Kidani Village

[RachLDis12]

Hello,

Is there plenty to do at Kidani Village with toddlers (age 3 & 4)? Looking to spend a couple days at the park and a few days at the hotel the first week of December. Is the standard studio pretty spacious? Anything else you recommend I put with my reservation? (Savannah view if possible, near lobby, etc?). Is it worth it to rent a car or is the bus transportation from the airport fine? How about to Magic Kingdom? What other park would you recommend for little ones? Thanks first time traveling to Disney!

 

[Marthasor]

With young children, I preferred using Disney's Magical Express from the airport so I didn't have to deal with car seats in a rental car. In addition to MK, if you are only choosing one other park, I would choose Animal Kingdom.

 

[Marionnette]

Hello,

Is there plenty to do at Kidani Village with toddlers (age 3 & 4)? Looking to spend a couple days at the park and a few days at the hotel the first week of December. Is the standard studio pretty spacious? Anything else you recommend I put with my reservation? (Savannah view if possible, near lobby, etc?). Is it worth it to rent a car or is the bus transportation from the airport fine? How about to Magic Kingdom? What other park would you recommend for little ones? Thanks first time traveling to Disney!

Savannah view is a booking category. All you have to do is book a savanna view to get one. Standard views will get you a view of access roads or (if you're lucky) the pool. There are a couple of Standard View studios that have partial savannah views but next to "near lobby", it is the most requested location at AKV-Kidani. The general concensus is that savannah views from lower floors are better than high floors.

AKV studios are not the smallest DVC studios but they are far from spacious. They're pretty much the same size as a regular hotel room. There might be a few more square feet, but they're taken up by the kitchenette.

For activities, there's a small Community Hall near the lobby and viewing area. They have some games, coloring pages and usually have a Disney movie going on the TV. The lobby should be decorated for Christmas by early December and the tree is quite unique.

Transportation to the parks is maybe one of the most frequent negative observations about Kidani that you will read. Although in reality, AKV is located very close to AK and equidistant from the other 3 theme parks. But unlike most other DVC resorts, absolutely nothing is within walking distance of AKV. A car is nice to have but really is not a necessity unless you plan to visit something outside of Disney property.

IMO, AKV is a great choice for a visit that includes a lot of resort time. You have use of both feature pools and access to Jambo House and its amenities, once it fully reopens. The vibe is very relaxing. You won't even know that you're in the heart of a theme park complex.

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

As already mentioned, savannah view is a booking category that you would pay more for or use more DVC points for at Kidani, you have a better chance requesting and receiving partial savannah room at Jambo. Early December is a busy time at DVC resorts so you will have lots of competition for any partial savannah rooms at Kidani. There are plenty of areas to get a good view of the animals both inside and outside if you don't wind up with a partial savannah view.

Kidani has a nice pool and you can also take the bus to Jambo to use their pool as well. There's a great kid's splash/play area at Kidani but it is currently closed due to covid. There are crafts at community hall (painting pottery, coloring sheets, etc) some you can do there and some you can take with you as well as dvds and board games you can borrow. The pools have afternoon games and music, they also show a movie a few times a week. Kidani and Jambo used to have more daily activities compared to any other resort but due to covid they offer the same as the other resorts now.

If you are only spending a few days in the parks I would stick with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom for toddlers. While it is a bit of a bus ride from Magic Kingdom if you are only going there one day it isn't too bad. My kids loved the bus when they were little since they only got to ride it on vacation.

 

[Best Aunt]

Is it worth it to rent a car or is the bus transportation from the airport fine? How about to Magic Kingdom? What other park would you recommend for little ones? Thanks first time traveling to Disney!

If it's your first trip, you might not realize that if you rent a car and drive from your hotel to Magic Kingdom, you cannot park at the Magic Kingdom. You park at the Transportation & Ticket Center, and from there you either take the monorail or ferryboat to the Magic Kingdom. Last I heard, you had to walk through the parking lot; the trams were not running. If you take a Disney bus, the bus drops you off in a parking lot at the Magic Kingdom, so no need for monorail or ferryboat.

If you haven't been following Disney hotel news - Animal Kingdom Lodge has 2 sections. Kidani Village is one section. Jambo House is the other section. Jambo House has 1 floor plus a second smaller floor of DVC rooms; that is open. Almost everything else at Jambo House currently is closed - Jiko restaurant, Boma restaurant, gift shop, regular hotel rooms. The Mara quick service restaurant at Jambo House currently is only serving breakfast. Normally there are a lot of activities going on at Jambo House, but not during the pandemic. I don't know what might re-open by the time of your trip.

 

[movie77]

Normally there are great enrichment activities where kids can learn about African games, music, etc but I imagine with covid those are shut down right now.

 

[Boolar]

We are looking to stay at Kidani in March, but noticed the pool is closed. They say we would be welcome to use the pool at Jambo, but wondering if it would be super busy because of the closure. Have never been to either, wondering if any thoughts out there?

 

[brockash]

We are looking to stay at Kidani in March, but noticed the pool is closed. They say we would be welcome to use the pool at Jambo, but wondering if it would be super busy because of the closure. Have never been to either, wondering if any thoughts out there?

It can also be quite a walk, depending on where your room is located...not to mention the wet walk back. One thing I have learned, is that for us if a resort does not have a counter service, shop, or pool open during our stay; then we aren't staying there. We pay way too much money to have a major amenity closed and will stay elsewhere with everything open.

 

[Boolar]

It can also be quite a walk, depending on where your room is located...not to mention the wet walk back. One thing I have learned, is that for us if a resort does not have a counter service, shop, or pool open during our stay; then we aren't staying there. We pay way too much money to have a major amenity closed and will stay elsewhere with everything open.

Great feedback, thank-you.