Animal Kingdom Lodge - Worth it?

This was our first experience staying at a deluxe resort at Walt Disney World. But deluxe resorts come with a steep price tag, and making the trip from Saskatchewan to Florida is expensive as is, so is the deluxe hotel really worth it? Let me walk you through our experience from booking through to completion and then give you an honest response to that question.

Booking Process

Being a teacher our family's travel dates and timelines are pre-set and non flexible. While this has its pros and cons, it means that we knew the exact dates we would be travelling and could start looking at options almost 12 months in advance.

For fun my husband checked out David's Vacation Club Rentals to see what kinds of options and prices we would be looking at for something different. We compared costs of booking through dvcRentals to booking right through other resort (value and moderate on property) sites. From there we decided to purse booking through dvcRentals. My husband completed the request form with our hotel and date preferences and that was that.

When booking through dvcRentals your room/hotel preferences are not guaranteed to be available. They will process your request and respond in kind. If your exact request is not available they will present you with other options that are within your date/price range.

Price

As stated above, Animal Kingdom Lodge is a deluxe resort on Disney World property. This comes with a higher price tag on rooms. We also have to travel during peak travel times which also correlates to higher prices. So let's compare.

Price for a Savannah View Room booked through Disney World website is roughly around $845 USD/night.

Price for a Savannah View Room booked through dvcRentals is roughly around $454 USD/night.

Room Descripton

We stayed in a Studio Room (DVC level) with a savannah view. Meaning:

• One Queen bed and a pull out sofa (double)

• Full bathroom

• Minifridge

• Sink

• Full sized coffee maker

• Plates, bowls, spoons, forks, etc.

• Balcony with a full savannah view

This room had tons of space for us as a family of four. We all slept comfortably (minus the kids grumbling that they had to share a bed 😂) and had enough room to get ready without being in each others space. Then, on our down days (non-park days), we were able to hang out in the room together and not feel like we were breathing on eachother!

Hotel "Perks"

The part I've been most excited to discuss! All of the "perks" that came from staying at the Animal Kingdome Lodge Resort. These are listed in no particular order, just as I happen to reflect on them!

• Park Transportation: Each Disney Resort Hotel has free transportation that will take you to and from the hotel to the parks. While some resorts have a wider vartiety of transportatin available (monorail, sky liner, boat, or bus) to take you to the park, we've only ended up staying at resports with access to the bus for park access. What we found at Animal Kingdom Lodge is that, being a deluxe resort, the bus made more frequent trips to and from each park which equated in less waiting for transportation. This is a big win, especially when travelling with young kids!

*side note: Animal Kingdom Lodge was also a Run Disney resort for the Princess Half-Marathon Weekend, which made transportation to and from those events a breeze as well.

• Activities: The complimentary activities throughout the resort were amazing! From the time we woke up to the time we went to bed, we were never bored at this resort! There are so many different activities that families can participate in. *Please note this will not be a full list of every activity available at Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort, but a recap of the ones our family took part in! Swimming: The Jambo House pool was amazing (we didn't make it over to the pool at Kidani Village! Fingers crossed for next time!). From a gradual beach like sloped entry, to waterslides and hot tubs my family enjoyed every minute. Even my son, who is very nervous in water, enjoyed every minute of this pool. Camp Fire: Every evening from 5-7 guests were invited to roast marshmallows by a campfire. It was fun to people watch during this event! While we're no stragers to a good marshmallow roast, it was fun for us to watch others enjoy this activity for the very first time! Learning about Africa: Guests were able to partake in a variety of fun informational sessions about the continent of Africa. At each session guests earn a bead to represent what they've learned. Our kids had a blast! Topics included: animal tracking, animal sounds, animal food, music, sports, different areas of Africa, flamingos, and ecology. Family Fun Room and Activities: Each part of the resort (Jambo House and Kidnai Village) had different activities scattered around that guests could enjoy. Activity rooms with movies, colouring, and games could be found indoors at each location. Ping pong tables and bean bag toss and playgrounds could be found outdoors!

*side note: aside from the complimentary activities guests could take part in there are also numerous activities (e.g. night time safari ride) that could be accessed for additional fees. While they looked like a blast we chose not to access these activities on this trip!

Worth it?

In the end my answer is two fold. The short answer is yes 100%. this resort is amazing and filled with fun for the whole family. That said, if the goal of your trip is to enjoy the parks from open to close, then a value or moderate resort will have everything you need and in a better price range. But, if you have rest days planned, want to spend a short amount of time in the parks per day, or just want a true Disney experience without the parks, then this resort may be exactly what you're looking for!