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If you’ve been pondering whether you should stay on property, stop reading now – and go read my blog all about the benefits of staying on property – and then come back and read all about Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

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Overview

Resort Name: Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – includes Animal Kingdom Lodge: Jambo House and Animal Kingdom Lodge: Kidani Village

Location: Animal Kingdom Resort Area

Type: Disney Deluxe Resort & Disney Deluxe Villa Resort

The Resort

Animal Kingdom Lodge is truly a one of a kind resort experience. It has the largest collection of African art outside of Africa – and is a fully immersive hotel. When thinking of theming and imagineering (Disney’s mix of engineering and creativity) and forgetting you are in Central Florida – Animal Kingdom Lodge is where it’s at. AKL is considered a “gateway to deluxe” hotel as it is the most cost friendly of the Deluxe hotel options. Scroll along to learn more about this amazing property!

The Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House lobby entrance is grand and has the feel of wooden and thatched structures from Africa. It also has an incredible smell that I can’t describe other than amazing.

Upon daytime entry you are also typically greeted by a cultural representative from various African countries. These cultural representatives can also be found throughout the resort, especially at the animal overlooks.

Leave the lobby and you’ll find fire pits and trails to view animals including giraffes, zebras, and addax. Trails can be found throughout the resort.

Jambo House and Kidani Village both offer large pools with zero entry areas and at least one slide. Kidani Village also has the splash pad on property. Both pool areas have spas (hot tubs).

Past the main Animal Kingdom Lodge pool is the Hakuna Matata Playground which is perfect for littles. If you are tall and following your kid around on the playground equipment, you’ll be able to catch a view of the resort flamingo pond and maybe even a giraffe out on the savannah!

Various trails are available around the resort to see different bird enclosures and savannahs. These are all unique to Animal Kingdom Lodge – they are not shared with Disney’s Animal Kingdom park.

Other amenities available at Animal Kingdom Lodge include an arcade, a kid’s club, a fitness center, and outdoor games such as corn hole (bags) and table tennis.

Dining

The Mara: Quick service with a small amount of seating available inside and patio seating outside. The Mara offers mobile order and has grab and go options. This is located at Jambo House near the pool – go down to Level 1 and follow the path. Open 6:30 am – 11 pm, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Boma: Table service buffet restaurant serving a mix of African and American cuisine located on Level 1 of Jambo House. You can either join the walk up list or make a reservation. Open 7:30 am – 11:30 am for breakfast, and 5 – 9:30 pm for dinner.

Jiko: Signature Table Service restaurant offering African cuisine. This is a top restaurant at Walt Disney World Resort and reservations are highly recommended although a walk-up list is available. Open 5 – 9:30 pm for dinner.

Victoria Falls Lounge: A bar-lounge located on Level 2 of Jambo House offering adult beverages and shareable bites. Open 4 – 10 pm.

Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar: A bar-lounge located in Jambo House offering appetizers and African wine. Open 5 – 9:30 pm.

Uzima Springs Pool Bar: Quick service restaurant and bar located at the Jambo House pool. Open 11 am – 9 pm.

Sanaa: Offers a casual quick-service breakfast that does not require reservations from 7:30 – 11 am. More known for its African and Indian cuisine served during Lunch and Dinner with the famous Bread Service. Lunch is 11:30 am – 3 pm and Dinner is 5 – 9:30 pm. Reservations are highly recommended for lunch and dinner. This restaurant is located on the lower level of the Kidani Village main building.

Maki Pool Bar: Quick service restaurant and bar located at the Kidani Village pool. Open 11 am – 10 pm.

Amenities

Rooms

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has the resort lodge, Jambo House which also includes multiple floors of Disney Vacation Club rooms, as well as a Disney Vacation Club addition, Kidani Village, giving guests a wide range of room options.

Guests can stay in standard hotel rooms, suites, and villas Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We stayed in a standard resort view room with two queens in Jambo House and had a view of the roof. All rooms have a patio of sorts with two chairs and a small table – which is such a nice feature of Deluxe Resorts (even if you are just looking at a roof).

Savannah view rooms are very popular at this resort, but I want everyone to be aware: paying for a savannah view room does NOT guarantee that you will be able see animals outside your room during your stay. It guarantees that you will see the savannah – not necessarily animals as they are free to roam. Yes, I said this twice, really trying to instill this advice as I’ve seen so many people online complain about not seeing giraffes from their room after they paid for it.

Features of the standard room that I loved:

1. We were in the main Animal Kingdom Lodge building which offers more dining options.
2. Close proximity to the elevators. Not guaranteed – but this hotel is sprawling.
3. The double shower head in the tub that allowed for either a standard shower head, or for the handheld to rinse the kiddo during a bath.
4. The height of the beds allowed for suitcases and storage under the bed. The room we were in was a fair size, but could be cramped with many suitcases and additional items needed for traveling families (Strollers – looking at you) – but the additional storage under the bed makes life easy for families.
5. Tons of storage for a standard hotel room. Closet to hang clothes, closet with shelves, pantry area with shelves, and then a 6-drawer dresser.

Note: All Walt Disney World Hotels have pack and plays and cribs on site. Pack and plays are a bit easier to request and are easy to assemble. We always travel with a Slumberpod (not sponsored – just highly recommend) and there is a Disney provided pack and play inside.

Transportation

WDW Bus transportation is available for all of the Disney Parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, and the two water parks. Jambo House and Kidani Village each have their own bus stop and depending on the time of day could have their own buses running, or may have to share. Coming back after fireworks at Magic Kingdom, Kidani Village Guests got dropped off at their stop before Jambo House Guests.

Minnie Vans are available for order through the Lyft app. This is a ride share offer driven by Disney Cast Members if you prefer to take a private car on property whether it is to another resort for a dining reservation or to a park if you would rather not take the bus or boat. All Minnie Vans have multiple car seat options available for use, and the cast members are trained on install.

Parking is free for hotel guests at official Walt Disney World Resort Hotels, additionally, hotel guests can also park at the theme parks for free if they choose to drive. We had a car for our stay and drove to Animal Kingdom (about 5 minutes to the park toll plaza), Epcot (about 9 minutes to the park toll plaza), and Hollywood Studios (about 8 minutes to the park toll plaza). Per my husband, if we were to stay at this hotel again, he’d prefer to have a car.

Summary

Overall, I absolutely love this hotel and cannot wait to return and see what all I missed out on! Sound off in the comments and let me know your thoughts!

Questions? Ready to book your Disney Vacation Package? Let’s chat!