Keane's March 2012 Trip Report - Part 2
"Let The Memories Begin... Again..."
Please see Part 1 for cast and plot summary...
Sidebar: Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village
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This will be my second stay at Kidani, the last in 2009, the year they opened the resort. It will be my fifth stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, the first three at what is now known as Jambo House.
For the uninitiated, Animal Kingdom Lodge opened in 2001. The popularity and uniqueness of the resort prompted the Disney Vacation Club to build a sister resort next to the original hotel. So when Kidani opened in 2009, the original "Animal Kingdom Lodge" was renamed "Jambo House", and the new DVC resort was named "Kidani Village". They both exist under the umbrella name "Animal Kingdom Lodge", similar to the way Riverside and French Quarter are both combined to form Port Orleans, even though they're two separate resorts. The only three things Jambo and Kidani share are common themeing and Sunset Savanna.
And Bus Service. They run like this. All the Theme/Water Park buses first stop at Kidani, then at Jambo. The Downtown Disney buses do the opposite. Bus service ran hot and cold. If you averaged out wait times, it was probably 15 minutes, within company claims, but some waits were pretty long.
Being the first stop at Kidani was great, since we were loading a scooter. It would have been a nightmare trying to load a scooter on a mostly full bus from Kidani. On the other hand, getting off first on a crowded bus was sometimes a pain. Since a lot of guests get off at Kidani, it wasn't impossible, and I never ran over any toes...
Also note there is no counter service at Kidani, and there is a very (very) limited menu at the pool bar. We actually cooked breakfast a couple of times. The store in the lobby has a selection of the usual microwave stuff, and even eggs and butter and I think bacon. So if you have a one or two bedroom villa, you can always cook breakfast in the room if you're planning on going to say, DHS. Of course, our breakfast was eggs with really, really yellow yolks; Jenny's smoked pork belly; and fresh sausage... No Mickey waffle. sniff. But I digress.
I am happy to report, there is resort merchandise. Bought a Kidani t-shirt. (I also noticed Beach Club stuff at the gift shop there when I was at Cape May.)
Back to our Trip Report...
Day 1. Sunday, March 4rd. Arrival!
We get to Kidani, and I drop Mom off at the Lobby, and go and park the car. It's a little chilly, but the weather looks great the rest of the week.I am met by the door to Kidani by a greeter CM, who actually walks us the 20 yards to registration. Registration goes smoothly, if not a little long (I neglected to early check-in again), collect my key cards, and am assigned room 7718. While I'm trying to figure out the logistics of moving us in and unloading the car, Mom tells me she has to use the bathroom.
I take her over to the bathrooms by the lobby, only to find it's a single person affair, and there's another person waiting. Jeez, wimmen and lines to go to the bathroom...
Instead of waiting, I have a bathroom upstairs. (Actually, I have three bathrooms, but I digress.) So rather than get the car, I once again abuse my temporary check-in parking space and take her up to the room. It also simplifies the logistics of moving in...
Kidani Village, Lobby and hall decorations
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Kidani Village, Resort Exteriors - Sunset Savanna viewing area
Kidani Village, Sanaa Restaurant
Room 7718 translates into the third floor, down a segment from the Rafiki elevator on the lobby side. While not a long distance away in AKL terms (some rooms are REALLY, REALLY FAR from the lobby), it's still a long distance for someone who's using a walker. Except her walker has wheels, and a seat. So I find I'm able to wheel her to the room. Saves her energy, and more importantly, my patience. The walker probably wasn't designed for this, but the wheels track okay and the walker's not having a problem...
We arrive at the room, open the door... and the room is gorgeous. I tend to like AKL rooms anyway, but the main room is larger than a value, and we have the three full bathroom arrangement. Each room (the main room and each bedroom) has a door to the balcony. The balcony stretches all three rooms across, so we essentially have a 25 foot balcony. Wow. It's like having an extra room! Mom uses the bathroom as I photograph the villa, before anyone can give it that "Lived in" look.
Kidani Village, Room 7718, 2-Bedroom Villa - Main Room
The main bedroom's bathroom has a whirlpool tub, and was large enough to do a panoramic of it. I note the tile surround, and idly ask Jenny later if Disney would notice if I chiseled the tiles out. She says yes, but if I bring prints of the tiles next time and put them up in place of the real ones, they might not notice for the next couple of guest cycles and not know who to blame...
Kidani Village, Room 7718, 2-Bedroom Villa - Main Bedroom
The second bedroom has double beds, and the handicap accessible bathroom.
Kidani Village, Room 7718, 2-Bedroom Villa - Second Bedroom
We have a excellent view of Sunset Savanna. The only animals visible right now are the ubiquitous Ankole Cattle.
Kidani Village, Room 7718, 2-Bedroom Villa - Sunset Savanna view
I photograph the entire villa before deciding I should go and unpack the car. Mom stays in the room. Gee, I get to unpack the entire car by myself. I've only been driving the last day and an half. But at least it's easy to unpack your car here, and it's not like I haven't done this before...
Day 1. Sunday, March 4rd. Moving In.
I check out where the Rafiki elevator is, so I know how to get back from the parking garage downstairs. (Nothing I hate more than finding out I'm lugging luggage in the wrong direction.) I walk back to the lobby, out the door and to the temporary check-in parking spaces. I get the car, and maneuver through the rats maze under Kidani, and come across the place they have the scooters, right under the lobby. (Actually at that point, I think it's under the Port Cochere, and right next to Sanaa.) Yep, one has my name on it. I continue on until I get to the Rafiki elevator. It was a lot easier to deal with the Timon elevator that I used the last time I was here in 2009. (Did I fail to mention you pass the Timon elevator on the way to Rafiki? Did I also fail to mention all the elevators are named after Lion King characters?)I really like how they did the parking at Kidani. Since I have (and can legally use this trip) a handicap plaque, I can park right next (or very close) to the elevator. The first trip to the room I daisy chain Jenny's suitcase to mine using a strap on my suitcase through the handle of hers, and can take all three suitcases up at once. The second trip utilizes the folding two-wheeler, and takes most of the rest of the stuff upstairs. (The pop, coolers, overnight bags, etc.)
The third (and last trip) was different. I went to bell services, and yep, they have the key to mom's scooter. The CM accompanies me down to the place where they park the scooters, and find out that many of Disney's electric carts can be started with a house key. Hmmm... Maybe those nighttime parking lot races with alcoholic beverages are actually a possibility...
In any event, I get mom's scooter, turn the knob up to 11, and speed off through the Kidani underground until I get to my car. ("I have *got* to get me one of these!) You can't really go fast enough to break the tires loose, but I'm sure you can win Darwin awards if you try. I load all of the remaining stuff in the car into the basket and on the back of the scooter chair and take the elevator up to the third floor. Well, that was fun! Better than the Tomorrowland Speedway, anyway.
I have an hour to kill, so I set up my laptop and get online to check the weather and e-mail. Between checking my e-mail and looking out at the Savanna, the hour passes, and I gather Mom, her walker, Karen and my car keys, and head out to MCO.
Day 1. Sunday, March 4rd. Picking up Jenny, Raglan Road.
I arrive at the Cell Phone lot about 5 minutes before I get the inevitable text that Jenny is on the ground, but not yet at the gate. The last time I was here, I told Karen to remember the exact spot of Southwest's gate, and she's able to direct me to the exact spot I'm supposed to be, rather than follow all the signs to Terminal A's arrival gate. Amazingly, Jenny's there and waiting, get's in the car, and we're off. *That's* how I like picking someone up from an airport.
We pull away from the terminal, and I realize I am always reprogramming Karen for a new destination as I'm going down the ramp to exit the arrival/departure area. Probably more distracting than talking on a cell phone. HAhahahaha. I tell her to take us to Downtown Disney. We have dinner reservations at Raglan Road.
We get to the Hyperion Wharf parking lot, and there's no handicap parking available. Well, what the heck good is having Mom there if I can't exploit the handicap parking? I find a close space anyway. There's a stop sign with a cross-walk, but it's a very busy street (Karen calls it an alley), since it's the exit out of Lot 2. Or is it Lot 3.
Anyway, we load Mom onto her walker again, and wheel her across the street. Jenny takes one handle of the walker, and I take the other. Jenny cannot coordinate this task, and we end up curving to the left. I eventually, give up on her and push Mom myself. :-)
Raglan Road. I didn't do food porn. :-( It could be the "Want Food" instruction set had a higher priority than the "Take Picture" instruction set, since I had the presence of mind to take pictures *after* the meal...
The Dinner menu is much different than the Lunch menu. Since I'm usually here at 11am, I'm not used to having the place this crowded. (Hyperion Wharf, too, for that matter.) I'm glad we made the reservations, it looks like a full house. I had the lamb shank, Jenny had the Cashel Salad and Miss Marie the Fish and Chips. Raglan Road continues to not disappoint.
We wheel Miss Marie back to the car through the crowds we certainly would have blocked had she walked, and take Buena Vista all the way back to Osceola and to Kidani. We let Jenny ooooh and aaaah at the size and layout of the villa. She could live here. For months. I agree. But it's been a long day, need to unpack things. Oh, and Jenny needs her e-mail fixed. Figures. It takes a while to figure out the eccentricities of her provider, and get it working.
Sleep is in order. We're going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow! First foray into the parks with Mom on a scooter since last October. This should be fun.
End March 2012 Trip Report - Part 2.
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