Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, FL

I booked this hotel because we wanted to see animals from our balcony. I saw 2 giraffes in the distance one day, one zebra the next day, and some birds. I am here now and just got up at 7 am and no animals to be seen on Arusha Savannah. I did see some on the Sunset Savannah side as I walked down the hall. I find it strange that so few are coming this way. The lobby is beautiful and our room was clean and it’s pretty quiet except for some loud neighbors who probably just arrived. They have their little kids screaming on the balcony next door. My kids aren’t crazy about the food. So it’s just ok. Below is a picture of the empty Savannah from my room.

As South African travelers, we have a unique perspective on this Disney resort. While the Animal Kingdom Lodge is undoubtedly impressive to many international guests, it presents differently to those familiar with African game lodges. PROS: - Animals visible from balconies/public areas - Extremely friendly and courteous staff - Beautiful pool area and surroundings - Convenient laundry facilities - African-inspired architecture CONS: - Very dark interior with heavy wood themes - Significant noise issues: * Poor soundproofing between rooms * Hallway noise until late night * Early morning disturbances (from 6AM) * Constant rolling luggage noise * Can hear neighboring rooms clearly - Facilities showing age in places - Laundry room lacks basic amenities (no sink/sanitizer) The lodge attempts to recreate an African safari experience, which might be magical for European or American visitors. However, for South Africans familiar with authentic game lodges, it feels like a themed interpretation rather than the real thing. VERDICT: While well-executed for Disney's target market, we'd recommend South African travelers choose other Disney resorts that offer unique American experiences instead. Light sleepers should definitely consider other options due to the significant noise issues throughout the day and night. Perfect for: First-time safari experience, families with children, heavy sleepers Not ideal for: South African travelers seeking authentic experiences, light sleepers, those wanting peaceful mornings/evenings​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Jambo House. I’ll start off my saying this is my favourite Disney resort - mostly because of the animals. But it isn’t without its faults and there are some small things I think Disney could do that would make this such a superb place. I stayed for two weeks December 2024. Overall resort: The resort itself is gorgeous. There’s no other way to put it. All that dark wood, the artwork, the wonderful smells. And it’s even more gorgeous at Christmas with the incredible tree and the gingerbread animals, as well as the concessions stand. It really does feel like home walking into the resort. It’s my little oasis. It did get super busy at times with people visiting to see the Christmas set-up and I’ve noticed on this trip especially how very rude and selfish the average person is. It’s annoying to be staying somewhere and coming back after a hard parks day to be greeted with rude people and chaos in the lobby. Room: The rooms are just so much better than moderate. More space, more storage, little extras like mouse keeping (though please bring back towel animals - we didn’t get a single one this trip and that’s sad. Not just for kids you know!). Everything was clean and mouse keeping was spot on. We were also lucky enough to get a wonderful partial savanna view and it was incredible seeing so many animals every day. I would absolutely request this room again. I always find it so peaceful coming back to the resort after the chaos of the parks to spend some time watching the animals. I just wish some parents would stop their children screaming at them. Downside of the room is that we did have a neighbour at the end of the stay who allowed their children to stampede around like a herd of elephant at 11.30pm and again at 5am which made sleep super difficult. We could hear everything they were discussing too, and know way more about their finances than we would care to! So soundproofing is pretty bad and your experience will depend on who is staying next door. Coffee is also pretty bad in the rooms, and the rooms lack little deluxe touches like night time chocolate on the pillow or other special things that go a HUGE way to making guests feel special. Amenities: Some of the best food on property, hands down. I didn’t enjoy Jiko nearly as much as I have on previous visits and I will outline why in a separate review, but overall, the Mara, Boma, Jiko, and Sanaa over at Kidani make this one of the better resorts for food locations. Victoria Falls was also excellent (again, will review separately) and the gift shop is fantastic with some wonderful cast members. Bus service is also very good and frequent though we only used it a handful of times this trip compared to previous. Bell Services/Valet: This was shockingly bad. Check-out was so bad I’ve submitted a complaint. We are expected to check out by 11 but it was impossible to get a trolley or assistance to move some very heavy items to the vehicle. We asked multiple people repeatedly and they had clearly been trained to assist people checking in but not worry so much about those leaving as we were asked each time which we were. We were made to feel like we didn’t matter since we were leaving and Disney already had our money. We kept being told it was unusually busy and they couldn’t say when they could help, yet we saw multiple empty trolleys waiting/left around/in the back room. We needed it for five minutes only. In the end we made repeated trips ourselves and lugged everything by hand but this meant pulling the vehicle up close to the front of the resort where we were again told conflicting information from cast members about where we could leave it in order to load it and we were then told we were taking too long! Disney, this is a deluxe resort. This attitude and behaviour is unacceptable. I’m not sure if it’s the same elsewhere but it has made me want to stay elsewhere which is such a shame. Overall, I still love Jambo House. It was my first Disney love and it’s such a unique experience. But it does need to tweak some things to make it a nicer stay.

This place is pretty expensive. It’s also pretty awesome. The interior design is very cool. And from your room windows you can watch the animals walking around the reserve. It’s hard to leave the room when you can sit and watch zebras and giraffes (and others) walking around outside. It’s a pretty cool place. The rooms are pretty standard size. And are very clean.

Very disappointed! We have stayed here twice before and it was amazing. This time was very disappointing. House keeping did not clean the room. Just made the bed and refilled towels. One of the biggest amenities is the fire pit at the main lobby and despite requests from numerous guests, management gave numerous excuses.