- Average night
- $550
- Standard room sleeps
- 4
- Quickest park
- Animal Kingdom, by bus
- Pools
- 8 / 10
The short answer
It really comes down to how old your kids are, and the gap is wider here than at any other resort we score. Animal Kingdom Lodge scores 10 for splash pads and slides, tied with eight others, and 8 for the pool, thanks to the savanna, and it's third of all 32 for things to do. But it's only 21st of 32 for adults, and kids who've outgrown the animals get less out of it. For a family with a four-year-old who wants to watch giraffes from the balcony, it's wonderful. For a couple, or kids who've outgrown the animals and want a waterslide and an arcade, it's a lot to pay at about $550 a night.
The villas inside the main lodge.
Room alerts for Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House →Animal Kingdom Lodge sold out for your dates? Set a room alert and we will email you when a room opens.
Your ages, budget and parks re-rank all 32. Free, about a minute.Which room to ask for
Rooms open onto internal corridors with elevators throughout, so which floor you get matters less here than at the Values and Moderates. A request costs nothing and is never guaranteed: make it at booking, and again a day or two before you arrive.
Every measure, against the other 30
Disney does not set a height minimum on its resort waterslides, unlike the water parks. Riders go down one at a time and land in water deep enough to swim in, so the question is whether your child swims on their own, not how tall they are.
| Scored category | This resort | Average of all 32 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pools | 8 / 10 | 7.1 | 7th of 32 |
| Splash pads and slides | 10 / 10 | 7.6 | 1st of 32 |
| Everything close together | 8 / 10 | 6.0 | 6th of 32 |
| Things to do on site | 9 / 10 | 7.2 | 3rd of 32 |
| Suits under 4s | 8 / 10 | 7.8 | 16th of 32 |
| Suits ages 4 to 6 | 9 / 10 | 7.8 | 3rd of 32 |
| Suits ages 7 to 13 | 7 / 10 | 6.2 | 8th of 32 |
| Suits adults | 5 / 10 | 5.5 | 21st of 32 |
| Getting to Magic Kingdom · bus | 3 / 10 | 5.5 | – |
| Getting to EPCOT · bus | 4 / 10 | 5.5 | – |
| Getting to Hollywood Studios · bus | 5 / 10 | 4.5 | – |
| Getting to Animal Kingdom · bus | 7 / 10 | 4.0 | – |
Rank is out of all 32 Disney resorts on that one measure. The park rows show the fastest route Disney actually runs, so a bus and a monorail are not scored the same even when the map says they are the same distance.
Where it wins
Where it loses
Jambo House or Kidani Village?
Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House
Animal Kingdom Villas - Kidani Village
What it costs
About $550 a night on average, almost exactly the property average of $545, and squarely Deluxe. A standard room runs about $555 at rack rate, a one-bedroom about $994 and a two-bedroom about $1,841. There's club level here too, and it's one of the better ones on property, because the lounge looks out over the savanna.
Across 53 check-in weeks, a night here ranged from $488 to $813, a swing of 67%. The cheapest week checked in on August 16, 2027 and the priciest on December 28, 2026.
Room only, before tax, for a four night midweek stay for two adults, read from Disney on September 27, 2026.
What the savanna is really like
Not every room sees animals. Savanna view is a paid upgrade, and standard-view rooms look out at a parking lot or the pool, so booking Animal Kingdom Lodge without the view gets you the lobby and not much else. If the savanna is why you're going, make sure it's on your reservation.
The animals are most active early and late. Between about 11am and 4pm in summer, most of them are lying in the shade, which is exactly when families taking an afternoon break are back at the resort. Dawn from the balcony is the magic hour people write about.
Kidani’s savanna is the better one, and Jambo’s building is the better building. That's the whole Jambo-versus-Kidani question, and there's no wrong answer, just which half you care about more.
The isolation is real. There's nothing within walking distance, no other resort nearby, and every route anywhere is a bus. On a Magic Kingdom-heavy trip, you'll feel it every day.
A savanna view doesn't guarantee animals. Which ones are out, and when, changes by savanna and by the hour, and some guests do leave disappointed after paying extra for the view. Sanaa and Jiko are the surer reason to book.
Every park is a bus ride, and it's the complaint we hear most. The resort sits in the far southwest corner of the property, so nothing is a short trip, and the people who love it are the ones who treat the resort as part of the vacation, not just a place to sleep.
Your family will rank this differently
Ages, budget, room size and which parks you are doing all change the answer. Resortings scores all 32 resorts against what your family actually needs, and tells you when not to spend the money.
Animal Kingdom Lodge sold out for your dates? Set a room alert and we will email you when a room opens.
Common questions
Is Animal Kingdom Lodge worth the money?
For a family with a child roughly three to eight, yes. The splash pads tie for the best on property, there's more to do here than at all but two resorts, and the savanna is unlike anything else Disney runs. For a couple, no. It ranks 21st of 32 for adults, at about $550 a night, and five other Deluxes cost less.
Do all rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge have animal views?
No. Savanna view is a paid room category, and standard-view rooms look out at the parking lot or the pool. If the animals are why you're booking, book the savanna view, because a standard room gets you the lobby, the restaurants and the same bus as everyone else.
Is Jambo House or Kidani Village better?
Jambo House if you want the building, the pool and the restaurants, and Kidani Village if you want the animals. Jambo’s pool scores 8 against Kidani’s 6, and Jambo has Jiko, Boma and a counter-service spot, while Kidani only has Sanaa. Kidani’s savanna is bigger, and it scores a full 10 for four-to-six-year-olds, matched only by Art of Animation.
How far is Animal Kingdom Lodge from the parks?
Animal Kingdom is about 5 to 8 minutes by bus, scoring 7 out of 10. Everything else is a long way: Hollywood Studios scores 5, EPCOT 4 and Magic Kingdom 3, which is about 25 minutes. Every route is a bus, because no Disney resort has any other way to Animal Kingdom.
Is Animal Kingdom Lodge good for toddlers?
It's good, not exceptional. It sits in the middle of the 32 for under-fours, because the pool is good without being special and the splash area is nothing like the Polynesian's or Caribbean Beach's. What it does have is animals at eye level from a balcony, and for some two-year-olds that beats any splash pad.