Is Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Worth It? Our In-Depth Review Reveals All

The author stayed as an invited guest of Walt Disney World. All opinions are the author’s own, and Walt Disney World had no input in any part of this review.

I visited Jambo House at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge with my best friend for 3 nights in mid-March 2025 as part of a media event promoting the park’s summer attractions. Though I’m a frequent Walt Disney World visitor, this was my first time staying at a Disney resort. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge — a Disney Deluxe Resort hotel — was a fantastic first-time experience on property that will be tough to beat. We loved the lodge’s African-themed ambience, abundance of activities, and legendary savannas.

Read on to see how our stay went, including our room, resort amenities, transportation, and dining.

Booking Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

Depending on when you visit, you can expect to pay about $400 to $700 per night for a standard room at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, with lower rates during value seasons and higher rates at peak seasons, such as the holidays.

Hot Tip:

It pays to keep an eye out for discounts, such as 30% off for a 5-night stay or special deals for cardholders of the Disney^® Premier Visa^® card or Disney^® Visa^® Card.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Location

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is just a 10-minute bus hop away from Disney’s Animal Kingdom park, though you can’t walk to it like you can between Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Magic Kingdom park. The lodge is 23 miles from Orlando International Airport (MCO), typically a 30-to-40-minute drive or shuttle ride.

Checking In

We arrived at the hotel around noon via Lyft, way ahead of the 3 p.m. check-in time. We were dropped off at the covered entrance. With the My Disney Experience app, we could check in without visiting the front desk and use the app or our MagicBand+ to unlock our room when it became ready.

But with our early arrival, I wanted to visit the front desk to see if we could get into a room before 3 p.m. and settle in before a day at the parks.

We were greeted warmly at the front desk, and checking in took a few minutes as the front desk agent worked to find a room for us so early in the day. They successfully found a room, and we were soon sent on our way with a map and room keys.

Resort Benefits

Staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge offers numerous benefits with no resort fee. Some of the benefits include:

• Early theme park entry and extended evening hours
• Complimentary water park admission on your check-in day
• Lightning Lane access up to 7 days in advance
• Access to dining plans
• Bus, boat, and monorail park transportation
• Hey Disney! voice assistant that offers wake-up calls, Disney trivia, and interactive experiences
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Complimentary standard self-parking at the resort and theme parks

Lobby

The lobby at Jambo House was a sight to behold, with soaring ceilings, carved wood, African art and artifacts, a rope bridge, and a back window wall leading to the savanna. The lobby’s scent was striking, with cedarwood, sandalwood, and vanilla underlying smokiness from the cooking fires of on-site restaurants Boma and Jiko.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has one of the largest collections of African art and artifacts outside of Africa, with more than 800 pieces displayed throughout the resort.

Hot Tip:

You can explore the hotel’s art independently or join a lobby art tour on weekdays at 11 a.m.

The bell desk was inside, to the left of the front entrance. On our departure day, we checked bags here and received prompt and friendly service. If we’d split our stay between Disney resorts, bell services could have transferred our luggage to another resort.

On a rainy day, the front entrance offered towels and umbrella bags.

The main lobby had comfortable seating areas, some with TVs and kid chairs for entertaining young guests. Some offered charging stations.

Although the lobby was stunning during the day, my favorite time to see it was late at night. It was quiet except for the soft African music, and it looked especially beautiful with the soft lighting and warm wood throughout.

The back of the lobby had a wall of windows looking out on the savanna, and we could walk down a set of carved wood stairs to reach the back doors and take in the savanna view.

Outside was a patio that led to the savanna areas.

It also offered a large fire pit, where nightly campfires served s’mores, sing-alongs, and the occasional lawn game.

Balconies on the lobby level offered rocking chairs and savanna views.

Kidani Village

We spent most of our time at Jambo House but visited the other main building of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge: Kidani Village, which had a separate lobby, restaurant, and recreation areas. We took a shuttle bus between them once, but the 10-minute walk wasn’t bad, either.

The lobby for Kidani Village was smaller and slightly less grand than Jambo House, but it was still impressive, with beautiful light fixtures and flame-like glass sculptures.

It featured a separate front desk for checking into rooms at Kidani Village.

There was also a gift shop and lounge spaces — including a TV — like Jambo House.

Resort View Room With 2 Queen Beds

We stayed in a standard resort view room with 2 queen beds, which sleeps up to 4 adults. I could use my MagicBand+ as a room key, which made getting into the room easy without digging for a key card or pulling up an app for access.

The room was just big enough to be comfortable for a family of 4, but we had plenty of space with just the 2 of us.

Each bed had all-white bedding and a soft padded headboard with ornate wood carvings.

Wall lamps were on either side of the beds, and each had a small nightstand shelf on the outward side with wall plugs and USB-A outlets. Small reading lights pulled out from both sides of the headboards. Between the beds was a shared nightstand with more outlets, a phone, remote, resort and park guides, and a Hey Disney! device.

The dresser had beautifully carved wood, and the drawers were plenty large for unpacking bags.

The room had an abundance of outlets, with 2 more outlet spots on the dresser countertop surface.

The TV welcomed us by name, but we were too busy in the parks and at the resort to watch anything!

A small table with an overhead lamp and wall mirror was close to the balcony. It was large enough for working on a laptop.

A sliding glass door led to a balcony that was small but well-themed.

It was well enclosed and had 2 chairs and a table. We didn’t get one of the famed savanna-view rooms, but still had a nice view of mostly trees from the balcony.

Back near the front door was a wardrobe and beverage station. Within the wardrobe was a clothes steamer, clothes hanging rack, and a safe big enough for a laptop. The other side of the sliding door had another hanging rack and extra bedding in a bag.

Next to the wardrobe closet space was a coffee station with a Keurig machine and a coffee drawer containing Joffrey’s coffee pods.

Below that was a beverage cooler.

Bathroom

The bathroom was just as well-themed as the rest of the room, with a beaded mirror, carved wood vanity, and “Lion King” art.

We got ready with Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa each morning, with a “Hakuna Matata” print on the bathroom vanity wall.

On top of the counter were various Disney toiletries: soap, lotion, mouthwash, a shower cap, and a kit containing cotton swabs and sewing necessities.

The vanity had 2 open cubbies, and the top contained a Conair hair dryer.

There was a towel shelf above the toilet and a generously sized glass door shower. We could switch between rainfall and handheld shower heads, and there was a retractable clothesline for drying wet clothes.

Wall-mounted toiletries included sea salt shampoo, marine conditioner, and body wash. These felt and smelled great, but getting enough product out of the dispensers was tough.

Amenities

Resort amenities were standout features at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was impressed by the lively resort pool, various savanna overlooks, and an overwhelming amount of on-property activities.

Savanna

There were 4 savannas where we could view animals. Guides answered our questions about the more than 200 hoofed animals and birds that live at the lodge. Along the savanna walk were educational signs about the animals and natural environment.

Even in the heat of the day, with limited animal spotting, it was nice to look out over the expanse and see far-off giraffes and other hoofed animals. A wildlife field guide was in our room, which we could use to identify and learn about the animals on the savanna.

I spotted an East African crowned crane under the trees at the Sunset Savanna.

If you can’t find any animals on the savanna, you can easily spot flamingos at their enclosure near the Uzima Springs pool at Jambo House.

Pool

Jambo House and Kidani Village each have a pool, and we visited the Uzima Springs pool at Jambo House. It was always a popular spot, even on a drizzly day. Though busy, it was large enough that guests didn’t seem cramped.

It features a beach entry and has a pretty tame-looking waterslide. During the day, a cast member hosted an interactive activity where guests could vote on their favorite Disney World rides.

I always saw plenty of open loungers around the pool.

There are 2 spas near Uzima Springs pool, and 1 has an accessibility lift.

Towels are available at a stand near the entrance.

Kidani Village has the Samawati Springs pool, with a zero-depth entry and a waterslide. It also has Uwanja Camp, a water playground for kids.

Hakuna Matata Playground

The Hakuna Matata playground is near the flamingo area and savanna, designed for kids 5 to 12.

Zahanati Fitness Center

The Zahanati fitness center is near the pool. It is open 24/7 using a room key or MagicBand+.

There are lockers available around the corner from the main fitness area.

Near the lockers are a sauna, a steam room, and a shower. The sauna and steam room are available from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Movies Under the Stars

Each night at 8:30 p.m., the lodge hosts Movies Under the Stars featuring a family-friendly Disney movie. Selections during our visit included classics “The Lion King,” “The Little Mermaid,” and the new release “Moana 2.”

Movies were at the Jambo House Hakuna Matata playground on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and at the Kidani Village Pembe Savanna overlook on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Activities

In addition to movies, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge had a packed schedule of activities each day from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., starting with Disney Family Fitness Fun at the Uzima Springs pool deck and ending with a nightly campfire at the savanna overlook. Almost all of the activities were free except for pool deck arts and crafts and some of the projects in Simba’s Cub House.

In the lobby, we played a game to match the feces with the species.

A scavenger hunt activity was also available from the front desk in the lobby.

Right at the front door was a medallion rubbing activity — available daily at 1:30 p.m. — where we could use crayons to transfer animal shapes from the medallion to paper.

There were arts and crafts activities each day at the pool deck from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., creating Mickey tie-dye, African bangles, or sand art.

The String of Memories program had scheduled activity stations throughout the day. We could complete the activities to earn a bead at each station, plus a completion bead once we earned the last one.

Activities included animal enrichment, where we used grabber claws to simulate giraffes working to pull leafy treats out of a container.

Another activity was African Wonders, in which cast members discussed migrations, deserts, and other interesting African facts.

Simba’s Cubhouse

At Simba’s Cubhouse, guests could choose to work on crafts such as African jewelry, make-your-own Mickey ears, fuse beads, and tumblers. Some activities required a small fee, but there were also free activities.

Pumbaa’s Fun and Games Arcade

Pumbaa’s Fun and Games Arcade featured racing, skill games, puzzles, and more. The games required a rechargeable game card, which was available at a kiosk inside the arcade.

Near the front door was a favorite attraction for park-weary guests: massage chairs.

Kidani Village also features the Safari So Good arcade.

Hot Tip:

The arcade stays open until 11 p.m., so you can use a massage chair after a long park day!

Gift Shop

Jambo House’s gift shop is the Zawadi Marketplace. From 4 to 9:30 p.m. daily, woodcarving artists worked on African animal art here.

Inside the marketplace, there was a large selection of Disney souvenirs, particularly Animal Kingdom items. There were also necessities such as snacks and sunscreen.

Artists were available to create custom name art within the marketplace each day from 5 to 10 p.m.

Another gift shop, Johari Treasures, was at Kidani Village. It had a smaller but slightly different selection of items.

Parking

Overnight self-parking is free at Disney Resort hotels. Valet parking is available for $42 per night plus tax. Standard theme park parking is included for registered Disney Resort hotel guests. You can upgrade to preferred parking by paying the difference between standard and preferred parking, which is $15 to $25.

Laundry

Laundry facilities were available near Simba’s Cubhouse with app-based payment.

A laundry lobby featured a comfortable seating area with a TV and a vending machine for laundry detergent.

Bus Transportation

Bus transportation to all Disney World theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs was available to all resort guests. The waiting area was large, shaded, and comfortable, though we never had to wait there for more than 5 to 10 minutes.

A TV displayed estimated bus arrival times for all destinations.

Wi-Fi

I worked during my visit, and the Wi-Fi was fast and easy to access.

Food and Beverages

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has 9 dining options, including quick service, sit-down dining, pool bars, and lounges.

The Mara

We ate most of our meals at the Mara, the quick-service option. It was open from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily and offered breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night options.

We could place a mobile order for pickup or approach the cafeteria-style stations to place an order. There were also grab-and-go options in the coolers and a pastry case.

Hot Tip:

A mobile order could make ordering from the stations easier. For example, if you want to order a bowl and a flatbread, you’d have to visit 2 stations — or place a single mobile order.

Drinks were self-service except for specialty coffee, and refillable resort cups were available for purchase.

When we visited for lunch, all the bowls looked great, so I chose the combination bowl with shrimp and chicken to get a little of everything. It was fresh, warm, and filling.

My friend got the Marrakesh falafel platter.

I returned one morning for yet another bowl, an ancient grain power bowl that was surprisingly sweet.

Boma — Flavors of Africa

Boma, the hotel’s buffet, is open for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m., and dinner is from 5 to 9:30 p.m.

My friend raved about her breakfast at Boma, highlighting goat cheese scrambled eggs, sambal, guava garam masala ham with Boma mustard, and butterscotch caramel bread pudding.

Victoria Falls Lounge

Victoria Falls Lounge is upstairs from Boma and overlooks the restaurant. It’s open from 4 to 11 p.m.

Jiko — The Cooking Place

Jiko is a signature dining option offering traditional African, Indian, and Mediterranean cuisine. It’s open exclusively for dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and features entrees such as oak-grilled steaks and lamb.

Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar

The Cape Town Lounge and Wine Bar is near Jiko and serves cocktails and appetizers from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Sanaa

Sanaa offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For breakfast, it offers casual quick service, and for lunch and dinner, it offers table service. The restaurant features African cooking with Indian flavors, and the dining room has a savanna view. Sanaa is open for breakfast from 7:30 to 11 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Sanaa Lounge

Although Sanaa closes at 9:30 p.m., Sanaa Lounge is open from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Sanaa Lounge was perfect for a late-night snack after the parks. My friend got a watermelon lemonade, and I got a Bee’s Knees with African gin, lemon juice, honey, and grapefruit soda.

We weren’t disappointed by the Indian-style bread service. We were treated to 5 breads (various naan, kulcha, and paratha) with 9 accompaniments — including sambal, jam, pickled garlic, hummus, and chutneys — all interesting and delicious.

Uzima Springs Pool Bar

At the edge of Uzima Springs pool was Uzima Springs Pool Bar, open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with cocktails, frozen drinks, and beer.

Maji Pool Bar

The Kidani Village pool also has a pool bar, Maji Pool Bar, open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving cocktails, wine, beer, sandwiches, salads, and snacks.

Service

The staff was friendly, helpful, and engaging. The front desk ensured we had everything we needed to enjoy our room, resort amenities, and the parks, and the bell desk was quick and friendly with our bags on our final day at the lodge. Activities staff members were excited to share their knowledge about animals and Africa, and a front desk agent at Kidani Village was helpful and happy to chat about animals and pins as we asked about walking back to Jambo House.

Final Thoughts

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge was a fantastic introduction to Disney World resorts that will be tough to top. I can see why some guests return year after year. It’s a beautiful resort with excellent food, service, theming, and amenities — and wild animals just steps away. With so much to do, see, and eat, we only tapped the surface of what the property offers. I’d be happy to return and enjoy more of the lodge.