilemma of someone having to sleep on a couch bed.

So I guess I have a couple of questions... 1)should we go with the 1 or 2 story floor plan? 2) Where are the kidani grand villas going to be located since the only map I can find shows Jambo house only? 3) Where should we request to be located in Kidani (we have 3 young kids that would probably love the pools in April)? 3) Can I expect to get a grand villa for Mid April (after the easter rush) if I call in right at 11 months? Does that tend to be a busier time since it is listed as Magic season?

Thanks!

PS- I guess I put this in the wrong forum, so if the admins could move it to planning, I would appreciate it, sorry for the trouble!

 

[lisah0711]

I would choose a Grand Villa at Jambo House if I were you because of the one story.

My father was killed in a fall downstairs and didn't have any issues before then so if your Dad has issues, I would play it safe. An accident would be horrible not to mention a real damper on the vacation. You can use the pool at Kidani still -- it will be just a short bus ride away.

You might also consider doing a combination of two bedroom, studio or one bedrooms so if someone bails out on you, you could salvage some of your points. There are lots of threads on here about people cancelling and being stuck with bigger rooms than needed, or worse, lost points.

Enjoy your planning and vacation!

 

[drusba]

As long as you call exactly 11 months out chances should be good to get a GV but don't delay beyond the exact opening of your 11 month window.. April after the Easter weeks is busy but not overwhelming. The Jambo one-story GVs are very impressive. You get a much better sense of huge space in one of those. The Kidani GVs will be located top floor with savanna view and will be spread out throughout the resort along the savannas. Frankly if there is any issue with walking distances then at Kidani I would probably request a room near the lobby. I have seen that North wing of Kidani. The walk from the end GVs on that North wing to the lobby is going to be over a 1/4 mile.

 

[Donna M]

We stayed in the GV and loved it. We were at the end of the building which was a long walk for us and we don't have any issues! When we stayed at VWL we were able to get a wheelchair for our MIL free from the front desk which was a lifesaver.

 

[shortypots]

We stayed in the GV and loved it. We were at the end of the building which was a long walk for us and we don't have any issues! When we stayed at VWL we were able to get a wheelchair for our MIL free from the front desk which was a lifesaver.

Wow, you can borrow a wheelchair for free from the resort?!?! That is something I didn't know, that will definitely help my dad out.

I think we are going to go with the 2 story floorplan due to the privacy. If we find he is not doing well with the stairs, we can always have him sleep on the sofa bed downstairs. As long as there is a good railing on the stairs, he will be fine.

Any idea how many HA grand villas are being built in Kidani? I know there is only 1 of the 6 in Jambo. He usually does ok without it, but was just curious.

As for calling in at the 11 month window, I think I already have it on my calendar to remind me.

I really like the concept of trying the grand villa because it will really test my family to see how we handle the "togetherness" of this trip. If it doesn't go well, we use the points for ourselves in the future. If it does, then we will continue to go with Grand Villas, but in Adventure or Choice seasons.

 

[Donna M]

We were not able to get the wheelchair the first day. We checked a couple of times and got one the second day. It's first come. We then had it for the whole week using it to go off ground too. My MIL said it was not as comfortable as the ones at the parks.

Have fun.

 

[shortypots]

I am sure my mom will get one of us to bring dad's with us so she doesn't have to fly with it. She is afraid of the damage the airlines will do. I believe a couple of us will be driving down, so someone should have space.