Animal Kingdom Owners Thread

Has anyone heard much about how the refurb at Kidani has been going? Do we think we are at the point where you are pretty much guaranteed a refurbed room if the remaining old rooms are taken out of inventory, considering the anticipated completion is May 2026?

I would assume that everything available is refurbished. I thought they got refurbished rooms back into inventory very fast. They started beginning of October and refurbished rooms were available by mid December. I was fortunate enough to stay in a studio Dec 19th. I requested a refurbished room and knew there were very few available.

About 3 weeks ago, DVC dropped a lot dates in late August and September for Club level at Jambo. I am hoping that means they will be refurbished because that is about the time it took for refurbished room to become available at Kidani. I got 1 night club level end of August in a 1 bed. Maybe the refurb starts with half the club level rooms??? We will see in August, either way. Thrilled to get club level 1 night.

That's awesome that you got a club level room! That's still on my bucket list.

Everything old at Kidani is out of inventory now. :)

Can’t wait for them to start Jambo. I really feel like this has been the best refurbishment- also it’s been crazy fast.

Awesome! I was considering switching to another resort, but maybe I'll keep it. 16 points a night was a pretty good deal, and I think Rafael will like the savannas and community hall.

We got our refurbished room, and it’s so nice! Very excited about that and that we got our room before noon.

Wow, looks great! Have fun!

Thanks!

Is a Jambo House studio room unlikely for August?

AKL was my first home resort! I LOVE the vibe, the animals, availability and food options. Not stayed since the Refurb, hopefully a 2027 stay in the making!

Hello, AKV lovers! Potential newest AKV member family here. We have been on the fence for a while now about which resort to call our Home Resort. We have a lot of love for AKL but we have been apprehensive about buying direct here since there is such a large gap between resale and direct. Can any direct owners weigh in-- if you were to do it all over again would buy in the current climate of $215/pt? Have you branched out much and used your points elsewhere in the 7-month window. Any regrets (besides not enough points)? We could buy the same contract resale for considerably less but have major FOMO when it comes to the ability to use our points at newer and upcoming DVC resorts.

I have a question regarding room request. My family and MIL are staying at kidani 2 bedroom savanna view and was wondering which room is good for someone with limited mobility. MIL is not handicapped but experiences swelling when walking for longer than 10 minutes. Any room ideas are appreciated.

If it were me (and budget allowed for it) I would consider buying AKV resale and Poly direct.

That way you get the AK points you want; and even restricted they're good at the O14 resorts. And you avoid the absurd direct price.

Then you get the actively selling discount on the unrestricted Poly points. And if down the road you decide you want to sell, I dont think Poly will take the same hit as Riv, and those after it would since it would be less restricted.

Booking a handicap accessible room puts you close to the lobby. If those are unavailable, I’d suggest requesting a room near the bus stop, or, if you will have a car, you can just park near the closest elevator to your room to minimize the walking distance no matter where the room is.

Thanks

This is exactly what we did/are doing. A couple of months ago we bought resale at AKL with our first trip planned for this November. We are planning a day during our November trip to do DVC resort hopping and we are 90% sure we will be pulling the trigger on the 150 Poly points. We want to get in before any blue card increases next year with the LSL going on sale.