Complaints about Kidani

[Dean]

The lomng walks is the same at saratoga springs. I own points at kidani and my wifes parents own points at saratoga. at saratoga you have to take a BUS to get to the main lobby.

Also at saratoga you have the same carts problem .

So saratoga has many if not all the same problems. Is quickservice a problem if it takes the same amount of time to get to jambo from kidani as it takes to walk to the lobby of saratoga or wait for a bus to go to the lobby?

If your in the hallway closer to jambo you are maybe a 5 min walk tops from jambo.

For some things, the walks for bus stops are further for many villas compared to SSR or OKW. However, those 3 resorts are more auto resorts.

Like a people mover? I've long thought that is a form of transportation that would work well in some of the Disney situations.

that's one option, there are several. IMO, every resort has it's plusses and minuses and this is one of the detractions for AKV.

 

[Bullseye]

We stayed there this summer and didn't have any problems. I didn't even think having to go to Jambo for CS was a big deal. The Mara is an excellent CS location and Boma is one of favorite restaurants in WDW. I'm going to book again there next summer. Heck, I thought the feel of the place so cool I actually put together an Africa wall in my home when we got back.

 

[Skatetigger]

I am a big Kidani fan. We've done about 3 stays there and actually own at AKV.

I don't remember having any problems with the TV's but as others have mentiond I don't really watch too much.

We stayed at BWV's in october and our room was at the absolute end of the hall which was a walk in itself which we didn't mind but I think it was probably almost as crazy as a wak in Kidani.

I was thinking that maybe though they could have a breakfast cart available at Kidani that had muffins, bagels, pasteries, coffee. We weren't affected that much as we generally get breakfast for our room but it would be nice to have.

With regards to the housekeeping carts, most any hotel will have that during the day. I stayed at the Hyatt Grand Cypress for work and each and every day the carts were out every morning.

Everyone has their favorite resorts and to be honest I think there are pros and cons of each resort. It's a matter of preference.... I don't really love to stay at BCV, but will stay there if I had to. I am at Disney and life is good when I am there. (although getting sick on your 40th birthday at Disney does kind of stink )

 

[twinklebug]

I was thinking that maybe though they could have a breakfast cart available at Kidani that had muffins, bagels, pasteries, coffee. We weren't affected that much as we generally get breakfast for our room but it would be nice to have.

That's a great idea! Write to member services, maybe they'll pass the idea along.

 

[dianeschlicht]

There's too much complaining in the world today

 

[bwang123]

Like a people mover? I've long thought that is a form of transportation that would work well in some of the Disney situations.

like this?

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We just spent two nights in a savannah view studio at Kidani. This was our first visit to the resort and my last.

Here are my complaints:
1. Extremely long hallways I won't argue with you there! Walking does not bother me but for others, BWV & AKV won't work
2. Very limited food options- no food courts and absolutely no where to get breakfast Beauty of the time share, microwave/toaster in your villa! They have room service, not sure if it covers breakffast. Jambo House better suited for people who require a food court!
3. TV reception horrible- no HD stayed at Kidani several times now, no problem, did you call maintenance?
4. Hallways filled with cleaning carts True of every resort in the morning!
5. Sofa bed was thin and extremely hard. Linens were low cost. Blanket was thin.Linens are the same as any other DVC resort, we happen to prefer the type of sleeper at Kidani, beats the one at OKW!
6. Saw very few animals (I know this was not Disney's fault but the extra points were wasted). This is odd, as we always book a standard 2 bedroom and to date we've always gotten a partial Pembeh view and see a lot of animals and different types as well, morning and night!
7. Far from everything This doesn't bother me but for some it's a deal breaker!

I really wanted to love this resort, but truthfully my stay at the Residence Inn the night before was way more enjoyable. If I had paid cash for this resort, I would have been really upset.

DVC offers many types of resorts and maybe Kidani is not for you! But as they say, stay where you like, so maybe the answer is The Residence Inn!

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

like this?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

like this?

Oh that was so not a favorite movie of mine.

 

[Hardy]

All of your points are probably true, but all I can say is I love Kidani! We recently got back from our second week+ long stay there and it's truly my happy place yes the hallways are loooooong, but by the very nature of the resort, how could it be any other way? There are long walks at most of the other resorts, just not necessarily down a long straight hallway.

We had a surprise savanna view in our standard view room and it was just the best thing ever! Sometimes there were a lot of animals, sometimes none, although I'm not sure why they keep that horribly mean bird around that chases all the other animals away. They are animals that are free to be where they want, and sometimes that isn't under your room. I honestly would not pay for savanna view just bc it is an excuse to go down to some of the lovely viewing areas and just enjoy the peacefulness and animal antics.

This resort is my favorite bc it is feels removed from the busyness of the parks and crowds. I spent so much time enjoying the balcony and pool, a great place to wind down and relax. We also ate breakfast and dinner in almost every night, I love having a kitchen. I don't miss counter service but would probably use it once in a trip if they had it.

The walk to Jambo is not that long, however we found it to be a very hot walk in the august afternoon. But you can just grab any park bus and get there quickly!

Sanaa is one of the best restaurants on property in my opinion. It has not seemed to suffer the service/food quality downgrade that so many of the other restaurants (especially park restaurants) have gotten.

Anyway, to each their own and I appreciate reading your opinions, and like I said, they are probably true....so it's not for everyone, but I would take Kidani anytime we are visiting the World

 

[RDP]

Love this resort !

1. Love being able to take an elevator to my car, love the fact the car is under cover
2. Love the seclusion and atmosphere
3. Love my savannah view balcony
4. Love the master bathrooms in the 1 and 2 beds
5. Love being close to Jiko, one of the best resturaunts on property IMHO
6. Love the helpful staff.
7. Love the pool area and kids play area at Kidani
8. Love the wine they sell in the gift shop! Yum yum!
9. Love morning coffee on my balcony animal watching
10. Love having all the amenities offered by AKL close at hand.

 

[huey578]

Love this resort !

1. Love being able to take an elevator to my car, love the fact the car is under cover
2. Love the seclusion and atmosphere
3. Love my savannah view balcony
4. Love the master bathrooms in the 1 and 2 beds
5. Love being close to Jilko, one of the best resturaunts on property IMHO
6. Love the helpful staff.
7. Love the pool area and kids play area at Kidani
8. Love the wine they sell in the gift shop! Yum yum!
9. Love morning coffee on my balcony animal watching
10. Love having all the amenities offered by AKL close at hand.

Ditto!

 

[jacesmommy]

DS (8) and I stayed at Kidani last September. I was so excited about it! My only disappointment was the room. It didn't seem as "luxurious" (for lack of a better term) as the rooms at OKW or SSR. I guess it being a lodge I should have known what type of theme the room would take. And I even looked at pictures before we went. I think I was so taken by the bathroom that I ignored the rest of the pics!
And our room was far from the lobby. We called it the never-ending hallway! But at least it was air conditioned. I'm torn as to whether I'd want to stay there again. BIG plus....SANAA!!!!! My new favorite on Disney property so that was awesome!

 

[kwelsh]

I agree the hall did seem extra long. I wouldn't have minded the long walk to the room if there had been a restroom along the way. Some in our party had difficulty making it from the bus to the room needed a pit stop along the way.

 

[dvcterry]

There's too much complaining in the world today

 

[Tigger1]

Okay, I for one happen to like the carts in the hallway. It's much easier to snag some extra tp or dw soap from a cart. While staying at SSR or BCV where they use the baskets it's much more of a hassle to get things when they run out. I've walked for ages trying to find someone, to no avail and didn't want to call and wait for housekeeping. So, to each his own, but imo long live the carts!

Good idea, lol

 

[SamSam]

I agree the hall did seem extra long. I wouldn't have minded the long walk to the room if there had been a restroom along the way. Some in our party had difficulty making it from the bus to the room needed a pit stop along the way.

There are restrooms off the lobby, down by Sanaa.

 

[rentayenta]

Bummer to read about your disappointments OP. I debated Kidani vs Jambo but we'd stayed Jambo before so I'm looking forward to trying Kidani. Hope were not let down.

 

[twinklebug]

These boards are amazing for giving us both sides of the picture. Sometimes though, I think folk put too much stock in the great pics and reports they read on the web keeping an open "Let's just see what it's like" attitude. When everything doesn't play out picture perfect, things that may have been lived with, and even embraced, before the research was done end up putting a negative stamp on the trip.

All DVCs have their pros and cons. I try to take each and every trip as an experience verses an expectation and things go much smoother than if I had demands. I admit it does tend to get harder to keep this attitude as I re-experience my favorite resorts and have had some amazing rooms which I obviously can't have every trip. What I've been trying to do is look at the location as being home and we're just experiencing other rooms within our home

 

[DenLo]

I think I've heard this all before. There's always something to complain about each resort.

• Long hallways at Kidani and BWV.
  
• Stairs and no elevators at most of the buildings at OKW.
  
• BLT has an ugly non Disney Themed decor and views of a parking lot with high point cost.
  
• VWL has no view unless you like dumpsters.
  
• SSR is like living in an apartment complex. And is far from the parks.
  
• BCV no view and dirty hallways.

We have stayed at all of the DVC WDW resorts except for BCV and every resort has it good points as well as bad. Does it mean I loved every one? No, I still prefer some resorts over others. IMO, a report should state the good and the bad. Or are people just tired of the hearing the good stuff?