Walt Disney World Resort - On-site Resorts - Animal Kingdom Lodge

Animal Kingdom Lodge Atrium

Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) made it's debut in April 2001, three years after Animal Kingdom opened. The theme of this place, modeled after one of the premier attractions in Animal Kingdom, is supposed to be a game lodge in Africa. I wonder how many game lodges in Africa are six stories tall with over a thousand rooms? (I also doubt that the lodges in Africa have perfectly manicured thatched roofs, either. At least ones made out of plastic covered wire.) But I'm not sure that's the point.

The popularity of the theme of the resort prompted Disney in October 2006 to build a sister resort next to the first named Kidani Village, a Disney Vacation Club Resort. Kidani Village partially opened by May 2009, and fully opened in September the same year. The original Animal Kingdom Lodge was renamed Jambo House, and both would exist under the umbrella name Animal Kingdom Lodge. Sort of like how Riverside and French Quarter gets umbrella'd under the name Port Orleans. Got it?

Kidani Village would add 50% more rooms to AKL (1500 total), but would double the size of the resort. At the same time, a number of normal rooms at Jambo House would be converted to DVC Villas.

Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) is admittedly, my favorite place to stay at Disneyworld. It isn't unique due to it's themeing (though it's pretty darned good themeing), but as much due to the fact part of it's themeing consists of live animals. And I don't mean humans. There are four separate savannas here, holding more than a hundred different animals. Each has it's own set of animals, and if you're visiting, you should see more than one.

I have stayed at other Disney Resorts, but never more than once, except for AKL. My stays were April 2003, May 2004 and December 2006 in what is now known as Jambo House. December 2009 marked by first stay at Kidani Village, 7 months after the resort opened.

I called Jambo and Kidani sister resorts, and I mean it. Except that Jambo is the big and older sister, and Kidani's the smaller and newer kid sister. They are completely separate resorts with a common theme. Something like the All-Star resorts, except these two share a savanna instead of a parking lot. (Do not think that I'm in any way, comparing All-Stars to AKL, other than common themeing between buildings.)

The entire resort is done up in earth tones, dark reds, browns and greens, and is kept somewhat dark due to the themeing. From authentic African art to the animal savannas, this resort is an attraction in itself, and can easily take a half-day to a day to explore.

And while one might think that they share resources with Animal Kingdom, they do not. The animals at Animal Kingdom Lodge are a fixture of the hotel, separate from the African Savannas in Animal Kingdom. (And though Animal Kingdom is "right next door", it is *not* possible to walk there.)

The two resorts also share buses. All buses from theme parks stop at Kidani first, Jambo second. The Downtown Disney bus reverses this.

Which resort is better? Hard to say. They both have their plusses and minuses. But I'm not sure I'd have a problem staying at either one in the future. Anyway, here's my take:

Jambo House:
Plusses: More animal viewing areas. Better dining options. Better gift shop. Boma.
Minuses: More crowded, larger resort. Second stop on the theme park bus route.

Kidani Village:
Pluses: Newness. Under building parking. More African artifacts. All villas. Better pool area. More refined themeing. Sanaa.
Minuses: No breakfast options. Needs a food court.



Jambo House

I've stayed at Jambo House (then AKL) three times. At one time it was a bargain staying here, but once Disney had you hooked on the AKL drug, the price seems to have risen disproportionally with other resorts. However, there's no denying that the views are gorgeous, the food is excellent, and if you really need interior corridors, this place has 'em.

Map of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House. Click on the map for a larger view... Note this isn't a real Disney Map, but a composite of the old AKL map and the new Jambo House map. The old map had much more detail... But, map ©Disney anyway...

My first time at AKL, I had a room so far from the lobby that I thought I'd be in a different Zip Code. My second time, I had a savanna view room that was more of a pool view, but I had a newbie with me and was *DOING* the parks, so it really didn't matter. (His daughter was flying down later that week with her mother. That he knew what to see and when and where and how to do it was a really big plus...) My third time there was a most excellent room, right up the stairs, and down the hall...

The main attraction to AKL are the savannas that surround a good portion of the hotel. They're separate from each other, and hold different animals. So even if your room overlooks one savanna, you should take the time and visit the others. The savannas are generally separated at the tops of the "wineglass" shaped hotel. Many of the animal storage pens are located there, some in the ground level portion of the hotel. (No, I've never noticed any "zoo" smells in/at AKL. Com'on, this is Disney. They probably wash and repaint all their animals every night...)

While Uzima and Arusha Savannas are Jambo's own, Sunset Savanna is shared with Kidani. The stairways are outside (true in many, if not all of the first through sixth floor stairways at Jambo,) so you can get an pretty good view of the savannas there, and I've been able to talk to the CM's (the real animal keepers) when you're on the lowest point of the stairway. Anyway, if you want a better picture than what you get through a dirty window, find a stairway.

There are also more than a few little nooks around the place to visit, some displaying African art or culture, some overlooking the savanna with chairs that beg to be sat in along with an adult beverage.

Here's some video from my 2003 stay...


Entrance / Registration

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Room interiors

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Atrium Views

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Uzima Pool Area

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Hotel Interiors

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Arusha Rock Savanna Overlook

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Arusha Savanna

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Sunset Savanna

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Misc

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Kidani Village

Map of Disney's Animal Kingdom Resort, Kidani Village. Click on the map for a larger view... Map ©Disney

My first encounter with Kidani Village was in the rain. In December. (sigh.) But the World was dressed for Christmas, and even the weather didn't dampen any spirits.

I was welcomed into the lobby by some Christmas Carolers, and enjoyed some Christmas tunes while checking in. No lines, no waiting. I like checking in that way.

I was first struck at the size of the lobby. It was like seeing Sleeping Beauty's castle after seeing Cinderella's Castle so many times. I've described Jambo House's atrium as Grand. Kidani's is Cozy. At the same time, I was pleased to see that the atrium was instantly recognizable as being part of Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The biggest difference in the Atrium, is the lack of rooms (and corridors). Thus, if you're in one wing of the hotel on the third floor or higher, you have to go down to the lobby level to get to the other side. The gift shop is small, but has a selection of typical hotel food for the room.

This recognition extends to the rest of the hotel as well. If you've stayed at Jambo House at some point, you'll feel right at home at Kidani. From the rugs, to the hall decor, to the room decor, to the views off your balcony into an animal savanna. It all says "Animal Kingdom Lodge". That's a good thing.

Kidani is surrounded by two savannas. Sunset, which is shared with Jambo House, and the newest savanna, Pembe. The public viewing area is by the Samawati Spring Pool area.

I do like the pool area more here than at Jambo. It seems to be more sculpted into the landscape, and with the Savanna overlook and the kid's play area, is more a destination in itself. At Jambo, I felt like part of the display for the guests in the pool view rooms.

One of the things I really did like, was the under building parking. It was raining when I moved into Kidani, and being able to do it in the dry was a plus. A short walk to the elevator, which has a very quick and smooth movement. Not Tower of Terror quick, but very fast and thus quickly available. The elevators are placed so you never have to walk more than a couple of building segments to your room, making the hated luggage unload less hated. (Did I mention the first time I was in Jambo House my room was really far from the lobby?) Friends of mine did complain that if you're in the far reaches of one of the wings, that the hike to the lobby and transportation got old, really quick.

The Rooms have HDTV's, with a box that allows you to connect to the TV via HDMI, VGA and standard video, stereo audio RCA connections. All the rooms are Villas. The studio I was in had a larger 'fridge, microwave, toaster and a larger capacity coffee maker.

The biggest drawback I thought Kidani had, was no breakfast service. The Mara and Boma are the closest places for breakfast. I drove back and forth, and it wasn't that painful... :-)

You can read more about Kidani Village in my December 2009 Trip Report. You'll see the same pictures, but in more of a chronological order... :-)

Entrance / Lobby / Registration


Room interiors

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Sanaa, Hotel Interiors and Parking

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Sunset Savanna - Pictures from my room

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Sunset Savanna Overlook

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Samawati Spring Pool Area

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Pembe Savanna Viewing Area

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Finally, I should say that AKL is a place any Disneyworld Fan should stay at, at least once. It's the most unique resort on property, even if it is relagated to a far corner of the World...



Page updated 1/15/2010