Reviews of Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by WaltDisneyWorldTraveler Review Date: 03/17/2022
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
AKL has hands down the most incredible lobby and unique food options in all of Disney World. Where else can you experience live Africa wildlife right outside your window? The downside is that this resort does not have much outside space where you can walk and enjoy getting close to the animals. Even with a savanna room view; you are still quite far from the animals. The lobby is impressive; but the rest of the resort appears to be an afterthought. Would recommended getting a dinner reservation for either Jiko or Boma; so that you can enjoy the lobby - but would not recommended staying the night.
Pros:
Stellar lobby experience with incredible sit-down food optionsCons:
Long-endless hallways make you fee trapped. No outdoor walking spaces. The quick-service dining is equivalent to a high school cafeteria. The pool is quite boring.Reviewed by Lizard1515 Review Date: 04/25/2021
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
I thought I was going to LOVE this property, but it was just okay. We had some buses take a very long time to pick us up on multiple occasions. The food options were nice but just sort of a pain to get to. We loved the pool area and the animals were awesome of course! It is pretty far from everything other than AK. Overall, not sure if we'd stay there again for the price point. Unless you love animals and AK more than anything it just doesn't impress.
Pros:
Animals on property, well themed, nice new rooms, great poolCons:
buses take a while, no other transportation options, dining is all over the placeReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/31/2020
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
Stayed at all the deluxes...will never stay at this one again!
Pros:
Nice lobby, good food, animal viewCons:
Unpleasant staff, no coffee in the morning, too far from everything (always a bus), rooms are small and inconsistent, unfortunately not as clean as it should beReviewed by fdmarks Review Date: 04/13/2019
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
If it wasn't for the animals, no one would probably want to stay here. If you don't rent a car, the bus rides are over packed and dangerous for the standing little children. The time to get to the parks are outrageously long and extremely unpleasant. The front desk cast member was very incompetent and could not print my Southwest boarding pass. She also outright lied about issues with the boarding pass. and did not know that I had talked to her supervisor, who had ad no problems with printing the passes out while I waited. There were no USB outlets in the room and the same front desk cast member (Rashida) said that she did not know what a USB outlet was. There needs to be some extra training for the people who cannot do their job. The room was 4963 and it was at the end of the horseshoe of Arushna savannah. This made the trek to Mara for refills a monumental task. Will not stay here ever again
Pros:
Excellent housekeeping and views of the animals Great restaurantsCons:
Incompetent staff who lie to cover up their deficiencies. Too far from parks. Lousy bus transportation. No USB ports. General uncaring attitude that you can senseReviewed by Jason V Review Date: 09/29/2018
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
I stayed here with DVC rented points. The staff was rude (never had that before at Disney hotel). We didn't know if you want your room serviced daily or fresh towels you have to pay extra. We had a safari view and saw very few animals. Had to wait in line 2 hours at check out for magical express and still didn't get to give them our bags and had to take them ourselves.
Come check the hotel out, the atmosphere is great, restaurants are great. But not worth the price. Most expensive stay I've had at Disney with the worst hotel experience.
Pros:
the atmosphere is great, restaurants are greatCons:
Expensive with bad/rude staff, can't have room serviced daily and fresh towels without paying extra, wasn't able to use magical express for bags leaving despite waiting in line for 2 hoursReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 10/21/2023
Rating: (7) Recommended
beautiful but don't spend enough time there for what we pay
Pros:
animals, beautiful lodgeCons:
expensiveReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 08/06/2023
Rating: (9) Recommended
Recently stayed here. Best resort I’ve stayed at! Room was a little bit of a walk from the lobby. Pool was nice. Room was themed well. View was amazing. Buses were not a problem. Came one after another. Never waited in a line for a bus. Best dining in Disney world here! Overall really fantastic service and stay here!
Pros:
Savanna view Zebra Domes Boma, Jiko, and SanaaCons:
Buses Big resortReviewed by Iluvvacations Review Date: 07/07/2023
Rating: (8) Recommended
If you have kids (or adults) that are animal lovers this place is worth it. Make sure you get a savanna room. We were on the ostrich trail and saw most animals from our room. If I stayed again I would request the Kudu Trail. The Mara, Boma and Sanaa were good. Be sure to reserve a Starlight tour at 60 days out. The bus service is not great. I feel like if a deluxe only has bus service it should come more often than every 20 minutes. I regret to Ubering to parks every day. I also think the pool could be nicer. It’s fine, but the pool at Universal Portofino is better. It’s also very far from everything except AK.
Pros:
Animals! Lots of dining options.Cons:
Bus service Mediocre poolReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 06/17/2023
Rating: (10) Recommended
We absolutely loved staying here. My favorite resort so far. We booked a standard room, but saw giraffes, deer, and vultures daily from our balcony.
Food was great at Mara. Awesome quick service for a deluxe resort. Perfect for my picky eaters. Zebra domes! Boma buffet breakfast was outstanding.
Pool was beautiful too. Kids loved the slide.
Pros:
Animals, food, pool, Simba’s Cubhouse.Cons:
Far away from Magic Kingdom by bus.Reviewed by Lifewithkelskels Review Date: 12/06/2022
Rating: (8) Recommended
We really enjoyed our stay at the Animal Kingdom lodge. I loved having a savanna room and being able to look out of my balcony and see the animals. We ate dinner at Sanaa and it was incredible! The room was also very nice and clean and felt like a deluxe experience. I will say, we stayed near the lobby and I do not recommend this at all. The hallway was noisy and I didn't sleep very well. This is a pretty popular hotel, so it was busy. The buses were always busy and this was the only mode of transportation for this resort.
