Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, FL

Animal Kingdom Lodge has two buildings. Jambo house, and Kidani village. Jambo house is considered the main hotel with a large lobby. Kidani village is the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) villa side, which you can only book with DVC points. Jambo house can be booked as a regular hotel, and they also have DVC villas which can be booked with DVC points. We booked Jambo house with renting DVC points from David’s DVC website. Let me start by saying the best part about staying here is seeing the animals, and the worst part about staying here is the busses transportation. We booked a savannah view room for 2 nights. The DVC rooms are only on the 5th floor. We specifically requested the zebra trail and close to the lobby, as that is what the internet said had the best animals and won’t be a long walk. Our request was granted, however since we were close to the lobby, we had a view of the savannah overlook from the lobby, which could be quite loud at times. So maybe we would sacrifice a longer walk to the room for more quiet. However we had a great view of the savannah and within the first few hours we were able to see all of the animals that were in the savannah. Giraffes, zebras, hornbills, cranes, waterbuck, eland, wildebeasts, pelican, antelopes. They refresh the hay and the hanging browse so the animals rotate around throughout the day and you will see them multiple times. Even when it was raining, hot and sunny, and even at midnight! There were animals out and about. The patio was not that deep, but it was long and wide. It came with 2 chairs and a small table. The patio door though had a lot of condensation and you could hear through it. Our room was ready one hour before check in time at 3pm, and we got the notification on the app after doing online check in. They do have bell services to hold your luggage if you wish, but we only had to wait about 30 minutes so we just hung out in the lobby and checked out the shop. The room had a small razor blade (like maintenance had been working on something in the room). So we threw that away promptly. We booked a studio villa. The toilet and shower are in the same room, with the double sink vanity separate. The shower had really poor water pressure and the shower handle never could turn all the way off completely so there was always a drip. Otherwise, the room was stocked and cleaned, and had the disney conservation fund coffee table book for in room reading. There was a table with 2 chairs, a small coffee table, a couch (a pull out), and a double bed. There is a closet with two opening doors, and a closet with one door with the ironing board and safe. There is lots of drawer space in the dresser under the TV. There are multiple mirrors. There was plenty of storage space. The room is themed very dark with the wooden tones, and the lighting is very dim, so you have to rely a lot on the daylight from the sliding door. The kitchenette part had a mini fridge, sink with soap/sponge/towel, microwave, toaster, and plastic silverware, plastic cups, and paper plates and bowls. The sign in the room said that there would be housekeeping service on the 4th day. But daily they came in to take out and replace the trash cans. There is a decently large shop in the lobby. There is also a lot of African art and photos to take a look at. There is one main savannah overlook if you go down the stairs at the end of the lobby. This is also where they have the nightly campfire. There are representatives here to ask questions and they can talk about the animals here. There are also a few other overlooks attached to or on the side of the lobby with indoor and outdoor seating. There are also stairs downstairs to get to Victoria falls lounge, and boma, and jiko. We have eaten at Jiko in the past. While delicious, it has a high price point and other steakhouses are cheaper and the same or better. We ate at Boma for breakfast and dinner. While everything was good. It reminded us of the quality of the buffet on a Disney cruise shop and not worth the price. Also, you can go outside to the pool, and the fitness center with a sauna is nearby. The Mara quick service is right out the doors. We had a bowl from here which was fine, but all of the prices are quite high for what you get here and the food is just okay. We got a reusable cup that you can refill here, or at any Disney resort for the length of your stay. They also have the simba clubhouse for kids to do activities just a little down the path as well. Every single cast member we encountered was welcoming and friendly and helpful. They have an internal shuttle that runs between Jambo house and Kidani village. They also have the bus system out front, which runs to all parks and Disney springs. Busses stop at Kidani village first, then Jambo, then to the destination. Be warned about the busses as they do not come as often as other resorts, and they have to make the extra stop at the other resort building. We did notice that at peak morning time they run a bus from each building individually, but that only lasts for a few hours and then it is back to combined. Since AKL is farther away from the parks, it takes a decent bus ride (15-20 minutes) to get to the parks. So factor in about 30 minutes or so in travel time alone, not including waiting 20 minutes for a bus to even come. This is true of the hotel stop and the park stop. The busses to and from here are not reliable and are quite crowded. We have seen two busses from each of the 3 all stars resorts come before even one of the AKL busses came. So if you are the kind who wants to take a mid day break at the hotel and then come back to the parks, it is a huge timesuck for all parks except maybe animal kingdom. Overall, we enjoyed our stay here, but would not stay again due to the inconvenient location.

We are DCV members, this is our home resort and we love it! We never tire of hearing ‘Welcome home!’ Housekeeping or Mousekeeping as Disney call it , is on point. The unique design of this hotel, the dining options, the pool areas and public areas are wonderful but the icing on the cake has to be the animals that roam the savannahs in which the hotel is set. You can view zebras, giraffes, wilder beast, deer, emus and various other animals and birds from rooms overlooking the savannahs or from outdoor viewing areas. It’s the closest you may ever get without going on safari, it’s safe and it’s an amazing experience, you feel like you have been transported to Africa. Staff willingly share their culture be it music or art and are always on hand, some in traditional dress. The Animal Kingdom park is a short distance away by car or free shuttle bus. Frequent free shuttles are also provided to all Disney parks and water parks as well as Disney Springs, monitors keep guests updated with bus information so you’re not left wondering what’s happening. Looking forward to our next visit already!

Visited in July with a family of 7. As we booked an accessible room for my daughter who uses a wheelchair, we had to book again for the rest of our family. Disney don’t allow to book for an accessible room and another room at the same time. Even though we requested to be close to our family, they were placed at opposite end of the hotel. Our “accessible room” wasn’t accessible At all, the only difference to a regular room being a handrail in the bathroom. After 4 days we were moved to a legitimate accessible room which suited great. However; the pool is not safe for young kids or those who can’t stand/feel their legs . The bottom of the pool is really rough, and my daughter cut her feet, legs and knees really badly the first day. As a result, she couldn’t get into the pool for the rest of the trip and was left with an ulcer on her foot, as she is paralysed and has poor circulation. I wouldn’t have booked to stay here if I’d of known the pool was like this. My nephew wore neoprene swim socks and these were ripped through the first day also. Really disappointing, especially with July heat in Florida.

We splurged on a Savannah view, and it was wonderful to see the animals. BUT ...you have to listen to safari music all day long! The room was dark and cramped. The distance to the elevators was long, despite being a club level room. Staff was generally unavailable or unhelpful except for a couple of exceptions. When we checked in, nobody was at the front desk - we had to run around the lobby to find someone to help us. Bell services was disorganized. Surprisingly the club staff were rude at times. We did a split stay with the Polynesian where the staff was consistently friendly and helpful.

We recently stayed in Animal Kingdom lodge for our Disney trip - wow! What a stunning hotel! We were upgraded to a Savannah view which was a wonderful bit of Disney magic - and it made the trip! Having a balcony and being able to watch the animals from our own room was amazing! We only did a short trip so Disney tickets were expensive but this hotel was an amazing experience and worth every penny. We have stayed in a number of other Disney resort hotels before but this was by far our favourite! Lobby was beautiful, lots of little details in the decor everywhere that added to the Disney magic. The pool area at jambo house was great, our daughter enjoyed it! We are in Boma for breakfast which was excellent. The quick service restaurant was ok, but limited choices that were same daily (no pasta for kids). All the staff were excellent and couldn’t have been more helpful. I would 100% stay here again and I recommend if the budget allows to do the Savannah view as this was definitely the most special bit about staying here. Rooms were also very lovely and comfortable.