Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
You can find this resort in the Animal Kingdom area. Since it is a “lodge”, the rooms are enclosed in one huge building that encircles the savanna. Yes, savanna. You can view animals, mainly at dusk, from various spots in the resort. You can even stay in a savanna view room. Transportation from this resort is Disney buses, making it slightly different from Disney’s monorail Deluxe resorts.
There are 972 rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Guest accomodations may include a room with a king size bed, two queen size beds, or a queen bed and a set of bunk beds. All rooms are equipped with a pack and play portable crib, refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, and more.
You can book a safari tour directly from Animal Kingdom Lodge, or engage in some pool time with the kids. Also, there are daily fun activities, such as making masks or other crafts for the kids along with Simba’s Clubhouse, a fitness area, and Pumbaa’s Fun and Games Arcade.
Some other “tips” to keep in mind at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge:
- You can find a quick service dining restaurant, Mara, to use your meal credits. They have yummy flatbreads and a few authentic African dishes as well. This is a spacious seating area, too, and is located a few steps from the main pool.
- Transportation to all parks from this resort is by bus. You’ll want to take this into account when making ADRs and getting to the parks in time for events or rope drop.
- The decor is gorgeous, making this my favorite Deluxe Resort based on decor alone. The only draw back we had was that there was (obviously), no monorail transportation like you have at the other Deluxe tier resorts. However, our room was spacious and we had a great view of the pool.
- Something unique here is the animal themed water playground for kids-Uwanja Camp. Pulleys, squirting gardens, and water canons are there for the kids to enjoy.
- Boma, one of Disney’s most popular table service restaurants is located at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
This resort is full of warmth, African themes, and a unique experience all around. You truly feel transported to Africa when you step into this resort. I hope you and your family will consider it for your next Disney vacation.
Overall, we give Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge an “A+”!
For our first trip as a family, we rented points at Kidani. I had been to WDW once as a teenager with my parents, so this was the first trip for my husband and two kids, 14 and 2 1/2. We also brought my parents.
We rented a two-bedroom villa for about the price of two rooms at PO French Quarter, rack-rate. It was wonderful! We had so much space, and we were able to eat breakfast every day in our room except for a day we did a character breakfast. My parents had their own space in the “studio” part of our lockout. They had a queen bed and a sofa as well as their own bathroom. My teen pretty much took over the living room area. She slept on the fold-out couch and had a bathroom to herself. My husband and I took the king bed in the other bedroom. My toddler slept between us. We then had the master bathroom for us to use.
I read the people say this resort is so far away from everything. I guess I don’t get that complaint. It was so peaceful and quiet. Often, we didn’t even meet other guests in our hallway, let alone hear anyone. We had a standard view, but we took walks and visited the animal areas. We did drive, so maybe if we only relied on Disney transportation we would think it took awhile to get places, but I didn’t feel like anywhere took too long. We used Disney transportation to Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios. We drove to Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
We enjoyed our stay so much that my husband and I are planning a June 2014 trip to include five nights at Kidani in a one-bedroom since my parents won’t be with us this time. We’re adding two nights at PO Riverside for our first two nights, and then we’re going to Kidani!
We have stayed at Animial kingdom both as DVC and not as DVC. To date it is my favorite hotel (and we have stayed at many) while staff at all Disney Resorts are nice. Animal Kingdom have always been the nicest. I truly feel home when there! Cannot wait until our trip next year!
Stayed here in 2010. Was a great experience and it was so beautiful. We had adjoining rooms (one for my husband & I and one for my mom-in-law and daughter). It was a wonderful place to stay and we ate at Jiko for breakfast just about everyday, the food was wonderful. Would definitely stay here again.
Stayed here in 2009. Our balcony had a nice view of the Sunset Savannah. Saw zebras and giraffes mostly. I thought the room was very expensive, so I only stayed there 1 night out of a week long trip. I had a 1 1/2 and 6 year old, and they liked the grounds of the resort a lot. There were animal facts on signs all over the resort, nice rocking chairs, playground equipment, a place to view flamingos, and a nice pool. I esp liked the zero entry since I had a little one. But all of the best things about this resort can be enjoyed by anyone- guest or not. I spent half a day walking around the resort, and hardly any time in my room. I suggest staying elsewhere and not buying tix to a park one day- instead travel to check out other resorts, like this one, if you are on a budget.
I stayed here for NYE last year and our room overlooked the animals. it was amazing to wake up and drink coffee on the balcony in my pjs while zebras and giraffes were just hanging out!
The only time we have been to WDW we stayed at AKL. My son was 9 at the time & completely & absolutely enamoured by all the animals. The overall theme was so great it really made us feel like we were in Africa. All the Cast Members were very friendly & helpful. We would love to stay there again!!
Maybe my favorite hotel. It has the best pool, a fantastic and intricate theme and a wonderful atmosphere. Also, I want Zebra Domes now.