An African Savannah at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney hotels have always been known as highly themed and unique resorts. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is a prime example of this. Animal Kingdom Lodge is the only resort outside of Africa that guests can enjoy safari views.
Animal Kingdom Lodge has two separate buildings, Jambo House and Kidani Village. Both resorts are part of Animal Kingdom Lodge and guests of each hotel can access both amenities.
Kidani Village is a Disney Vacation Club property but any guest can stay there. Jambo House has both a Disney Vacation Club section and a hotel side with recently remodeled rooms. The hotel side of Jambo house is reopening August 26 but I was able to stay there last week in the Disney Vacation Club section of the resort.
Location
Animal Kingdom Lodge is located near Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. Both Kidani Village and Jambo House provide bus transportation to all four parks.
Kidani Village and Jambo house both have separate bus stops but buses stop at both locations before heading to the theme parks.
The resort also has a van that provides transportation between Jambo House and Kidani Village that runs about every 5 minutes.
Dining
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has restaurants located at both Jambo House and Kidani Village. Currently the only table service restaurant that is open at both is Sanaa. Sanaa features East African cuisine with views of the Savannah from your table. If you have not visited before, make sure you order their specialty, the bread service.
Sanaa is also open for mobile ordering to go for those wanting to enjoy the food without a table service meal. You can easily order food from Sanna on the MyDisneyExperience app.
Jambo house features Jiko, a signature restaurant and Boma a buffet open for breakfast and dinner. Both locations have not yet reopened due to the hotel side of Jambo House still being closed.
Now that Jambo House has a reopening date of August 26, one of the locations, if not both, will likely reopen at that time.
Jambo House also features at quick service location, The Mara, that currently offers food for breakfast and dinner. It will likely reopen for lunch as well once Jambo House fully reopens. Both resorts also offer a pool bar with drinks and food options. Jambo House also features Victoria Falls Lounge and Cape Town Lounge that have not yet reopened.
Recreation
Guests will have access to two pools while staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Jambo House features Uzima Springs Pool which features a 67 foot long water slide and 234,980 gallon zero depth entry pool.
Kidani Village features Samawati Springs Pool that features a waterslide and zero depth entry pool. My daughter’s favorite part of the Kidani Village pool was the Uwanja Camp, the water playground.
Uwanja features 3 zones of water play that is guaranteed to entertain children for hours.
The most unique recreation at Animal Kingdom lodge is to spend time enjoying the Savannah views. On our recent visit we saw giraffes, zebra, bongo, ostrich, cranes, wildebeest, eland, kudu, and gazelles.
Accommodations
Animal Kingdom Lodge features several room categories. Kidani Village offers studios, one bedroom, two bedroom, and 3 bedroom grand villas. The one bedroom and larger rooms feature a full kitchen and laundry. The studios feature a small kitchenette.
Jambo House features traditional hotel rooms with two queen beds and studios in the Disney Vacation Club section of the resort.
Jambo House hotel rooms just recently featured a full renovation prior to closure that feature beautiful Lion King accents.


Source: Disney
The most important part of selection at room at Animal Kingdom Lodge is deciding if you want a Savannah, Pool, or Standard View.
If guests book a Savannah view room, they can view these animals from the comfort of their balcony. If guests book a standard view, both resorts have public viewing areas where guests can still enjoy the animals.
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