WDW Park Planners Rating:
Location: Animal Kingdom Park Area
Resort Category: Deluxe Resort
Our family has stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge twice over the years, and each time it did not disappoint. This top-tier resort is one of the best Walt Disney World has to offer. Having your morning coffee on the balcony while watching the giraffes pass by is truly breathtaking. You never know what you’re going to see when you look out your bedroom window – the animals are always moving and changing based on the time of day. It never disappoints, and you really do feel like you’ve been transported to the Serengeti.
The resort itself is great, but if you’re going to stay there, you definitely want a savannah-facing room. Half the fun is coming back to your room after a day at the parks and just relaxing while you watch the animals roam.
The rooms themselves are nice and the resort also has some great restaurant options. We’ve tried Sanaa and it was delicious – it also has great views of the savanna, although we went for dinner in January and it was dark already! The property also has viewing areas for the animals which are fun and educational, especially since they always have an animal expert stationed out there to talk and answer questions.
Our family highly recommends this spot to anyone. The animals aren’t just for the kids – the grown ups love them too!
WDW Park Planners Tip:
The one “con” of this property is that it’s a bit farther away from most of the parks. It’s a short bus ride to Animal Kingdom which is convenient, but our family usually only spends one day at that park (maybe two now with Pandora). One of our family trips was split between the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Beach Club, which was a great way to do it. A few nights at AKL was perfect, and then we resort hopped to a better location for the other WDW parks!