Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Wonderful Hotel Waking up to safari animals passing your balcony Fantastic experience Great staff Lovely restaurants inside Only question is why is it so dark ? More lighting needed Huge Xmas tree was amazing Rooms where nice but not exceptionally big but great comfortable beds Good room service Extremely expensive but worth the experience We stayed in the actual hotel and it had great access - buses - Taxis to resorts but it quite far from the parks Lovely gift shop and Pandora jewellery was excellent value compared to UK 🇬🇧 prices Nice bars inside Limited fast food and breakfast was my only issue bug ques for fast food when you just need to grab something and limited choice Nice pool but your so tired from the parks we rarely used Very good accessibility Definitely worth paying the extra for a room with a balcony with a view of the animals direct Giraffes strolling past where amazing Read less

Booked this resort because of the reviews and the fact it was classed as a deluxe hotel. When we arrived we were greeted well by the front desk. Our Room was dark with a corner view of the pool, our balcony was fully enclosed because it overlooked a roof which added to the darkness of the room. We had booked our evening meal so we went for that and then asked at the front desk if we could move rooms as it was not what we expected for the price. We were told the hotel was full and to ask again the next day and so on. This we didn’t want to do because we wanted to unpack and start our holiday. Safe very small, room ok not the best for the price. Animals are not as close as people make out. Quick service meals on site not the best. We went for a meal at the connecting resort and had the rudest waiter, very abrupt and not at all helpful. This resort is a 20min trip by coach from all the other parks and often results in not able to sit down because the coaches are crowded. We have had to go to reception to ask for room service to attend because our room had been missed, reception staff on this occasion were less than helpful Generally we have found this trip very expensive, we had a meal plan but then you still have to tip which isn’t cheap. We have certainly not had the Disney experience we expected from the reviews and are not sure if we would return again. Read less

A sad fact about this hotel is that a lot of people make the decision to stay here and spend the big bucks because they think it will be a very special treat and they'll have a wonderful stay and get to see marvelous animals. We did this; we had only been to Disney one other time when my daughter was 6. Now that she's 13 (and has always loved animals) we thought it would be wonderful for her to stay in what we thought was a lovely resort with a view of animals. Our room cost between 500-500 dollars, we also opted for the club access. Basically, the room they gave us was horrible. Lots of others on this site have described the type of room we got. Small and dark. It was probably the worst hotel room I've ever gotten in my life and that's saying something. I've stayed at a lot of hotels!! The bathroom was dated and dark, floor had clearly visible mold. The room was so, so small and cramped. My husband was disgusted. Even though we thought we were getting two queen beds, we got a queen and a tiny worn-looking pullout sofa. Yes, for this kind of money my daughter didn't even get a bed to sleep in. When the sofa was pulled out, you saw ugly metal and it was just so depressing looking. Even our bed was worn, you could see lots of dust at the corners and my husband found the mattress uncomfortable. I called right away and told them this room was completely unacceptable. Even though it was very late at night (we had gotten texts from Disney that said the room was not ready and never got an update that the room was ready!) I just couldn't imagine staying there. Especially for what we were paying. I was informed that the hotel was 100% booked and we could not move. Horrible! We had to spend the night in this room. We could have switched to another resort but at that hour...and my daughter was all primed to see animals. They did manage to find us a new room for the next day in the hotel but we had to go through packing all our stuff again so that the bellstaff could pick it up to move it to the new room. Hardly what you want to be doing on your first morning at Disney World. They never moved our bags to the new room that day as had been promised, so when we got back that night after the Halloween Party our room was empty and we had to go through calling the desk again to get our luggage brought up. So there was no follow through there. I also thought it was strange that no one followed up with us to see whether we were happy in the new room. I think they know how horrible the old rooms are even though they won't admit it to guests! The new room had been renovated and was MUCH, MUCH nicer. I was so glad I had stood my ground even though the reservations people told me the new room would be exactly the same size as the old. It clearly wasn't. So much larger and it was clean and didn't make me feel dirty and uncomfortable. The new room was not designated a club room, which seemed strange since it was so much nicer than the first one. Why wouldn't they give the best rooms to people who paid for an upgrade? Some bright spots were that the bell staff were very nice and so were the concierges in the club lounge. The upstairs lounge was nice as a hangout for breakfast and the Nespresso machine is lovely. The concierge staff in the lounge is also very nice. My daughter did love seeing the animals but since we were so busy at the parks the time watching them was minimal. This is the second time we've been burned by a Disney resort. The first time we stayed at the old Coronado Springs hotel and the room reminded us of a 60's LL Bean kind of decor, but tired and not nice. We were also near an incredibly loud ice machine and screaming babies. We refused to stay there so they had to move us to another resort, which was so much nicer (Boardwalk). It took several hours to transfer but was well worth it. I feel like Disney takes your money and if you are not knowledgeable and assertive enough to complain, you simply wind up writing terrible reviews on Trip Advisor and being horribly disappointed in your vacation. More people should assert themselves, they should not get away with taking your money for a stay in a truly subpar environment. Then they would be forced to renovate more often. The lobby is spectacular but you are not living in the lobby, you're living and sleeping in a room that should cost from $50 to $75 instead of the $500-$600 that they are charging. If the hotel were anywhere else and did not have the animals no one would stay here. Next time, sadly enough, we will opt for an Universal or other off property hotel. I refuse to submit to Disney's jurisdiction again, they simply are not fair to their guests, many of whom save up for a long period and look forward to staying here. The animals are the only reason to stay here, but the show they put on is simply not worth it. Read less

We recently returned from a 12 night stay here and I can safely say that Animal Kingdom Lodge has stolen my heart! The moment you walk in to the lobby for the first time is quite literally breathtaking. The hotel is undergoing some renovation at the moment but it is very discreet and did not impact on our stay in any way. We were lucky enough to stay in a renovated room on Kudu trail and saw animals from our balcony almost all day long. The beds are very high but oh so comfortable! We ate at all 3 restaurants on property and enjoyed them all. Jiko was by far our favourite meal of the holiday and our server was perfect; no problems at all with swapping a meal for our little boy. The cast members are the icing on the cake. There are so many activities to enjoy that I wish we had spent more time at the hotel. Our children enjoyed making snacks for the giraffe, tie dye t- shirts and hunting for hidden Mickeys. Special mention to Celeste who taught our boys African drumming. They still talk about their 'friend' from the hotel! This was our first time staying in a Disney hotel and I know without doubt we will be back! Read less

From the moment we arrived. You couldn't ask for a better time! Staff, pool, experience as whole was more than enough. Especially the staff from the Mara and Victoria Falls. Disney did a good thing hiring Moe and Jake at the Mara! There attitudes and willing to help made our entire trip except for Galaxy's edge haha. Hopefully, Jake and Moe are back when we visit again. The pool and jacuzzi was well maintained and was awesome. Can't wait to take the family here. Read less