Kidani vs PORS

[Ember]

So we had everything all planned out and ready to go for our May trip. We were planning on returning to PORS and staying in a Royal Guest room because we absolutely loved the resort and the room on our last trip. But this morning I received news that we could stay in a studio villa at Kidani Village with a savannah view for the same price as our stay at PORS. I have no idea what to do. Can anyone give me pros and cons to staying at KV? We had issues with the buses there when we visited for our Sanaa reservation, but are the buses always an issue there? Are the rooms far away from the lobby area? It would be awesome to sit on the balcony and watch the animals, but is worth being so far away from all the other resorts and parks? Help please!

 

[wannabeBelle]

The first thing that I would tell you to check out is the bedding situation. In the Port Orleans Royal Guest Room ( Actually all of the rooms at POR) there are two regular queen size beds. Any of the DVC properties with the exception of Old Key West Studio all have one larger bed ( King or queen sized) and pull out bedding for the other sleeping areas. As I am not fond of sleeping on a pull out bed, regardless of how comfortable they are supposed to be for more than a night or two, this usually wouldnt work for me. As far as the bus situation, I havent had any more bus delays than at any other resort, although be aware that the last time I was there, the Animal Kingdom Lodge did share the bus transportation between the two buildings, Kidani house and Jambo House. Usually Kidani House was the first stop coming back to the resort so that might be fine. I havent stayed at Kidani House, so I cant really give you a good read on the distance of the rooms though. Hope this helps!!! Marie

 

[ToTBellHop]

It looks like it's 2 adults, 2 kids? Go Kidani. They'll love the animals and the bus transportation is great. Better than Port Orleans with all those stops.

 

[luv]

I don't take the bus and can't help with that. I've read about it a lot and it seems like every single hotel has people saying the bus system was great and others saying it was terrible. I think it's pretty much the same everywhere, but don't take it myself, so am not sure.

Someone is bound to say that AKL/Kidani is "so far away" from everything, but it really isn't. It's just one of those things people keep repeating because it gets repeated so much. Don't worry about that.

Some of the Kidani rooms are quite a haul from the lobby! Some aren't. Just depends where you are, I guess. It is very nice to sit and watch the animals. The only con I had with Kidani was having to go to AKL to eat. You have to walk or hop into a van with a bunch of strangers. It was kind of a pain. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it there.

I suppose if I had my choice of POR or Kidani, I'd take Kidani. But if I could stay at the AKL proper, I'd do that.

 

[Ember]

Thank you all for your input. This is a hard decision.

"But if I could stay at the AKL proper, I'd do that."

Darn. We had a chance earlier in the year to stay at AKL and turned it down for PORS. So when this opportunity came up I figured we should seriously consider it. I'm having a hard time convincing my husband that we will not be far away from everything. He wants to be able to go back to our room in the middle of the day to rest and thinks that the hike to KV is too much. I have one more day to work on him before a decision needs to be made.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Thank you all for your input. This is a hard decision.

"But if I could stay at the AKL proper, I'd do that."

Darn. We had a chance earlier in the year to stay at AKL and turned it down for PORS. So when this opportunity came up I figured we should seriously consider it. I'm having a hard time convincing my husband that we will not be far away from everything. He wants to be able to go back to our room in the middle of the day to rest and thinks that the hike to KV is too much. I have one more day to work on him before a decision needs to be made.

I bet you that in the middle of the day, when the PO buses stop at FQ on the way to Riverside, Kidani is at least as convenient for a break as Riverside.

 

[lostpro9het]

Kidani FTW! Stayed at Jambo and Kidani and during Christmas week and in October during F&W and NEVER waited more than 10 minutes coming and going and NEVER had to stand! The complaints about the busses for AKL surprise me as we've never had issue with them, maybe we just kept getting lucky. The pools are great, the views are great and there are many extra activities to do!

 

[Ember]

I think my husband is going to win out on this He is one stubborn man. I'm trying to work out a split stay between the two and then we can visit DHS and AK when we stay at KV and the other parks when we stay at PORS.

 

[dreamfinder]

Pull up the Unofficial Guide section on Arriving and Getting Around. There is a section in there that shows you travel times. From the 2011 edition
AKL to MK - 35, Epcot - 28, DHS - 26, AK - 11.
PORS to MK - 22, Epcot - 25, DHS - 24, AK - 28.
Total of spending one day at each of the 4 parks from AKL - 200 mins travel time. Total of spending one day at each of the 4 parks from PORS - 198 mins travel time. A whopping 2 minutes longer average time using Disney buses if you stay at AKL.

Even if you end up in the absolute last room at Kidani, the walk is no worse than if you ended up in the farthest reaches of PORS. The only downside to Kidani is no on site QS, but it has a great TS location in Sanaa, and it's only a 10 min walk to Jambo house, (or a quicker van/bus ride) to get to Mara for QS, and Jiko/Boma for TS/Buffet.

 

[Ember]

Thank you for that! I shall use it in my final battle this evening

 

[ToTBellHop]

AKL has moonlight lighting on the savanna at night. Let your husband know moonlight is very romantic.

 

[Ember]

AKL has moonlight lighting on the savanna at night. Let your husband know moonlight is very romantic.

That was hilarious! And he won. For now. We compromised and will book AKL for our next trip because the rest of the family will be joining us and it seems like a better choice for a big group. We're still going to go to KV for Sanaa and check out AKL for our next trip.

 

[luv]

Thank you all for your input. This is a hard decision.

"But if I could stay at the AKL proper, I'd do that."

Darn. We had a chance earlier in the year to stay at AKL and turned it down for PORS. So when this opportunity came up I figured we should seriously consider it. I'm having a hard time convincing my husband that we will not be far away from everything. He wants to be able to go back to our room in the middle of the day to rest and thinks that the hike to KV is too much. I have one more day to work on him before a decision needs to be made.

That's very silly. You should get an Unofficial Guide and show him the transportation times.

People say the AKL is "so far away from everything", but it really isn't. It's just something people say, like that you should stand under a tree during a lightening storm on a golf course. People repeat it so much that other people believe it's true.

 

[Ember]

Haha! I know! It's my fault for letting him on the board where that line is repeated a lot. I then suggested that we stay at a monorail resort if transportation is such as issue