The ONLY Room You Should Book at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

We’ve stayed at EVERY hotel in Disney World over the years, and that means we’ve got some strong opinions about which ones are the best.

Not only that, but we’ve got a list of which ROOMS are the best at each hotel because having the best room can make a world of difference in how much you enjoy your stay. And if you’re going to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, we’ve got to tell you about the only rooms worth booking!

If you’ve ever been to Animal Kingdom Lodge before, then you probably know what we’re about to say! The only rooms worth booking at this hotel are the — *drumroll please* — SAVANNA VIEW ROOMS.

Savanna View rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge are those that face the various savannas surrounding the resort. Real live animals roam those savannas, which means you can often see them from your hotel room balcony when you step outside for your morning coffee or to watch the sunset!

What animals can you see? Well, I’m glad you asked! They’ve got everything from giraffes to bongos to impala to warthogs to cranes to ankole cattle and more. There’s a wide variety of species that you can spot, and you’ll see different animals depending on which section of savanna your room faces.

The Savanna View rooms typically look the same as any other rooms, but they have those MUCH better views. While the standard hotel rooms may face the parking lot or wooded areas outdoors, the Savanna View rooms are guaranteed a view of one of the four savannas — Pembe, Sunset, Arusha, or Uzima.

View of the savanna at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

The animals are free-roaming, so you aren’t guaranteed to see them in specific spots or at specific times of the day, but when we’ve been there in the past, we’ve had pretty good luck with spotting them. And honestly, it’s a pretty magical experience! There aren’t many places you can stay in the U.S. where you can have this kind of view.

Because of the layout of the savannas, staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge can be a bit of a pain sometimes. The hallways are pretty long and some rooms are quite far from the lobby, dining areas, or pool. The rooms have African-inspired decor with some elements from The Lion King.

The other problem people may have with Animal Kingdom Lodge is the transportation. It’s a Deluxe Resort, and yet, it only offers bus transportation to the theme parks and Disney Springs. The other Deluxe Resorts all offer options like walking paths, boats, the Monorail, or the Skyliner.

Because of those reasons, it makes it harder to justify paying the price to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge if you’re NOT staying in a Savanna View room. In our opinion, the Savanna View rooms are usually worth the cost, but those regular rooms can be annoying…especially if you’re walking down a long hallway.

So if you want to shell out the bucks to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, do yourself a favor and pay the extra price to upgrade to Savanna View. It’ll add that extra bit of magic to your vacation!