The BEST & WORST Hotel in Disney World -- Animal Kingdom Lodge 

THEY SHOULD DO A SKYLINER THROUGH THE ENCLOSURES! Being on a skyliner over a giraffe! That would be amazing!

AKL is my home resort. I stayed there my first visit to Disney and have never stayed anywhere else since. It’s just incredible and will give you an experience that you will not get anywhere else. AKL has the best restaurants, both sit down and quick service. I know a lot of people see it’s location as a con, but for me that’s a huge plus. After a long day at the parks, you come back to the peacefulness of AKL and it’s so serene and quiet compared to other resorts. Also, the fact that it doesn’t have a monorail, skyliner or boat, there’s not as much foot traffic. You don’t have as many random people just walking through the resort like on on the boardwalk or riviera. And the animals alone are reason to stay here. Oh and the sound of the drums throughout the lobby❤

Ate at Sanaa and loved my dinner (plus our table was by the window and we got to watch the animals outside). After watching the animals after dinner, we walked around, and I grabbed a container of the Zebra Dombs. OMG. Sooooo good! PS: i love Morgan's hair. She looks beautiful!

I love how everyone complains about it being "too far" from the parks. It's not. The average bus ride I've taken from there is about 16 minutes. It's one of the ONLY resorts that have a bus that doesn't stop at a million other places. If you're staying at an Epcot Resort or Fort Wilderness or even OKW, be PREPARED for a 45 minute bus ride, as you have a lot of stops to make along the way. AKL actually has the BEST transportation as it only makes 2 stops. Jambo and Kidani and that's it. It's also the lowest priced Deluxe so claiming it's too expensive makes no sense. All Disney resorts are too expensive.

We stayed at Kidani Village in October 2019 and were blown away by the beauty of this resort. Waking up to animals everyday was a real treat, one that my then 8 year old sons thoroughly enjoyed. We enjoyed the amenities of the suite style room as it gave us more space and allowed us to stock on some supplies to together some easy breakfasts before heading to the parks. We found Kidani Village to be less crowded than AKL, probably because it’s smaller. Plus, it’s the first stop on the bus loop, so guests at this hotel are the first on and the first off 😀 I thoroughly LOVED this resort and would go back in a minute if given the opportunity 🦒🦓🐂

Have to agree with Hannah. I've stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge twice, including the last time I was out there for a week and only having the buses as an option wasn't bothersome compared to what you get. Animal Kingdom park is only a few minutes away so it's not far from everything and the food, infrastructure, art, animals, cleanliness, it's rare for me to say anything in Disney is actually worth the cost but Animal Kingdom Lodge was worth it. It is expensive so definitely tough on the budget, especially if you stay an entire week like I did with a Savanna view but no regrets. I'm not an animal person but just seeing them outside your window, the areas outside where you can see them, it really is an awesome sight.

ILike how the book behind Emma changes every time her segment comes on

I'm with Frybucket. I just stayed at Swan Hotel and loved that I had transportation options. On our Animal Kingdom morning we did hit Flight of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safari, Navi River Journey before going to our breakfast at Boma, which I absolutely enjoyed and will be returning.

I would consider this for a staycation day at the end of a Disney trip.

You can’t beat seeing a baby zebra outside your window everyday. The restaurants have great food as well.

We honeymooned at AKL, it was stunning!! Where else can you watch giraffes 🦒 and other amazing animals outside your window. The food was delicious, the pool was huge and we sat through a talk from one of the country representatives. There is art everywhere! I didn’t mind the busses, we spent a lot of time at the parks and didn’t even think about the ride.

I’m with Emma, the bread service at Sanaa is the BOMB

A zebra as transport could be a problem but Asian elephant rides might work

Now Morgan has me googling "how giraffe's sleep". lol

I worry I would pay out the nose for the room and then never see the animals up close.

definitely would rather stay at pop century and just visit AK lodge to eat.. save the money

Boma! In my Top 5 dining experiences ever! Unparalleled ❤

I've stayed at AKL during a split stay, we were only there for 3 nights then moved over to BWI but I really could have stayed there the entire trip. It's not as expensive as the MK and Epcot deluxe resorts. As far as the buses, the people who say you have to wait longer for them, that is the luck of the draw and can (and does) happen at every single resort. I've stayed at just about all the resorts and the buses are the buses are the buses at all of them. As far as the distance to everything else. It's in the same area as the All Stars and CS so only about 10 min. or so to Epcot and HS. It would be nice if they figured out a way to put a walking path to AK but I understand why they didn't. I've waited just as long for the monorail and it takes longer to get between MK and Epcot then the buses do. I've also waited just as long at the hub for the sky liner, add if there is thunder/lightening/winds in the area and it will shut down and it's actually my least favorite mode of transportation.

I can’t wait to stay here again one day ❤

When AKL first opened we stayed there every trip. It was wonderful. My husband and I stayed there a few years ago and it's equivalent to Pop Century for noise and full of awful entitled people looking down on others. We won't waste the money staying there again personally.

I wish AKL was somewhere else in the US. If I am going to spend money and time to get to Florida then I am going to the parks with very little time at my hotel. If this hotel is somewhere else I wouldn't mind spending time and that huge price tag to just stay at the hotel and chill out . Value resorts are always going to be our family go to while in Florida Disney. Thanks though.

I absolutely want to check out this resort on my next trip and eat at one of the restaurants but it is just so far away from everything with only bus transportation so it’s not on the radar for us 😕

i do not get the claim that AKL is far from all the parks. its 5 minutes from AK. 5 MINUTES!!! i wouldnt stay at AKL because its way overpriced and the perks of staying on property are not equal to the cost of any resort if we are being honest here,the parks are the reason you go otherwise you could just stay in the resort the entire time

It’s my favorite resort!

I just cancelled my 5 day March trip to AKL because of the distances to the parks. I switched to Boardwalk to be able to walk to EPCOT. In a five night six day trip, there would be two half days at the lodge. That seems to be very limiting. I do feel bad because I love the resort but what can you do. There is another reason for me. I am very old and have been able to avoid covid so far and will not eat in an indoor restaurant. If I can not go to Boma and Sanaa, waht is the point? At Boardwalk, Trattoria has outdoor dining for breakfast and dinner. As to the cost, AKL is cheaper than the Boardwalk...so that is not an issue for me.