Kadani Village- Animal Kingdom Lodge-Tips Please

[tlhewitt52]

My family is going down in August and we are staying at the Animal Kingdom in a two bedroom in Kidani Village. There will be 9 of us all together. Kids ages will be 12, 10, and 6. Any tips for us would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[tundramom]

Go out and sit by the firepit at dusk to watch the animals and talk to a guide. My DH spent a good deal of time talking to a young lady from South Africa, not only about her country but also her experiences in ours (her second tour with WDW) and found her to be quite engaging. Beware, the small shop with grocery basics at Kidani has limited hours. We like to pick up milk, etc. after returning from the parks at night only to find it closed, not a big deal once we knew, just a surprise the first night. Walk around the lodge and try to find African proverbs and check out the artwork! The common room has a lot of activities planned, check the schedule, we came in one night to a parade of kids and beating drums! I hope you enjoy, we really like Kidani!

[Fastpasssteve]

Kids tend to prefer the pool at Kadani Village rather than Jambo House...so, in this case, the grass is not greener on the other side of the pool.

On the other hand be sure to make the approx. 10 minute walk (or catch the bus) and try out Boma or Jiko...two excellent restaurants. Enjoy.

[PlutoPlanet]

Go slow at AKL. That can be tough or impossible at Disney, but at AKL it's worth it. We love Boma. Dinner may be the best value on property. The breakfast food is better than Chef Mickey's. The animals make AKL unique.

[ThanxForNoticin]

If you get the chance enjoy some time at the Community Hall and/or the outdoor play area (tennis and shuffle board). However, if you do go out to play tennis or shuffle board, make sure you use the restroom before you head out. A minor issue we have with their design is there is no bathroom out there. Also, depending what your kids enjoy, they might want to participate in the afternoon pool party at Kidani - looks like fun! Enjoy your time there - it's an awesome place.

[Gator]

One thing I noticed (and not until the last day) is that the zebras and giraffes don't come into the central savanah area until the afternoon. In the morning and evening, you'll see Ankole cattle and some large birds.

The lobby is a lot smaller than Jambo House. And I don't ever remember seeing the grocery store closed. Then again, I was always back to the resort by 10:30pm. Maybe they close after 11pm. I don't know.

[pox24]

Request a dedicated 2 br, its bigger. Also, request one close to the pool area. This resort is nearly 1.5 miles from tip to tip of the Ram's horn. If your at the end, it is really far to the pool area. The poolarea is awesome. We stayed there last Sept for a week in a Ded 2 BR and loved it.:thumbsup:

[tlhewitt52]

We have already tried Boma and do love it we are going there for my husbands birthday! Can we request the dedicated two bedroom and one close to the pool at check-in or do you call before hand?? I would definitely like one close to the pool since we have three children and 6 adults, it's a long haul for a large group if were too far away!

[PlutoPlanet]

It doesn't always work for us, but the best we can do is to call a few days before and ask for the room/area we want. We also ask when we check in as well.
Once we checked into a room (at BWV). DW preferred a different location and they did move us to a different room for a $25 service fee.

[ThanxForNoticin]

Request a dedicated 2 br, its bigger. Also, request one close to the pool area. This resort is nearly 1.5 miles from tip to tip of the Ram's horn. If your at the end, it is really far to the pool area. The poolarea is awesome. We stayed there last Sept for a week in a Ded 2 BR and loved it.:thumbsup:

I agree that it's nice to stay closer to the pool, but I have to disagree with you that it's 1.5 miles from one end of Kidani to the other. It's nowhere near that far. The Kidani pool is across from the main entrance to Kidani. I often walk in the mornings. At a very leisurely pace, I walked from the Kidani pool to the main pool at Jambo house in 10-15 minutes. It is definitely spread out, but it's very managable.

[VWL Mom]

We have already tried Boma and do love it we are going there for my husbands birthday! Can we request the dedicated two bedroom and one close to the pool at check-in or do you call before hand?? I would definitely like one close to the pool since we have three children and 6 adults, it's a long haul for a large group if were too far away!

Not AKL specific but normally a dedicated 2bdrm needs to be booked at the time of reservation. At least that is what is done for VWL.

[pox24]

If you walk on any floor from one end of the Ram's Horn to the opposite end it is just under 1.5 miles. Bell Services informed us of this odd fact.