Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is located in southwest corner of the Walt Disney World Resort and at times it can seem as if it’s “way out there.”
But in reality, your travel times to most of the areas within the Walt Disney World Resort won’t be too terribly long as the bus service at AKL is rather reliable.
If you’re not driving your own car or renting a car the best way to get from the hotel to the theme parks, Downtown Disney, or anywhere else on property (other than another hotel) is to use the Disney Parks bus system.
The buses run one hour prior to theme park opening until one hour after park close. The Downtown Disney buses run until 2 a.m. The shortest ride from AKL to a theme park will be to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and it’ll be about 5-10 minutes.
The longest trip will be to the Magic Kingdom and you should factor in at least 20 minutes travel time during “normal” seasons and longer during the busy summer and holiday seasons. It’s always a good idea to pack your patience when taking the Disney buses.
The Disney Parks bus stop at Jambo House is located in front of the Giraffe Trail rooms, while the bus stop at Kidani Village is located a short walk away from the main lobby. At the Kidani Village bus stop there is a Disney Transport screen that lists the estimated arrival times for the Disney Parks buses at the resort.
Guests with strollers will need to collapse the strollers before boarding the bus. Guests who are using motorized scooters (or Electronic Conveyance Vehicles) will be loaded onto the buses first and can transfer to a seat from their ECV.
If you’re looking to travel between Jambo House and Kidani Village there are two good ways to do it.
You can walk along the walking path between the two buildings, or you can take advantage of the shuttle service that travels between the hotels. If you want to use the shuttle service you can catch it out front of either Jambo House or Kidani Village and it’s about a 5 minute trip. This is an easy way to make it over to Kidani Village for your reservation at Sanaa.
The shuttle runs continually – you simple need to let a cast member out front of the hotel know that you’re waiting for the shuttle. You may have to wait a few minutes depending on the time of day and number of people waiting ahead of you.
Have you had good or bad experiences with transportation at Animal Kingdom Lodge? Let us know in the comments.
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