Hi Lianne! Welcome back to planDisney. I'm so excited to answer your question today!
I love that you are traveling to the Walt Disney World Resort for a "sibling trip." We did something similar last year for a milestone birthday (let's just say I turned 21 again and call it a day). I can't help but smile every time I think of that trip so thank you for the smile today! If you haven't been to the resort in a while, you've got
TRON / Lightcycle Run presented by Enterprise at
Magic Kingdom Park to look forward to, along with the opportunity to
meet Moana in
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and possibly some new restaurants that have been announced to open by the end of 2023. Be sure to stay tuned to the
Disney Parks Blog for any announcements as your trip gets closer!
As long as you have an advanced dining reservation for
Sanaa at
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village, you are welcome to explore the resort before or after your reservation (or both!). The resort has one of the largest collections of African art outside of Africa and just looking at these beautiful pieces and taking in the architecture of the resort is an activity in and of itself. You are also welcome to look out at the savannas and see all of the wild animal species on display. Before our Sanaa reservation in February, we sat on the porch at Kidani Village and just took it all in. It was spectacular!
For an extra cost, you are also welcome to book the
Starlight Safari for after your meal. This unique experience allows you to explore the savannas at night with a night vision device! This has been on my bucket list for a while and I hope to experience it this August when I visit the resort. You are also welcome to experience the
Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar,
Sanaa Lounge, and the
Victoria Lounge for a before or after-dinner cocktail! The atmosphere in this resort is like no other and you'll just want to soak it all in.
One thing that I always like to clarify with Guests who may have never visited
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge before is that it is made up of two buildings: Jambo House, which is the original building with the grand lobby, and Kidani Village, which houses only
Disney Vacation Club villas. Sanaa is located in Kidani Village. These buildings are pretty close together and you can easily walk between each, but I just wanted to make sure you knew where your reservation would be located!
Lianne, you are going to have an amazing meal (order the bread service!) and visit to this unique and immersive resort. If you have any other questions,
please feel free to reach out!
Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance,
Matt