Adventurous families are surrounded by the wonders of the wild at Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Kidani Village serves as phase two of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas, a Disney Vacation Club resort and newest addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

“We are entering a new era with Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, as it’s the first of four new properties opening this year,” said Jim Lewis, president of Disney Vacation Club.  “Disney Vacation Club continues to provide value for the vacation dollar as families desire to spend meaningful time together and to build a lifetime of memories by vacationing in ways they never dreamed possible.”

With studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom accommodations to choose from, members and guests at Kidani Village are able to take advantage of many of the comforts of home, such as kitchens, living areas and more, while also viewing a variety of African animals roaming the savannah from the balconies of many rooms.  Each vacation villa features custom-made furnishings and décor that reflect the natural and animal influences of the continent.

Jambo House, which includes 109 remodeled two-bedroom equivalent accommodations on the fifth and sixth floors of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and is considered phase one of Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas. The remaining rooms of Kidani Village are scheduled for a fall 2009 opening.  Upon its completion, Kidani Village is planned to include 340 two-bedroom equivalent vacation villas, for a total of 449 two-bedroom equivalent accommodations at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas.

Kidani Village offers convenient transportation throughout Walt Disney World Resort.  Because select Disney Deluxe Villas are part of the accommodations mix, Kidani Village joins the 23 other Disney owned-and-operated resorts that may be booked by overnight guests.  Guests can call 407/W-DISNEY for general resort reservations.

The opening of Kidani Village includes new additions to the resort, such as Sanaa, a new 150-seat, table-service restaurant.  Its unusual name, pronounced “sah-NAH,” is the Swahili word for “artwork.”  Facing the resort’s Sunset Savannah, Sanaa features interiors inspired by African art and allows diners to experience “the art of African cooking with Indian flavors.”  Open for lunch and dinner, Sanaa may be booked by DVC members and by overnight guests through 407/WDW-DINE.  An adjacent 24-seat lounge serves African wines, beer and spirits.

• Samawati Springs Pool, a themed pool area, and Uwanja Camp, a themed water-play area, offer new ways to cool off.  Samawati Springs Pool, Swahili for the color azure, is a zero-depth entry pool with a 128-foot slide and two whirlpool spas.  Uwanja Camp is divided into three zones – base camp, the departure zone and the observation station – each designed with its own character and age-specific activities. The adventure begins in the departure zone, designed for kids ages 5-7, while the observation station is geared for kids ages 4 or younger.  Finally, base camp gets kids ages 8 or older in on the splashing.
• Survival of the Fittest, the new fitness center, features treadmills, bicycles, stair climbers and limited free weights.  Additional recreation amenities include a basketball half-court, a shuffleboard court and two lighted, hard-court tennis courts located in the sports courts area.  Plus, members and guests may utilize Zahanati Massage & Fitness Center, located inside Jambo House, which also features spa services.
• Johari Treasures, a merchandise shop, offers items such as logo and character merchandise, plush toys, sundries, books and magazines, snack items, beer and wine, and a limited selection of grocery items.

Its all about the animals! The Animal Kingdom Villas is a very unique resort for me because Im fence sitting honestly with my opinion of it. First, the animals do nothing for me but my daughter (who is 5) never stopped talking about the animals she saw and even still talks about them today. Second...I really dislike the dependence of this resort on BUSES!!!You have to get on a bus to do ANYTHING!!!!Going to Jambo House (main building)...bus. Going to Animal Kingdom...Bus! While the buses seemd to be prompt on our last visit, I still hate them. Enough whining about buses.

So was there anything good about this resort? ABSOLUTLY!!! At night, the resort was simply amazing with the warm glow of lights fickering as it illuminates the resort. The bond fire out back give an especially warm, gentle glow to the area around us in the evening night. I have never been to africa but I bet it felt like this on the savannah. In the evenings, there are no animals to see but stories to be heard and marshmellows to roast. I bet in the late fall, it must be amazing with the cool breezes rolling in. The Samawati Springs Pool along with Uwanja Camp at Kidani Village was nudging the number 1 spot as far as the best resort pool, in my opinion. One other unique idea that I really liked is how the cars are parked UNDERNEATH the building where your room resides. I thought this was an excellent idea as it would protect the car during florida's typical thunderstorms. This was probably done for space requirements than anything else but I like it.

The Samawati Springs Pool along with Uwanja Camp was very good. My daughter and I spent hours in Uwanja Camp shooting each other with water cannons, a huge waterfall to sit behind, an enclosed slide that is really too fast for the area, having buckets of water being dumped on our heads and of course when the big water tower dumps, look out below. There are motion sensors EVERYWHERE from spitting snakes, holes in buckets or flowers and as you trigger them, you are getting soaked. The Samawati Springs Pool is a typical resort-type pool, it has zero-entry, a short kiddie slide and a large slide for the bigger kids...like myself. Im not sure if it was because the slide was new or the gallons of suntan oil in the pool, but this was the fastest resort slide I have been on. Im thinking latter. we didnt stay in the main pool that much because the huge amounts of suntan oil really made your eyes hurt when kids would splash water. For one it wasnt the chlorine.

This was the first time we stayed an the animal kingdom villas. We stayed in a studio with a savannah view. The rooms were themed to the african savannah with bug netting over your bed, a kithenette, a flat screen TV with HDMI hookups (finally) but typically darker than other resorts especially in the evening again, its all about the animals. It was kinda cool to see the animals from my sofa as I watched TV but the novelty wore off after a while. My daughter has a completely different perspective, she was out on the balcony more than she was in the room. She loved the animals. There is nothing better than your child yelling "Giraffe!!!!" at 7:00am, who needs an alarm clock. The rooms are more than adequate for a family of 4 as the sofa pulls out to a queen bed. For vacation club members who have stayed elsewhere, it is the typical layout with African savannah feel.

2901 Osceola Parkway
Bay Lake, FL 32830
Phone: (407) WDISNEY
Fax: (407) WDISNEY

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