African Mosaic Art: A Wildly Colorful Craft at Kidani Village
Mosaic art is quickly becoming one of the most popular resort crafts, and the opportunity for guests to create their own mosaics has been popping up at multiple resorts around Walt Disney World. I’ve already reviewed Disney’s first mosaic craft experience at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort HERE, but since then I’ve also been able to participate in the mosaic-making event at Animal Kingdom Lodge, so I’ll compare the two in this blog. All mosaic activities are open to everyone, and you do not need to be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in order to participate.
African Mosaic Art currently takes place on Tuesdays from 1:30-3:30 PM inside the Palace Library, which is a gorgeous space just off the Kidani Village lobby. I was able to easily walk in and join the activity, but advance reservations are recommended by emailing WDW.DAKL.Recreation.Reservations@disney.com, or by calling the Kidani Village Community Hall at (407) 938-6950. To begin, I visited Community Hall to pay. This activity costs $25 per mosaic, and more than one person can work together on a mosaic. It’s suggested for ages 12 and up - younger children are certainly permitted to participate, but parents should be aware that this project takes about 2 hours, involves very small glass tiles that could be a choking hazard, there’s some messy glue and grout to deal with, and it requires a good amount of patience and strategic thinking to perfectly fit the tiles.
After paying, I was directed over to the Palace Library, where I was met by a Cast Member ready to help me get started. A table was set up with various base shapes and a wide selection of colorful glass tiles. First, I selected my mosaic’s shape, and this version at Animal Kingdom Lodge offered totally different shapes than were available at other resorts. If you’re an animal lover, then this is the activity for you! They had the classic Mickey Mouse with a cute pawprint in the middle, an elephant, baby Simba, and a turtle with a little hidden Mickey cut out in the center.
Every base shape here was black, and they didn’t offer the choice of black or white like Coronado Springs did. They’re very thin, light bases and meant to be wall décor - while they look like they might be sturdy enough to serve as garden stepping stones, they’re definitely not. I’ll note that every base displayed at this activity was intricate, and though they didn’t look difficult at first, they certainly presented a challenge when having to work around things like those little cut-outs or skinny elephant trunks. If you’re a beginner or working with children, you might be better off choosing a different location that has simpler designs available.
Next, you’ll choose your glass tiles by filling a bowl with all your favorite colors. The tiles here varied from the ones offered at Coronado Springs in that they weren’t glittery, but more of an opaque glass with an iridescent shimmer. There were also some new-to-me tiles that looked like marble. They were very pretty and a unique variation if this is a repeat activity for you! The jars of tiles remained available throughout the entire 2 hours of the activity, so you can revisit the table to get more tiles, select new colors, or find different tile shapes as needed.
Once you have your base and tiles ready to go, you’ll get set up at a nice, sunny table along the Palace Library windows overlooking the savanna. The Cast Member will bring over a paper placemat and a pen so you can trace an outline of your base, and then you can start designing a tile pattern that fits inside your outline. This is the most time-consuming part and it takes quite a while to get those tiles fitting nicely and evenly spaced out. This is also when you’ll need to make more trips up to the display table to dig up additional tiles that fit with your color pattern and design.
After completing the entire design on paper, you’ll move on to the gluing stage. The Cast Member will bring you glue, disposable gloves, and a brush. Working in small sections, you’ll apply glue to the base and then try to place the tiles in exactly the same spot they were on your paper outline. This is pretty tricky, however, and this step requires quick thinking to adjust tile placement on the fly before the glue dries.
When all of your tiles are successfully glued down, it’s time to take a break and let the glue dry before beginning to apply the grout. It’ll take about 15-20 minutes for the glue to dry, and luckily there’s plenty to do at Kidani Village to fill your free time! The Palace Library has a fantastic balcony with a great view of the animals out on the savanna, or you could go next door to Community Hall to play a quick game or watch a bit of a Disney movie. The Safari So Good Arcade is nearby and it’s full of great arcade games. You’re also very close to the lobby and gift shop, so you can take this time to get a quick drink or snack. Or, if you’re trying to be productive, you can get some laundry started in the laundry room across the hall before you start this activity, and then pop over to move your clothes to the dryer during your glue-drying break.
After your glue has dried and your tiles are firmly stuck in place, you’re ready to apply grout. The Cast Member will mix up some fresh grout for you (black was the only grout color available on the day of my visit) and with a spoon, the glue brush, or gloved fingers, you’ll firmly pack the grout into every crevice of your mosaic, making sure to get between every single tile. Once the entire piece is covered in grout, you can carefully wipe some of the excess grout off the top of the mosaic until the tile surface is visible again. It’ll be very messy looking, but you’ll have a chance to clean it up once the grout has completely dried.
The grout takes several hours to dry, so you’ll be done with this portion of the activity as soon as you finish applying the grout and you’ll take it with you while it’s still wet. As soon as you’re ready, the Cast Member will pack your mosaic up in a clamshell to-go container along with some wet wipes to finish cleaning up the grout later. It’s best to have plans to get the mosaic back to your hotel room or car right away, as the container is a bit flimsy and it’s not meant to travel far. It needs to sit somewhere to dry for at least 4-5 hours, and then you can go over it with the wet wipes to clean off all the excess grout.
What a wonderful craft this is, and it made for such a lovely, relaxing afternoon at Kidani Village! I love activities like these that serve as both a fun project while on vacation, and also a custom, reasonably-priced souvenir to take home. If you’re planning lunch at Sanaa, this matches up just perfectly as an after-lunch activity. I highly recommend carving out some time to create your own mosaic during your next trip!
African Mosaic Art | Tuesdays from 1:30-3:30 PM | Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village
*Activity dates and times listed here were accurate at the time this review was published. Resort activities and activity schedules may change month to month, so be sure to check the current My Disney Experience for updated times/dates when making plans to participate.
