All Things Disney.com - Disney For Adults - Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House

Cindy and I took a Disney cruise in early November of 2010. It was an incentive for joining the Disney Vacation Club (DVC), and since it was the first time either of us had been on any type of cruise, and it was a 4-night deal, we thought it would be a good way to see if we wanted to do cruises of longer stays.

We thought that a 4-night cruise was long enough to see if we wanted to do more cruises, but also wanted to have a longer vacation, so we decided we'd stay one day in Disney World before the cruise and then a couple days after the cruise, so we could make a regular week vacation of it.

The Lobby Of The Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House

We picked the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the one day before the cruise, because I wanted to see what it was like to view the animals from your room. Cindy didn't care for the idea much, but went along with it for my sake, but guess who wants to go back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge NOW!? :-)

We decided to stay at the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa for the two days after the cruise. Actually we went thru a long list, because of the Food & Wine Festival was going on during that time, we ended up on a wait list for a couple of the resorts and Saratoga Springs was the one that came up.

If you've read any of our other articles, then you know how much we like Saratoga Springs, even though Bay Lake Tower is our DVC Home Resort, but we definitely want to spend more time at Animal Kingdom Lodge...

I mean, think about it, 70% of Animal Kingdom Lodge's rooms have the Savannah View. That's Awesome! Real exotic animals right outside your room. Doesn't get better than that!

We arrived around 6pm, and since it was November, the day was going fast. We went straight to our room, and like a kid, I headed straight for the balcony to see what animals might still be out... Well, we weren't dissappointed. A couple of giraffes were out, a wildebeest, a vulture on a log, and even a rabbit hopping around. :-) Okay, the rabbit, I could see anywhere, but the other animals, you don't see just anywhere.

After marveling for a while, we decided to check on our reservation downstairs at Boma - Flavors of Africa restaraunt. We were both getting pretty hungry, and although our reservation wasn't for a couple hours, Cindy thought we should go down anyway just in case we could get in... Well, this is one time where the 'yes dear' paid off... We were able to get right in and had a great meal.

We mulled around Animal Kingdom Lodge for a while, then went over to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes fireworks show. After the show, we went back to our room to get some shut-eye since we had to be up early to get to our cruise ship.

The next morning, we got everything together, and then opened the curtains to see, several giraffes, giselles, wildebeests, antelope, vultures, etc. It was a beautiful thing, but one day there was NOT enough, and we are definitely going back.

We went to The Mara (Animal Kingdom's Quick Service Restaurant) and brought it back to our room, so we could eat and enjoy the animals. By the way, there is NO animal smell like you have at the zoos.

While I was watching all those different species coexist, I noticed a giselle walked behind a wilderbeest and accidently spooked him. It was hilarious, and all I could think was... Hey Man, show some MACHO, you're a Wilde-BEAST! He recovered quickly, and regained his big bad image in my eyes... Oh, how I love watching nature! :-)

The Animal Kingdom Lodge should be experienced at least once, especially with a room with a Savannah view.

Here are a few more pictures. Just click on each to enlarge.