Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village–Walt Disney World

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Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village is a beautiful resort with lots of fun in every nook and cranny. This was our first Walt Disney World Resort, and did we pick well! Check out the beautiful lobby.

Planning That First Disney World Trip: What I Learned About Renting DVC Points

When I began researching for my first Disney trip, I learned that it was possible to rent points for a Disney villa and stay in deluxe accommodations for a great price.  We had been looking at Disney’s Moderate Resorts, and we were planning a trip with my parents.  As I continued to research, I found that we could rent points for a two-bedroom villa at Kidani for about the price of two moderate rooms at rack rate.

We decided to take the plunge and rent points.  We decided to use the DVC Rental Store since they did not charge a fee to look for availability.  We had a great experience with them, and we have used them for three trips now.  If you choose to rent points, you need to be set in your dates and commit to going.  You no longer have the flexibility to cancel the trip with a refund.  At the time, we bought trip insurance in case something comes up to prevent you from traveling.  Now, the DVC Rental Store has a cancellation protection plan you can purchase.

The other thing about renting points for Disney villas is that there is not daily Mousekeeping unless you pay extra for it.  They will come on the fourth day to change out linens and take trash.  This is not an issue for us.  We sometimes take our own trash out if needed.  There are trash rooms for this purpose.  It’s worth it for us to have the deluxe resort at a great price.

Both times that we’ve stayed at Kidani, we’ve booked a standard view room.  The first time we had a view of the front parking lot.  The second time we had a view of the savanna from the side.  We were able to see wild boars and gazelles frequently.  For us, it made sense to save a little money on the resort and just view the animals from other areas of the resort.  For others, the savanna view is a must.

I’ve included a trip report of our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge-Kidani Village.  This trip included my family of four and my parents.

Animal Kingdom Lodge–Kidani Village

We headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge–Kidani Village. It is an absolutely beautiful resort! We rented points to get a two-bedroom suite. We didn’t get the savanna view, but we really didn’t miss it because you can explore the resort and see the animals. As it turned out, we really didn’t use the balcony anyway because we had some days of pouring rain after this day.

Our room wasn’t ready at about 2:00, but we were checked in, so we could use the dining plan for lunch. The only downside is that we had reservations for Chef Mickey’s at 5:00. We did go ahead and eat some counter service. The only downside to Kidani, in my opinion, is the lack of counter service. We had to eat at Jambo. We knew this going in, though, so it wasn’t a huge deal. Jambo is not that far away. While we were eating, we got the text that our room was ready.

Our Room

We got to our room, and we were confused at first. I didn’t think about having a “lockout” suite, but we did. We soon realized that we had two access doors to the suite. I will share some pictures of the room and resort. Pardon our mess, though.

This is the living area with the sofa bed pulled out. It had its own bathroom and balcony access. The balcony was shared with the master bedroom. The kitchen area is also in this space.

The two-bedroom lock-off also has a small bathroom in the entryway to the main room with the kitchen and living room. The washer and dryer are across the hall from this bathroom.

Here is the headboard of the master bed. We had a king bed in our room. Check out the ostrich egg in the lamp at the right. How cool is that?

My parents had a queen and a sofa in their bedroom. They had their own bathroom, and we had our own. My parents also had a non-connecting balcony of their own. Our master bath had a shower and a jet tub. The toilet had its own “room.”

Animal Kingdom Resort–Kidani Village: The Resort

Here is the entrance to Kidani. It’s smaller than Jambo House, but it’s still pretty cool.

Here are some general resort pictures, including the pool area.

Here is the other end of the lobby looking out on the savanna.

Here is a view of the savanna.

The swimming pool is really nice.  It has a zero-entry side for young kids, and the water slide is pretty fun.

Kidani Village also has a great splash area for kids.

We had a great stay.  Some people are worried because it seems like it is so far out.  This just wasn’t a problem for us, especially since we had our car.  We still took afternoon breaks every afternoon.  I’d certainly stay here again, even after we have stayed at Bay Lake Tower and Beach Club Villas where we can walk to a park.  If you’re on the fence, I’d say to give it a try!