Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas Reviews - Disney Reviews and Ratings

Author

JEThompson99

Registered: February 2010
Posts: 10

Review Date: Mon February 8, 2010

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Unsurpassed Resort at WDW
Cons:	Farthest resort from the theme parks, save for the Animal Kingdom park.

As my pros say, this resort is truly Unsurpassed by the others because of all it offers. If you like animals, this is the place for you! Get a savanna view room to watch the animals from your own balcony! I stayed at the Kidani Village part for 5 nights and saw many of the animals in the savanna. The rest you can see by simply exploring the rest of the resort grounds. Great pools, recreation, a gym, a modest arcade, and lounging areas are available to all guests. There is even a selection of restaurants, varying prices, table or quick service. But park goers beware: It will take a long time to get to any park but the Animal Kingdom, especially long to reach Magic Kingdom.

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pmanko

Registered: May 2009
Posts: 42

Review Date: Mon January 4, 2010

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $230.00 | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Animals, quiet, great childrens pool play area; pool
Cons:	no quick service (other than pool)

One Bedroom Villa - Kidani Village:
Two adults - one toddler.
Dec 13 to 19, 2009
WOW! I don't easily impress but this was a very impressive resort and I got a great price!! We stayed in a one bedroom villa poolview - room 7727 and it was a great location. Not too far from lobby -but, not too close either. We were near the Rafiki (sp?) elevator so we could quickly get to the pool via the back entrance. We did not pay extra for savannah view and we worried we would be near bus stops and having a noisy room; so, I requested a quiet room and we got a pool view! A few times I worried the noice would be too loud from the afternoon "pool" activities and would wake my 2 year son from his nap; but, rooms are very insulated - so really did not affect him/us. Smile

Villa was very spacious I thought and had a very large balcony.
You can tell it is new - everything still in great condition. This alone is a reason to stay!
A special bonus was having two bathrooms - esp. after son napped or went to bed before us.
We requested a full size crib even though ea. room has a pack n play. Stackable laundry machine/ dryer in entryway linen closet was very handy. We were able to come for 6 night stay with one checked bag (lg) and 3 carryon's! I ordered groceries from garden grocer - we did have some issues with the delivery and my order was missing a few items. So, that was dissappointing and caused me to miss over 2 hours at the pool on our arrival day - bummer.
Kitchen was galley type w/ breakfast bar (3 stools); not a lot of cupboard space so keep that in mind you plan on buying a lot of groceries - you could probably use the linen closet as a pantry unless you had other people staying with you - and they needed to use for their clothes.
Both bathrooms are big and spacious with plenty of storage, but, they are dark - so make up application can be tricky. Both have tubs. The master bathroom was one of the largest in a resort I have seen - maybe wasted a bit too much room that could have been used for living room. It had a very large walk in glass enclosed shower. A full 2 person jetted tub - filling up takes a long time. A separate water closet. The fans are all sensored by motion and are a bit loud (at night). Big vanity and closet with safe.
Big King bed and dresser with flat panel tv. We put the crib by the bed next to the bathroom. Sliders from bedroom to balcony.
We had no real issues with buses. The longest we waited was probably 15 mins and even at resorts we always were able to get on the first bus that came...
Kidani is the usually the first stop and first to be let off - then the bus goes to Jambo house - this makes it nice as many people are loading/unloading at Jambo.
The is very nice at Kidani - zero entry with two slides. It has plenty of chairs/loungers and a great childs play area. The playground is at Jambo house - but, Jambo does not have a childs pool play area.
Christmas time is a special time to visit - the lobbies are all decorated as well the parks. The week we choice was NOT very crowded. I heard the week before and obviously Christmas week was packed...
The longest we waited for a ride was 20 minutes, which was due to planning and use of fastpasses.
I can't wait to go back and I believe we would probably stay at AKL-Kidani again... due to the lower point cost and larger one bedroom villas mainly.
Minor issues: a few kitchen supplies were missing and the DVD was not hooked up. Housekeeping was pretty prompt - however, maintenance was a bit behind.

Honor

Registered: July 2006
Posts: 41

Review Date: Sun October 18, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Theme, uniqueness
Cons:	Kitchen layout

We stayed in a 1 bedroom at Kidani Village for July 2009. About half the resort was open at the time. Beautful resort. Clean comfortable villa with unique savannah views. Relaxing. Great pool area. Made good use of the small but satisfactory work out room. Wish there was a good place to go running in the Animal Kindgom area. Jambo House is a quick and easy 5-minute walk. The floor plan of the 1 bedroom is a little strange. The kitchen breakfast counter butts into the table booth, leaving a very narrow passage into the living room but with a large area of wasted space behind the barstools and next to the table booth. The kitchen cabinets are awkward, with no cabinets or shelves on the wall in common with the bathroom (just a blank wall). So storage is awkward in the kitchen.

bbrnca

Registered: June 2006
Posts: 234

Review Date: Wed August 12, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	everything
Cons:	not much

We stayed here from July 19-24 in a 2brm lockout we were 6 in our party and there was plenty of room for everyone... from the time we checked in which was very quick to the time we left we were treated like family.... the CM at the front door to the front desk everyone was so friendly. We have fallen in love with the resort. We are very glad that this is our home resort.

goofybeagle

Registered: August 2008
Posts: 174

Review Date: Wed July 29, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Animals on savanah, quiet resort for a relaxing stay, closest resort to Animal Kingdom,
Cons:	Bus rides are much longer to the other theme parks since Animal Kingdom Lodge is so far out compared to other resorts

My husband and I have stayed in the Animal Kingdom Villa's,Jambo House 4 times. This is our personal favorite Disney resort. The theming is just amazing and gives such an authentic feel to the resort.

There is a large variety of wild life on the savanah. Imagine waking up to Giraffe, Zebra, and other wildlife outside your balcony every morning. One evening we were enjoying the hot tub and happened to look up to find a Giraffe snacking on the leaves of a near by tree.

We enjoy the Mara quick service, they offer a nice variety, fair pricing , and a large seating area. We give thumbs up for Boma breakfast and dinner and recommend dinner at Jiko, which we thought was very delicious, we did have a waiter who was a bit to be desired. He was a on the pushy side and we did feel rushed. The meal was excellent!

If you like african decor I highly recommend visiting the Zawadi Marketplace.

mommyceratops

Registered: January 2006
Posts: 2294

Review Date: Mon June 22, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Beautiful, Great and constant entertainment for everyone
Cons:	None

This is one of my favorite DVC resorts! We were one of the first members to stay here and it was by far the best time! I only have good things to say about our stay.

I loved the Lion King theme to the room, it is one of our favorite movies so I was thoroughly loving it!

Constant entertainment for the kids!

bsusanmb

Registered: July 2004
Posts: 1818

Review Date: Sun June 7, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	beautiful
Cons:	far from attractions

This is a review of the Kidani village. We stayed there when the resort opened in a one bedroom standard view. It was just beautiful, such attention to detail. We have stayed at AKL and this has exact same theme, but the rooms are larger. The pool is great, don't know what it will be like when the resort is in full operation. Nice children's area. Needs a counter service. Parking under the building is great...shade.

John255x

Registered: November 2005
Posts: 3

Review Date: Sun June 7, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Savannah View & Activities
Cons:	Jamba & Kidani

We stayed two nights at Kidani Village in two Studio from May 28 - May 30th.

The staff was friendly and had various activities for the kids. Depending on your Savannah view, you may only see certain animals. One of the studio had good views of the giraffe, while the other had various animals moving around. It's definitely a unique resort, which makes it special. The plus of staying at Kidani are the animals, pool, and friendly staff.

The couple of minor negative is that Kidani didn't have all the services available as at Jamba House. You can take the bus service to Jamba as it's the next stop before going to parks or about a 5 minute walk. Kidani did not offer Quick Service options if on the Disney meal plan and pickup for the DCL cruise is not available at Kidani.
Also, depending on the room location, it can be a long walk to the lobby. Kidani means "necklace", which is the design of the building and the lobby is at the middle.

guynwdm

Registered: August 2007
Posts: 261

Review Date: Wed June 3, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Theming and the animals
Cons:	Very long hallways, lighting in rooms

I stayed here (Jambo House) for 3 nights in a studio with my 75 yo father. We arrived in the evening and so just briefly looked out the balcony and headed to bed. It was difficult finding the light switch and did a bit of stumbling to find the switch in the middle of the room by the bed. In the morning the animals were out and roaming and created the best spot for having breakfast ever. My father enjoyed it to the point that he did not want to go to the parks and spent one morning just enjoying his coffee and the animals. It was so relaxing there.

donmil723

Registered: June 2000
Posts: 1935

Review Date: Sun May 24, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	beautiful interior; animal viewing, many activities
Cons:	have to take a bus everywhere

We stayed at the AKV Jambo House in a value studio in March, 2009. Our studio overlooked the sunset savannah although some values overlook the parking lot. The value studio is smaller than other DVC studios but it seemed large to my husband and me as we had just been on the Disney Magic.

The pool area was nice with lots of loungers in the sun as well as the shade. I like the sun. DH likes the shade.

We enjoyed eating at Mara. The African stew was very good as was the couscous salad served with the chicken pita.

Although we really prefer our home resort, BCV, we liked AKV and would stay there again.

bsusanmb

Registered: July 2004
Posts: 1818

Review Date: Sun May 17, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	beautiful resort, attention to detail
Cons:	lack of quick service/counter service, placement of faucet in whirlpool tub

We stayed in 1 br villa at Kidani May 3-8. The resort is beautiful, but not quite finished. We had a standard view, which was a view of a pond like area, and tall grasses. The bed was very comfy, decor beautiful. Elevators were conveniently placed for the parking area, which is underneath the building and shaded. The faucet in the whirlpool tub is located at the front corner of the tub. There is no way you can put your head under it to rinse your hair. That was a big issue for me. Had to use a cup to rinse my hair when I washed it. I miss a quick beakfast, but no biggie, I guess. I ordered late at night from room service and that was a nice treat. The pool is wonderful...really well designed. The splash area for little ones and bigger ones is really great. I didn't go downt he big slide, but my grandson loved it. The fitness center is nicely placed just above the pool. Overall, we loved it.

Marc A.

Registered: April 2005
Posts: 1218

Review Date: Wed May 13, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Wonderful theme, super pool, tons of activities, love the animals
Cons:	the location in regards to the parks

My wife and I joined DVC in Feb. of 2008 and bought into the AK Villas.
Our first stay there was in March of 2009 for 11 nights in a 1 bedroom savannah view room.
The check in went smoothly, around a 5 minute process. Our room was clean and neat when we got in. The flat screen tv's in the bedroom and living room areas were reall nice. The DVD player came in handy for the kids.
The kids shared the pull out couch which had plenty of room for them ( they were both under 5 then). Our bed was large and very comfortable as well.
The kitchen was great. The washer and dryer was so handy. We didnt need to pack as much.
We sent a package down from home with some dry goods and laundry detergent.
The savannah was so interesting. There were always animals out and about to look at.
The one thing that seemed strange was that all the DVC room were located in the top 2 floors of the resort which to me didnt seem like the best viewing because you were almost too high (trees).
The kids loved the large pool and the slide.
We ate at Boma and loved it. Next time we will try Sanaa and Jiko.
Glad we bought into this resort.

xipetotec

Registered: March 2005
Posts: 762

Review Date: Fri May 8, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Beautiful resort. WORLD CLASS dining, great facilities
Cons:	Far from most parks

We had wanted to stay at the AKL for a while, and when they opened DVC units, that worked out great for us.

The resort is beautiful. We stayed in the main building villas as Kidani Village was not open yet. The dining at the hotel is probably some of ( if not THE ) best we've had on property anywhere. Jiko was just such a fantastic ( albeit expensive ) meal and we ate at Boma's buffet for both dinner and breakfast and had a fantastic meal with fantastic service.

There is a trail behind the hotel near the savanah so you can visit with the animals that are wandering around.

The only complaint I have is that this park is extremely far from all parks ( except AK, of course ).

cherylse

Registered: May 2005
Posts: 10

Review Date: Fri May 1, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Everything!
Cons:

No cons in this absolutely fabulous resort!

sacinatl

Registered: February 2009
Posts: 19

Review Date: Thu April 30, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	The Animals in your back Yard. African Themeing
Cons:	The showers in the villas tend to leak into the bathroom.

Ok, so this happens to be our Home resort as DVC members, but we have stayed in a number of other DVC resorts as well. I absolutly love everthing about this resort. The newer part that is under construction now has a small water park area with fountains and the like. The lobby is beautiful. And the rooms (especially the 1 bedroom villa) are spectacular. I love walking out on the balcony in the morning to see a little herd of zebra eating, or a giraffe. Of course Jinko is a wonderful restaurant if you like unusual dishes. the pool is very nice, with yet another animal range a few steps away. The resort is decorated throughout with African artifacts. You can just walk around the floors and spend an hour just reading on the different exibits. We love to stay on the concierge level. this is one of the few DVC resorts that have such a level. The food provided all day, and drinks at night (yes, alcohole also), it can't be beat. The game room is hugh, and they offer resort only tours for the animal kingdom that you can't book otherwise.
My only complaint is that whoever designed the showers didn't have their coffee that morning. There is bascially no lip between the shower and the floor in the bathroom (it's flat), so water just sort of runs out into the floor. Not much, but towels are needed usually to keep the floor dry. Not good. Other than that, the rooms however are spectacular.

pershing

Registered: July 2003
Posts: 625

Review Date: Thu April 30, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 0

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Fabulous decorative theming in everything-furniture, fixtures etc.
Cons:	none

We have stayed at DVC Wilderness, Beach Club, and Saratoga Springs also and love AKV the best. Points are very reasonable compared to the other DVC's also, which is nice.
We stayed in a 1 bedroom villa which is so worth it for the full kitchen, washer/dryer and jacuzzi. Not to mention the 2 flat screen TV's and King size bed!
I would love to stay here again.

brandylouwho

Registered: May 2006
Posts: 887

Review Date: Wed April 29, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	beautiful, detailed theme
Cons:	none? maybe distance form parks and dim lighting.

Our first stay here was in a value one bedroom with a pool view (room 5024 I think). Even being value sized, the room was more than adequate for 2 adults and 2 young children. The decorating details are oustanding. The rooms are a bit on the dark side, but it was never a real issue for us. While we didn't have the savannah view, I thought our pool view was beautiful & relaxing. AKL & now AKV are our absolute favorite resort.

LilGMom

Registered: February 2006
Posts: 4224

Review Date: Tue April 28, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Room felt big, gorgeous resort, wonderful CMs
Cons:	Thought Boma was overhyped for breakfast.

Recently my family of four stayed, at Animal Kingdom Villas Jambo House in a studio. We had a room that faced the pool and opened toward the lobby. When we checked into the room it was immaculate and I immediately felt at home. We were concerned that since our door was right above the lobby and near the elevator that noise would be an issue but thankfully it never was. Occasionally we could here the �ding� from the elevator but unless you were straining to hear it or specifically trying to hear it the �ding was just very faint background noise.

The room had a queen sized bed, a queen sleeper sofa, dresser with a flat panel screen television on top, and the kitchenette area that included a coffee pot, toaster, microwave, deep sink and mini-refrigerator. We�ve stayed in studios before but this one didn�t feel as small as some of the others and I can�t quite put my finger on why. From our balcony we could see the pool and were able to sit on the balcony at night and listen to the faint music coming up from the speaker that was planted directly under our balcony. It was just loud enough to be heard but definitely not loud enough to be noisy or annoying.

We had an issue with the remote control not working when we first arrived so we called the front desk and a �mousekeeper� immediately came to investigate. She told us that they had been having problems with that remote and she�d get a new one for the room that would be waiting for us when we returned later that day. The front desk had told us that they were packed to capacity but not once did we feel like the resort was crowded.

We enjoyed walking around the property, seeing the animals from the various observation areas and our young boys loved the playground area. My only concern with this resort is the playground area and my concern is with the parents that allow their kids to go play here alone. It is a little hidden and off the main paths yet we saw more than a couple of children playing there without a parent in sight. I know it is a Disney resort but kids under twelve should still be supervised, especially at night.

Overall we had another really wonderful experience at the Animal Kingdom Villas and can�t wait to stay there again.

ead79

Registered: January 2000
Posts: 13301

Review Date: Mon April 27, 2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):	Wonderful theme, savannah view is wonderful
Cons:	None

We stayed at Animal Kingdom Villas in Jambo House (the main building) this past December in a one bedroom concierge villa. We wound up with one of the villas that has a savannah view, which we really enjoyed.

We had a fantastic stay, and just love the elaborate theme of this resort. It is truly exotic, and it transports you to another place. The lobby is gorgeous, and the restaurants are both top-notch.

Our villa was well laid out, and we loved watching the giraffes and zebra outside our balcony each day.

If you're looking for a relaxing place to getaway, then AKV is a great choice! We're booked there again this December to try out the new Kidani Village building, so needless to say we give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!