Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

On my Bucket List was to stay at a Disney Resort....without parks! I have always wanted to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge so we booked a rather last minute (90 days out) trip. We stayed 4 nights and it was just PERFECT! The Cast Members are top notch! The decor is complete immersion! We went to all the educational talks and earned "beads" for our bracelet (all free). The dining was AMAZING! We got all the reservations we wanted. The bars were phenomenal! The room (king bed) was huge! We did the Pre-Check so we went right to our room. We were in the lobby (4th floor) and had an amazing view of the Savannah. Room was exceptionally clean. We loved the subtle and sophisticated Lion King themed. The Kerig and pods in the room were a big bonus for me. Brewing a cup of Joe and watching animals walk by my room was pure joy! We walked around and watched the animals, sat on rocking chairs on a beautiful "porch", snacked on delicious Disney treats (try the Raindrop!!) and swam in the beautiful pool! It was by far the most relaxing Disney trip we have ever taken! I don't think I'd pay that much for a room if I was going to be in the parks all day, but for a stand alone resort, or if you have non-park days mixed into your trip, it was absolutely worth every single penny! Read less

We love everything about Disney. With that said Animal Kingdom Lodge is due for a refurbishment. It’s been on the DVC schedule for a few years now but it’s time. We stayed in a two bedroom villa and it’s dated and worn. The cabinets are beaten up, the furniture is worn and the decor is in need of a refresh. With that said this is comparing this to the “Disney standard”. In many hotels this may be acceptable but it’s not compared to the other Disney resorts at this level. The location has always been the biggest issue of AKL and it remains so. The animals, as limited as they are, are the offset to this but it’s not really worth it. The pool area is insane. Could not have been more crowded. Think Disney cruise pool at a resort. The food options here are quite good but you would be better off staying at a different resort and coming here to eat. When the refurbishment and update comes this resort will be back to its glory. Location will still be an issue but it will still be a good place to stay. Read less

This was our second stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, it is a beautiful resort that holds a special place in my heart. We booked a DVC deluxe studio and there were four of us staying in one room, two of us on a queen size bed and two teenagers on a sofa bed. We booked a standard view and were lucky enough to overlook one of the people pens and so actually we had a partial savannah view. We LOVED our room location this time it was perfect and to see the giraffe, zebra and ostriches right outside our room when we were expecting a car park view was magical and something I am so grateful for. The sofa bed: we requested a mattress topper from reception as the sofa beds are notoriously uncomfortable, we knew this in advance from reading other reviews so we were prepared for this. It’s just about passable with the topper but this needs to be addressed by Disney going forward as I feel they do let the room down for DVC guests. Last time we stayed in a normal guest room with two queen beds and that was much more comfortable. I believe the Dvc rooms are due a refurb so perhaps this will be addressed then. Space: for four adult sized guests drawer space is limited and there is no under bed storage. In the DVC room there was also no sliding door closet, the wardrobe was small and freestanding and so cases had to be stored in the room in the vanity area. Having stayed for two nights at the drury plaza Disney springs, this room felt smaller in comparison. I will also say that we found the walls to be very thin between the DVC rooms, perhaps because they can be booked as interconnecting rooms. There was a young baby in the room next door who kept us awake at night crying. We did really like the kitchenette area and this was very useful for making breakfast in the room. We had a grocery delivery from garden grocer held at bell services on arrival so each morning we made toast/cereal in the room. For UK guests who drink tea be aware there is no kettle only a coffee pot. We love the pool area, we ate at Sanaa which we highly recommend, we ate also at Boma for the evening buffet and this was great too. We thought food at the Mara was not quite as good as it was on our last trip but it was fine. We booked DVC through David’s Vacations because it was over £2000 cheaper than booking direct with Disney, the trade off for that was there was no house keeping visits, the sofa bed wasn’t the most comfortable (which I knew about in advance) and the interconnecting room was noisy (we were probably just unlucky with the baby to be honest) but we got the partial savannah view which was absolutely incredible. All in all we love this hotel, it’s beautiful and none of what I’ve said above is me being negative, just things that I’m glad I knew/would like to know before we arrived! We love Animal Kingdom Lodge! Read less