I never saw the point of resort hopping. I’m not staying there. Why do I care how something is themed? It just didn’t connect for me. Then, one Christmas we said “Hey, let’s go see the resort decorations”, because why not, right? We had the time, it was something special, and it was a unique experience. We got hooked y’all. HOOKED.
So now, every trip we spend some time resort hopping. One of our favorite experiences was enjoying pony rides at Wilderness Lodge, on our last trip.
One memorable trip, we decided to visit Animal Kingdom Lodge. Oh my goodness y’all. I’m in love with this resort! I’m going to have to add it to our where to stay Bucket List.
In addition to several unique and wonderful restaurants (you need to go to The Mara and try the Zebra Domes. They are one of my absolute favorite treats!) there are some fantastic areas to view the over 30 species of animals that call this resort home.
What makes the Animal Kingdom Lodge even more interesting are the guides. They are there on a cultural exchange program, which means they have fascinating stories about actually living among these incredible animals. I don’t know about you, but that’s not something we can get at our local zoo. We had an excellent time viewing all the animals- it’s a relaxed experience, where you can spend as little or as much time as you’d like. There are many places you can view the animals as they wander around and eat, and we didn’t find it to be crowded- in fact, at times we were one of just two families even out there! Both Kidani Village and Jambo House have animals you can see.
There are also some truly interesting gift shops with unique items inside. In addition to the usual Disney goodies, you can find a collection of live plants and Fair Trade certified items that are made all around the world. Definitely plan to spend some time browsing the gift shops for a different experience.
Go around Christmas and you can see their massive “icon” Christmas tree, decorated with beautiful and different ornaments and decorations.
We had an amazing time trading pins here. It seemed many of the cast members had lanyards (more than we’ve seen at some of the other resorts0, and the front desk has a drum covered in them! The cast member told my daughter she had to beat the drum to trade pins, and she happily obliged.
While on our quest for pins, Miss Bongo was gifted a fantastic plastic sequined tiara from one of the front desk cast members! You would have thought she had won the lottery, guys! She was so happy, which of course made us all feel like we’d won that lottery.
Plan to spend a few hours here. Take in the animals, trade some pins, grab a lovely lunch (we were all very happy with our food at The Mara) and please, I beg you- try those Zebra Domes!
Linda says
AK is our home resort and we love it
Thanks for the write up