If you’re considering booking a stay at a Disney World Deluxe Resort on your next Disney vacation and you’re traveling with kids who love animals, you’re probably thinking about staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. This luxury resort is best known for its Savanna view rooms and wildlife animals that roam the hotel’s built-in nature preserves. But, should this resort really be at the top of your list? We recently spent four nights here and are bringing you our FULL REVIEW of Animal Kingdom Lodge!

About Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Overview

• Hotel Category: Deluxe
• Price: $500+ per night for Standard Resort Rooms
• Resort Area: Animal Kingdom Resort Area

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is located within the Animal Kingdom Theme Park Resort Area. The resort is a bit off the beaten path in comparison to other Disney World resorts, but that’s part of its beauty!

As a deluxe resort, you’ll find not only a greater variety of dining and recreational options compared to moderate or value resorts, but also larger rooms, upgraded concierge services, valet parking, and more.

There are actually two “sides” to Animal Kingdom Lodge, including Jambo House and Kidani Village. While Jambo House is the main hub of Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village is the building dedicated to Disney Vacation Club villas. Guests have access to amenities within both buildings regardless of which side you stay in.

Atmosphere & Theming

Inside Animal Kingdom Lodge, guests are transported into the heart of Africa as soon as they step into the grand lobby. For the fans of Disney’s The Lion King, this resort is for you! While you’re not going to find giant statues of Simba, Pumbaa, and Timon around the resort like you do at Disney’s Art of Animation, the characters are naturally built into the design of the hotel.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is full of unique features, but the most noteworthy is that the resort is home to a total of FOUR savannas, which are home to over 200 free-roaming animals. Inspired by traditional African designs, the savannas are set in horseshoe patterns to give the best views from anywhere around the resort.

Dining Options

Animal Kingdom Lodge offers extensive dining options throughout the resort, featuring a combination of quick service, table service, and signature dining restaurants in addition to lounges and snack shacks. These restaurants include:

• The Mara
• Jiko – The Cooking Place
• Boma – Flavors of Africa
• Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar
• Victoria Falls Lounge
• Uzima Springs Pool Bar
• Sanaa
• Maji Pool Bar

Amenities & Recreation

Just like dining options, Animal Kingdom Lodge offers a wide range of amenities and recreational activities for its guests. It is a deluxe resort, after all! Just some of the options include:

• Two pools
• Children’s Splash Pad
• Animal Viewing Areas
• Movies Under the Stars
• Poolside Activities
• Nightly Campfire
• Hakuna Matata Playground
• Two Arcades
• Community Halls
• Fitness Center
• Early Magic Hours
• Deluxe Extended Evening Hours
• Laundry Services ($)
• Mail Services ($)
• Painting Classes ($)

Transportation Options

Transportation options at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge are pretty simple, since there is only one complimentary option.

Disney Bus Transportation is the only offered option for this resort, largely due to its location. Of course, rideshare options such as Uber, Lyft, or Minnie Vans are always available for an additional cost.

Our Review of Animal Kingdom Lodge

We recently spent four nights at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. With my husband, our son, and I all having birthdays within a month of each other, and expecting baby number two soon, we decided to splurge on a resort we’ve been wanting to experience for a while now. What better time, right?

As Disney World Annual Passholders who are local and frequent the parks, our primary goal for this trip was relaxation. Sure, we popped in and out of the parks during our stay, but the majority of our time was spent at Animal Kingdom Lodge exploring. Here’s what we thought!

The Room

When I booked this room, I booked the cheapest room option, a Standard Resort View Room. This is described as being a room “with views of resort or parking area.” However, when we arrived at check-in, we realized that it would be nice to be able to see the animals roaming the savannah from our room, so we stopped by the front desk and ask if they had any partial savanna rooms available and…they did (room 4343 to be exact)! And, because this room only offers a partial view of the savanna, we didn’t get charged more.

Our partial savanna view room was furnished with two queen beds, a small table and two chairs, a full-size dresser, and a nightstand. There was also a Keurig coffee maker, a beverage cooler, a safe, and two closets. The bathroom was equipped with two sinks, a full-size mirror, and a separate walk-in shower and toilet room, maximizing the space for guests.

On the balcony were two chairs and a table, with partitions on either side for privacy. The views from our room of the animals were spectacular, as we saw giraffes, zebras, buffalo, and antelopes every day. This was the perfect spot to sip coffee in the morning and watch the sunset in the evening.

Overall, the room was spacious enough for the three of us (two adults and a toddler). I think that four adults would have been fine in this room as well, although having only one bathroom to share can be a little more challenging for adults.

Food and Drinks

Since we spent a considerable amount of time at the resort during our stay, we had the opportunity to explore a wide range of dining options. And, trust me, we took full advantage!

Quick Service Dining Review

For breakfast, we frequented The Mara, which is the standard quick service dining location for the hotel. Here, you’ll find scrambled eggs platters, bacon, sausage, potato bowls, classic Mickey waffles, as well as specialty coffees and an assortment of pastries to choose from in the morning. We enjoyed the quick options on mornings when we visited the theme parks and got our food to go on slower mornings so that we could enjoy breakfast on the balcony in our room.

We also stopped by The Mara a few times for lunch (since it’s the only full-service restaurant open in the afternoon) to grab a classic chicken tenders meal to enjoy by the pool.

Pool Bar Dining Review

We also grabbed drinks from both pool bars: Uzima Springs Pool Bar at Jambo House and Maji Pool Bar in Kidani Village. Both offer a great variety of beers, wines, cocktails, frozen drinks, and non-alcoholic options. The margaritas were a favorite for my husband, who indulged in both standard margaritas and tried a specialty strawberry-coconut mojito. He said they were both heavy pours and well worth the $17. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a semi-embarassing number of virgin pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris, which hit the spot perfectly.

Table Service Dining Review

For dinner, we took advantage of the fantastic table service dining options at Animal Kingdom Lodge and visited both Jiko – The Cooking Place and Boma – Flavors of Africa. You can check out my full Jiko review and full Boma dining reviews here, but spoiler alert – they both were great experiences!

So, all in all, we really loved the dining options that Animal Kingdom Lodge offered, and plan to revisit many of them even if we aren’t staying at the resort in the future!

Amenities & Recreation

One of the best amenities that Animal Kingdom Lodge offers is the view of the animals on the savanna from just about anywhere. We enjoyed walking around the resort to see all of the viewing areas and learning a little more about the animals from the Cast Members who are stationed at them.

Pools

Beyond the animal viewing, we spent the majority of our time at the pool, and loved the zero-entry access as well as the water slide. We also participated in multiple pool activities, including free games such as trivia, games, and dance parties, as well as paid activities like sand art ($5) and Mickey tie-dye shirt creation ($17).

Playground

The Hakuna Matata playground, as well as Pumbaa’s Arcade, were plenty spacious and enjoyable. The playground had plenty of benches and seating options for the adults, and the arcade had many classic games to choose from.

Simba’s Clubhouse

One of our favorite things to do as a family was to enjoy Simba’s Clubhouse, a recreation activities staff-run community hall open from 10AM to 9PM daily. Inside Simba’s Clubhouse, there were many family activities to choose from. Some were complimentary, while others incurred additional fees. Complimentary activities included movies, coloring pages, and even a Nintendo Switch, where we played some pretty intense family games of Mario Kart!

Activities that were an upgrade included fuse beads, ceramic painting, model clay art, and more. We participated in two fuse bead activities, which ranged in price from $2 to $10, depending on the chosen character and size.

Campfire & Movies Under the Stars

The nightly campfire was held at 6PM daily, and marshmallows were complimentary! Guests could purchase s’mores kits for an additional fee, but the marshmallows and sticks were handed out free of charge. Moana 2 was one of the Movies Under the Stars held at the playground, so you bet we had to stop by! Pool chairs are brought over so guests can relax and enjoy the movies, which was a perfect way to end the night.

Transportation

Since the Disney buses are the only available transportation option, no time was spent considering alternative options. However, we never had a problem with the buses. They arrived frequently and usually earlier than their scheduled time. My favorite perk of the bus system here was that, being a deluxe resort, the bus stops at the four theme parks are located at the front!

Additionally, a shuttle bus ran every twenty minutes or so for internal transportation between Jambo House and Kidani Village. It’s a short walk, so we never utilized the shuttle, but it was nice to know it was there.

Overall Review of Animal Kingdom Lodge

Overall, we loved our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge and are already discussing potential future trips to the resort. However, is it worth its price tag?

Situationally, yes. If your vacation plan is to spend a good amount of time at your resort, this one is worth every penny. However, if you plan to spend as much time in the theme parks as possible, I wouldn’t recommend it. We spent approximately $400 per night for our stay, which included our Annual Passholder discount of 25% off. If I’m spending that much money, I want to be able to enjoy the resort, not just use it as a place to sleep.

We didn’t mind the bus transportation, as we were never in a rush to get anywhere. And, the dining options here are one of our favorite aspects of this resort, so being able to have multiple options during your stay without having to leave the resort is a huge perk that was greatly appreciated.

Stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge if…

• You love animals and wildlife
• You want a quiet, secluded resort
• You don’t mind the Disney’s Bus Transportation system
• You enjoy diverse dining options
• You plan to spend the majority of your time at the resort

Skip Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge if…

• You don’t like animals
• You want access to multiple transportation options
• You want an over-the-top “Disney” theme
• You’re traveling with picky eaters
• You plan to spend the majority of your time in the theme parks

Comments

Have you stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge before? Let us know in the comments what your favorite Disney Deluxe Resort is!