If you click on the links in this post, we may earn money from the companies mentioned in this post, at no extra cost to you. You can read the full disclaimer here.
Last week, I had the pleasure of staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. This is a luxury hotel that is part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. My room had Savanna view, which meant I could see zebras, ostriches, gazelles & other animals right from my balcony! It really was a magical experience.
I stayed at Kidani Village, which is the Disney Vacation Club section of Animal Kingdom Lodge. The other section of Animal Kingdom Lodge is Jambo House; I go into detail about their differences here. I like staying at Kidani Village because it is a lot cheaper than staying at Jamba House. Even though I’m not a Disney Vacation Club member, I can book my stay through David’s Vacation Rentals. I go over how to do this here. I’ve actually stayed at Kidani Village for less than $80 a night!
One thing I thought would be a negative of Kidani Village when I first stayed there was that you’d be farther away from Mara. Mara is the food court that’s part of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I enjoy having breakfast at Mara because I like being able to enjoy an affordable, quick service breakfast to start my day at Disney World.
But after staying at Kidani Village, I found out that Kidani Village does have that option: Sanaa.
Sanaa is a more upscale, table service restaurant at lunch and dinner. But from 7:00-10:00 AM, you can get a quick-service breakfast here. And because it is normally a sit-down restaurant, you’re eating a really beautiful restaurant.
But the front of the restaurant is basically set up like a food court. You can go up and order your food, and the price is on par with what you would pay at any other Disney hotel food court. And you can save even more money on breakfast with these tips.
After you order, you get a figurine animal (mine was an adorable lion!) with a number on it. This way, the waiter or waitress will know which table to bring your food out, too. And that is an advantage over food courts at other Disney hotels. You don’t have to grab a tray and then wait in a line to pay while holding your food. You can just sit down at your table. And as you can see, they even have napkins and silverware placed for you.
And here’s another advantage of Sanaa over other food courts: the food itself. I ordered the Shahi Tukra French Toast. This, to me, is a more special meal item than just the standard food you might order at another hotel. It fits the entire mood and feel of the resort. And, oh yeah, it was absolutely delicious!
My sister ordered the waffles and got great Mickey Waffles that came covered with powdered sugar, which was a nice touch. And since you order it and then they bring you your food, they weren’t cold like you can sometimes get at Disney hotel food courts.
In addition to menu items, you can also get quick (and cheaper) items like croissants, muffins, etc. Basically, you can get what you would normally get at a quick-service restaurant at a Disney hotel, but at a bit higher of quality.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the best part: the view. How many items can you eat breakfast, look up, and see a giraffe walk by?
So this experience taught me a few things:
- Kidani Village is a really great choice for a stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge for less money
- You can get a great quick service breakfast at Kidani Village by going to Sanaa, which is actually a preferable experience to regular Disney hotel food courts
So next time you are looking to book a stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, take our advice & stay at Kidani Village…and eat breakfast at Sanaa!
Want further proof? Watch our video of Kidani Village!
