Chris and I were so thrilled to team up with David's Vacation Club Rentals this month for a quick little staycation at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge through Disney Vacation Club. We have stayed at Deluxe resorts in the past but never with DVC so I was very excited for our first stay. It just so happened to fall on the exact date of our 3 year anniversary and we could not be happier to spend the night at one of our favorite resorts on Disney Property.
If you are unfamiliar with DVCrentals.com and what services they provide, then keep on reading to find out how to book your next dream stay at Walt Disney Resort:
If you are already thinking about booking, but are unsure how all of this works, then I highly suggest reading about their rental process on their website first. It will take you through 5 steps of instructions that will you get you ready to begin the process of booking the resort stay of your dreams.
But first lets check in and see what Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge DVC has to offer. For this trip we stayed in a Deluxe Studio- Savanna View at Animal Kingdom Villas- Jambo House.
Online check-in is available through the My Disney Experience App, which is what we did.
Check-in is at 4PM. Upon arrival , you can either head to the front desk to check-in or if you checked in on the app you can go straight to your room.
Rooms are not guaranteed to be available until 4PM, but you can request Early Check-in when you do Online Check-in.
Check out time is 11am.
Room Tour: Deluxe Studio Savanna View
The room we stayed in sleeps 4 adults. It comes with a queen size bed and one double size sleeper sofa.
The bathroom comes with everything you need from a hair dryer, to shampoo and conditioner from my favorite brand H2O.
Because it is a DVC room it comes with a small kitchenette with a wet bar, mini fridge, microwave, and coffee maker. I personally loved all of the little details in this area. They also provided Joffrey's 50th Anniversary caffeinated and de-caffeinated coffee.
Of course, I saved the best for last, the balcony! Now our balcony overlooked the Savannah and we were so blessed to be able to wake up to some gorgeous views. We arrived around 5pm and were greeted with a zebra, 2 giraffes and several other savannah animals right outside of our balcony. Honestly, when staying at AKL you are instantly transported to Africa and every detail is just perfection.
Why David's Vaction Club Rentals?
David's was the very first DVC rental company and after 16 years continues to be the leader within the DVC community! They are my personal recommendation and it all comes down to their impeccable customer service.
Guests can save 30-50% when booking with DVC rentals compared to booking the same room from Disney central services.
The reservation is booked in your name and is easily linked to your My Disney Experience profile for access throughout your stay.
You will receive the same on-property perks including early theme park entry and use of all DVC amenities.
Because you are staying at a deluxe resort you will have access to extended evening theme park hours on select nights.
self-parking and theme park parking is included on all DVC stays
The team @dvcrentals works with 15 DVC resorts, including Aulani in Hawaii!
What does Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Offer:
Animal Kingdom Lodge comprises of two unique areas, Jambo House and Kidani Village. Jambo House has both Disney Vacation Club (DVC) rooms and regular guest rooms. You do not need to be a DVC member to stay at this resort as they do offer regular guest rooms as well. Kidani Village has only DVC-type rooms. Each area has its own check-in lobby, but the split resort shares all other facilities. With the help of DVCrentals you are still able to book a DVC room without being a member at all!
DVC Member Jambo House Accommodations:
There are four types of Villas available: Studios, One Bedroom Villas, Two Bedroom Villas, and Three Bedroom Villas.
Three different price categories are available: Value, Standard, and Savanna.
Club Level Rooms are available for various Villas as well. These are all Savanna or Pool View rooms.
Disney Vacation Club Members are not charged for standard overnight self-parking when staying at a DVC Deluxe Villa, regardless of whether they use vacation points or another form of payment.
Jambo House can also use all of the amenities at Kidani Village: Samawati Springs, Uwanja Camp, BBQ Pavilion, Basketball and shuffleboard courts, Community Hall, Johari Treasures, Fitness Center, Arcade and Pool (under refurb.)
Immediately upon entering the Jambo House Lobby our breath was taken away by the gorgeous artwork and massive size. This resort is 6 stories tall and you actually enter on the 3rd floor. I personally love the multiple levels. I think it adds a very unique twist to a typical hotel lobby. There is a gorgeous picture window at the far end of the lobby overlooking the 30 acres of land in the back of the resort as well, which is unlike any other resort I've been to. You can walk down the stairs and check out the savannas that were specially-built just for Animal Kingdom Lodge, which are separate from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. There are several stations throughout the floors and even within the lobby area that offer outlooks with binoculars to look onto the savanna.
Animal Kingdom Lodge is home to the largest collection of African art in the world outside the continent of Africa. You’ll see pieces throughout the lobby, restaurants, and hallways. One of my favorite pieces of the lobby is the fireplace. It is one of the most relaxing areas to sit and enjoy some warmth and relaxation, in my opinion.
Beyond the giant glass window is an overlook to the Savanna area. Here you can look for animals, as well as participate in nightly marshmallow roastings. There is also another fire pit outside which was another favorite of mine.
Food Offerings at Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Jiko is a Signature restaurant serving dinner that features a taste of Africa in an atmosphere shaped by traditions and customs. The design represents an abstract view of Africa, with twin wood-burning ovens as the restaurant’s icon. Jiko consistently ranks among the best Walt Disney World restaurants in both food and service.
Boma — Flavors of Africa is a very popular buffet restaurant open for breakfast and dinner. Boma captures the essence of vibrant life in the African marketplace. This buffet has great variety and is known for its carved meats, various soups, and one iconic dessert: Zebra Domes.
This restaurant has an open kitchen with a wood-burning grill. The dining stations at Boma are under thatched roofs.Chris and decided to eat here for our anniversary dinner. Upon arrival we were greeted with some anniversary pins, which were the older style! The food here was absolutely delicious and we cannot recommend it enough.
Sanaa is a Table Service restaurant located in Kidani Village. It offers full service lunch and dinner. This is an excellent restaurant — and is very underrated — therefore it’s usually easy to snag a reservation. Sanaa’s large windows offer a view of the Savanna.
The Resort’s Quick Service restaurant, Mara is open morning to night and offers great food and poolside dining. We chose to visit here before heading out to the pool for the day. Mickey Waffles and Savannah views are always a must-do.
Victoria Falls is a mezzanine lounge overlooking Boma that serves specialty coffees and teas and a variety of beverages at night.
Serving non-alcoholic drinks, specialty cocktails, and beer/wine. There is something for everyone. We personally tried the bourbon breeze, Pina colada, sunshine margarita, and Pina co-lava drinks all of which were refreshing, made well and perfect to relax with by the pool.
Pool Area/Fitness Area:
Animal Kingdom Lodge has a themed pool (Uzima Springs), a kids’ wading pool, and two outdoor spas (“hot tubs”) There is also a kid’s playground.
The Uzima Springs pool is the third largest on Disney property, being over 11,000 square feet. It is also a “Zero-Depth Entry” pool. There is also a slide which is on the smaller end compared to some other deluxe resorts, being 67-foot long. They also have a kiddie wade pool area. There is no quiet pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Pool hours are 10am to 11pm. Towels are located right by the entrance as well as inside of the pool area.
Samawati pool area is the pool over at Kidani village but when we stayed it was under refurbishment.
The Fitness Center has a full line of Cybex equipment, including a Smith machine. The cardiovascular area has Life Fitness Treadmills, Stairmasters, and Bicycles (regular and recumbent).
Zahanati Fitness Center is also a massage center. Spa services include massages and facials. It is recommended to book these in advance by calling 407-WDW-SPAS.
*AKL does not allow balloons inside the Resort. Any balloons brought to the resort (from the theme parks, for example) will have to be checked with bell services for the duration of the guest’s stay. They will be returned upon departure. This information might be helpful to families with younger children, so there are no disappointments when returning to the resort.
Overall, we had the most amazing time visiting this gorgeous resort. We were completely blown away at the amenities DVC offers and would absolutely rent with David's Vacation Club Rentals again. Their customer service was there to answer any question we had and the entire stay was so stress free because of the amazing services they provide!
Thank you so much again @dvcrentals for the incredible staycation. If you have any questions please write down below and we will answer them to the best of our ability.
Which resort should we stay at next?
If you made it this far thank you so so much for reading! You can find more daily adventure on my instagram, @dreamalongwithtaryn. You can also check in to see all of the latest DVC news at @dvcrentals
Taryn Alyssa Xo.
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