We recently returned from a one week stay at the Animal Kingdon Lodge. As just about everyone has mentioned, the lobby is breathtaking. The works of art are museum quality and the representatives from Africa are happy to talk about their homeland and culture. The resort is quite large and some rooms are a significant distance from the lobby and bus stop to the parks. Rooms closer to the lobby suffer from (usually noisy) traffic passing by constantly. We were assigned a room in one of the buildings jutting off of the main arc of buildings facing the Sunset savannah. This did offer a good combination of proximity to the lobby yet being off of the main traffic flow. We were given a "complimantary" upgrade to a deluxe room. This translates into a few extra square feeet in the room and not much else. The downside is the deluxe rooms are on the 5th floor, so you are somewhat farther from the animals. I would have preferred a 2nd or 3rd floor room. The rooms are nicely decorated, a bit dark, with comfortable beds. The bathroom is too small and the door to the toilet awkward to close. And watch out when flushing the toilet...it scared the heck out of my little girl it's so loud and forceful. House keeping was adequate. If you would like a coffee maker you need to call housekeeping to have one delivered and it only includes the first day's supply of coffee. Kind of skimpy for a hotel that charges more than $250 a night. Refrigerators are available for rent for a $10 per day fee. We rented one and found it to be very worthwhile for having breakfast, snacks and drinks in the room. Food at the resort is EXPENSIVE. It is well worth it to stop at a grocery store on the way to the hotel and stock up on drinks, bottled water, coffee and snacks. And Disney doesn't seem to care if you do this, no one gave us a second look when we checked in with grocery bags from Publix. The restaurants at the hotel include Jiko which is only open for dinner, Boma, a buffet open for breakfast and dinner and the Mara which is fast food serving all day. Jiko is an excellent dining experience, but rather expensive. We never did try Boma, so I can't comment on the quality. The Mara is decent, especially the "grab and go" fruit plates and wraps. Unfortunately, it's your only option for lunch if you stay at the resort. The pool area is quite large with sloped zero entry section and a small slide. The water is heated to the mid 80's so it's comfortable to swim even on cooler days. There are two hot tubs as well. There are many observation places scattered throughout the hotel to observe the animals and helpful guides at most places. Storytelling is done every evening around the fire just off of the lobby. I was disappointed in that they told the SAME story every night. Come on, isn't there more than one African story?? Activities are available for the children at scheduled times during the day including music, games, animal information, and night vision. Children can earn a bead for some activities and make a necklace or bracelet. The gift shop has a wide variety of unique African handicrafts as well as the usual Disney souveniers. Beer and wine are also sold and are much less expensive than from the restaurants or room service. Transportation to the parks is by bus. The buses run about every 15 - 20 minutes. Commute time varies from 5 minutes to the Animal Kingdom to almost 20 minutes to the Magic Kingdom. If you are going to another resort, your best bet is to rent a car and drive. Otherwise you have to switch buses at Downtown Disney. Guests staying at the resort park free at any other resort or park. Overall, it is a sophisticated resort which is still family friendly. The setting is it's best feature, it's remote location and lack of food service options is it's worst feature.
I'm happy to answer any questions
I'm happy to answer any questions
from another DISer from McKinney........ 
We are staying there in september and I cannot wait. So Jiko is worth a try? We are definately planning on doing breakfast at Boma. 
