Animal kingdom lodge is a beautiful resort known for its naturalistic African theming and the wildlife that lives on its grounds! This resort has been a bucket list resort for as long as we can remember and we couldnt wait to check it out. Although we would normally pick this resort before a cruise vacation, we decided to stay there during a quick weekend park trip instead.
Animal Kingdom Lodge was the first of our deluxe resort stays and we were curious how it would differ from our moderate resort stays in the past. We had always heard that once you go deluxe, you can never go back, and we were willing to put that to the test.
Right next door to Animal Kingdom Theme Park, the resort is gorgeously themed as an African naturalist park. From the moment you walk through its doors, you are immediately transported to an African lodge.
This resort is perfect for families who want to stay in a secluded resort . Located out of reach of the typical hustle and bustle of the disney parks, the resort has a very calming atmosphere. Although AKL is close to animal kingdom, AKL easily feels like you are in your own little world.
While being secluded is a great thing when you want a relaxing vacation, it can also mean transportation limitations. Unlike the other deluxe resorts, Animal kingdom lodge does not have convenient access to the theme parks (outside of animal kingdom). The only transportation option to the parks is via bus. We personally try to avoid the buses when we can, and did not like having to rely on the bus schedule during our stay. There were a few times during our stay that the bus left earlier than the schedule posted and we ended up waiting more than 15 minutes for another bus.
As a last minute trip, we ended up with a resort view. If we could do it again, we would definitely pick a savana view for the convenience of watching the animals from your own balcony; however, there were plenty of open places for us to view the savana without having a savana view.
We found several nice viewing areas by wandering around and even found a nice covered outdoor patio with rocking chairs located to the left of the lobby.
Upon arrival, we chose to head straight to our room to drop off our things. The room was beautiful! Unlike some other disney resort rooms we had stayed in previously, AKL lodge rooms are perfectly themed.
We loved the multiple nods towards the lion king that were hidden around the room.
before checking out the rest of the resort, we made sure to plug our magic bands in so that theyd be fully charged for the Halloween party later that evening. Upon arrival back at the room an hour later, we were disappointed to discover that the USB plugs were broken in our room. Unfortunately, this meant our magic bands were not charged in time for the Halloween party. We did let the front desk know, but nothing was done about the concern for the rest of the stay. We recommend checking the outlets upon arrival no matter what resort you stay at to ensure everythings working properly.
We made sure to check out the fan favorite restaurants located at Animal kingdom lodge. Two of the restaurants, Saunna and Boma, lived up to the hype. I was reluctant to try Boma for breakfast, but was immediately glad to have the reservations upon tasting the first of many plates! There is something for everyone to enjoy at Boma. Unfortunately we had to cancel our jiko reservation due to the timing of our fight home.
Be sure to try the zebra domes, which are located throughout the resort at Boma and the market. They are made with chocolate liquer for a delicious treat!
One of our favorite parts of the resort was the bead activities. Although we spent the majority of our stay at the parks, we still had some free time and managed to get most of the beaded activities completed before checking out. The bead activities are a group of free activities that are located throughout Jambo house and kidani village. You can find them by searching for the bead activity sign or asking for the schedule ahead of time!
These fun and educational series of games involve learning about African culture. For each activity you complete, you are given the cooresponding bead to add to your string. There are 9 beads in total. The 9th bead can only be earned once you have completed every activity. One of the coolest parts about stringing your beads is that everyone's beads will look different based on the order you completed the activities in. We recommend checking out the schedule upon arrival at the resort because certain activities are only done at specific parts of the day. Due to how short of a stay we had, we are still missing our final two beads.
Overall, AKL is a beautiful resort with great theming, amazing food, and fun activities that everyone in the family will enjoy. The only thing lacking is the transportation options for the resort. We would love to see disney offer other transportation options at AKL in the future. Until then, we will most likely stay at other resorts when visiting the theme parks. In the future, we would gladly book animal kingdom lodge again for a savanna view for a resort only stay or before a cruise vacation.
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