During the planning of my recent vacation, I had a lot of questions that I couldnt find the answers to. This is way I wanted to start doing a review of this trip to hopefully help out some vacation planners.
Animal Kingdom Villas Jambo House
1 Bedroom Villas Savannah View
5 nights
Magical Express
Thinking about leaving your luggage in the hands of strangers with the hopes of the luggage arriving at your hotel room hours later sounds scary, but thanks to Disneys Magical Express, have no worries and start your vacation early. Being skeptical about the use of the Magical Express, I was very impressed and would absolutely recommend this complementary service to anyone.
Prior to departure you simply place your Magical Express tags on your luggage and check your bags at the airport. Once you arrive in Orlando you simply follow directions and locate the Magical Express Area. If you have your vouchers you walk right into line and have your vouchers reviewed (number of passengers/resort etc) and then you are directed to a particular line as you wait for your bus. Once you board the bus and leave the airport and Welcome to Disney movie is played as entertainment.
The Magical Express will make 4 stops at different resorts. Our flight landed in Orlando around 9:00 am and by 10:45 we were all checked in and walking to our hotel room. I highly recommend making use of the online check in service which becomes available 10 days prior to your trip. I feel like if I had not done the online check in our room would not have been ready. There is even a separate, sometimes sorter line, for online check in.
When your vacation comes to an end, the day before you will get a Magical Express notice which will state which time your bus will come. You must bring this notice and give it to the bus driver. If you are flying on select airlines you will receive your boarding pass in your room the day before you leave. You can then check your luggage in at the airline desk in the lobby and you will see your bags at the baggage claim when you reach your final destination. If you are flying on an airline that requires bag fees there is a number on the information sheet you receive to call in a payment for the bags. Once you arrive at the airport you can head right through security.
Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge
If you are debating whether or not to stay at this hotel, dont. Its a magnificent resort and do not hesitate staying there. There are only 3 on property resorts that I have not been too (Pop Century, Yacht Club, and Beach club) and The Animal Kingdom Lodge ranks right up at top, if not at the top. However if you are staying at the Lodge, treat yourself and get a Savannah View room, its worth every cent.
Up Until this vacation I have always thought of a hotel room as just a place to stay, not anymore. If we were told we couldnt leave our hotel room at all during our trip we would have been perfectly content sitting on our balcony watching all of the animals. Seeing giraffes right outside your balcony is just an unbelievable site and it was worth the cost of the room alone. I would not stress about your room location, yes the 3rd floor is probably the best, but, we were on the 5th floor and had a spectacular view.
I would like to take a chance to explain away some of the negative reviews I have read about Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Bus Transportation:
The bus transportation was the best of any resort I have ever stayed at primarily because it only makes 2 stops, one at Jambo house and 1 at Kidani Village. Many of the other resorts have multiple bus stops which makes your travel time much longer. It is a lot quicker to have all guests meet at one bus stop rather than have 10 stops before you leave your resort. All of the buses except for Downtown Disney stop at Kidani Village first and then at Jambo House.
I really hope this review helps some people out; I would like to do some more reviews on other topics as well. If anyone has any questions or comments please let me know.
Have a Magical Day!
Animal Kingdom Villas Jambo House
1 Bedroom Villas Savannah View
5 nights
Magical Express
Thinking about leaving your luggage in the hands of strangers with the hopes of the luggage arriving at your hotel room hours later sounds scary, but thanks to Disneys Magical Express, have no worries and start your vacation early. Being skeptical about the use of the Magical Express, I was very impressed and would absolutely recommend this complementary service to anyone.
Prior to departure you simply place your Magical Express tags on your luggage and check your bags at the airport. Once you arrive in Orlando you simply follow directions and locate the Magical Express Area. If you have your vouchers you walk right into line and have your vouchers reviewed (number of passengers/resort etc) and then you are directed to a particular line as you wait for your bus. Once you board the bus and leave the airport and Welcome to Disney movie is played as entertainment.
The Magical Express will make 4 stops at different resorts. Our flight landed in Orlando around 9:00 am and by 10:45 we were all checked in and walking to our hotel room. I highly recommend making use of the online check in service which becomes available 10 days prior to your trip. I feel like if I had not done the online check in our room would not have been ready. There is even a separate, sometimes sorter line, for online check in.
When your vacation comes to an end, the day before you will get a Magical Express notice which will state which time your bus will come. You must bring this notice and give it to the bus driver. If you are flying on select airlines you will receive your boarding pass in your room the day before you leave. You can then check your luggage in at the airline desk in the lobby and you will see your bags at the baggage claim when you reach your final destination. If you are flying on an airline that requires bag fees there is a number on the information sheet you receive to call in a payment for the bags. Once you arrive at the airport you can head right through security.
Disneys Animal Kingdom Lodge
If you are debating whether or not to stay at this hotel, dont. Its a magnificent resort and do not hesitate staying there. There are only 3 on property resorts that I have not been too (Pop Century, Yacht Club, and Beach club) and The Animal Kingdom Lodge ranks right up at top, if not at the top. However if you are staying at the Lodge, treat yourself and get a Savannah View room, its worth every cent.
Up Until this vacation I have always thought of a hotel room as just a place to stay, not anymore. If we were told we couldnt leave our hotel room at all during our trip we would have been perfectly content sitting on our balcony watching all of the animals. Seeing giraffes right outside your balcony is just an unbelievable site and it was worth the cost of the room alone. I would not stress about your room location, yes the 3rd floor is probably the best, but, we were on the 5th floor and had a spectacular view.
I would like to take a chance to explain away some of the negative reviews I have read about Animal Kingdom Lodge:
Bus Transportation:
The bus transportation was the best of any resort I have ever stayed at primarily because it only makes 2 stops, one at Jambo house and 1 at Kidani Village. Many of the other resorts have multiple bus stops which makes your travel time much longer. It is a lot quicker to have all guests meet at one bus stop rather than have 10 stops before you leave your resort. All of the buses except for Downtown Disney stop at Kidani Village first and then at Jambo House.
I really hope this review helps some people out; I would like to do some more reviews on other topics as well. If anyone has any questions or comments please let me know.
Have a Magical Day!
someone had mis-read the room number. We were a little hesitant to try it again this year, but we were glad we did! No problems this time...and you just can't beat how easy it makes everything! !
