Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - A Review

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

19 Sep 2006 08:30 AM

Are you considering a trip to Disney World soon? Are you looking at all the different Disney World resorts and trying to figure out which one will be the best to stay at for you and your family? Let me share with you my experiences staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in October of 2005.

Deluxe Resort

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is considered one of the deluxe resorts and it's actually located the furthest from all the theme parks save for the Animal Kingdom itself. The Lodge offers Savannah view rooms that look out over part of the Animal Kingdom's savannah. If you choose a savannah view room and we did, you will be able to see the animals of the animal kingdom right outside your window.

We had a front row view for giraffes, zebras, antelope, bongo and more. The exotic wildlife is only part of the beautiful parcel you will find at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's decorated in an African motif, but with a flavor of Disney. There are tribal masks on all the doors and African art decorating the halls, the lobby and more.

There are huge woodcarvings and even though the wood is dark, but they still manage to keep it colorful and bright and airy in spite of the dark wood. There is a great restaurant there at the Lodge that serves good dishes, but we didn't eat there. Instead we enjoyed the room service - and having a pot of hot cocoa delivered every night was a great capper to our days at the parks.

Amenities

The swimming pool area is large and luxurious and there's a great water slide. It's the perfect place to relax for a few hours when you need some downtime from running around the parks. There's also a Disney bus service that provides you transportation to all of the theme parks. The ride is about 20 minutes tops to all save to the Animal Kingdom and that's only 5 minutes away.

The workout room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge is a bit of a hike and that's one of the few drawbacks to the Lodge, everything is a hike, including your room. After a long day of walking around the parks, the long walk to the room is a bit of a downer. On the other hand, once you get there - the view from the balcony is definitely worth it.

I enjoyed my morning coffee every day on the balcony, watching the animals wake up and we have dozens of pictures of the animals visible from our room. Our daughter kept track of each of the animals she saw on the information sheets provided by the hotel. Be sure to stop at guest services to rent a free pair of night vision goggles so you can see the nocturnal animals that come out after dark.

There is a kid's club and babysitting service available at the Lodge and you just need to give them some notice about when you need to use it. They say they have hi-speed Internet access, but it's not in the rooms or at least we couldn't access it from our room, but that was okay. I took a bus over to the Polynesian when I needed to email in any work.

Hidden Mickey's

Every resort has hidden Mickey's and there are challenges to finding them. I'll give you a couple of hints for some of the hidden Mickey's at the Animal Kingdom Lodge - you'll have to find the rest on your own.

• In the main entrance to the lobby, between the inner and outer doors, there is a mural on the wall - look at the spots on the creature
• As you enter the main lobby, be sure to look at the chandeliers very carefully

Also, make some time for the kids' events that are hosted by the Animal Kingdom Lodge. My daughter made a mask and other crafts while she was there. We also stopped in for a couple of nights of storytelling around the fire pit.

I have to say, overall the Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great experience for any family and while it's a bit pricey - it's definitely worth the money. Have you ever stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge?

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Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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SJLong (15) 22 Sep 2006 12:14 PM

Why, yes, I have!

Which should come as no surprise, of course.

I loved staying at the lodge. The rooms were comfortable, the service good, and the access to the animals was absolutely wonderful. The savannah rooms gave the best view but there is also an observation walk that stretches out between the wings of the hotel. When the walk is open (which is most of the time) it allows you direct viewing access to many of the different types of animals while at ground level.

The mentioned walk did get to the point where I would dread it after a long day at the parks but, also as mentioned, it was more than made up for by sitting on the balcony and watching the wildlife. The only thing I truly regret about our stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was that we didn't get a chance to go on the feeding safari and ride with the animal feeders during their rounds.

THAT would have capped the vacation perfectly!

Oh, well. Something for next time!

-S

Valorie Delp (49340) 05 Nov 2006 06:32 AM

We are planning a vacation to Disney World in March. I will be watching your blogs closely! We were going to go to Hawaii though but oh well. ;-) The Animal Kingdom is high on my list of things to visit.