Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House — Hotel in Bay Lake

Animal Kingdom Lodge has two buildings. Jambo house, and Kidani village. Jambo house is considered the main hotel with a large lobby. Kidani village is the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) villa side, which you can only book with DVC points. Jambo house can be booked as a regular hotel, and they also have DVC villas which can be booked with DVC points. We booked Jambo house with renting DVC points from David’s DVC website. Let me start by saying the best part about staying here is seeing the animals, and the worst part about staying here is the busses transportation. We booked a savannah view room for 2 nights. The DVC rooms are only on the 5th floor. We specifically requested the zebra trail and close to the lobby, as that is what the internet said had the best animals and won’t be a long walk. Our request was granted, however since we were close to the lobby, we had a view of the savannah overlook from the lobby, which could be quite loud at times. So maybe we would sacrifice a longer walk to the room for more quiet. However we had a great view of the savannah and within the first few hours we were able to see all of the animals that were in the savannah. Giraffes, zebras, hornbills, cranes, waterbuck, eland, wildebeasts, pelican, antelopes. They refresh the hay and the hanging browse so the animals rotate around throughout the day and you will see them multiple times. Even when it was raining, hot and sunny, and even at midnight! There were animals out and about. The patio was not that deep, but it was long and wide. It came with 2 chairs and a small table. The patio door though had a lot of condensation and you could hear through it. The room is themed very dark with the wooden tones, and the lighting is very dim, so you have to rely a lot on the daylight from the sliding door. There is a decently large shop in the lobby. There is also a lot of African art and photos to take a look at. There is one main savannah overlook if you go down the stairs at the end of the lobby. This is also where they have the nightly campfire. There are representatives here to ask questions and they can talk about the animals here. There are also a few other overlooks attached to or on the side of the lobby with indoor and outdoor seating. There are also stairs downstairs to get to Victoria falls lounge, and boma, and jiko. Also, you can go outside to the pool, and the fitness center with a sauna is nearby. The Mara quick service is right out the doors. They also have the simba clubhouse for kids to do activities just a little down the path as well. Every single cast member we encountered was welcoming and friendly and helpful. They have an internal shuttle that runs between Jambo house and Kidani village. They also have the bus system out front, which runs to all parks and Disney springs. Busses stop at Kidani village first, then Jambo, then to the destination. Be warned about the busses as they do not come as often as other resorts, and they have to make the extra stop at the other resort building. We did notice that at peak morning time they run a bus from each building individually, but that only lasts for a few hours and then it is back to combined. Since AKL is farther away from the parks, it takes a decent bus ride (15-20 minutes) to get to the parks. So factor in about 30 minutes or so in travel time alone, not including waiting 20 minutes for a bus to even come. This is true of the hotel stop and the park stop. The busses to and from here are not reliable and are quite crowded. We have seen two busses from each of the 3 all stars resorts come before even one of the AKL busses came. So if you are the kind who wants to take a mid day break at the hotel and then come back to the parks, it is a huge timesuck for all parks except maybe animal kingdom. Overall, we enjoyed our stay here, but would not stay again due to the...

An Impressive African Themed Resort My wife and I and two adult children went to visit Disney and chose to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House for this trip. Jambo House was built first, with 900+ rooms. Just down the street is the other part of this resort, the Kidani Village, which is all villas. Both resorts sit on savannas, three for Jambo and one for Kidani. The Jambo savannas surround the lodge and it’s so cool to see such a variety of African animals right outside the patio doors of your room. Jambo House is big. When arriving at the Lodge, you drive up a small hill to the front door area. Do not plan to unload your bags and bring them to your room yourself. This is pretty much set up for bellhop service. They will bring your bags to your room. There are several very large parking lots for guests close to the lodge, or use the valet service at the door. The lobby is impressive to say the least. African motif, four floors, a thatched roof looking arched ceiling and some of the most impressive hanging lamps ever. There are numerous sitting areas with couches and chairs to sit and take it all in.

Check in was very smooth and easy. Lots of walking just to get to our room and the hallways seem to never end. Our room had two queen beds and for the short time that we were in the room, it was fine. Nice African decor with in room Keurig and mini-fridge. We had an outdoor terrace with a few chairs to sit and watch the wildlife. As instructed by the bellhops, we were to remain in our room until they arrived and they showed up a few minutes later. There are numerous places to eat in the lodge and I wrote another review of the Boma Buffet. We found a little grab and go place in the lodge that stays open late on the pool level that made small flatbread pizzas that were surprisingly good.

During our stay, we met several workers, who came from Africa, that had set up small educational stands. They spoke perfect English and their strong accent was so cool to listen to. One day we learned about animal dung. Really? YES! Set up like a game, they explained how dung from various animals is used for different purposes in Africa and how vital it was for these animals to remain plentiful for people there to survive. On another day, we learned to play a very simple game, Mancala, which is very popular in Africa. I guess this was the predecessor to Xbox. Wonderful, pleasant, personable staff.

This resort is very far from the theme parks, but transportation via the Disney bus service is top notch. Buses for the various parks arrive and depart regularly from stops outside the lodge. Signs are very clear on where to wait. Likewise, when leaving any park, signs and bus markings are very clear and easy to understand. No problems with getting around and no need to drive a personal vehicle from place to place and find parking. I strongly recommend the buses.

Not wanting to use the bell staff on departure, my son went down and grabbed a luggage cart and we took our own luggage out to the car which I carefully positioned along a curb just short of the valet/bellhop only lanes at the front door.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House has that Disney magic. It transports you to a place far away where you can relax after a day of park hopping, try unique foods and meet some...

Awesome experience at Animal Kingdom Jambo. The lobby is breathtaking with very high ceilings, a bridge, and spacious. The kids can chill and watch Disney cartoons on one section of the lobby while other areas for sitting, and relaxing with water features and a fire pit.

Rooms were clean and organized, and the kids loved waking up to see various animals from Zebras, Giraffes, Antelope, etc. We went the week before Halloween so the boys could see Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween festivities and parade at night at the Magic Kingdom. Highly recommend for kids as the parade was out of this world, and plus, the kids go trick or treating too!!

The restaurants on premise were all great. For a quick bite, The Mara was convenient, and the buffet restaurant had a lot of great foods. We also ate at Jiko, which is a formal dining, across from the buffet restaurant. The short rib was delish and amazing. Highly recommend it.

They had a very large swimming pool with water slide, walk in beach type pool for easy access, and an adult full service bar. Lifeguards were on duty all hours. Also, there were two hot tubs: one behind the water slide and the other by the flamingo area and animals.

There is a fitness center with plenty of treadmills, elliptical, and weights. I used it three times while there, and it was clean and spacious. Also, it had massage rooms which you reserve and the locker rooms were clean as well.

Overall, we had a great experience and would do it again, staying at Animal House Jambo. Would like to see the breakfast open a little earlier, like 630, but understood that no one wants to get up early...