Okapi settling into Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas

Kidani Village Phase 1 to Open May 1, 2009

May 1, 2008 Sunset Savanna Important Update!

February 2008 - Construction Photos

February 2007 - Points on Sale for Disney Vacation Club Members
Artist Rendering Images

October 1, 2006 - the Disney Vacation Club announced
it would be opening villas at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

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NEWS UPDATES

Okapi settling into Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas

As development work continues on Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, Disney's Animal Care team has reached a key milestone, welcoming okapi to the resort's animal population. The new animals are becoming acclimated to their new surroundings and will be visible to Members and Guests when the new Pembe Savanna opens as part of the second phase of Kidani Village (currently scheduled for September 2009).

Native to the rain forests of the northern Congo, these herbivores are members of the giraffe family and grow as tall as five-and-a-half feet at the shoulder. While okapi have been Guest favorites at Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park, this marks the first time the species will call Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge "home."

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Kidani Village to Open May 1, 2009

Photo by Disney

Members for whom Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas is "home" resort, may call Member Services beginning on August 10, 2008, to make vacation reservations for stays beginning on May 1, 2009, at the resort's Kidani Village accommodations (pictured above under construction).

Reservations become available to all Members within the 7-month booking window.

Membership at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas includes accommodations both at Jambo House (the existing resort building) and Kidani Village.

Kidani Village will feature dedicated Disney Vacation Club accommodations, a new pool and water-recreation area, a new African spice routes-inspired restaurant called Sanaa (Swahili for artwork) and other amenities.

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May 1, 2008: After receiving a reader email about animals being removed from the AKL savannas, AllEars® talked with DVC spokesperson Diane Hancock:

"As the development of Kidani Village continues at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, crews are preparing to complete the new savanna and acclimate the animals to their new habitat. To accommodate this important process, animals are not scheduled to be on Sunset Savanna from Jan. 15-April 15, 2009.

Members and Guests who reserve a savanna-view room during this time will be advised of this process, and confirmations for those bookings will include a notation to that affect. Approximately 30 days prior to arrival, the resort will determine, based on occupancy and booking date order, which Members will be assigned to a Sunset Savanna view room. Member Services will notify affected Members, who, after their stay, will receive a Vacation Point credit reflecting the difference between a savanna view and standard view. As a reminder, animals on the other savannas can be viewed from multiple public locations at the resort."

Also, at this time, DVC has not set an official opening date for the Kidani Village and therefore has not set a date for reservations.

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INTRODUCTION

The villas at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge will open in two major (and several minor) stages. To provide quicker access to Disney Vacation Club (DVC) villa accomodations, a number of existing rooms in the Animal Kingdom Lodge were closed and have been extensively renovated. (Detailed information below under Jambo House Villas)

The original Animal Kingdom Lodge building is now called the Jambo House. Construction in the Jambo House was completed February 2008.

A brand new Disney Vacation Club area is under construction and will be called the Kidani Village. This complex will be anchored by a building consisting of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and grand villas; a barbecue pavilion, basketball and shuffleboard courts, community hall, gift shop, fitness center, arcade, pool, tennis courts and special kids' play area, Uwanja Camp. Two new eateries are scheduled to be constructed too -- the full-service Sanaa (serving breakfast and dinner) and the pool bar, Maji.

The Disney Vacation Club Kidani Village will share an expanded Sunset Savanna with the Jambo House and will also have its own Savanna. It is hoped that a couple new animal/bird species will be on the new savanna. Much of this depends how things are worked out with the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums).

JAMBO HOUSE VILLAS

The first Disney Vacation Club rooms opened on July 1, 2007. All Ears® team member LindaMac was fortunate enough to be the first DVC guest and reported live during the first days the villas were open:
Live Report I -- Live Report II

No sooner had the villas opened when the AllEars® mailbox started receiving letters asking about construction noise and the animals. AllEars® contacted the Disney Vacation Club for an official statement.

The Jambo House has two types of villas Value and Regular. The value villas are smaller.

The Jambo House room categories are: Value, Standard, Savanna and Concierge.

The value rooms are being converted from the former "standard rooms" of the AKL (think floors 1-4). There are also some value two-bedroom villas. About half of the value rooms have a savanna view.

The "regular" studios are being built in rooms that are part of the "deluxe" category for the lodge, hence the larger size (think floors 5-6). Standard villa views may be of the pool, garden or parking lot.

There is a sleeper chair (which folds out to a twin bed) in most of the Jambo House one-bedroom units.

Approximately 80 percent of all rooms will have a Savanna View.

Concierge rooms will have access to full Kilimanjaro Club concierge services and amenities. There are 5 two-bedroom lock offs with savanna and standards views. This is the first time a Disney Vacation Club property has offered concierge service.

Studio Accommodations:
Sleeps 4, queen-size bed and full-size sofa bed. Flat panel TV and DVD. Wet bar, small refrigerator, microwave and coffee maker, private balcony.

One-Bedroom Villas:
Value one-bedrooms sleep 4, other categories sleep 5. There is no sleeper chair in the Value category. The Master Bedroom has a king size bed, master bathroom with whirlpool tub. There is a queen-size sofa bed in living room. Flat panel TV and DVD player in living room, flat panel TV in master bedroom. Full kitchen facilities. Laundry area with stackable washer and dryer. Private balcony. Non-value one-bedroom villa is 710 sq.ft.

Two-bedroom Villas:
Five of these rooms are in the value category (945 sq.ft.). Each two-bedroom villa sleeps up to nine. Master bedroom suite with king-size bed. Flat panel TV and DVD player in living room, flat panel TV in master bedroom. Full kitchen facilities. Laundry area with stackable washer and dryer. Private balcony. Non-value two-bedroom villas are 1,075 sq. ft.

Grand Villas - one-story - all have Savanna view. Sleep up to 12.

KIDANI VILLAGE

In addition to the differences stated above:

There are no Value or Concierge villas in the Kidani Village.

One-bedroom and two-bedrrom villas will have an additional bathroom off the living room.

The Grand Villas will be TWO levels. There will be 16 Grand Villas.

Kidani Village villas are larger than those in the Jambo House except for the Grand Villas. Estimated size of Kidani villas: Studios 366 sq.ft.; One-bedroom 807 sq.ft.; Two-bedroom 1,173 sq.ft.;Grand Villas 2,201 sq.ft.

New proposed amenities include:

Sanaa - 120 seat table service restarant with a 24 seat lounge. Breakfast and dinner will be offered. Sanaa means "work of art".

Maji Pool Bar - may also include lunch items. Maji means "water".

Samawati Springs Pool - 4,700 sq. ft. with slide and two whirlpool spas

Uwanja Camp - 4,200 sq. ft. interactive water play area for children to teens.

Barbecue Pavillion
Basketball and Shuffleboard Courts
Community Hall
Johari Treasures
Survival of the Fittest Fitness Center
Safari So Good Arcade
Tennis Court

Other notes about the Kidani Village:

A separate bus stop and parking area is currently in the plans.

It is highly UNLIKELY there will be a trail to the Animal Kingdom from anywhere at the Animal Kingdom Lodge/Villas resort.

While a Nature Trail in the Kidani Village is on the "wish list" there are no plans for one at this time.

ANIMALS AND SAVANNAHS

The Disney Vacation Club Kidani Village will share an expanded Sunset Savanna with the Jambo House and will also have its own Savanna. It is hoped that a couple new animal/bird species will be on the new savanna. Much of this depends how things are worked out with the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums).

Two new animal barns are part of the construction plans for the Animal Kingdom Villas. Construction on the first barn has been completed as of February 2008. As of now, no new animals have arrived at the Lodge. With an expected opening date of Spring 2009, estimates are that it will be January 2009 before any new animals will be introduced to their new home.

Disney Vacation Club to Build Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas

Current Disney Vacation Club members are now able to purchase points at the Animal Kingdom Villas, which are currently under construction. Founding members who purchase an ownership interest of 150 points prior to February 28, 2007, will be honored with a special Village Tapestry. Right now, members who purchase 100 points or more will receive an $8 per point discount off the list price of $101. Point charts for 2007 and 2008 are available on the DVC Member website.

The Animal Kingdom Villas are expected to open Fall 2007, with the first accommodations located at Jambo House, at the existing Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. The Kidani Village (the new DVC building to be constructed) is slated to open in 2009. The new villas will offer more spacious floor plans than those found in other Disney Vacation Club Resorts and all one-bedrooms will sleep up to five people. Look for a brand-new full-service restaurant, a new wildlife savanna, feature pool and water play area. Unlike other DVC resorts, the Kilimanjaro Club Concierge Lounge is available to guests opting for that option. (February 2007)

	A new Disney Vacation Club Resort, Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, will include a village of vacation homes (pictured in artist rendering). To be located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, the new accommodations are scheduled for development in phases with an anticipated opening beginning fall 2007, with completion scheduled for spring 2009.
African-inspired architecture and a new village of Vacation Homes, pictured in this artist rendering, will be part of Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, a new Disney Vacation Club Resort located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge at the Walt Disney World Resort.
	A distinctively themed lobby, pictured in this artist rendering, and a new village of Vacation Homes will be part of Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, a new Disney Vacation Club Resort located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Original Press Release

October 11, 2006, Lake Buena Vista, FL - Disney Vacation Club announced today that it is building a new timeshare resort on Walt Disney World property to meet ongoing strong demand for its unique vacation-ownership program.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas will be part of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, which Travel & Leisure Family magazine recently honored with the No. 4 spot on its list of the 50 greatest family resorts in the United States and Canada. The Disney Vacation Club accommodations will feature intricate African-inspired details and home-like amenities, and most will offer sweeping views of an expanded savannah inhabited by a variety of African animals. These new accommodations are scheduled for development in phases with an anticipated opening beginning in fall 2007 and a completion date planned for Spring 2009. The project's first phase will include 134 remodeled accommodations on the fifth and sixth floors of the existing Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, and subsequent phases will include construction of 324 Vacation Homes in a new village of buildings, for a total of 458 Disney Vacation Club homes.

The project also calls for construction a new table-service restaurant, a themed pool and water-play island, fitness center, merchandise shop, sports-and-recreation facilities and more.

"We continue to see strong demand from families who want to build a lifetime of unforgettable memories by vacationing in ways they never dreamed possible," said Jim Lewis, President of Disney Vacation Club. "I am delighted to announce that our members will have yet another place to call home with Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas. This begins another exciting new era for Disney Vacation Club as we continue to explore future destination possibilities both domestically and internationally."

Disney Vacation Club, now celebrating its 15th anniversary, offers flexibility and savings on decades of future vacations at Disney destinations and more than 500 other vacation hotspots around the world. Membership has doubled since 2000 to include more than 100,000 families, which represents more than 300,000 individuals from more than 100 countries and every U.S. state.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas will be the eighth Disney Vacation Club Resort, joining five others at the Walt Disney World Resort, one in Vero Beach, Florida, and one on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Memberships have sold out at the first six Disney Vacation Club Resorts, and sales remain ahead of schedule at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, which opened in May 2004.