Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge

not impressed- VERY SMALL rooms. Service needed some "magical" overhauling- disappointed

I recently had an assignment to visit and review a hotel for a travel education program I am doing. I chose to visit the Animal Kingdom Lodge and adored it. The only reason I rated it a four and not a five is because its location makes transportation a little more slow and difficult and that is the only bad thing I can say about it, though it is perfect for those who are in no rush to see things and enjoy seclusion. The review I wrote for my class is as follows: Upon receiving this assignment of doing a hotel inspection and familiarization tour, I became overjoyed. My family and I were already packed for our annual Disney vacation, and this would give me a chance to visit a hotel that I wasnt familiar with. My family and I have always stayed at the Polynesian, due to its proximity to the monorail and transportation and ticket center, and its excellent concierge service. Although I have never stayed anywhere else, I have visited most of Disneys hotels for dinners and to view the rooms. A few years ago, Disney opened the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and I hadnt been over to see it yet. Its a superior class hotel, like the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Yacht and Beach Club and a small handful of other Disney properties that offer deluxe accommodation and concierge service. In addition, we were already slotted to dine there at the acclaimed restaurant, Jiko. My concierge called over for me and set me up an appointment to visit the lodge the same day as we were to dine there. He said they were more than receptive and would be pleased to have me visit. The Animal Kingdom Lodge, is Disneys most isolated resort, as it is about two miles from any of the parks, the nearest being the most recent, Animal Kingdom. It lures guests that a like quiet and seclusion from the bustle of the massive resort town. The main attraction, of course, is the Animals. Dozens of species straight out of Africa roam freely about the Savannah, offering guests views from balconies, outdoor viewing stations and the majority of the guestrooms. Although interaction with the animals is not allowed due to safety reasons for both the animals and the guests, the simple idea of sleeping in the middle of a game reserve in the middle of Florida is enough to satisfy any wild animal fan. Imagine sitting up all night on a private balcony watching Giraffes and Zebra wander by. Upon arrival, we walked into their massive lobby, which displayed African art from numerous tribes and small living areas that represented the meeting areas of select tribes. The majority of the employees are actually from these different tribes, and can be located around the lobby and savannah to answer questions for guests and enhance the authenticity of the experience. I was greeted at the front desk by Mintaka, who instantly called a guide for me and provided me with lots of brochures and information about the lodge, including a booklet explaining the art around the lodge. The most impressive piece was the Ijele Mask, towering 16 feet in the lobby and weighing 240 pounds. The Igbo people regard the ability to dance without dropping this elaborately decorated mask, a sign of overt strength and good fortune will come to those who can successfully complete the dance. I had a few minutes to stroll around the lobby, reading about the different artifacts before being greeted by Brooke, a lovely intern who gave me the tour. She was a communications major, about my age whom was going to be spending the next few months working at the lodge. The Animal Kingdom Lodge didnt have a set familiarization tour, but she was glad to show me whatever I needed. First, we went outside to the main viewing area for the savannah. She introduced me to two guides who answered my questions about the animals and the care for them and what guests ask most about. All around me I could see Ankole Cattle, Greater Kudus, Reticulated Giraffe, Wildebeest, Pink-Backed Pelican and other animals rare to this part of the earth. Brooke told me the there is an Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, a black funny looking bird, that chases the food trucks when they run through and it is always a spectacle. From there, she took me to two different rooms. First was the standard view which ranges from $199-$324 depending on the season. Over the years I have learned that at most Disney Hotels, the rooms will most all be alike, and what determines the price is oftroom was decently spacious, colorful, with two queen beds and a small balcony, all the modern amenities, and of course, hidden Mickeys, but it faced the parking lot, which in a way defeats the purpose of staying at this resort, though allows people who cant afford a more expensive room to enjoy it also. Then she brought me to a Savannah View Room ($275-$410 or $350-$515 for a deluxe), which was pretty much the same as the standard but the balcony offered tremendous views of Giraffe and Zebra that would be munching on trees and strolling 24 hours a day. I was amazed at just a how authentic it all seemed and how happy all the animals looked. I told Brooke that I was mainly interested in comparing the concierge services and seeing how it was run, so she took me up to the concierge level. The Polynesian and Floridian have separate buildings, but the lodge has the top floor and rooms on the 5th floor opposed to making it completely separate. It is accessed by a key that only allows the elevator to stop on that floor. I sat down at the Concierge Desk with Brooke and Pricilla-Marie, one of the AK Lodges devoted concierges and she informed me more of their services. She gave me a pamphlet of their hors doeuvres schedule for the day and the activities they have planned for children and guests. She also gave me a checklist of the animals that gives their names, identifying features and unique behaviors to watch for. Like the other Concierge services around Disney, they do vacation planning, tending to any tickets, priority seating, tours, transport or dinner arrangements youd like both before and upon arrival. If needed, they will also help you plan a full itinerary before you even leave home. The one bad thing was most rooms on the 6th floor, their devoted floor, offer no view of the Savannah, but to compensate, rooms were available on the 5th floor with full Savannah views and access to the concierge lounge. The standard concierge room costs $425-$610 based on the season but one-two bedroom suites, a Vice Presidential and a Presidential suite are also available to VIPs and larger parties. Most of there services are the same as any of the Disney concierges but with an African twist. The hors doeuvres are samples from their two best restaurants Boma and Jiko and vastly differ from the Asian twists at the Poly or the English twists at the Floridian. The best part about using the Animal Kingdom Lodge concierge is a special safari and breakfast for concierge guests only. They get a private open vehicle ride at the Animal Kingdom, well before the park opens so the guests get brilliant views of waking and feeding animals and see a lot of what other park gue by a breakfast at the Tusker House Restaurant for a buffet breakfast and chat with the animal hosts. This bonus feature is one of the coolest things in Walt Disney World, at least in my opinion. I also learned that the Animal Kingdom Lodge stole many of the concierge workers from the Polynesian so I had the chance to see and converse with a few people I had known in previous years.After leaving the concierge floor, Brooke took me around a few of the different trails. The lodge is divided into four trails, or long wings of hotel rooms that are named for the animals most featured in their view. There is the Ostrich, Zebra, Giraffe and Greater Kudu trail. Each room door is adorned with a wooden shield, which males in African tribes are given based on the strength, personality traits or rankings, and the shield determines the man, much like cars in Los Angeles. Along the corridors are different balconies and viewing areas that offer alternate views of the animals and every once in awhile we would come across glass encased artifacts such as masks, musical instruments, and tools of various tribes and some info about the tribes. It was truly amazing. When we got back to the lobby, I thanked Brooke profusely for the tour and wished her luck on her internship. She asked me to send the lodge a copy of my review, and I then went to find my family for dinner. I found them outside by the massively sprawling and beautiful pool that is right by the flamingo viewing area. We entered the glass doors to Jiko, the Animal Kingdom Lodges premiere gourmet restaurant, which also offers the most extensive and best selection of African wines in the U.S. We split a series of appetizers including cinnamon beef spring rolls with banana sauce, a duck firecracker roll, a delicious soup and marinated lobster claw. Our main dishes included a curried lamb, which was exceptionally tender, bonefish, a rare fish that is much like lobster in taste and texture and filet in a red wine sauce with African spices. The meal was exceptional and the service just as good. Their desert menu was to die for, but we were all too full from the bounty we had just inhaled. We are all big fine dining fans, and none of us had a single complaint. We were even seated at the best table in the house, right next to the window looking out at a Zen like fountain and the beautifully reflective pool.Before leaving, my parents, my boyfriend and I all stepped outside for a final view of the Savannah at night. A large fire burned for families to sit around, and the Lodges simulated moonlight made for perfect animal viewing while not subtracting from the natural feel of night. It was breathtaking. The towering lodge with its thatched roof and Sun City-esque structure in the moonlight was something I will never forget and I am so glad I had the chance to see it in full. I would highly recommend this resort to animal lovers, serenity seekers, adventurous families and just about anyone looking for a truly unique experience that doesnt require a passport, visa and shots. Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great addition to the Disney Resort collection and certainly deserves its place in Travel and Leisures Top 500 Hotels.

I must say I'm surprised as some of the negative reviews here. This resort is beautifully themed in every way. The decor, the food, the animals, the art, the lobby the activities are all African. I'm not sure why someone who is not interested in the African theme would want to stay in a themed hotel like this. The rooms are dimly lit. After all, the attraction is viewing the animals and brightly lit rooms over the Savana would impact viewing. If you like to read before bed like we do, and "itty bitty book lite" is definately required. I've eaten in Boma twice and loved it. There are so many different dishes to choose from you're bound to find several that you like. The African wine is also very nice and I've tried several. Go with a empty stomach and time so you can really enjoy all the goodies. The biggest treat is being able to see the animals right outside your window. They are fed in a manner that makes sure they make a trip around the whole savana, ensuring good views for everyone. I didn't smell any bad smells as alluded to in the reviews and we spent a lot of time on the balcony. The only slight negative was the cost of room service breakfast. My husband and I decided that spending time watching the animals was worth the room service cost, but boy our second breakfast cost over $50. We both thought that was a bit much for breakfast! One of the neatest things was the constant activity in the Lodge. Almost every hour there was something you could do... Cookie decorating, art tours, culinary tours. Our favorite was in the evening at 8:30 - The Cultural Safari. In a very comfortable library like room off the lobby a person from Africa talks about their home country. We spent time with a young man from Zimbabwe. There is nothing like interacting with someone from a given country to really get a picture of what life is like there. I highly recommend this hotel, however go knowing that it won't be cheap. For those of you "middle classers" like my husband and I, this is not a hotel you'll stay at every time you go to Disney. However, once every year or so is a real treat!

Walking into the front lobby is magnificent, but that's where it ends. My husband and I stayed at the lodge in Jan. 2003. We had a deluxe suite overlooking the savannah. The only thing deluxe about it was the price. The room was dark and dreary, the decor depressing, and barely enough room for the two of us, although it's listed as sleeping 5. The smell from the animals is so bad that you cannot enjoy the balcony, so that's a waste. We were surprised to learn that the lodge is not part of the Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and the animals that are visible from the rooms belong to the lodge. Since the lodge is not connected by monorail to the park, your only options are to drive or wait for the lodge bus that runs about every half hour to take you over. We ate at Boma's and the food was so bad we had it taken off our bill. The Mara, which is a mini-mart, sells domestic beer for $5.00 a can. Most of the food and wine is all African, so unless you really like the stuff, you need to make plans to go off premise for every meal. The lounge, Victoria Falls, is more of an upstairs waiting area than a lounge. Nothing to rave about. There is really nothing much to do at the lodge and your to far away for convienence. Disney is truly a wonderful place to visit, but stick to the Magic Kingdom and avoid this one. A real expensive dissapointment.

This was just a nightmare from the moment we arrived. I expect bad service if I'm staying in a cheapie, but not in a place that cost us over $250 per night. The room looked barely cleaned when we arrived, so bad I wouldn't even let my kids walk barefoot and it reeked of someone's meal from the day before. Throughout our 3-day stay, we found the service ethic to be just "ho hum" throughout. People giving AKL such high reviews must not be used to better accommodations. If I could rate it less than "1", I surely would.

Amazing, Disney has gone over the top with this resort. I was lucky enough to spend almost 6 weeks in Africa in 1996 and this resort is the closest you will get without leaving the U.S. The views, the architecture, the style of the rooms, unbelieveable. The food and wine list, exceptional! Combine the resort with the Safari Ride in the park and you will think you have spent time in Africa. Great evening programs, story telling at the outdoor firepit, and cast members from the various countries giving talks on their home, cultures and the diversity of wildlife. Worth every penny and more!!! Great job Disney imagineers!

I was so sure that we were going to love it there .the girls that we spoke to on the phone asured us that every thing will be as nice as all the other resort...........wrong wrong wrong. as soon as we got to the resort the check in line was hard to beleive........THEY COULDN"T SEEM TO GET THE BALANCE OF MY BILL FAST ENOUGH!!!$135.oo then they gave as a floor plan and pointed to the lobby and said have a smile etc etc . day. well.here we were....never took a vacation in 35 years and we have to say that the cheapy hotels were more courtesy then they were.....the first day we opened our door to see that we were the only people that didn't get a newspaperimagine how you'd feel. then that day we were suppose to have a coffe pot. and that wasn't there. then we find a message on the room phone that tells us when we have to check out and we would find a bill on the floor the day after.so at this point I went to the desk, to find out they forgot.the pot, the paper, and said I didn't owe them anything.......no kidding. the day after we get the coffee pot. they didn't say y I didn't get a coffee bag, so I called the desk,to only find out some more horridly that we had to pay for another coffee bag. that the first one was free. so now I had to go find out where to get that.anyhow. I didn't care for the food at all.........the treatment at the desksand the lack of help.............for people like us that never stayed in a hotelresort.....we thought we would have been treated a bit more friendly.the eggs were cold every day. and the music was to loud in the cafe andbuba room.I had to tell my friends that animal kingdom lodge was beatiful. but stay outside in a people friendly enviorment and rent a car. you can still view all the resorts and not feel cheated.last time at disney resorts.............

The resort is nothing short of spectacular. Well worth the added expense to have the full experience of the animal views. You'll love this place and never want to leave.

We spent a week, during Christmas (Dec 22-27, 2002), at the AKL. It is an excellent hotel/resort. Disney has done a very good job with this "themed" resort hotel. The outdoor pool, though, while very large, is a bit boring (just one simple little little water slide, no water falls, no "hideaway" grottos, etc). You arrive at the AKL, to a covered car valet area, thatched roofs and eager car valets ($6 per nite, worth it if you can afford it, especially when it rains and you don't have to get wet getting to/from your car). You enter a six story, wide-open lobby, with huge timbers climbing to the skies on the lobby perimeter. Themed African music plays in the background (instead of the typical Disney fare). Directly ahead, a large six-story window looks out upon the "savannah", where one can walk out amongst some rocks/paths and view some of the animals. There is much African art throughout the lobby, and along the corridors, as well. The concierge desk is at the left as you enter the lobby. The front desk staff are also on your left as you enter the lobby. All in all, a very impressive lobby. We had a "deluxe savannah view room" (at 60% off the Disney website's rack rates!), on the fifth floor, Zebra Trail wing. Facing the "inner savannah", which is the best savannah view, in my opinion (there are several smaller savannahs on the outside of the hotel semi-circular wings, and the rooms opposite our inside view Zebra trail wing room, in fact, had roadway vehicle traffic/lights to contend with outside one's balcony view). We had Room 5527. I recommend that you ask for this room, as its balcony is adjacent to a feeding post, which encourages a lot of animal activity. We ALWAYS had giraffes, "akole cattle" (they look like brown steer), gemboks, zebras, and a few other animals that I cannot recall the names of, outside for our balcony viewing pleasure. Our two boys, ages 12 and 14, loved it. As did we. The four of us had plenty of space, as this room has a bunk bed (you must specifically ask for a bunk bed room, in order to get it; and also call 7-8 days before arrival and insist on speaking to the "front desk supervisor" to ensure that you get a room with a bunk bed) and a queen bed (AND a small "day bed" sofa), and the deluxe rooms get about 40 extra square feet vs the "standard" sized rooms. The shower "room" with bath tub IS kinda small, though, and the double sinks are outside the shower/bath room. But, it was a minor thing, to us. As others have written, the rooms are not well lit. That is apparently part of the theme - subdued, African safari-like lighting. There are night lamps over the beds (including the bunks), but they are perhaps 15 or 25 watt lamps - not much light, for reading at night. The boys seemed to have little problem playing their Game Boys while in bed, though. Ah, youth. If you want a small "dorm-style" fridge, it's another $10.60 per nite (includes the local tax). We did, and felt it was very helpful - we stocked up at "Mara's", the hotel convenience store, each evening with breakfast beverages and fruits and cold cereals. A couple times, my wife went down early and got bagels and muffins, baked fresh daily. This enabled us to make a quick getaway for the "theme park of the day". Now, the store is not cheap, by 7-11 standards even, but it is cheaper than a sit-down breakfast at one of the hotel's restaurants. And it allows for that quick start to the day. Mara's was open until 11:30 p.m., I recall. And it opened about 6 a.m. - although it was Xmas week, a very busy time for WDW. With breakfast in our room, and using our own car, we arrived at the theme parks 45-60 minutes before the official opening times, and we were able (even during the very busy Xmas Week) to see EVERYTHING that required a Fast-Pass, plus some of the lesser attractions, by 2-3 p.m. This allowed us to leisurely walk the park(s) the rest of the day, having seen/experienced all of the "must see" stuff. Even during Xmas week. Moral: getting to the parks early gets you to the "top" attractions at WDW, before the crowds get really large (for Xmas week, the crowds got bad by lunch time). And the Fast Pass system is great. We took our car to the WDW parks rather than rely on the Disney bus system. We felt that it was much faster this way, and WDW "resort guests" do not pay for parking at WDW theme parks. I highly recommend using your car/rental car vs the WDW bus system, especially if you stay at the AKL, since the AKL is fairly distant from the WDW theme parks (except for the AK Park, of course). The AKL has two restaurants - Jiko's (sit down, waiter service) and BOMA (buffet service, with waiter service for drinks, clearing plates, etc). We did not try Jiko's, but we did try BOMA. I highly recommend it, and I also recommend that you secure "priority seating" for this restaurant, because it IS very popular. It is buffet-style, but the "spread" offered is African-themed dishes AND U.S. style food (including prime rib). They also have a kids menu (mac & cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken fingers/tenders, etc) plus a great dessert section. Our younger one, age 12, is "over" the posted age limit for a kids menu, but if you insist that your not-quite teen ager have a kids menu, they accomodate (it IS Disney, after all). And BOMA is probably the best value WDW restaurant available, with excellent quality to boot. If you stay at the AKL, you really should eat at BOMA at least once during your stay. The AKL also has a "game/arcade room", with lots of high-tech, interactive games kids like to play. It is near the AKL pool, and most games cost a buck to play (games only take quarters, and there are change machines in the arcade room). I dropped about $25 in quarters in one night for my boys, in this arcade/game- room. It got pretty crowded about 8 p.m. every night, i heard from other guests at the AKL. There are also 2 self-serve laundry rooms at the AKL, and the most crowded laundry room is the one near the pool. Use the one on the third floor instead (I think it was the third floor - might have been the second floor), because it seemed (and again, this was a very busy week that we stayed at this hotel) to always be empty. In conclusion, while I did not give the AKL the highest rating (giving it 4 stars and not five), I still would highly recommend it.

My husband and I entered a dirty room with towels and dirty cups everywhere. The bathroom was also unsanitized. We were upgraded to a pool view, only the room was for a handicapped person. We asked to be moved back to the prior room on the condition it would be cleaned. After returning from an evening out we laid in bed only to find out the sheets had not been changed. There were brown spots on the pillows and sheets not including a disgusting scent. When we complained the manager insulted us by saying that we had recieved the room at a discounted rate. We would never recommened this resort to anyone we care about.