Reviews of Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House (Deluxe Resort)

Reviews

80

Rating

8.38 / 10

Recommended By

94%



Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 10/21/2023

Rating: (7)
Recommended

beautiful but don't spend enough time there for what we pay

Pros:

animals, beautiful lodge

Cons:

expensive
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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 08/06/2023

Rating: (9)
Recommended

Recently stayed here. Best resort I’ve stayed at! Room was a little bit of a walk from the lobby. Pool was nice. Room was themed well. View was amazing. Buses were not a problem. Came one after another. Never waited in a line for a bus. Best dining in Disney world here! Overall really fantastic service and stay here!

Pros:

Savanna view Zebra Domes Boma, Jiko, and Sanaa

Cons:

Buses Big resort
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Reviewed by Iluvvacations Review Date: 07/07/2023

Rating: (8)
Recommended

If you have kids (or adults) that are animal lovers this place is worth it. Make sure you get a savanna room. We were on the ostrich trail and saw most animals from our room. If I stayed again I would request the Kudu Trail. The Mara, Boma and Sanaa were good. Be sure to reserve a Starlight tour at 60 days out. The bus service is not great. I feel like if a deluxe only has bus service it should come more often than every 20 minutes. I regret to Ubering to parks every day. I also think the pool could be nicer. It’s fine, but the pool at Universal Portofino is better. It’s also very far from everything except AK.

Pros:

Animals! Lots of dining options.

Cons:

Bus service Mediocre pool
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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 06/17/2023

Rating: (10)
Recommended

We absolutely loved staying here. My favorite resort so far. We booked a standard room, but saw giraffes, deer, and vultures daily from our balcony.
Food was great at Mara. Awesome quick service for a deluxe resort. Perfect for my picky eaters. Zebra domes! Boma buffet breakfast was outstanding.
Pool was beautiful too. Kids loved the slide.

Pros:

Animals, food, pool, Simba’s Cubhouse.

Cons:

Far away from Magic Kingdom by bus.
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Reviewed by Lifewithkelskels Review Date: 12/06/2022

Rating: (8)
Recommended

We really enjoyed our stay at the Animal Kingdom lodge. I loved having a savanna room and being able to look out of my balcony and see the animals. We ate dinner at Sanaa and it was incredible! The room was also very nice and clean and felt like a deluxe experience. I will say, we stayed near the lobby and I do not recommend this at all. The hallway was noisy and I didn't sleep very well. This is a pretty popular hotel, so it was busy. The buses were always busy and this was the only mode of transportation for this resort.

Pros:

The animals! Incredible food options, the pool, nice rooms.

Cons:

Very busy, it was too loud. Only bus transportation
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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 10/03/2022

Rating: (9)
Recommended

We loved our stay here! The theming is incredible and we loved how unique this experience was.

Pros:

Theming, awesome restaurants and fun activities. The Animals of course!

Cons:

It is busy, there’s a lot of people here. We didn’t sleep well because of noise. Ask to stay further from the lobby if possible.
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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 07/27/2022

Rating: (9)
Recommended

We come to Disney one to two times a year. We're a small family of 4 and a military family. Our first trip together we stayed here and LOVED IT!. This was in 2019. The rooms were nice and and "roomy" for 4 of us 2 adults and 2 kids 4 & 10. We fell in love with the Savanah view room. Some mornings we would wake and find our children just sitting on the balcony observing the animals. When Disney closed in 2020 we were sad when we returned in April of 2021 and Animal Kingdom was closed. We missed Jiko and Sanaa. However, returned in Dec of 2021 for Christmas and loved it! The only downside is its SO FAR AWAY from everything and without Minnie lift it takes forever to get to and from the parks

Pros:

Jiko, Sanna, Animals outside your door! Nice pool never over crowded, Clean rooms, lovely showers.

Cons:

Long bus wait times. If someone with EV comes they and there crew will easily take half a buss no matter how long you have been waiting
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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 07/07/2022

Rating: (10)
Recommended

If you regularly rope drop Kilimanjaro Safari, then this is the perfect resort for you. You are basically living inside the attraction. There is nothing quite like having a glass of wine on your balcony while watching a zebra chase the little goats around. You can find a lot of criticism of this resort directed at the distance the rooms are from the lobby, but that’s necessary if you want to be immersed in the savanna (and if you don’t then definitely stay somewhere else). AK is the most immersive resort on property. Truly magical.

Pros:

A perfectly constructed African fantasy world.

Cons:

Busses. They send the same number of busses here as the other resorts but they take twice as long and there is ALWAYS a wait. They seriously need to have more allotted to this resort.
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Reviewed by TeacherManJoe Review Date: 05/31/2022

Rating: (9)
Recommended

Wowowowowow, Animal Kingdom Lodge is breathtaking in a host of ways.

Firstly, the obvious: Having a full-on Savannah on property is just mind-blowing. With many of the animals you get to see on the Kilimanjaro Safari in the park, BUT AT A FREAKING RESORT, you’re in for a treat whether you are staying here or just visiting. Add the fact that you have the option (if you’ve got the moolah) to have a Savannah-view room and wake up to Giraffes (my favorite) hanging out near your window and you’ve got a unique experience you won’t find anywhere else. (We don’t personally have the moolah for this, but were given a VERY nice wedding gift of a stay here, and it was breathtaking). Pro-tip: There is a nighttime safari offered here at AKL that is AWESOME if you get the chance. We were gifted this by a cousin during our stay and you get to go around the Savannahs at the lodge with night vision goggles and learn more about the animals up close and personal in a safari vehicle and it was just DOPE!

Next, as if you needed more, the actual theming here is beautiful. From the insanely beautiful lobby, with African art, carvings, and cultural representations throughout (and that bridge!), to the theming inside of the rooms, the theming here is top-notch and up there as the best on property.

Then there is the dining! With two of the better restaurants in all of Disney World (Jiko and Sanaa), as well as a delicious option in Boma as well, the dining at Animal Kingdom Lodge is arguably unrivaled by most other resorts. Whether just coming here to dine at one of these or dining at one as part of a stay at the resort, you get lots of the greatest parts of the resort included in your dining experience.

Now, the ONE reason why I review AKL as a 9 instead of a 10 out of 10 is because of distance. When we stayed here, we were in a room that was quite far from the lobby. As such, to get to the buses each day and back to our room involved quite a long walk. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but after a long day of Disney walking, it definitely was not ideal. Additionally, AKL is pretty far from most of the parks, with the exception of Animal Kingdom of course, and so bud rides to and from the parks were typically 30 minutes or more. Again, not necessarily deal-breaking. However, this was a bit of a bother as people who like to spend as much time in the parks as possible.

All in all though, AKL is a resort that I would consider one of the most unique in Disney, and arguably one of the most unique you will find ANYWHERE. Between the top-notch amenities, the excellent dining, and the beautiful theming throughout, this is a resort well worth the Deluxe price tag if you can afford it (again, even though we cannot normally). The distance, both walking and transportation, does affect the experience just a bit. However, it is not enough to completely ruin what is otherwise a near-perfect resort experience.

As a sidebar: I experienced one of the most beautiful Cast Member “magic moments” in the gift shop here that I have ever seen in Disney or my life in general. I know that these happen every day and all around the parks and resorts, but the fact that I saw it here will always stick with me.

Pros:

Simply breathtaking in theming, dining, and the inclusion of a Savannah AT THE RESORT Well worth the premium price tag Top-notch service

Cons:

Distance from everything, both walking to the lobby, and bussing to the parks While worth it, this is an expensive resort
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Reviewed by WaltDisneyWorldTraveler Review Date: 03/17/2022

Rating: (5)
Not Recommended

AKL has hands down the most incredible lobby and unique food options in all of Disney World. Where else can you experience live Africa wildlife right outside your window? The downside is that this resort does not have much outside space where you can walk and enjoy getting close to the animals. Even with a savanna room view; you are still quite far from the animals. The lobby is impressive; but the rest of the resort appears to be an afterthought. Would recommended getting a dinner reservation for either Jiko or Boma; so that you can enjoy the lobby - but would not recommended staying the night.

Pros:

Stellar lobby experience with incredible sit-down food options

Cons:

Long-endless hallways make you fee trapped. No outdoor walking spaces. The quick-service dining is equivalent to a high school cafeteria. The pool is quite boring.
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