Deluxe

Image of Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House lobby. Text says Animal Kingdom Lodge Review and Rating. From moms make it magical dot com.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Review & Rating

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Animal Kingdom Lodge for Families with Sensitive & Anxious Kids

Are you considering staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge with your highly sensitive, sensory sensitive, or anxious kids? 

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Figuring out lodging for your Disney World trip is one of the harder (and expensive!) decisions you have to make. And if your kids are anything like mine, it can be a struggle to leave home and be able to sleep well in an unfamiliar place. That really puts the pressure on when it comes to choosing a hotel, doesn’t it?!

If you’re thinking about staying on property, it helps to know that Disney hotels are divided into these categories:
– Deluxe Villas
– Deluxe Resorts
– Moderate Resorts
– Value Resorts

Animal Kingdom Lodge General Information

Animal Kingdom Lodge falls under the “Deluxe” category, and it includes both regular resort rooms (which are like standard hotel rooms), and villas (which are more spacious accommodations and fall under Disney’s timeshare program—Disney Vacation Club). This definitely means you’ll be shelling out a good chunk of change to stay here. 

The African theming and unique savanna views make this a stand-out hotel for many guests. There really isn’t anything else at WDW that compares.

This Disney hotel is located in the Animal Kingdom theme park area, so it’s a short bus ride away for your AK day. 

There are two separate sections of Animal Kingdom Lodge: Jambo House and Kidani Village. 

AKL Jambo House is the “original” location, which opened first in 2002, and houses a mix of regular hotel rooms and villas. It is known for its spectacular lobby! 

AKL Kidani Village on the other hand is comprised of villas only and opened in 2009. It’s a little smaller and cozier. 

The two sections are walkable, but they also offer an internal shuttle. If you stay here, you have access to amenities in BOTH sections, so don’t forget to take advantage of that! 

With that background info, let’s get into the nitty gritty details. Is it worth it to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge with your sensitive or anxious kids? Let’s look at some factors to help you decide whether or not this hotel is a good choice for your family.

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Text says Bay Lake Tower, a Resort Rating for Highly Sensitive Kids. Four photos of the outside of the Contemporary Tower, Magic Kingdom, the monorail, and kids standing on the second floor of a Bay Lake Tower 3-bedroom grand villa.

Bay Lake Tower for Highly Sensitive Kids

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Are you considering staying at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with your highly sensitive kids? Let’s look at things like the proximity to theme parks, comfort level of the rooms, crowdedness, amenities, and theming to help you make your decision. 

If you’re not familiar, Bay Lake Tower is the Disney Vacation Club part of the Contemporary Resort. 

What is Disney Vacation Club?

Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is a timeshare program operated by Disney. Compared to traditional timeshare programs, it’s pretty flexible! You’re not locked in to a certain week of the year or a specific property, even though you do have a “home” resort.

Even if you’re not a timeshare owner, you can stay at a DVC resort by renting points through DVC rental companies like David’s Vacation Club Rentals or DVC Rental Store. It is cheaper than going directly through Disney, though cancellation policies are much less flexible. 

Full disclosure: we are DVC members. We joined in January 2019. What I love about DVC is that if you stay in a 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, or a 3-bedroom grand villa, you get a full kitchen and in-unit washer & dryer. It feels more like “home” than a standard hotel room, which is something I really appreciate with highly sensitive kids.

Photo of Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary Tower, at Disney's Contemporary
Photo credit: magicguides.com
Disney’s Contemporary Resort

There are also two other sections of the Contemporary Resort: the South Garden Wing, and the Contemporary Tower. While Bay Lake Tower is fairly new, the Contemporary Resort itself is one of two original Walt Disney World hotels.

It’s located in between Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. It is also known as one of three “monorail resorts”, with the others being the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian. When you book your room, you get to choose between a theme park view, a lake view, and a standard view. It does cost a little more to stay in a theme park or lake view room. 

In this review, I’ll be focusing mainly on Bay Lake Tower but will also discuss other aspects of the Contemporary Resort as a whole. Let’s see if Bay Lake Tower is a good choice for your family with highly sensitive kids!

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