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Name: Crystal
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Fair
Quality of the room: Good
Review: Our trip: 6/26/08-7/1/08. The lobby itself is impressive and the rooms (for two adults) are sufficiently spacious. The food at both restaurants is fantastic (though pricey) and heavily spiced, so beware--if you have a sensitive stomach these won't be the places for you to eat.  Lines in the gift shop were always long, as were the waits at the restaurants EVEN WITH RESERVATIONS.

Our main complaints: 1) The view from our room, which did include an impressive array of animals, also included lots of facilities buildings, heavy machinery and construction of the new AKL Disney Vacation complex.  2) the morning of check-out we received notice on our door that we had been "randomly selected to check out at Orlando International Airport" rather than being able to use their super-convenient check-out service at the front desk.

Otherwise, we had a great time and enjoyed seeing zebras, giraffes, gazelles, ostriches, wildebeests, ankole cattle and other wildlife from our hotel room. It made the inconveniences more than tolerable, but we were kind of disappointed that the hotel experience wasn't as completely seamless as the theme parks usually are.
 

Name: Judy 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge during the week of Thanksgiving.  The staff was very courteous and helpful.  The rooms had the feel of an African wilderness lodge in the bush.  Having the animals right outside was an added bonus.  We will definitely stay there on our next trip and have recommended it to several other families.
 

Name: Eric 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: My wife and I stayed at AK Lodge for the first time in May of 2005.
We went there on our honeymoon.  It was the best time I have ever had at Disney.  When you walk into the lodge there is a smell of fresh burning wood and the food from Boma mixed.  This is the best smell ever.  Our room was great.  Our first night they gave us turn down service.  All of the staff were great to us and to the other guest.  My experience at AK Lodge will keep me on Disney property any time I stay in Florida. 

Name: Lauren 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: Just got back from a trip in December '04. Amazing hotel, absolutely gorgeous. When you first pull up you think "wow! this is the most beautiful place I've ever seen!" and once you go inside that feeling stays with you. You feel as if you are truly in Africa. The staff was so nice and were willing to answer any question you had, no matter how dumb or dorky it was. The pool area was so pretty, and when we went in early December the place was empty, many times we had the pool to ourselves except maybe a few others. Boma was delicious, it was nice to try some real African food. The animals were so nice to look at early in the morning before you hit the parks. Now I know many people seem to be complaining about the walk from the room to the lobby. But we got a standard view room and we were literally 3 doors down the hall, so the lobby was RIGHT THERE we had no walk at all to the bus stops or lobby. Even though we didn't have a Savanna view there were plenty of viewing areas and walk-ways that we didn't need the Savanna room. We got up early every morning and walked right down the hall to the outside viewing areas and just watched the animals, and even better almost every time we were the only ones out there. So in my opinion the Savanna upgrade isn't necessarily worth it. It was an amazing hotel and I recommend it to everyone, you have to see it to believe it!
 

Name: Joyce 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: I was amazed when reading some of the negative reviews with respect to this absolutely beautiful resort.  If your top priority is to save money, you should not be looking at staying at the Deluxe resorts in the first place.  That is what the Value and/or Moderate resorts are for ... or a lesser quality hotel offsite.  The AKL is also not the place to stay if you are expecting a 2-bedroom suite, just because you may be paying more than the Value or Moderate resorts (next time look at the many websites that provide the room layouts and square footage).  However, if you wish to be impressed with an architectural gem, relaxing atmosphere, and a little something to trigger every one of your senses, than this is the resort for you.  It is gorgeous!!! ... and, it is priced accordingly!  And the beautiful animals are just added bonus!!! 
 

Name: Vicki 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Good
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: We only stayed here one night but it was wonderful. The staff is friendly, the hotel is beautiful! We had a bunk bed room, it was very nice. The Boma was good especially the FRUNCH!!!! Very nice hotel! Yes it is expensive, but it's worth it.
 

Name: Don 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Fair
Quality of the room: Fair
Review: Just got back from AKL were there first week in March, 2004. Hotel is beautiful. Everything is from Africa, the furniture, the staff, the food, the music. It's awesome, especially the buffet at Boma.  If your going to stay at AKL pay for the savannah view. My kids (age 4 and 5) loved it.  Now here's the but....It's expensive. Our room was small, kids loved the bunk beds but it was tight. We didn't spend much time in the room so it was OK.  The restaurants were great but expensive, $40 bucks for the breakfast buffet for the 4 of us, dinner buffet was $90 and that's no alcohol. Still the food was awesome so try it at least once.  bus service was prompt.  Will we go back? To WDW - Absolutely. To AKL - probally not. Unless you plan on spending time in the room go for the moderate price range and save money for the fun stuff.
 

Name: Craig 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: The Animal Kingdom Lodge has learned from the problems of other deluxe hotels on-site and created the most beautiful atmosphere.  Although the hotel is not exactly central, the rooms are beautiful, the hallways are beautiful, the food area is excellent, and the pool is beautiful and huge, perfect for our 3 and 6 years olds.  We had a beautiful poolside room, and every morning we would wake up to the beautiful sounds of relaxing African music.  Boma was definitely unusual, but everyone had a great time and loved the food.  With the frequent deals available at this hotel, this is one of my favorite hotels in all of Disney...absolutely beautiful.

Name: Leslie 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Poor
Quality of the room: Good
Review: We recently stayed at the AKL and really had an enjoyable time. The only complaints I had were 1)The room was quite small for 2 adults 2 children and an infant. 2) We had to pay $10 a night for a refrigerator, We have stayed at Days Inn for $45 per night, bigger room, fridge, and a microwave! why does Disney have to be so greedy? of course the view & atmosphere are better, but still. 3)They really need to build another pool. The pool was quite full every time we went down to swim. They have plenty of room to add another pool, maybe on the other side of the hotel. Other than those minor details, we would definitely recommend staying at AKL.

Name: Lindsay 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Fair
Quality of the room: Good
Review: When you drive up to the Animal Kingdom Lodge you cannot help but think that its beautiful. It actually feels like you are in Africa. The hotel is beautiful both inside and out but the beauty ends when it comes to the rooms. For the money you pay you would expect to be staying in a large luxurious room. The rooms were VERY small and you definitely were not getting what you paid for. The hotel has three restaurants; Boma the buffet (25.00 per person), which has a very small selection and unless you like over-seasoned food (not to mention with very strong African spices) this place is not for you. The regular restaurant is Jiko, which is way too pricey for any normal family to afford. Last is the "Food Court". It has a very small selection. The food was terrible and not to mention EXTREMELY expensive! ONE teabag costs 1.79! The pool was beautiful and the staff was very friendly. Altogether my family had a great time. But you may want to consider going to another hotel like Port Orleans or others on that level which cater to normal families and not ones that want to spend 50.00 on breakfast. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great example that paying more money doesn't always give you better quality.

Name: Kari 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: The resort is just beautiful, the rooms were very well kept. Our kids loved the towel animals the housekeepers made up for them each day. The food at Boma is just wonderful. We ate there every morning but 2 and I would highly recommend it. The mugs were convenient and we got our money's worth. I liked that the pool area was right next to the Mara so while everyone was relaxing by the pool I could walk over and refill all the mugs. We loved the atmosphere, the busing system was always on time and we never had to wait longer than 5 minutes for any park. Our room was on the 3rd floor overlooking the Arusha Savannah and we saw animals ALL day long regardless of what another poster has stated on here. There was always at least one or 2 animals or birds lingering below the balcony. This was our first time on Disney property and I loved the resort as did my family and 2 children (6 and 3).  We would definitely recommend it as a family oriented resort with a helpful staff, friendly service and great food!

Name: Michelle 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Poor
Quality of the room: Poor
Review: We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for 6 nights (Feb. 2nd-8th). This was our first time staying on Disney Property, and something I had looked forward to for a very long time. I had originally wanted to stay in the Polynesian or the Contemporary, but after reading so many opinions on line speaking highly about the AKL, and poorly about the Polynesian and Contemporary saying they were old and too small, I chose to go with the A.K.L. instead. Maybe that was a mistake?
Upon driving up to the Lodge and then entering into the A.K.L.'s Lobby, we were very impressed with it's beauty and huge size. It was as if we had stepped into another world without taking a long expensive flight to Africa. And I'm sure this is exactly what Disney is going for to begin the illusion that you are staying somewhere very special. The counter service was excellent (at check-in only, at other times I found the staff to be on the snobbish side, so I tried not to ask questions or for help), and even though check-in was not until 3pm, our room was ready at Noon upon our arrival. This is not always the case as the couple next to us was told their room wouldn't be ready until 3pm, so we were off to a nice start.  We had a Florida discount rate of $177.71 per night (tax included) for a room with a balcony overlooking the Arusha Savanna on the 2nd floor which is one floor down from where you check in on the third floor.  Our view was very good; however, you only see animals early in the morning from sun rise until about 11 am, and then again from when the sun sets until about 7pm and then again from 10pm until 11 pm. This is something they forget to mention when you make the reservations. We were under the impression that the animals would be on each Savanna at all times; however, the Savanna is beautiful even though you can see the fences which kind of takes away from the illusion of being in Africa.  Even so, it's neat how the night time lighting on the Savanna looks like real moonlight, and though each night at 10pm they have a special night vision viewing from the  Arusha Rock, you really don't need the night vision goggles. Seeing the animals from our balcony and the African decor were the only things different and positive with our room, and these 2 things were not worth the money we shelled out to stay on property.
The Lodge was huge, and you do have to hike to go from the lobby, to restaurants, and to the rooms, but it's so pretty with so much art work to enjoy, we hardly noticed the distance :LOL, well at least  the first time, but after that and especially late at night when we wanted to refill our souvenir mugs down in the Mara restaurant which on the first floor on the opposite side of the lodge, so we had to go up to the third floor, do some hiking, then take the elevator back down to the first floor, and then hike out past the pool, this hike was horrible. A lodge this huge needs at the very least Mara type snack bars in more than one place to take off of all the painful and tiring hiking for it's guests. I mean, it's not like they don't have the room to add on a few more snack bars the place is so big!  Don't we do enough walking, and pay big bucks to do so in their parks?!  Anyway, the re-fillable souvenir mugs are $10.99 each (worth the money BUT, UGLY LOOKING MUGS! Couldn't they at least put Mickey on there?!), and there are two sizes, so if you drink a lot of coffee, hot chocolate (yummy hot chocolate by the way), or soda, make sure you get the larger size.  We ate breakfast and dinner in the Mara restaurant several times which breakfast we enjoyed more as we took it back to our room to eat on the balcony while watching the animals which was the best thing about this lodge. And of course, as in the parks, their food is much too expensive for what you get. We had better meals at Shoney's and Steak N' Shakes on HWY 192 10-15 minutes away.  There are also different things for guest to partake in like story telling each night around the fire pit outside. But to tell you the truth, we were so busy at the parks and Downtown Disney once the parks were closed, and some dinner shows, that we didn't have the time to partake in the activities available for guests other than going to one night of story telling which was enough for us. The girl was so boring, mono-toned, and used a story that I first heard Captain Kangaroo read on TV. back in the 1970's. As a matter of fact, I recently bought the book for my son because it's one of my childhood favorites. So when she proclaimed that it was an old time tale told to her by an African chef, well it just came across as  lame. Especially since she kept fumbling over her words, forgetting parts and having to back track to get it right so the crowd could understand it. The book is a better read, Caps For Sale: A tale of a Peddler, some  monkeys and their Monkey Business told and illustrated by Esphyr Slobodkina.
The worst thing about our stay was the room.  The room was very, very small, and with two adults, one 4 yr. old, and 1 infant that doesn't even crawl yet, it was hard to not bump into one another constantly. The balcony is also very tiny as well. Had I known how small the room was going to be, I would have gotten a non-Savanna view room for just $109.00 per night, and then used the many very large viewing balconies open to anyone throughout the lodge to use which were always empty, and had rocking chairs. No, actually had I known how small the room was going to be, I would have paid $50.00 a night with a coupon and stayed at the Clarion that is only 4 minutes away and has bigger rooms and a friendlier staff too.  In addition to the lame story telling, snobbish staff, over priced rooms, we feel this lodge (and probably any other Disney properties, I'm guessing) are just plain and simple over rated.  The TV. commercials do a great job in selling happiness and a magical vacation should you stay on Disney property, but it's all an illusion to sucker us into paying the big bucks for beautiful scenery and nothing more.
Our overall opinion of staying on Disney property is unless you are a hotel kind of person, meaning you and your family enjoy just sitting around the hotel lobby or pool to get your money's worth of Disney's Magical Atmosphere, then save your money and stay at the Clarion which is just up the road from the A.K.L. and enjoy spending that extra cash on the many things to do while on vacation in the Kississimmee/Orlando area. We can not recommend highly enough that every person should go the ARABIAN KNIGHTS dinner show at least one time. It is so enjoyable and simply breath taking at the end. It's sure to make you get goose bumps and/or shed a tear. Save your money and time though on The Pirates Dinner Show! HORRIBLE!!!!! The Medieval Times Dinner Show is also very good!  So sorry, Disney, but this is one family who will never stay on Disney property again, and I really hope that my opinion helps other families save their time and money from making the same mistake we did. Your customer service has gone completely down hill, especially in the Parks. It's hard to find a Disney employee in the stores who is willing to help you find anything. The people on the phone half the time aren't helpful either. I think Disney needs to retrain most of their employees in customer service!
 

Name: Gina 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Fair
Quality of the room: Fair
Review: We requested a Savannah view room and received one, but it was
definitely not the best room in the house.  The hotel was 99.5% occupancy
in mid-October, probably due the the Caribbean Beach remodel.  We didn't
get to see the giraffes very often from our room, usually only when the
trucks were luring then to another area of the Savannah.  Boma's had great
food, the food court had a limited variety.  It is a far ride to the Magic
Kingdom, so if you are going with small children where you feel you will be
spending a lot of your time there, I would not stay at this hotel.  The
staff was courteous, the cleaning adequate.  I did like the overall look
and feel of the hotel though.  The pool was great with a slide and
zero-depth.  They also provide life vest for young swimmers.  I plan on
staying at a different resort next time.
 

Name: Jeanna 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Fair
Quality of the room: Good
Review: We recently stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for 11 days and were not impressed. It may be great for those who love the animal theme. The best way to explain it is "How often do you feel like going to the zoo?"  The food court is very minimal in comparison to other resorts like the All Stars or Caribbean Beach.  We were located in the furthest rooms from the Food Court which made it quite a hike if you just want to refill your Souvenir Mug. The people were great, as they usually are in Disney. However, for the extra money, I didn't think it was really worth it. We will try the Polynesian next time. We have heard nothing but great reviews.
 

Name: Gail 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: This hotel is absolutely MAGIC. When you first arrive, and you realize the entire thing is a THATCH-ROOF African Lodge, it's awe-inspiring! You walk into the lobby and you hear soft drumming, you smell cooking fires and sweet flowers, and look across into the Savannah and you see the reason you're here -- the animals. Our flight got in very early in the morning, and "official" check in time isn't til 3:00 pm. The reservation host at the front desk had us in our room by 10:30 in the morning. The bellman was actually African -- from Kenya. On our way to the elevators, he made sure
we knew how to contact him if we had any questions -- about his homeland!  In fact, about 3/4 of the hotel's cast members were native African, and were able to answer every question the kids had about the animals in the four different Savannahs, about food, and especially about legends. My favorite time of the day was before the large fire pit where every night stories were told. The pool and waterslide were great fun -- and HUGE!  The room was ingeniously designed for maximum viewing of the Savannah, and I liked the fact that the dressing area with 2 sinks was kept separate from the bath & facilities. The kids loved that they could have bunk beds instead of sharing a double, too. The furniture was carved in African designs, heavy wood, with colors you would expect in an African lodge. My favorite part was that you opened your curtains, and 20 feet away would be a herd of giraffe or kudu! Perhaps the two most interesting things were the little notices about the fact that the Savannahs are monitored 24-7, and if you want privacy, close your drapes :-) AND the fact that if there were a fire in the building, there were enclosures for the PEOPLE -- as we, of course, couldn't share the Savannah with the hyenas & water buffalo! All in all, this was the first Disney hotel in which we've stayed which actually FELT like we weren't in Disney World -- we were in Africa! And then you step out of the front door and the buses to the kingdom are right there. It was almost a shock every evening to return from whichever park and walk in the front door -- you're instantly transported across the thousands of miles and it's VERY hard to convince yourself you're not in Africa. It was
WONDERFUL!
 

Name: Jerry 
Reviewing:  Animal Kingdom Lodge
Location: Animal Kingdom
Stars:
Value for the money: Excellent
Quality of the room: Excellent
Review: We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge for three nights and it was enough to convince us that we will never stay anywhere else on Disney property. The atmosphere was terrific. The cast members were unbelievably friendly and helpful. The Savannah rooms are outstanding but even if you get a room overlooking the pool there are a number of places to relax while listening to soft, African music and watch the animals. We loved the pool and enjoyed every aspect of this resort. I'm convinced it's the best place to RELAX while you're at WDW.  Boma's restaurant is unbelievable in value and taste. You have to eat there for dinner. Trust me, you wont be disappointed with a stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge!!
 

"Jambo!  Forgive me if I'm being too wordy--but this place is a must and has to be the absolute best spot in Disney--you HAVE TO get a safari view room.  Imagine awaking to the site of majestic giraffe's walking by your balcony as your room service arrives with breakfast! My 7 and 5 year old children were waking up at 6 am and just sitting on the balcony and staring out at all of the wonderful animals!  The decor was awesome, many authentic African touches--most if not all of the staff were from Africa--and the food in the restaurant was mouthwatering!  There are even two twenty four hour fire pits--one indoor and one outdoor and they were incredibly romantic! Our vacation at Animal Kingdom Lodge was beyond my wildest dreams!  The lobby was so beautiful and relaxing that families actually hung out in the lobby during down time! I don't know if I'll even be willing to stay elsewhere when we go back to Disney." - IDA9342

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