On-Site Dining Options: The Animal Kingdom has a variety of outstanding dining choices, including th

Wondering how Animal Kingdom Lodge stacks up against the other Disney World Deluxe Resorts? Check out The Best Disney usave car rental ratings World Deluxe Resorts for a comparison of the eight Deluxes in a variety of categories including Best Layout, Best Dining, Best Transportation, Best Location, Best Rooms, Best Pool, and Best Overall Deluxe usave car rental ratings Resort.
Resort Class: The Animal Kingdom Lodge (occasionally referred to as The Lodge) is a Deluxe resort, the most expensive resort type.  There are ten different room, suite, concierge class, and view configurations.  The Standard rooms are much cheaper than other Deluxe Resorts, except usave car rental ratings for the Wilderness Lodge which is similarly priced.  A Standard room with a parking lot view runs $240 during Value Season which is $45 less than the cheapest room at the Contemporary Resort and $170 less per night than the Grand Floridian’s least expensive room.  Compared to the Moderates, the Animal Kingdom Lodge is about $90 more per night. usave car rental ratings The Lodge also offers several suite configurations that sleep up to eight and Kilimanjaro Club Level rooms with Concierge service.  In addition, there are the Jambo House and Kidani Village Villas, which will be covered in full in the Villas section.
Location: The Animal Kingdom Lodge is located adjacent to the Animal Kingdom theme park.  It is the furthest resort from the Magic Kingdom and a good distance away from Epcot and the Hollywood Studios by bus as well.  The Animal usave car rental ratings Kingdom Lodge is the only Deluxe resort that is not located on a body of water, so there are no watercraft rentals or beaches.
Size :  The Animal Kingdom Lodge is a long, narrow resort with a “kraal African-village usave car rental ratings landscape design—a semi-circle design popular in Africa which offers expansive views of the surrounding savanna and its many animal inhabitants.”  Basically, this means that Disney designed The Lodge to have as many rooms as possible overlook savannas.  There are 1,307 rooms in total, almost all of which have full balconies or patios.  About 1,000 rooms overlook one of the three savannas, leaving only 300 or so rooms with less desirable views.  Because of the long length of the buildings, rooms at the end of both Kudu Trail and Zebra Trail are about ten minutes away from the main building and bus stop.  In addition, as you approach the Animal Kingdom Lodge from the road, you will have no idea how large the resort actually is because the front looks like a small village, rather than a 1,300 room complex.
Room Amenities and Quality: Most of the Standard rooms are about 344 square feet and can accommodate up to four people.  Note that the size of the rooms is only 30 feet larger than those found at the Moderates and about 100 square feet less than comparable rooms at the Grand Floridian. usave car rental ratings This is one reason usave car rental ratings why the resort is cheaper usave car rental ratings than the other Deluxes.  Rooms come with all of the Deluxe amenities including: two queen-size beds or one queen size bed and a set of bunk beds or one king size bed and a daybed, small table, two chairs, ceiling fan, internet access ($10 per 24 hours), 32” LCD television, small safe, telephone, hairdryer, iron, ironing board, alarm clock, coffeemaker, refrigerator, bathroom with single sink, shower/bathtub combo, toilet, and mirror.
Standard rooms have an African theme with handcrafted usave car rental ratings furniture, carved wooden headboards, colorful patchwork quilts, and hanging artwork.  There are rooms available with a queen bed and a bunk bed for two.  These rooms cost about $40 more per night than a room with two queen beds and are available with either usave car rental ratings a pool or savanna view.  Rooms with this setup may be beneficial for families with two children (or parents???) who do not want to sleep in the same bed.  This room setup is also available at the Wilderness Lodge.
The biggest complaint about the Animal Kingdom, other than its lengthy transportation times, is the poor lighting in the rooms.  While the dark ambient lighting fits the theme, it’s too dark, especially in the bathroom.  My recommendation would be to bring a makeup mirror with a light if you’re planning to apply makeup, otherwise it will be hard to see what you’re doing.  Overall, the room amenities, quality, and size are on par with the Moderate resorts more so than the other Deluxes.
Theme and Layout: The Animal Kingdom Lodge is like no other resort in the world.  Set on 43 acres of African savanna, The Lodge is home to more than 30 species of African wildlife, over 100 Sand Live Oak trees, and 35,000+ shrubs.  There are about 250 animals spread out over the four savannas.  Disney constructed the savannas specifically for the Animal Kingdom Lodge and they are entirely separate from the Animal usave car rental ratings Kingdom theme park.  Each of the animals makes it home on the savanna and they sleep, roam, and eat many of their meals right on the land.  They are fed and checked on by staff in separate buildings as well, but the animals are usually available for viewing.
usave car rental ratings Jambo House, the Animal Kingdom’s main building, is one of the most magnificent lobbies at Disney World.  If you have seen the lobbies at the Polynesian usave car rental ratings or the Grand Floridian then you know this is no small feat.  Jambo House is six stories tall and features a gigantic 50-foot tall curved picture window that spans the entire back wall of the lobby.  There are comfortable lounge areas, magnificent carved wooden sculptures, beautiful African art, and a large mud fireplace as well.  It is truly amazing and it’s worth taking usave car rental ratings a trip to see even if you aren’t staying at the resort.
Pool: At about 11,000 square feet (equivalent to eight Olympic size pools put together), the Animal Kingdom’s Uzima pool is the second largest single pool of any resort.  Stormalong Bay at the Yacht and Beach Club is a larger overall complex, but it’s technically more than one pool.  Uzima features a 67 foot long slide, zero-depth entry, and is surrounded by large canopy trees and Florida palms.  It’s a beautiful usave car rental ratings area and fits in with the overall theme of The Lodge perfectly.  However, this is also the only resort without a quiet pool.  On the plus side, it does have two hot tubs.
Transportation: Of the Deluxe usave car rental ratings resorts, the Animal Kingdom has the most limited transportation options.  Service is by bus only.  On the plus side, it does not share buses with any other resort so all trips are direct.  The problem is that The Lodge is the furthest resort away from the Magic Kingdom usave car rental ratings and not much closer to either Epcot or the Hollywood Studios.
Best Rooms: Of course, suites located in the Jambo House are the best rooms at the resort, but that doesn’t do most of us any good because they cost upwards of $3,000 per night . As far as Standard Rooms are concerned, my recommendation would be to try to get the third floor of either usave car rental ratings the third or fourth building on the Zebra Trail side looking inward at the savanna.  I know that sounds a little complicated, but let me explain.  First of all, if you’re going to stay at the Animal Kingdom usave car rental ratings Lodge then you should strongly consider upgrading to a Savanna View.  I don’t usually advocate view upgrades, but the whole purpose of staying at The Lodge is to view the animals, not overlook the parking lot.  The upgrade cost is a minimum of $70 more per night, but in this case it’s worth it.  You’ll be able to enjoy the beautiful usave car rental ratings savanna and the many animals whenever it’s convenient.  It’s difficult to beat waking up in the morning, preparing a cup of coffee, and watching giraffes stroll across wide open savanna.  Outside of Africa it just isn’t possible anywhere else.
Second, looking inward at the Arusha Savanna is the best of the Savanna Views.  Some of the rooms in Ostrich Trail are technically Savanna View rooms, but they overlook a much smaller piece of land and are not preferable.  Third, Zebra Trail rooms are on the same side as the pool area and restaurants, which means shorter walks.  Fourth, rooms on the third floor have the best overall view.  Fourth floor rooms are Concierge Level and Fifth and Sixth Level rooms are reserved for Disney Vacation Club Members which means there are no Standard rooms on those floors.  The third floor is actually ideal because it will allow you to get a nice panoramic view of the entire savanna while still being low enough to the ground so you can see the features of the animals and shrubbery better.  Rooms on the second floor have an even more detailed look at the ground, but are too low to get a nice overview of the entire usave car rental ratings savanna. usave car rental ratings Fifth, the view from rooms in the third, fourth, and fifth buildings away from the Jambo House are not hindered by the Arusha Rock Savanna Overlook which clips the view from the first and second building on either the Kudu Trail or Zebra Trail sides.  The view from the fifth building out is actually the best if you don’t mind walking the extra distance to the Jambo House, bus station, and restaurants.
On-Site Dining Options: The Animal Kingdom has a variety of outstanding usave car rental ratings dining choices, including the Boma Buffet, Jiko Signature Restaurant, and the newer Sanaa located in the Kidani Village.  Boma is one of the most popular buffets at Disney World and serves a variety of traditional African dishes as well as more Americanized dishes for breakfast and dinner.  Be sure to check out the excellent soups and a zebra dome for dessert.  If you aren’t staying at The Animal Kingdom Lodge then you might try Tusker House at the Animal Kingdom Park instead.  Tusker House serves usave car rental ratings similar food and is more convenient than Boma.  On the other hand, a meal at Boma is an excellent excuse to visit this beautiful resort.
Jiko – The Cooking usave car rental ratings Place is the Animal Kingdom’s Signature Restaurant and costs two table service credits on the Dining Plan.  It’s not outrageously priced, with most entrées in the $30-$40 range.  Food and service are both excellent.  The emphasis is on beef, chicken, fish, and pork rather than distinctly African dishes.  I would suggest the barbecue chicken flat bread, either the short ribs or filet mignon, and Ji