Our Kidani Room and Lunch at Sanaa

After catching a tram back to our section of the lot – cranking the A/C – we make our way back to the resort and hit the front desk to get assigned our room.

We’re just a little ways off the main lobby in room 7225. We would learn the parking at Kidani is actually awesome. There is an underground garage, so we were right under our room and just took an elevator up.

You can see the HUGE swath of grey parking that is the AKL Jambo House parking. I can’t imagine walking all of that at the end of the day.

The magic bands are very cool for accessing the room – get near the door switch and it activates. Great for when your hands are full – no fumbling with a card.

Mickey towel!

Again – I realize I missed a few photos such as the couch and the balcony but I’m sure you can get that on dozens of other sites and videos. I was trying to balance getting lots of good stuff with not letting the camera overtake my experience of the trip. Something that would be commented on by Chris later on. We had a beautiful view of the parking lot anyway. I didn’t expect to spend much time in the room with only 5 days to juggle so I wasn’t sad.

After making sure all was as it should be, and putting my legs up for a bit (I had already racked up 3 miles on my Fitbit), we headed downstairs for lunch at Sanaa.

On the way, there was a viewing walkout and I stopped at the door to grab a photo of this guy lunching.

I got the Odwalla® All-Natural Lemonade topped with a Wildberry Foam. The foam was more like yogurt – very thick! It was good though.

My appetizer was Curry Corn Chowder – the seasonal soup. It was freaking amazing.

Chris had the Lamb Kefta Sliders – which had just a bit of heat.

I also ordered the Indian-style Bread Service extra and went full-bore with every accompaniment. Red Chile Sambal, Cucumber Raita, Coriander Chutney, Mango Chutney, Coconut Chutney, Garlic Pickle, Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle, Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus, and Tamarind Chutney. Some of them were good, some weird, and some HOT.

For bread we chose the traditional naan, garlic naan, and they were out of paneer paratha sadly, so we got those round chip looking things which later I found out were falafel chips. We know we like naan, and I was surprised that I liked the chips since I’ve never had a falafel I enjoyed.

For the main course I did the pick two – Beef Short Ribs and Butter Chicken with Basmati rice in the center

Chris had the Butter Chicken and Chicken Vindaloo – both of which looked exactly the same so I didn’t get a picture.

I thought it was pretty tasty – and even had leftovers I took back to the room (breakfast the next morning). It was definitely on the milder side of spice/flavor so I can see how some people would be disappointed. Chris agreed, his Vindaloo and Butter Chicken were nearly identical save for a bit of heat.

Update: adding that we would eat here again, and absolutely suggest it to anyone interested in the menu. The view is obviously a great bonus, and we could see animals easily from our seat.

Chris and I have eaten these dishes at traditional Indian restaurants locally and are used to the punchier spicier versions, which I know would result in a LOT of returned meals for the majority of visitors here. I don’t blame Disney at all for taking the safer route.

The view is very cool:

My “why am I in front of the camera” face.

Chris switches to video for a quick interview:

But we are soon presented with the dreaded dessert menus.

I chose the Dessert Trio: Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse, Banana Cheesecake, and Seasonal Kulfi (this season is strawberry).

Chris got the Ginger Cake – with citrus curd and spiced pineapple sauce, with sugared pineapple. He got his dissected so he could pick and choose what to eat. He also corrected the chef’s missed opportunity and rearranged it into the mickey head as shown.

The desserts weren’t bad, but not amazing. We were pretty full. I loved the strawberry. I knew I’d hate the banana, and the chocolate had a coffee flavor. That’s ok – plenty more to come…

They had a huge selection of tea, and I thought of my friend Chelsey who would be in love.

Some traditional statues were decorated throughout the hotel. I can only imagine the conversation some parents have…

This one is for our friend Cozy who has a deep affinity for puns.

We had briefly considered going back to the park for a bit – but now we were too full, so we went back to the room to finish unpacking and unload a few memory cards instead.

Next: Can we digest in time for Dinner?