4 Reasons to Stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge
Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of over 25 Disney resorts where the experience lends so much more than being within close proximity to the parks. This resort is located just a short 5-minute bus ride away from Animal Kingdom and offers so much at the resort that some days you won’t even want to leave! So why do we love it? Let’s talk about four reasons to stay at animal kingdom lodge.
The lobby at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
The lobby at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
4 reasons to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge
1. The Lobby.
As soon as you walk in the door, you’re greeted with breathtaking African decor, along with floor-to -ceiling windows that showcase the savannah. If you’re lucky, you will get to see someone from Africa creating woodcarvings right there in the lobby. Not only that, there is a cozy fire place in the lobby that’s great for sitting around and chatting with family or friends. If the kids get bored while waiting for your room to be ready, there’s also a tv with little chairs where they can sit and watch Disney cartoons and movies. There’s a lot going on in the lobby for everyone to enjoy.
2. The Animals.
We stayed in a room with a savannah view (click here for the room tour) and if you can swing it, I highly suggest this upgrade. There was really nothing like enjoying breakfast on our balcony while we watched giraffes, zebras, and ostriches roam around. Even if you’re not able to do the savannah view, you’ll still have many opportunities to see the animals in action. One of the best places to do that is the floor-to-ceiling windows that are in the lobby. You could look through them or even walk outside to get a closer view.
3. Jiko.
Jiko offers a fine dining experience that includes amazing wine, service, food, and ambience. Your meal starts off with a warm rose-scented towel to cleanse your hands. Giraffe bread is then sent over to your table to get your meal started. If you’re into wine, there is an extensive wine list and Jiko even features one of the largest selections of African wine outside of Africa. If fine dining isn’t your thing then you might prefer dining at Boma or Sanaa instead.
4. The pool.
Let’s face it, if you’re in Orlando, odds are that you’re going to want to cool off in a pool at some point because it gets h-o-t there. The Uzima Springs Pool there at Jambo House is 11,000 square feet, has a zero-depth-entry point and features a 67-foot long waterslide. There are free and paid activities offered at the pool throughout the day. I will say that you definitely want to get there early because it can be really tricky to get a seat as the day goes on.
We would definitely return to Animal Kingdom Lodge because it’s such a unique experience! There were only a few cons we could think of and for the sake of keeping it real and being honest, we feel it is only fair to share those too.
One is that it can be difficult to get a seat at the pool if you don’t go early. Two is that although we did have good service overall, there were certainly some misses. Check-in was a bit of a disorganized process and we gave up on waiting for a luggage cart at checkout because there was a major shortage and everything was so backed up. And while this might seem minor (and of course in the big scheme of things in life, it is) a vending machine ate my money and when I told a cast member they told me I could call the number on the machine. This happened right at check in and the last thing I wanted to do after traveling was to get on the phone with a vending machine company to try to get my money back. I decided to let the machine have my money and move on. While it wasn’t significant to ruin or stay, I certainly was expecting more.
I hope you find our takeaways to be helpful! If you’d like to see a tour of our Savannah View Room that we stayed in, click here.
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