Reviews of Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Jennifer Stevens Review Date: 09/27/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
Beautiful resort. Our stays have been . There is so much to do and see that you could spend most of your vacation just having fun at the resort. Rooms have always been clean and the front desk very accommodating. Every cast member was delightful.
Pros:
Warm, inviting and beautiful resort with great dining options. Close bus ride to Animal KingdomCons:
Very long bus ride to Magic Kingdom.Reviewed by Dizney71 Review Date: 09/26/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
A gorgeous resort with a stunning lobby and amazing themeing. The rooms are spacious and well appointed, We stayed in a savannah view room with a balcony that overlooked the animals.
Pros:
Best restaurants at any resort in my mind. The Mara, Boma, and Jiko are all top notch! Themeing is on point and beautiful. Having a view of the savannah from our room was really cool.Cons:
Location is close to Animal Kingdom but farther away from the other parks. We went in January so did not get to use the pools. Not as many animals were out due to the colder weather.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/25/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
We arrived at 9 am and our room was ready, and we were upgraded to Savannah view! Within the first hour, we settled in our room, our luggage was delivered from magical express, and we were standing outside on our balcony watching the giraffes and zebras. Breathtaking.
Pros:
beautifully themed, awesome food court (very important with kids) that is located near the pool area for great atmosphere. Pool is huge with fun slide and zero entry. Animals are everywhere!!! Excellent bus service - quick and efficient, never waited.Cons:
Giant U-shape can be a long walk if you're room is on one end and need to get to the lobby area or pool, etc. Also, I enjoy walking outside in the mornings to get coffee, etc. but there are no trails around the resort due to the safety for animals and guests.Reviewed by KenHutch Review Date: 06/25/2018
Rating: (9) Recommended
This place is incredible and the restaurants are even better. The highlight of our early June trip was during a rain we saw a young giraffe playing tag with its mother for about 15 minutes. We stayed in room 4343 was gave us an incredible view of the savanna (and is a standard view). The only negative the busses to Magic Kingdom seemed to get lost a lot because unlike all of the other busses they never arrived in a timely manner.
Pros:
The AnimalsCons:
Busses To Magic KingdomReviewed by AP1996 Review Date: 06/24/2018
Rating: (10) Recommended
This resort is absolutely fantastic. I may be biased because it was the first Disney resort I had ever stayed at when I was 11 years old. I have since stayed here four additional times and I have found more and more reasons to come back here. From the overall ambiance to the extreme attention to detail, this resort is breath taking. I have stayed in both the savanna and standard rooms and can't think of a single complaint, I was even able to see some animals from the standard view. The food here is also very good, quick service included. I have found this resort both romantic and adventurous and coming back here feels like home. The pool and hot tubs are amazingly themed and are friendly for all ages.
Pros:
Literally everythingCons:
NoneReviewed by tommygunn Review Date: 11/21/2017
Rating: (7) Recommended
Resort itself it gorgeous. Love the design of the lobby and the savannah view is awesome.
Yet on Disney trips I find myself in the room very little and the location of this property just stinks. Too far from MK and Epcot and the buses are inconsistent. For the price, I'd much rather be at one of the other deluxe resorts. And actually, even if the price was exactly the same, I'd prefer to be at the Port Orleans Riverside. I still think that's one of the best resorts on property.
Pros:
Beautiful ResortCons:
Location, location, location, $$$Reviewed by Maintogo Review Date: 11/20/2017
Rating: (8) Recommended
My mom and I stayed in a handicapped accessible room with a roll in shower. The room was nice and we were able to see animals everyday because we had a Savanna view. The 2 issues I had with this room was that she couldn't open the door while still in her wheelchair or scooter unless someone helped her and the balcony wasn't big enough to fit a wheelchair. The hotel has the buttons everywhere else to push so the does would open but not for the room. We are at every restaurant there from Mara to Jiko and it was great. I was also able to use the pool and hot tub as well as walk to trails to see the animals, and everything was great. Concierge also helped be book the Behind The Seeds your and with late checkout. I also tried shopping some things from Wal-Mart and they were delivered to my room when I got there. This was the second I have stayed and I love it and would stay again.
Pros:
Animal views and great foodCons:
Handicapped accessible roomsReviewed by SusieH212 Review Date: 08/20/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
AKL is an amazing resort! As soon as we arrive, we feel as though we are in a very special place. The decor & atmosphere is incredible. There is nothing like watching animals from your private balcony enjoying your morning coffee. Onsite restaurants Boma & Jiko are delicious. AKL is the only resort for us!
Pros:
Everything!Cons:
BusesReviewed by dlc1972 Review Date: 05/16/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed 7 nights in early May and we absolutely loved this resort! We were a group of 9 in 4 rooms. All were standard view, 3 on one side of the hall and one on the other. Every room had a wonderful view with plenty of animals! I really did not expect to see animals from our standard view balcony! Wonderful! We ate several times at Mara and one dinner at Jiko. Fantastic. The pool was lovely and our 4 year old daughter absolutely loved it, especially the slide. Lots of fun happenings in the lobby in the evenings for my daughter as well. We did opt to get Ubers or taxis for some of our trips to the parks as we didn't want to wait for the buses. Most times the buses were pretty quick but there were one or two times when the wait seemed too long. Location would be my only complaint and even that is just a small complaint. I would stay here again for sure and I highly recommend it!!
Pros:
Just about everything!Cons:
Just about none!Reviewed by monorailmom Review Date: 03/04/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
The single reason I gave this resort a 9 is due to the bus service, but I'll get to that in a minute.
We stayed in a 1br value villa. We had an unbelievably good view of the savanna! Giraffes and zebras, wildebeests and ankole cattle were outside our balcony every afternoon/evening. The room was recently updated and looked great, everything bright and clean and in good working order. We like the accessibility of the Mara. Stopping at Victoria Falls for drinks in the evening was a challenge as almost every evening every table was full. We were able to sit and enjoy a glass of wine in Jiko's lounge one evening, which was really nice.
We have stayed at many Disney resorts, including Kidani village 3 times prior to this first Jambo stay. Maybe it was a bad week, bad luck, or whatever, but this was THE WORST bus service we have ever had. We never waited less than 30mins for a bus. Several times we waited 40+ minutes, and not everyone was able to board. This happened not just resort to park, but park to resort as well. We did have a few instances of us running to make a bus so we didn't have to wait, but the waiting painfully long for a bus far outweighed the times we ran. Twice there were Transportation CM's at the resort bus stop, neither time dd they have any good reason why the buses were so slow. I would not let this stop me from staying at Jambo again, in fact we hope to do it next Feb. I only mention it so folks know it can happen, and trust me, I plan to let DVC know my disappointment with the bus service.
