Kidani Village - convince me?

[antietam]

Hi looking at Kidani for 4 nights in August

I have stayed in Jambo house and really enjoyed the stay we had there so thought we would try Kidani

Kidani seems to be short of food options although the pool bar seems to have a reasonable menu.

The pool areas - how do they stand up against other resorts?

Access to Jambo House - is it a pain to get to?

I have this nagging doubt that it is the most unpopular DVC resort it seems as there always seems to be availability... must be a good reason for this.
I know its remote but we have a car

I really need convincing to stay here rather than OKW or SSR

[Andi]

We only stayed two nights at Kidani and didn't use the pool but when we were there I met a lady in the shop who was in tears that she was having to leave and go to SSR. When I spoke to her she had only been able to get a few days at Kidani but whilst there she was able to get it extended slightly but her last few days the resort was totally booked and she was devastated at having to move to SSR.

Kidani has larger rooms than Jambo and whilst it is a quieter resort at arrival, no drums like at Jambo, I thought it was a stunning resort. They did not have a counter service restaurant when I was there but I heard about Sanaa being opened for Breakfast but not sure if this went ahead. There was in room breakfast available which I didn't think was too expensive if it was only for a couple of days. Also it's easy to get the shuttle between Kidani and Jambo if you wanted to eat at Mara.

In November we will be having a split stay between Kidani, Universal and Jambo and I am looking forward to both Disney stays.

[scotgirl]

Kidani is our home resort so I could be a little biased! I have stayed at other resorts and I'm not sure why there is a perception that is 'remote'. Having most recently stayed at Saratoga Springs I can say that the journey time to Magic Kingdom was comparable if not a tad longer than the journey from Kidani. It's only a five minute walk from Kidani to Jambo House to eat at the Mara. The other bonus is it takes about five minutes to get to the 192 via Sherberth Road for Target, Publix, Wendy's etc. The staff have always been lovely and the rooms clean. The buses have never been an issue for us either - Kidani is the first stop for everything apart from Disney Springs. We'll be back in November for three weeks and can't wait! Hope you have a fab holiday wherever you choose.

[tansy]

I agree with the posts above - but would add that you park under the hotel and use lifts in the car park to your allocated floor. We find this really convenient and there's always been plenty of space.

[Guest]

we love OKW, but wanted to try somewhere else

it was a choice between the POLY of Kidani Village, i know people will laugh at that, but we had always admired AKV when we eat at Boma ( eaten at saana and jiko aswell )
So when i tried the Poly and couldnt get one day, the choice was made, Kidani it was

We arrived by ME and made our way in, checked-in and all we good, it didnt quite have the welcome of OKW, no ballon art, just a formal warm welcome

The Room was fine, we had a Savannah view room, so could see the animals, The room was big enough, the sofa bed worked for the girls, not ideal, but but they were in WDW, so not that bad

First morning we were up at 6 am and walked to Jambo house to have breakfast, it was about 10 - 12 min walk down a nice path, that was fine, jumped on the bus and to MK

we picked up the car on day 2 and of course you park downstairs in the concrete underground carpark ( we knew this and we knew i hated it, as its very bland and uninspiring ) it was ok though, you knew your car would be cool whatever time you jumped in it, the only downside for me was people smoking in the underground carpark, the stale air wasnt nice

The pool was great, a fairly decent slide, some water features, the pool staff were fun, the theming was good

we really liked the resort, BUT the big question we asked ourself on the last day ( day 7, as we moved onto Marriott's Cypress harbour, now thats a resort and a 1/2 )
would we prefer to stay at OKW or Kidani, it was split, 2 said OKW and 2 said Kidani, BUT we all agreed ( except my wife, who loves OKW ) that if OKW wasnt available then Kidani would be great again

[Guest]

oh and as for location, it is great for the 192 and Super target, sweet tomato's, Millers ale house, Chueys and various other places, about 10 mins drive away

[Pookle]

We stayed at Jambo but went across to Kidani a few times for Sanaa and also the pool. We liked the pool area, kids much preferred the slide here to Jambo. On the whole Kidani felt a bit quieter maybe? But as others have saved, it's literally a couple minutes walk if you want to use the Jambo facilities.

[Bella1]

We have stayed there a couple of times as it usually has availability due to being a big resort. It isn't our favourite, we actually prefer SSR as we love the space around it and the proximity to Disney Springs. We are staying there again in a few weeks so it must be ok!

However we didn't find the food options a problem, we actually enjoyed walking across to Jambo to eat although I think there is a shuttle. We found the pool area a bit small but we were there Labour Day weekend and it was heaving which may have made it feel small, we found the pool at Jambo quieter.

[Guest]

We love Kidani! I'm actually slightly disappointed that we're doing the full stay at VGF this year because we've been to Kidani the last 3 trips since buying DVC. Our first trip was a few months after 2 weeks at SSR and we both agreed that it was so much better. I would only go for a savannah view though as nothing beats the savannah view balconies imo.

It's quieter than Jambo and feels more relaxed. Our last trip was at the Jambo end and it didn't take long to walk down there. The underground car park is fantastic as your car doesn't get stupidly hot, plus you don't get soaked if it's raining.
We have only used the pool once but it's pretty good. There is a huge kids splash area and a lot of shade around the sides.

I believe that there is always availability because it's a really big resort and DVC exclusive.

[cpjw]

We've stayed there a couple of times but found ourselves using the pool and market place at Jambo. It's a short walk and there's also a shuttle.