Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

The animals are still here. That is all that is left of the old hotel. Due to covid most of the facility is closed. The main pool is open but not any of the kids pool or splash area. It also has a reduced capacity so you may have to wait a few hours to get in unless you show up early. The arcade is closed but the community room is open at reduced capacity with waits. The only restaurant still open is Sanaa but it is reduced capacity and we were not able to get a table there the entire visit. There is nowhere else to eat or order food. Plan on leaving for every meal or cooking all meals for yourself while here. All paper has been removed so you will not have channel lists, animal identification pictures or anything to write on (or with). Management would not provide these even if you need to write down a reservation ( yes, the app is disabled so reservations for other restaurants at Disney must be done via the front desk.) Workers to fix issues or take trash make everyone leave the room so they can come in. Very inconvenient for napping children or elderly to get in or out at random times each day. Face masks are required everywhere except when in the pool. If you or your child does not have a mask over their nose and mouth at any time Disney staff will notify you. This is done while walking outside anywhere on the grounds, in the parking garage, in the hallway, or while eating on the pool deck. Regardless of whether other people are around or not and regardless of the 120 degree heat. If your vacation plan is to stay in the room the whole time watching the animals and cooking your own food then this will be the best hotel for you at Disney. If you have other plans for vacation then do not consider Disney at all. This is not Disney. And it is clear the staff does not want you here. Read less

We had a two bedroom with a living room with a balcony facing the gardens where we watched kangaroos sleep every night - (I mean really crazy experience to step out of your room and see kangaroos roaming around). From the moment you pull up to the resort and step out of your car you feel you have been transported to Africa. Many of the Disney staff comes over from Africa to work at the resort so you can engage with people who live in the actual environment and take note of the accents. Love the little Disney accents throughout the room. They have a parade they do around the lobby so wonderful for the kids. However, let me get to the really good part the restaurant. This in my opinion is a five star restaurant. We go to Disney every year and no matter what resort we stay at we always plan a dinner at the restaurant at this resort it is out of this world. Read less

We loved the resort lobby and the greeters, and enjoyed the few meals we had at quick service. We ate at Boma for breakfast and dinner, it was by far the best buffet we experienced on WDW property. Our room was lovely and well-appointed, we even had a partial savanna view despite paying the standard price. There was some mixup upon check-in that caused our room to be delayed. My main complaint is about the bus transportation. The resort charges $25 per night for parking and car rentals are exorbitantly high at MCO, it can cost upwards of $500 to deal with a car for a week due to these costs. The resort is also far away from almost every park so using the bus is required for every visit. The bus usually took longer than 20 minutes and on more than one occasion was full. It would often go to the DVC building before getting to Jambo house. This was incredibly frustrating- we even waited an hour and a half to get to Magic Kingdom one evening. We used the Minnie van service many times, although it wasn't always reliable early in the morning and was also expensive. I can't say I would recommend this resort unless you are willing to invest in a rental car and the associated parking fees. It would be a fun resort to spend some time at, eating at Boma and spending time in the lobby and around the animal viewing areas. Read less

Stayed here in august 2019 for 16 nights, my wife and I are from the UK and have been to disney four times over the years but this was our first trip as a family trip to disney with our 2 kids aged 4 and 6 and our first time at a disney resort. Got the magic express from the airport, waited about 20mins and probably a 40 minute journey but clean and comfortable and nice and cool. Check in was good and the team were helpful in explaining everything. We booked a standard room and the savannah view was out of our price range but were lucky enough to be upgraded to a partial savannah room where we had a clear view of the wildlife, zebras and giraffes. There are plenty of areas to view the animals in the corridor observation areas as well as the areas outside so dont worry too much if you don't have a savannah room, you will still see plenty of wildlife and they even have night vision goggles available free of charge to use from some of the viewing areas which is really cool if you get back after dark you can see the animals out on the savannah. The room was recently refurbished and was really nice with all amenities. As a family from the UK and staying 16 nights there was plenty of storage for our clothes and room under the bed to store case, There was a big flatscreen TV, USB charging points everywhere so you don't need to bring all those pesky plug adapters for your gadgets. We requested a bed guard as the bed was a little high so worried our 4 year old would fall out, this was brought immediately and used throughout our stay. Also a really nice coffee maker and a fridge to store those nice cold beers for an afternoon drink on the balcony. We had requested a bath but our room only had a shower, was a bit disappointed in this at first but actually it was fine and as we were always rushing around from park to dining reservations it made getting the kids washed and out quickly much easier. Restaurants, we were on the dining plan so dined in the main restaurants as well as the quick service restaurant called the mara. Choices here were great and we often did the mobile ordering as our room was a bit of a distance from the restaurant we would order in our room on the app and food was usually ready when we arrived so saves waiting around, definitely worth using mobile order and available through my disney experience app. On the dining plan you can get a drink with each meal, as we had refillable mugs we made sure we got a beer with our meals, even breakfast, we could then take the bottle of beer up to the room and have later on the balcony in the afternoon so worth doing that. One thing we did find was that if you have the refillable mug then you can use that for coffee also, however this left soft drinks tasting of coffee afterwards so we would show the server the mug but then ask for an empty coffee cup, this was fine with all cast members but one cast member had a bit of an issue with this and refused to give me a paper cup saying if they did it for me they would have to for everyone etc, made a bit of a deal out of it when it didn't need to be but everyone else was fine with us doing that, it also helps if you want to take a coffee on the journey to the park but don't want to carry your refillable mug around all day. Ate at Boma, really nice but some of the food was a bit exotic for the young pallet of our kids but plenty of choice. Our server Doug was fantastic and a credit to disney, really looked after our kids and although he was clearly busy, made time to stop and chat. We also ate in Sanna at the Kidani Village which is more Indian influenced dishes which was also great, the kids got a biscuit that they decorated for desert which was fun and made it like an african shield. With dining package you get a soft drink or beer, wine or speciality cocktail with your dinner, all drinks were great and servers made it clear what was included. The tip suggestions were also on the bill, we are from the UK so different tipping culture, we always left the 15% and you can pay with your magic band so saves carrying cash around which is useful. Activities - loads to do and the schedule is available from reception on check in. The hotel has a large pool with activities like quizzes, hula hoop and other games for the kids and there is a water slide there too. You can also use the pool at Kidani village which has a great slash park area for the younger kids, its about 5 minutes easy walk from Jambo house, you could take the bus if you feel less energetic but we also walked. They have life jackets if you little ones are learning to swim. The lifeguards are very vigilant and you always feel they are watching and keeping everyone safe. These activities are all free but there are some that are chargeable such as slime making and tye dye t-shirt making which we didn't do, i think the tshirt making was $20 0r $30, kind of expensive but so many free activities to join in. The hotel have the cultural representatives walking around the hotel, they talk about the animals and cultures of different countries in Africa so it is really educational and the kids loved it. Look out for the bead activities, these are indicated on the schedule sheet, there are about 7 or 8 of these and after you do the activity the cast member will reward you with a bead on a string, it's fun to collect them all and it's a great free souvenir of your stay at the AKL. Other free activities include face painting and cookie decorating at the boma, again all details on the sheet when you arrive. There's so much to do here if you want to have a couple of days away from the parks the kids won't get bored. Buses - used the bus all the time, only on one occasion did we wait a very long time, about 40 minutes, this was frustrating but 95% of the time we were waiting 5-10 mins so would give the buses a thumbs up, drivers very helpful and made sure those with mobility issues were helped on and off the buses. Our stay was great but one area that could be improved was the maid service. Having stayed in other hotels in the Orlando area that were much more budget we often came back to the room in these hotels to find towel animals, I was expecting this type of Disney magic from the maid service here but we were often lucky to get an even basic service. Despite tipping a few dollars everyday as is custom we often found that towels, coffee refills ect were not replenished and had to keep asking for things. Also the floor was barely swept, bins left unemptied. I had to go to reception and flag this a couple of times. It's not great after an 8 hour day in the august heat you come back to a room for a shower and the maids have been but not left fresh towels. After the second time i brought it up it became better and someone from housekeeping called the room a couple of times to check we were getting what we needed. For the price it costs to stay here it needs some attention I think. Other tips - We placed an online grocery order with garden grocers prior to arrival, got water, potato chips, some bananas and beers, wine to have in the room. TOP TIP - if you do this bring a bottle opener as there was not one in the room so we couldn't open our cork topped wine. The delivery was dropped at the concierge and was really easy to do, you will save a fortune vs buying these things in the hotel store and save your dining snack credits for the many amazing snacks and treats in the parks. We also rented a stroller from a local company and this was also delivered direct to the reception for us to collect on our second day, made it so much easier not bringing one from the UK and having to lug around at the airport and on buses. We also used the laundry facilities there, really easy to use and detergent is available in small one wash packs from a vending machine in the laundry area, worth doing on a long trip to minimise luggage and make sure you have some luggage space for the souvenirs. Another tip, get an autograph book as soon as you get there. The official Disney one was i think $10 in the store at jambo house, we didn't think our kids would be bothered but as soon as they saw other kids getting autographs they wanted to join in so worth getting one for your first day in the parks. We would go back to AKL in a heartbeat, this year we were due to come back and visit coronado springs but looks like corona virus will most likely cancel our august trip but I'm sure we will be back next year. Read less

This was my first time at Disneyworld and I was not disappointed! The hotel is so exciting and full of magic! There are views to die for all over and just walking around the hotel was like the perfect trip on its own. Pros Room was a good size with super comfy beds, lovely double basin and a good shower. Plenty of toiletries available. Theming is so lovely- the lobby is phenomenal. Rooms have a fridge which is so useful. Views out of my room to giraffes all day were amazing! This was so engaging. Food choices are good with great flair. Pool is heated and towels are provided. Bus service was very easy to use. Hotel staff are great- so helpful and kept everything clean. Shop has lots of variety. Sooo many activities available for free. Refill cups are so worth it. So many animals available to see from rooms and viewing stations which include fire pits, rocking chairs, night vision goggles and often a member of staff to answer questions. Very safe location. Quiet in the day as everyone was at the parks! Beautiful walks around the grounds. Cons Not really got any but I suppose for us it would have been nice to have another quick service restaurant choice but to be fair The Mara was fab. Also, the wifi in our room was non existent however it was very god and quick in the lobby. Tips Plan at least two half days here to start to make the most of the resort. Walk between Jambo house and Kindini village- it’s only about 5/10 mins walk and lovely. Ask for room 3516 on the zebra trail- near a lift, quiet, lobby level with great views! Eat at the Mara- it’s a great quick service and has amazing snacks like zebra domes and giraffe eclairs. Buy the refill drink it’s so worth it. The slide if good for adults and not just kids! Read less