Looking for Animal Kingdom Lodge tips

[Mondo]

Hey everyone, first time post here! This summer, I will be visiting WDW for the first time in over 15 years. The hotel we booked is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I’ll be going with just my father, as my family and friends are kinda tied up this year. The plus side is that we can be more flexible, being just a group of two. But I came here for advice.

We’ll be getting a standard room. No animal views from the window- but I see there’s a nice big view from the lobby! Are there any other spots where I can admire the animals?

Also curious about the food and drinks. The restaurants are supposedly some of the better on WDW property, but is there anything I should generally avoid? How about drinks? Any AK/WDW specials that I should get?

 

[buckeyegator]

Hey everyone, first time post here! This summer, I will be visiting WDW for the first time in over 15 years. The hotel we booked is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I’ll be going with just my father, as my family and friends are kinda tied up this year. The plus side is that we can be more flexible, being just a group of two. But I came here for advice.

We’ll be getting a standard room. No animal views from the window- but I see there’s a nice big view from the lobby! Are there any other spots where I can admire the animals?

Also curious about the food and drinks. The restaurants are supposedly some of the better on WDW property, but is there anything I should generally avoid? How about drinks? Any AK/WDW specials that I should get?

boma is outstanding

 

[UncleFastpass]

You didn’t mention if you were staying at Jambo House or Kidani Village, both of which do have nice animal viewing areas outside of the lobbies. You can also view animals from the windows of the hallways leading to the rooms. Sanaa is a restaurant at Kidani Village and you can see animals from the windows there. I don’t necessarily like to give dinning advice as food tastes are subjective. Sanaa is a nice restaurant (in my opinion) and Jiko at Jambo House is a signature restaurant ,one of the nicest restaurants on property. Although I said I don’t like giving restaurant advice I have never heard anyone say they didn’t enjoy Boma,which is a buffet restaurant at Jambo house. Drinks are also subjective but I will say it appears WDW has moved away from having a standard drink menu at all the resorts and now offers more selections specific to each resort.

 

[Mondo]

To be clear, the reservation is not specific regarding which building we will be staying in. All it says is “resort view.”

 

[BuddyThomas]

Hey everyone, first time post here! This summer, I will be visiting WDW for the first time in over 15 years. The hotel we booked is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I’ll be going with just my father, as my family and friends are kinda tied up this year. The plus side is that we can be more flexible, being just a group of two. But I came here for advice.

We’ll be getting a standard room. No animal views from the window- but I see there’s a nice big view from the lobby! Are there any other spots where I can admire the animals?

Also curious about the food and drinks. The restaurants are supposedly some of the better on WDW property, but is there anything I should generally avoid? How about drinks? Any AK/WDW specials that I should get?

We also did a standard room. It ended up having a great view of all sorts of animals. Not sure if they gave us some sort of upgrade or not but we opened the curtains and there was the Savannah.

 

[UNCgolf]

The Boma breakfast buffet is probably the best breakfast on property.

 

[Nottamus]

Like above -Boma for breakfast AND dinner

Sanaa bread service should at least be tried once

There’s an every 10 minute shuttle between Kidani and Jambo that just adds more animal viewing locations and food choices

Jambo lobby, outstanding

Can’t go wrong at either resort, but Jambo is for us, the best.

 

[Worldlover71]

Since the OP said they had a standard room and not a villa, that should be in Jambo House. There are great animal viewing locations around practically every turn and there are often animal experts right outside the lobby to answer questions. As noted by others, Kidani Village is right next door for even more views.

 

[Coaster Lover]

PLENTY of great places to see the animals even if you don't have a Savanah view room. It's a great hotel, very relaxed. Very peaceful feeling throughout. Enjoy! We were just there (though Kidani) last summer and enjoyed our stay immensely!

 

[Eric Graham]

Animal Kingdom Lodge is a very nice resort. I've stayed there a time ago. I concur that Boma is such a wonderful restaurant. What a wonderful buffet it is with exceptional and very friendly service each and every time that I've been there and it always had so very delicious food. The most wonderful people from Africa are so very nice and so eager to always tell you all about all of the animals right outside of the lodge. Happy travels to you all!

 

[Hockey89]

It's an awesome spot with three really good places to eat. Enjoy.

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

Have fun

 

[ToTBellHop]

I love Boma but actually prefer Sanaa for breakfast. There is very little that’s particularly unique about Boma’s buffet breakfast vs. other buffet breakfasts and it’s just not worth $40 to me.

Sanaa has breakfasts under $15 and they don’t shy away from Indian spices even at breakfast! Plus, animals.

Boma dinner is excellent and has TONS of unique offerings.

 

[Mondo]

PLENTY of great places to see the animals even if you don't have a Savanah view room. It's a great hotel, very relaxed. Very peaceful feeling throughout. Enjoy! We were just there (though Kidani) last summer and enjoyed our stay immensely!

I’ve read that you can politely request a certain section within your room type, and that Zebra Trail on the 3rd or 4th floor is the best. When is the best time to request this? Should I call ahead, or ask at the desk? If I should call ahead, should I wait until my room has already been decided, or is that part decided at the front desk check in anyway?

 

[Coaster Lover]

I’ve read that you can politely request a certain section within your room type, and that Zebra Trail on the 3rd or 4th floor is the best. When is the best time to request this? Should I call ahead, or ask at the desk? If I should call ahead, should I wait until my room has already been decided, or is that part decided at the front desk check in anyway?

Call or email ahead. Usually a couple weeks before you go is sufficient, but I think you can document the request as soon as you book the stay if you want to be safe (it's no guarantee you get the room, but they'll usually get you pretty close). Personally, my family prefers rooms closer to the lobby above all else (especially if you are planning on spending a lot of time in the parks). A lot of the best common areas to see the animals are right off the lobby, all of the restaurants and shops are in/near the lobby, and (most importantly), the park bus pick up/drop off is close (ish) to the lobby. After a long day at the park, the walk back to your room can be draining if you are at the far end of the Zebra Trail or Kudu Trail wings (it's a 1/4 mile from the bus loop to the far end of either of the two larger wings). Giraffe Trail rooms are by far the closest for the buses if that is your priority.

 

[UNCgolf]

I love Boma but actually prefer Sanaa for breakfast. There is very little that’s particularly unique about Boma’s buffet breakfast vs. other buffet breakfasts and it’s just not worth $40 to me.

Sanaa has breakfasts under $15 and they don’t shy away from Indian spices even at breakfast! Plus, animals.

Boma dinner is excellent and has TONS of unique offerings.

Boma usually has at least 5-6 unique items compared to the other breakfast buffets (and I think some other smaller unique stuff like the spiced tater tots), but the quality there is just higher for whatever reason. Even their standard items are generally better than what you can get at other places; the difference between Boma and, e.g., Crystal Palace is very noticeable.

We always head over to AKL to eat breakfast there once a trip.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Boma usually has at least 5-6 unique items compared to the other breakfast buffets (and I think some other smaller unique stuff like the spiced tater tots), but the quality there is just higher for whatever reason. Even their standard items are generally better than what you can get at other places; the difference between Boma and, e.g., Crystal Palace is very noticeable.

We always head over to AKL to eat breakfast there once a trip.

I just struggle paying $40 for any breakfast. It’d be $200 with tips for my family. I love a good omelet and I’ve heard the bread pudding is divine but…

 

[donaldtoo]

We stayed at Jambo House on our family trip this past October.
We had what were described to us as “partial savanna view” rooms, but we were definitely able to view the savanna, and saw plenty of animals from our rooms and balconies…!!!
Other than that, there are definitely plenty of other animal viewing areas around the resort.
As far as the food goes, we only ever ate at The Mara (QS/CS) on that recent stay, but everything we had there was very good. Make sure to get some Zebra Domes…!!!!!
We did travel to AKL to eat dinner at Boma back in 2012. I wasn’t impressed, but the rest of our 13-person crew said they really enjoyed it.
Hope y’all have a great trip, and great stay at AKL…!!!

 

[UNCgolf]

I just struggle paying $40 for any breakfast. It’d be $200 with tips for my family. I love a good omelet and I’ve heard the bread pudding is divine but…

That's understandable. I absolutely love breakfast foods (so buffets are perfect since I can get a little of everything), and then we usually don't eat again until like 8-9 at Disney Springs that evening.

 

[Lilofan]

I love Boma but actually prefer Sanaa for breakfast. There is very little that’s particularly unique about Boma’s buffet breakfast vs. other buffet breakfasts and it’s just not worth $40 to me.

Sanaa has breakfasts under $15 and they don’t shy away from Indian spices even at breakfast! Plus, animals.

Boma dinner is excellent and has TONS of unique offerings.

Love Boma for breakfast and dinner buffet. Haven't been lately but some of the African dishes are delish like the African spicy protein like dish for breakfast and wash it down with Jamba Juice !