Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

UPDATE: Find my most recent resort review HERE!
While it wasn’t our original plan, we absolutely positively adored our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. (We were booked at Wilderness Lodge for MONTHS when we found out about their pool closure and decided to switch.)

 

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Overlooking four savannas with loads of animals, it is nothing short of magnificent.

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Unlike any of the other Disney resorts we’ve visited, Animal Kingdom Lodge was a complete immersion for the senses. The architecture wows you, the scents of African cuisine overwhelm you, the sound of bongo drums playing cannot be ignored. It’s just incredible!!

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We played tic tac toe in the lobby.

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We roasted marshmallows at a couple of the nightly camp fires overlooking the savannas on arusha rock.

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We logged many hours at the pool, being sure to have time in our schedule to do everything we could at the resort.

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We attended the session on flamingo feeding.

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We adored our room!! We had a bunk bed room in building four on zebra trail – 3rd floor. It offered a wonderful and sweeping view of the savanna and we constantly marveled at the animals right outside.

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We love checking off the wildlife as we saw them!

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We enjoyed breakfast on the balcony each morning, bringing fruit, bars, yogurt and pop tarts from home.

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We used the night vision goggles a couple of times and thought they were SO fun!! I caught this picture from our balcony after a very late night at the park.

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We had the free dining plan, so we ate at every single restaurant at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Our very favorite was Sanaa at Kidani Village. Every single thing about it was memorable… the window seat overlooking the savanna at sunset, the food, the bread service, the atmosphere and the company. We enjoyed a glass of wine in the lounge while we waited on our table. We did have reservations but asked to wait on a window seat.

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Another night we gorged at the buffet at Boma. It was also quite good and had a great mix of African foods.

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A third night we checked the littles into Simba’s Cubhouse (which they absolutely adored) and had date night at Jiko. It was lovely and romantic and super yummy. We started in the wine bar and then had dinner in the dining room. And we had the cheese plate for both an app AND then again for dessert. Hey, it was on both menus and we do adore cheese.

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After dinner we sat by the fire in the lobby for a while and just soaked it all in. It was a huge treat to have a date night on a trip like this and we hope to make a habit of it :-)

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These two were all smiles when we were reunited, having spent their evening playing video games, making crafts and eating dinner!

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The Mara quick serve restaurant was very yummy and had a good mix of American and African foods. I particularly loved their salad, couscous, zebra domes and chicken pita.

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We made the quickest trip to the arcade possible. We had a coupon for 100 free tokens and when that ran out in three games we were done.

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And, all in all, we loved every second of our stay and had not one single complaint. The main con we had heard going in was that it is far from everything. This was true, but was not an issue for us. We took the busses to the main parks and drove everywhere else. I can see that it would have been a hassle to get anywhere that didn’t have direct bus service. As much as I want to try every single resort on the Disney property, this is one I would love to do again soon!!!

xoxo

Read about Animal Kingdom Lodge Kilimanjaro Club Level here
See our Disney trip reports here!!!
Read everything Disney here!!!

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13 thoughts on “Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

  1. We've never stayed at the Animal Kingdom because of location. Now that my kids are older, I'll definitely consider this. Love the club area and the opportunity for a date night.

  2. Loved reading this :) Opening this resort was my last full time job before retiring to full time momma status! Makes me want to take my girls back for a visit!

  3. I have been wanting to see what this resort looks like and it is fabulous!!! HOW did you get the underwater shots???? They are terrific!!! Do you by any chance have any pictures of the Wilderness Lodge? Would love to see that too!!! Glad you had a great trip!!!!

    1. We bought an underwater camera at Costco last year and LOVE it!! I don't have pics of Wilderness Lodge. We haven't stayed there yet but it's on the list :-) Amanda

  4. I love it when they have the free dining plan! I keep checking the website every day to see if they will offer it in January. I've enjoyed reading about your trip so much! Isn't it sad when it's over?

  5. Looks incredible! We went to AKL many years ago, and it looks like they might have renovated it and added more restaurants since we were there. I think we went in 2007? Looks like a wonderful experience!

  6. We are going to AKL on Nov. 15 and can't wait!! We also had Wilderness Lodge booked and ended up switching due to the pool closure. We have stayed at WL twice and LOVE it so after a brief bit of disappointment we became excited about the opportunity to check out a different resort. Thanks for the pictures and info.!! It makes me so much more excited to get there!!! Would you recommend your room? We have an Arusha view booked and I'm at the point of being able to make room requests. NO idea what to request since I have never been to AKL. We purposely built in a few extra days to relax and enjoy the resort and I simply can not wait!

    Natalie

  7. Looks like a fabulous place to stay, for the littles and adults as well. So glad you got a chance to have a date night while there. And, your "ears" are too cute!

  8. "Immersion of the senses" is the perfect way to describe AKL. The Hubs and I visited there for breakfast at Boma during a recent anniversary trip to Disney sans kiddos (sh, don't tell my littles). The resort is absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful and it smells amazing as well. So glad y'all had a fabulous vacation! Thanks for sharing the details with us!

  9. I think this is my favorite! Love, love seeing the animals and the accommodations look wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful trip with all of us!

    xo
    Pat

  10. I am so grateful that I read your blog this morning! My family and I are leaving in three days for our 1st trip to Disney – and we were booked at the Wilderness Lodge! We had no idea about the pool closure – luckily I contacted our travel agent and we were able to switch over to the AKL. Our 6 year old son is so excited about staying there! Thanks so much for sharing that important info – we would have been so disappointed if we had shown up at the WL and found out about the pool closure on our 1st day in Disney. Many thanks!

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