OKW or Kindani Lodge

[connchurch]

Need opinions on which resort to stay at. We'll reserve 2 2BR villas but I am having hard time deciding which resort to stay at. Never stayed at AKL and would like to try a new experience, but have many in our group that want to be near DS. I do not want them to be disappointed and have read many great things about AKL. Like the choice of a place for the 9th person offered at both of these resorts but cannot decide which resort to stay at?

 

[Simba's Mom]

Some people might disagree with me, but surprisingly DS votes for OKW. We just came back from a week in a 2 BR at Kidani, and last time we stayed in a 2 BR at OKW. Our grandchildren. I think, would vote for seeing the animals at Kidani, but their parents voted for OKW. Don't ask me-I really don't have a choice, but I know that DH is one of those die-hard OKW people.

 

[connchurch]

Some people might disagree with me, but surprisingly DS votes for OKW. We just came back from a week in a 2 BR at Kidani, and last time we stayed in a 2 BR at OKW. Our grandchildren. I think, would vote for seeing the animals at Kidani, but their parents voted for OKW. Don't ask me-I really don't have a choice, but I know that DH is one of those die-hard OKW people.

My Grandkids (8 of them) are ages 10 -20. Most of them want to be near DS but do not know what they may be missing at Kidani

 

[SusieBea]

This is a difficult one - I love both of these resorts. We own at OKW. If you have smaller children in your party, I feel like Kidani has a better pool situation, and those rooms have a 3rd full bath! The dining options right there are better, too. The OKW units are larger and have a full laundry room which is nice. If I had enough points available, I'd probably go with Kidani.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Could you book one at each resort?

 

[DenLo]

I prefer Kidani Village over OKW mainly because most of the buildings do not have elevators.

At OKW you might end up with a room on the third floor in a building with no elevator. Only a few buildings near the Hospitality House have elevators and they are a booking category and hard to get. We were last at OKW when it rained buckets. I saw families trying to carry their sleeping toddlers up the outdoors stairs in the rain. And then having to make additional trips to bring up the stroller and bags.

I know when we were there we went up and down those stairs probably 4 times a day. My knees were killing me.

And I like AKV better than OKW. There are more dining options between Kidani and Jambo House. If you have a large group or teenagers. It is really nice to have a third bathroom in a 2BR at Kidani Village.

 

[Deb & Bill]

... Only a few buildings near the Hospitality House have elevators and they are a booking category and hard to get. ...

Actually, the three buildings with elevators are not a booking category. They are not part of the Near Hospitality House Area booking.

 

[mort1331]

We are looking at this scenario for Aug18. I was surprised to see that AKL was actually cheaper on points. Like the 3rd bdrm, but having the 2 full queen beds is a plus at OKW. Have a month to decide.

 

[Chuck S]

Between those two resorts there are a couple things to consider:

1) Location...Animal Kingdom lodge sits off kind of by itself. It is convenient to Animal Kingdom and relatively convenient to MK. If you or your guests want to spend more time at EPCOT or Studios, OKW would probably be a better choice.
2) Restaurants...Olivia's has good general American food and comfort food. ANimal Kingdom is a bit more adventurous food-wise. As a person with food allergies to certain seasonings, I have to be somewhat careful what I order at AK Lodge/Kidani. At Olivia's I rarely encounter a major problem, I either avoid their more seasoned dishes, or they can easily modify a dish to suit my needs. There are lots of items I can choose from. With AK being generally heavy on coriander, my selections are often limited. Some items can simply not be specially prepared without it. I also break out from honey, and since a lot of African foods are naturally sweetened with honey, that is also a limitation.

 

[BillPA]

If you're looking to pack 9 in a 2 BR, AK-K will provide the all important 3rd bathroom. I would not put that many in any 2 BR.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I would opt for OKW. Animal Kingdom is fine but we literally Walked a half mile back and forth to our room the last time there. I don’t mind the stairs at OKW because once the luggage is up, it’s not a big deal. Love the boat to DS, the pool, the tennis court, the huge rooms, the full size washer and dryer, etc. we are not big park people so OKW is a good location for us. I probably would not put 9 people in a two bedroom but OKW is much bigger even though there are only two bathrooms.

 

[drusba]

We are looking at this scenario for Aug18. I was surprised to see that AKL was actually cheaper on points. Like the 3rd bdrm, but having the 2 full queen beds is a plus at OKW. Have a month to decide.

Standard view is less than OKW for a 2BR but savanna view is more than OKW, and all the dedicated 2BRs at Kidani have two queens in the second bedroom.

As for OP's inquiry, my preference would be Kidani. If your group in the 2BR is large, you need that third bathroom. If you have savanna view,you get to see animals (some standards, converted from savanna, also have a savanna view, but only of Pembe savanna which has no giraffes). With savanna view, you should request Sunset savanna view (more than 80% of the savanna view rooms at Kidani overlook Sunset). The pool (for which you do not need a bus to get to) has a very long slide and the kid's water play area is impressive and has things for even 10 to 12 year olds. If you have a car, parking is in a ground floor, under-building, parking area that runs throughout most of the length of the resort, and with three elevators on each of the two wings, you can always find a parking space that is fairly close to your room. The resort has many kids activities both at the pool and in the lobby and viewing areas of the resort. You can also do the night goggles activity (goggles that allow you see the animals in the dark). Though you are further from the parks than OKW (except for AK), you only have two resort stops, one at each resort and thus travel time to a park is often the same or even ;ess than OKW (and the buses often do direct runs from Kidani to MK. You can use the amenities at Jambo and you have very good restaurants, including Boma, one of the best buffet restaurnats on site.