Disney’s releasing a fun new pin to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of our favorite place — Animal Kingdom Lodge!

On the pin, Mickey stands with Goofy, who is dressed as “King Pin,” which is a nickname given to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Cast Member Wayne Moore due to his incredible passion around Disney pins and pin trading. Trade with Wayne in Zawadi Marketplace at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge! Goofy’s shield is hinged and opens to reveal the AKL logo.

To order this pin:

* Contact Walt Disney World® Merchandise Guest Services at 407-363-6200 or send an e-mail: wdw.mail.order@disneyworld.com to place an order.
* Please reference the SKU number(s), description of the pin(s) and quantity desired.
* Open Edition pins available for order after release date.
* Applicable sales tax plus shipping and handling fees will apply.
* All pins will be available while supplies last.
* All Limited Edition pins may not be available for ordering via Walt Disney World® Mail Order 30 days after release date based on availability.
* All sales are final – no refunds, no returns via Walt Disney World® Mail Order.

Please Note – All information is subject to change including but not limited to artwork, release dates, edition sizes and retail prices.

There are four different savannas at Animal Kingdom Lodge—Sunset, Arusha, Pembe, and Uzima. Each of these savannas has rooms overlooking them, and those room rates are the most expensive at AKL.

Of these savanna views, the Arusha Savanna View is the most requested from guests staying in Jambo House. Why? It’s the hotel’s “main” savanna, located right off the lobby; because of this, you can be assured that there will always be a wide variety of animals on this savanna.

Unfortunately, though, it seems as though the resort will begin cashing in on this premium view in 2011. According to DisineyWorld.com’s room rates, Animal Kingdom Lodge will charge $30 per night more for a view of Arusha Savanna vs. a view of the Sunset and Uzima savannas. The $30 increase holds steady through all resort “seasons.”

Until this change occurs, Arusha Savanna views are by request only.

Click here to read more about Animal Kingdom Lodge rooms and room views.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge has a distinct vibe during the day, and another at night. Nights are special at AKL. There are several activities that are offered only at night, making the resort a unique place to wind down after a long day.

Sunset Savanna:

As the sun goes down, make your way to the Sunset Savanna Overlook viewing area, designed specifically for viewing at sunset. It’s located just beyond the lobby to the left. Giraffes, zebra, impalas and more will be active at this time of day, and if you’re lucky, they may be close! This is a great photo-taking spot, and tripods are welcome. Be sure to visit the various savanna viewing areas several times, and eventually, you will be able to get a close-up view of a native African animal.

Animal viewing with night vision goggles:

This is a bit of a well-kept secret! Once you’ve gotten your fill of picture-taking at the Sunset Savanna and it’s gotten completely dark, you have the opportunity to view animals with night vision goggles. A cast member will be on hand to identify animals and help you use the goggles properly. This free activity is currently offered at the Uzima Savanna Overlook, beyond the Uzima Springs Pool Bar, near the Uzima Springs spa. Right now this activity is held from 9-11 p.m., but be sure to check with staff, as times may change through the seasons.

African story-telling:

Another unique nighttime activity is African story-telling. African cast members will regale you with a story each night around the firepit in the lobby area, or at the outdoor firepit, at 7:30 p.m. nightly. Check with staff for location and time, which may be subject to change.

Nightcap at Victoria Falls Lounge

Top off your night with a drink at the Victoria Falls Lounge, overlooking Boma. Enjoy a South African wine near the indoor waterfall, or opt for a beer, martini or mixed drink. Relax, breathe, and smile – you just enjoyed a night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Do you love AKL as much as we do? Drop us a line over on facebook or twitter!

This post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! Check it out for more great Disney-related content and information.

We receive many questions about the music at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you’re like us it’s an important part of the incredible experience of the Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you’re wondering who the artists and songs are we have a partial list for you here. We have links where you can buy them and you can go to the vendors to hear samples to see which song you’re trying to identify. We’d also like to thank Nathan P at MouseSavers for helping us identify some of the ones we didn’t know.

Note: We linked to Amazon for Artists and Albums if they had it, so that those without iTunes installed could still check out the songs and previews.

Song	Artist	Album	Purchase MP3
Samite
Wasuze Otya?	Samite	Silina Musango	Amazon.com	iTunes
Ekibobo	Samite	Silina Musango	Amazon.com	iTunes
Tindiba	Samite	Stars to Share		iTunes
Night Stories	Samite	Stars to Share		iTunes
Having a Good Time	Samite	Stars to Share		iTunes
Cradle With Love	Samite	Stars to Share		iTunes
Bring Back the Music	Samite	Stars to Share		iTunes
Khadja Nin
Mama	Khadja Nin	Ya…	Amazon.com	iTunes
Embargo	Khadja Nin	Ya…	Amazon.com	iTunes
Turasa	Khadja Nin	Ya…	Amazon.com	iTunes
Mzee Mandela	Khadja Nin	Ya…	Amazon.com	iTunes
Afrika Obota	Khadja Nin	Ya…	Amazon.com	iTunes
Like an Angel	Khadja Nin	Ya…	Amazon.com	iTunes
Telek
Balamaris	Telek	Serious Tam	Amazon.com	iTunes
Go Ralom	Telek	Serious Tam	Amazon.com	iTunes
Talaigu	Telek	Serious Tam	Amazon.com	iTunes
Ayub Ogada
Ondiek	Ayub Ogada	En Mana Kuoyo	Amazon.com	iTunes
Dala	Ayub Ogada	En Mana Kuoyo	Amazon.com	iTunes
Les Go De Koteba
Sou	Les Go De Koteba	Dan Gna	Amazon.com	iTunes
Vieux Diop
C on	Vieux Diop	Afrika Wassap		iTunes

If you’d like to buy the physical CDs they are available on Amazon, be careful though some of the imports are quite expensive:

• Silina Musango -Samite
• Stars to Share – Samite
• Ya – Khadja Nin
• Serious Tam – Telek
• En Mana Kuoyo – Ayub Ogada
• Dan Gna – Les Go De Koteba
• Afrika Wassa – Vieux Diop

Do you love AKL as much as we do? Drop us a line over on facebook or twitter!

This post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! Check it out for more great Disney-related content and information.

Disclosure: These links are affiliate links and the owner will get a small commission if you buy any of these products, so purchasing these helps support AKLResort.com.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge does offer some incredible shopping — perfect for those rainy days, souvenirs, and the much-needed items you forgot to pack! Both Kidani Village and Jambo House have shops outfitted with everything you might need for a great vacation:

Zawadi Marketplace, Jambo House

The Zawadi Marketplace in the lobby of Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Jambo House offers an incredible array of merchandise that’s both useful and intriguing! From necessities like toiletries, sunscreen, and toothbrushes to groceries, souvenirs, and clothing, the shop covers all of your vacation needs.

But it also showcases some incredible imported carved African art, paintings of the Animal Kingdom Lodge you can own for your personal collection, safari-themed dinnerware, and other unique merchandise.

Zawadi Marketplace is the perfect place to purchase a gorgeous item to commemorate your stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, or to grab milk to have with breakfast in the morning! It does a great job of fitting everyone’s needs! Click the link to see Zawadi Marketplace pictures!

Johari Treasures, Kidani Village

While Johari Treasures is smaller than Zawadi Marketplace, you’ll still find plenty of merchandise here.

Again, vacation necessities like toiletries, groceries and sundries, some clothing, and other must-haves are available, along with some wonderful African art and other Disney souvenirs!

One helpful note: Johari Treasures also has a refillable mug station so you don’t have to go trekking to the Maji Pool bar to refill your mug.

You can find Johari Treasures just off the lobby of Kidani Village, Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Disney Vacation Club Villas building.

Have you had a great experience at Zawadi or Johari that you’d like to share? Let us know in our comments section below, or drop us a line over on facebook or twitter!

This post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! Check it out for more great Disney-related content and information.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom lodge has many offerings to help guests relax during their stay. One of the most obvious options for those looking to unwind are the various bars. The resort has four distinct bars, the Victoria Falls Lounge, the Maji Pool Bar, the pool bar at Uzima Springs and the lounge area at Jiko.

Victoria Falls Lounge

The Victoria Falls Lounge is the most formal of the bars and has the widest selection of drinks available. Located in the lobby just above Boma it can be a great place to relax while waiting for your reservation at one of the restaurants located below. You can also get a sampling of African breads and dips as well as a few other simple foods.

Maji Pool Bar

Kidani Village has its own pool and thus it’s own pool bar. The Maji Pool Bar is a distinctive pool bar. It’s claim to fame is the ability of guests to order “private dining” at the pool side. The dishes are served in bento boxes and provide a wonderfully unique experience for visitors. Of course you can also get your favorite drinks and simple finger foods here as well.

Jiko Lounge

Jiko has a small lounge in the entry area for guests waiting for a table. While you should definitely get a reservation for dinner at Jiko, you can enjoy many of their unique wine offerings while waiting to be seated. In fact if you enjoy the wines you should consider booking one of the Jiko Wine Dinners which are offered by the restaurant.

Uzima Springs Pool Bar

The Uzima Springs pool also has a bar, however it is a simpler affair than the one in Kidani Village. Don’t let the lack of bento boxes keep you away however. The zero-entry pool can be extremely relaxing and a drink and a snack can make it even more indulgent.

While many may think of the spa as the relaxing destination in Animal Kingdom Lodge, the myriad of bar offerings can help you find your own personal oasis at the resort.

This blog post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! Check out more fantastic Disney websites and articles over at the Carnival.

There are two main questions that people ask about Animal Kingdom Lodge bus service:
1. Because the resort is far away from most parks, does it take a long time to get everywhere?
2. Now with Kidani Village in the mix, is bus service even more backed up than usual?

Let’s take those one at a time:

Because the resort is far away from most parks, does it take a long time to get everywhere?
The short answer is: yes and no. Animal Kingdom Lodge is situated at the extreme end of Disney World’s 40+ square miles of property, so while it’s quite close to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, it is a far piece from other theme parks — especially the Magic Kingdom. That said, you’re not going to be on a bus for hours to travel between Disney destinations. On our FAQ page, we have the following distances calculated for Animal Kingdom Lodge bus service. Because buses in Walt Disney World aren’t traveling 60 mph on average and need to stop for lights, calculate about 3 minutes per mile on average:

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios- about 5 miles
• Blizzard Beach – about 2.5 miles
• Disney’s BoardWalk – about 5 miles
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom – about 1 mile
• Epcot – about 6 miles
• Typhoon Lagoon – about 6 miles
• Downtown Disney Area – 2.2 miles
• Magic Kingdom – about 8 miles

Now with Kidani Village in the mix, is bus service even more backed up than usual?
Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Disney Vacation Club Villas-specific area, Kidani Village, opened in May 2009. Kidani Village does not have dedicated buses serving its guests, so one set of buses serve both Animal Kingdom Lodge’s main building — Jambo House — and Kidani Village. Buses also serve as a way to travel internally between the two buildings: to get from Kidani to Jambo House, jump on any theme park bus; Jambo will be the next stop. To get from Jambo House to Kidani, jump on a Downtown Disney bus; Kidani will be the next stop.

Disney has had a year to get the bus situation at Animal Kingdom Lodge under control, and they should have enough buses running to serve all guests at this time. However, just like with airliners, you never want to run expensive transportation at less than capacity levels, so the buses will likely usually be crowded during high-traffic times. To avoid crowded buses, consider traveling after the parks open in the morning or several hours prior to park closing in the evening.

Also, because buses pick guests up at Kidani Village before guests at Jambo House, consider walking over to Kidani Village to ensure that you get a seat on any given theme park bus.

Thanks to Cynthia Graham, one of our favorite fellow Animal Kingdom Lodge fans, for this fantastic review of the Grand Villa in Animal Kingdom Lodge’s Kidani Village!

August 2009 Review: Cynthia Graham

Our family visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge from 8/19-8/22. We stayed at Kidani Village and our party included 6 adults and two children. We booked the Grand Villa, which sleeps up to 14 people. Our Villa location was room 7446 with a Savanna view.

Our parking location, Zazu Blue, was perfect because it was close to our vehicle, bus stop, and our room as well.

Grand Villa First Impressions
As you stepped into the Grand Villa, the foyer is a little small. There is a nice full bath to the left for guests who are probably sleeping on the sofa bed in the living room. The double stack washer and dryer is to the right, as is the staircase, which leads to a loft area and two additional bedrooms.

The Grand Villa has a full kitchen with dishwasher, nice electric stove, refrigerator, microwave, and other small electric appliances. The granite counter also doubles as a breakfast bar with 4 stools on the opposite side of the counter. The dining room houses an enormous round beautiful table which seated 6-8 people.

In the living room, there was the sofa bed and a flat screen television (6 in total), and the floor to ceiling window where the balcony ran the length on the first floor. The master bedroom is on the ground floor and appeared smaller than the Jambo House Grand Villa bedroom. The master bath was smaller as well, and also had a television.

As you make your way upstairs, there’s a comfortable loft area and two bedrooms — each with its own full private bath and 2 beds. The rooms were a nice size and each had a private balcony for viewing the animals. We didn’t see many animals this trip, though.

Grand Villa Review
I would have to say that I liked the Jambo House Grand Villa better than the Kidani Grand Villa. As far a Kidani itself, I don’t feel the warmth that I feel when I walk into Jambo House. The atmosphere is different. At Jambo, when you enter the lobby, you are greeted with the aromas of the restaurants, and I like the hustle and bustle of the visitors. Kidani only has the one restaurant, Sanaa, and I have not tried it yet. Kidani’s store is much smaller and does not offer much of a selection of souvenirs. I loved the library with the warm toasty fireplace. There is also a laundry room, game arcade and community house on the first floor lobby area.

The walk from Kidani to Jambo is a pleasant one. My one concern about Kidani was the proximity of the barbecue grills [for guest use]. They are across the street. I understand that by placing them in that location, the smoke won’t hurt the animals. But across the street? I don’t think I would want to schlep my food across the street and back. Also, if you forgot something in the villa, then it’s a pretty long way back across that street. It seemed like an afterthought to me. I really don’t think it would be highly utilized and can be removed. The pool was great. I liked it better than Jambo, which seems like a big bath tub to me. The Kidani pool was quieter and seemed more private, which I loved! The kids play area with water, water, everywhere was great fun for the kids! There is also a nice bar and exercise facility.

My other pet peeve is the fact that if it rains and you are going to the lobby, the walkway is not covered. And I don’t like the proximity of the smoking area. You still are walking in a haze of smoke coming out of those side doors. I think it should be across the street with those grills!

What’s missing from Kidani? A nice counter service like the Mara. I saw people on the bus with food going back to Kidani! You may as well stay and eat at Jambo.

If I had to choose, I would choose the Grand Villa at Jambo House! It’s all on one floor and much bigger. They have great balconies and that pool table was awesome! It’s also convenient having the restaurants close by. We still had a great vacation, but next year we’ll stay Concierge at Jambo House.

AKL will ALWAYS be my home. I LOVE it!

Thanks again, Cynthia! If any of you have other reviews from the Animal Kingdom Lodge, be sure to drop us a line here!

Also — this post is part of a Disney Blog Carnival over at DisMarks.com! If you like reading Disney blogs and articles — head over to the carnival to take a look at some other great posts!

Boma, located in Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House section, is one of Disney’s most innovative buffet restaurants. While “Disney buffet” is often synonymous with larger-than-life characters and standard American dishes, Boma’s buffet gives both kids and adults the opportunity to stretch their culinary horizons.

What Makes Boma Different?
First of all, you won’t find any characters here! The restaurant is designed to represent an African marketplace — a place for villagers to meet up, converse, and share and buy food and merchandise. The dining area is outfitted in rich, blocky wood furniture; thatched roofs, lanterns, and colorful African fabrics cover the restaurant; and food stations are surrounded by props that you might find in a real African marketplace. Additionally, many of the hosts who work in the restaurant are from Africa, so be sure to ask about their hometowns!

But what really sets Boma apart from other Disney buffets is the food. There’s plenty here to please any palate, from picky eaters to curious gourmands, but Boma takes risks and experiments with food in a way you won’t see at too many other Disney buffets. Highlighting standard African favorites like Mealie Pap, Chaka Laka, Beef Bobotie, and Fu Fu, there’s plenty for kids to sample while still having the safety of the childrens’ food station, which has favorites like macaroni and cheese and chicken strips, to return to.

We can also highly recommend the delicious, one-of-a-kind desserts, including the fantastic Zebra Domes!

We hope you’ll take the time to sample some of the treats that Boma offers. The restaurant is open as a buffet for breakfast and dinner, every day. Book your dining reservations early, though! This place is popular.

This post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! If you’re a Disney fan, stop by the carnival to check out some other great Disney blogs!

Tables in Wonderland presents: Jiko-The Cooking Place Wine Dinner
*Thursday, May 6, 2010
*Please check in between 6:20 – 6:30 p.m. in the back of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Lobby, left hand side.
*Reception 6:30 p.m., Dinner 7 p.m.
*Price: $160 per person, including tax and gratuity
*Dress is Casual Evening Attire
*Click image for description and specifics

Avontuur Estate, home of fine wines and fast horses, nestles against the Helderberg between Stellenbosch and Somerset West. The host for the evening will be Avontuur Winery General Manager, Pippa Mickleburgh. Pippa has been with the Avontuur farm for nearly 20 years and handles both the winery and thoroughbred stud farm side of the business. The wines for this dinner will include: Avontuur Minelli Pinot Noir Avontuur Vintner’s Red Blend Bouchard Finlayson Croc’s Lair Chardonnay Hartenberg Eleanor Chardonnay Avontuur Shiraz Avontuur Pinotage Avontuur Baccarat

To read the full menu for the event, click here.

For reservations, email WDW.Tables.In.Wonderland@disney (dot) com with the following information: your interest to book, your name, daytimephone number, home address, and the number of people in your party. You will be notified on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Yourcredit card will be taken over the phone once your reservation is confirmed. The event will be limited to 36 Guests.