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Subscribe NowLast updated: November 18, 2024
The Animal Kingdom Villas fuse African tribal architecture with the style of East African national park lodges. Thatched-roof guest-room wings fan out from the lobby. Savannah-facing rooms overlook animal grazing areas.
Cost Range
$476 - $4,971
Lodging Area
Animal Kingdom
Category
Deluxe Villa
Transportation
Bus
Room: A-
Pool: A-
Magnificent lobby
Excellent on-site sit-down dining options
Large, beautiful feature pool
On-site cultural and nature programs
Best theming of any Disney hotel
Where else can you wake up to see a giraffe outside your room?
Few counter-service dining options
Jambo House villas are smaller than those at Kidani Village
Erratic bus service
No direct non-bus transportation to any theme park
Studios here are about 50 square feet smaller than those at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village next door.
The best rooms: on floors three and four, facing into the savannah. They're high enough to survey the entire area yet low enough to let you appreciate the ground-level detail of this amazing wildlife exhibit; plus, these rooms offer the easiest access to the lobby and restaurants.
The one- and two-bedroom villas here are smaller than those at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village next door. The grand villas, however, are larger here.
The best rooms: on floors three and four, facing into the savannah. They're high enough to survey the entire area yet low enough to let you appreciate the ground-level detail of this amazing wildlife exhibit; plus, these rooms offer the easiest access to the lobby and restaurants.
The Villas share all of the Animal Kingdom Lodge's restaurants, and that's a huge plus. Room service is available too.
Boma - Flavors of Africa Boma is consistently rated as one of the best restaurants in Walt Disney World—it’s as much an attraction at the Animal Kingdom Lodge as, well, the animals. Boma’s buffet includes fresh, seasonal, well-prepared offerings at each meal station. (Serving utensils are replaced very often these days.) And the value, at both breakfast and dinner, is almost impossible to beat. Advance Reservations are a must—walkup tables here are few and far between.
Jiko - The Cooking Place Tucked away in a quiet corner of Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jiko is one of the true hidden gems of fine dining in Walt Disney World. Superb service in a nonfussy atmosphere can be tough to pull off, but Jiko does that and more, welcoming guests into the cooking place for a meal packed with truly unique flavors. Families will enjoy the dining room’s perpetual sunset, while solo diners or small parties may want to take advantage of the cooking place’s seating for both dinner and a show. Jiko has remained good for a long time, even through chef and staff changes. The experience of this reader from Columbia, Missouri, is typical: Jiko was fabulous! My husband and I went on a date and ended up sitting next to a nice family who had two younger kids with them. They were a bit loud, but we didn’t mind. Near the end of our meal, the server brought us two complimentary martinis at the manager’s request because of the “noisy” table nearby. That was good service even though we weren’t inconvenienced. In fact, we shared our martinis with them and had a great conversation! Jiko is listed on the OpenTable website and app. Reservations are often available on OpenTable even when they're not on the Disney site. In addition, there's no cancellation fee with OpenTable reservations.
The Mara The quick service option at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House. Located near the main pool.
Uzima Springs Pool Bar Uzima Springs, the pool bar at Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Jambo House, is a very nice looking bar. It has a thickly thatched roof which is supported by several natural looking logs and, of course, it overlooks the large resort pool and the immaculate building. Another plus is that it has a few African bottled beers like Tusker Lager and Casa Lager supplementing the standard Disney pool bar menu. All of that said, it is hard to recommend sitting anywhere near the bar while enjoying your drink. Wandering just to the end of the pool finds you near the one-of-a-kind (on Disney property anyway) savannah, where you can enjoy your drink while enjoying the peaceful movements of giraffes and zebras.
Victoria Falls Lounge Victoria Falls is the lounge located in Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Jambo House (the original, and still primary, building) and it is a lounge that we are slightly conflicted about. It is one of the prettiest bars you’ll find, with its dark wood floor, imitation stonework, casual African furniture, and beautiful lighting. It is also a strangely located lounge that can be loud, and has a somewhat disappointing menu. The theme of Victoria Falls is hard to pinpoint but it appears to represent, in a very abstract way, the cliffs found above the bar’s namesake waterfall. The giant, stepped pillars can easily be seen as layered rock and the lounge itself is literally above the small waterfall found outside of the restaurants Jiko and Boma below. Speaking of its location, the lounge is oddly positioned--in between the two restaurants and the lobby, both horizontally and vertically. In order to enter Victoria Falls you can either walk up from the restaurant level or down from the lobby level. This Victoria Falls sandwich can make the bar quite loud as ambient noise floats by from Boma or the expansive lobby. The drink menu at Victoria Falls is typical of a deluxe resort lounge in that it has a handful of unique specialty items. The popular Victoria Falls Mist (also available at Jiko) is found here as well as the Mt. Kilimarita (tequila, tangerine liqueur, sweet and sour, and cranberry juice) and the Nyami Nyami (a frozen blend of Amarula cream and banana liqueur). There are also a few African beers (the same ones you find all around Animal Kingdom Lodge) to augment the standard bar menu. One thing that is not from the standard menu is an above-average selection of South African wines. It’s far from the massive list available at Jiko, but it is still impressive. A few food items from Jiko can also be ordered here, although very few. Specifically a cheese plate, a selection of breads and dips, and African spiced roasted nuts are on the menu. While the location and the noise of Victoria Falls may seem less than great, it has one of those hard to explain calming feelings that always makes it enjoyable. We can’t recommend a special trip to Animal Kingdom Lodge just to visit Victoria Falls, but a stop here is well worth it if you find yourself nearby.
Refillable Mugs Allows guest self-service soft drink refills from quick-service locations in hotels (NOT in theme parks) for $22.99 for the length of stay.
Amenities
SWIPE TO EXPLORE
The Uzima Springs Pool is huge, with excellent design and lush landscaping. One end has a zero-entry slope, perfect for small children to splash in. And a 67-foot water slide is there for more adventurous swimmers. A short walk away is the Samawati Springs Pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge - Kidani Village.
Pumbaa's Fun and Games arcade is just off the main lobby and features relatively recent video games of all kinds.
Free Disney Movies Under the Stars are shown most evenings, weather-permitting, near the Uzima Pool.
The Zahanati Massage & Fitness Center has weights, treadmills, and other equipment for your workout. Hours are typically 6 AM to 9 PM.
Out back of the Lodge is a really nice campfire area with rocking chairs. At night, Disney hosts marshmallow roasts. It's really great during the cooler months of the year.
The Hakuna Matata playground, with slides and other play structures, is near the pool area in the back of the resort.
Disney resort guests get into each theme park 30 minutes earlier than off-site guests, every day.
Those staying at Disney's Deluxe and Deluxe Villa hotels can buy Lightning Lane via Individual Purchase at 7:00 a.m. each day. Others cannot make that purchase until the official park opening time.
Disney's Deluxe and DVC resort guests get two extra hours in select theme parks on certain days of the week. The schedule changes, so check with the front desk.
Practical Matters
Check-in is 4:00pm
Check-out is 11:00am
All Disney resorts participate in Disney’s Online Check-In program. If you’ve checked-in online and provided a mobile phone number or email address, you will receive your room number electronically. Then you can go straight to the room and use your smart phone or MagicBand to open the door, skipping the lobby altogether.
These rubber and plastic wrist bands can function as your room key, park admission, charge card, and more! MagicBands cost money, but if you'd like a free option you can use the official Disney World app on your phone or request an RFID-embedded card at the front desk.
Park tickets are best purchased online in advance either directly through Disney or via our Least Expensive Ticket Calculator. However, if you arrive without park tickets, head to the concierge desk in the hotel lobby.
Dining reservation are best made online in advance or on your phone or tablet during your visit. You can also use our Disney World Reservation Finder.
Washers and dryers are availabile in laundry facilities at each Disney World hotel. Cost is $3 per wash, and another $3 per dry cycle. A small selection of soap, fabric softener, and dryer sheets are also sold, for around $1 each. Only credit/debit cards can be used for payment. For more information, see our Disney World Laundry Facilities page.
If you lose something in a theme park or during your stay at a Disney-operated hotel, visit Disney's Lost and Found website or call (407) 824-4245.
Disney hotels have gifts shops near their lobbies with a decent collection of Disney-branded souvenirs. You will also find basic pharmacy items such as sunscreen, aspirin, allergy and cold medicine, baby diapers and formula, shampoo, and the like. Resort hotels with Deluxe Villa rooms offer an assortment of groceries, as well.
Disney recommends a third party company, Kid's Nite Out, to provide babysitting services at the resort hotels. See our Disney World Child Care page for more information.
Transportation
The Animal Kingdom Lodge is located in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area. All modern GPS apps, and Google Maps, will have clear driving directions to it. As a backup, look for Disney road signs directing you toward the Animal Kingdom once you're on property, and then look for signs for the Lodge once you're close to the Animal Kingdom.
Destination | Bus | Car |
---|---|---|
Magic Kingdom | 32 min | 39 min |
EPCOT | 27 min | 16 min |
Hollywood Studios | 24 min | 16 min |
Animal Kingdom | 18 min | 9 min |
Disney Springs | 29 min | 22 min |
Disney provides free bus service to all theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs. Buses run about every 20 minutes. It's almost always faster to drive your car if you have one, except to the Magic Kingdom.
If you have your own car, it's faster to drive yourself everywhere except the Magic Kingdom.
Surprisingly, you can't walk to the Animal Kingdom from the resort.
You can walk between the Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House and Kidani Village. For all other resort destinations, the fastest option is an Uber, Lyft, or taxi. Disney's bus service is free but slow, and will probably require you to use an intermediate destination like Disney Springs, to get to your destination. And that can take a couple of hours each way if you're unluckly.
if you have a car, the easiest way to get to Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and other tourist destinations is to drive. Alternatively, Mears Transportation operates shuttle services between the Disney hotels and other theme parks.
Driving to the Resort
Getting to the Parks
and Disney Springs
Getting to Another Hotel
from Animal Kingdom Jambo Villas
Getting to Universal Orlando
The Animal Kingdom Lodge is located in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area. All modern GPS apps, and Google Maps, will have clear driving directions to it. As a backup, look for Disney road signs directing you toward the Animal Kingdom once you're on property, and then look for signs for the Lodge once you're close to the Animal Kingdom.
if you have a car, the easiest way to get to Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and other tourist destinations is to drive. Alternatively, Mears Transportation operates shuttle services between the Disney hotels and other theme parks.
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