Animal Kingdom Lodge- A Review

It is no secret that Animal Kingdom Lodge holds a special place in my heart. My husband and I recently joined Disney Vacation Club (DVC) and Animal Kingdom Lodge is our "home" resort. We absolutely love it here and hopefully after reading this blog post you will be inspired to stay at this beautiful resort for your next Disney World vacation.

Ambiance, ambiance, ambiance. The main thing to love about Animal Kingdom Lodge is the consistent, jaw dropping ambiance and theming throughout the entire resort. The first time you see the main lobby of Jambo House, you will be hooked. The high arching ceilings and "carved wood" craftsmanship will make you feel like you have set foot in a real African lodge. It is evident that Imagineers put a lot of thought into the design of the Lodge and even the smallest details are carefully crafted. The resort even has its own distinctive "spicy" scent that you will forever associate with Animal Kingdom Lodge. You could spend a good bit of time just exploring the main lobby.

However, the real star of the show is in the backyard of the Lodge. The rear wall of the main lobby of Jambo House features floor to ceiling windows, letting you look out onto the savannah that surrounds the lodge. The rest of the resort is fashioned in a horseshoe-shape surrounding the savannah, so that the windows on the rear of the building will always give you a spectacular view of African animals grazing.

You also can walk the grounds of the resort with lookout points to admire the savannah and the African animals that live there. You will see the likes of live giraffe, zebra, antelope, ostrich, and many more African animals roaming around outside. It hardly resembles a zoo, as you will see these animals in a space that very much resembles their real-life habitat in Africa. You will get to see the animals living as they would in the wild, or at least as close to that reality as possible.

The Rooms

When booking your room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, you will have the option of "resort view," "pool view," or "savannah view."

The only correct choice here is savannah view, and it is worth every extra penny you will pay for it. From your savannah view balcony, you will be able to see giraffes eating out of trees right beside your window and watch different African animals wander the savannah. It is truly an experience that cannot be matched anywhere else, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. There is nothing better than waking up in the morning, pulling open the curtains and seeing a giraffe and zebra, or coming back after a long park day and seeing antelope sleeping in the grass outside your room.

The rooms themselves have a luxurious feel when compared to the room you will get at a Value or Moderate resort. The furniture and bathroom feel more upscale while the theming of the room also stands out. It is obvious more effort was put into making the room look inviting than at an All-Stars resort. The subtle African theming of the resort continues to the rooms, where you will see carved wood displays on the walls and African designs on the furniture. However, nothing is over the top or in your face, offering just the right amount of theming to feel authentic.

A standard room at Animal Kingdom Lodge has 2 queen beds. This resort is also a DVC resort, so guests also have the ability to book a studio, 1 bedroom villa, or multi-bedroom villa. Walt Disney World keeps some DVC rooms as "cash inventory" meaning that non-DVC guests can book villas with cash. It is the same room a DVC guest could book with points, but a separate pool of bookings than DVC guests could book from. The villas offer more space, but they are pricier than a standard room. Depending on the category of villa booked, these rooms will feature a kitchenette or a full kitchen and could potentially have more than 1 bathroom which is amazing for a larger group.

There are 2 lodges at Animal Kingdom Lodge- Jambo House and Kidani Village. Jambo House is the main lodge, offering the huge picturesque lobby, the majority of the restaurants, and mainly rooms for non-DVC guests. Kidani Village is the DVC building, and is smaller, quieter, and offers a more intimate feel. It offers mostly DVC bookings, but as mentioned above there is some cash inventory available at Kidani for normal Walt Disney World guests to book.

Dining

Like at other Deluxe resorts at Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom Lodge is home to some iconic, fan favorite restaurants. It is so nice to have good restaurants at the resort you are staying, so you don't have to travel anywhere to find something besides the food court. Animal Kingdom Lodge is home to 2 of my favorite restaurants on Disney World property: Sanaa and Boma.

1) Sanaa

Sanaa is a Table Service restaurant located in Kidani Village (the primarily DVC building of Animal Kingdom Lodge). It serves authentic African cuisine and features floor to ceiling windows to view the savannah while eating your meal. You cannot visit Sanaa and not have the bread service. Pictured above, the bread service includes 5 different types of naan served with accompaniment dips/spreads. It is truly fantastic! I also highly recommend the butter chicken, as it is the best butter chicken I have had at any restaurant.

Sanaa serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast is come as you will, but lunch and dinner will require a dining reservation.

2) BOMA

Another restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge that is a favorite of my husband and I, is Boma. Specifically, the breakfast at Boma. This restaurant is located in Jambo House and is buffet style. The breakfast buffet at Boma is the best breakfast buffet in all of Disney World, featuring amazing African dishes along with some standard breakfast fare. My favorite items on the breakfast buffet are the carved ham with Boma mustard and the coconut steel cut oatmeal. Boma is also knows for their french toast bread pudding. And don't forget the POG juice! While breakfast is my favorite meal at Boma, you can also have lunch or dinner here, which are also buffet style.

3) Jiko- The Cooking Place

Jambo House is also home to Jiko- the Cooking Place. We have not eaten at this restaurant before, but it is on our list of places to check out. It is a more upscale option with a pricey menu and is only open for dinner. However, I have only heard good things about this spot. It is known for its "oak grill" and various grilled African meats and fish. To eat here, you should be on the adventurous side, as it is mostly food of an "ethnic" sort. You won't find a simple cheeseburger here.

4) The Mara

Lastly, Jambo House's quick service food court is called the Mara. The food court has a bit more upscale feel to the food court at a value resort. The menu features some African themed food rather than just the standard pizza and chicken fingers found at some resorts' food courts. To note- there is no food court at Kidani Village.

Recreation

Both Jambo House and Kidani Village have their own pools, but you can utilize either pool if you are a guest of Animal Kingdom Lodge. I will say the theming of the pools at Animal Kingdom Lodge is not as impressive as other Disney World resorts, such as Beach Club or Coronado Springs. However, they do offer a secluded, surrounded by jungle feel and both pools feature a water slide for kids and adventurous adults. Another big benefit of staying Deluxe, is there are multiple hot tubs at Animal Kingdom Lodge. I am a huge fan of going in the hot tub to sooth sore muscles after a long day at the parks. Only 1 hot tub is offered at moderate resorts, and no hot tubs are offered at value resorts.

Transportation

Animal Kingdom Lodge is pretty far removed from the rest of Disney World, to give lots of space for the savannah and animals that live there. As such, the only mode of transportation offered by Disney at this resort is bus transportation. Some people consider this to be a con for Animal Kingdom Lodge. I personally do not mind the bus rides and found the busses to be very consistent and timely at this resort. We were never waiting more than 15 minutes for the bus. Also, the bus ride to Animal Kingdom is less than 5 minutes, so that is similar to a monorail ride or skyliner ride.

As you can see, Animal Kingdom Lodge is a fantastic stay! There is nowhere else in the world you can stay with African wildlife roaming a savannah right outside your room (except in actual Africa of course). The ambiance and theming are truly magical and you will feel fully immersed, all details thought of from scents, to music, to food. If you are an Animal Kingdom lover or love African theming, this is the resort for you. Once you stay here once, you will definitely find yourself wanting to come back!