Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House

We were very grateful for Jackie (front desk) for her help early in the morning. She helped us reconcile our Disney reservations/tickets….and make sure our Magic Bands were working properly Even better… she was so much fun and had us laughing. Such a great experience.

My husband and I stayed at Jumbo House for 3 nights. I specifically choose Jumbo House as we love Animal Kingdom and because I’m a South African living in US feeling a little homesick at times. Jumbo House did not disappoint, the lobby is stunning and has a great African feel and vibe . Seeing the animals (giraffes, different antelope and many more) from our balcony was super special. We had breakfast and dinner in Boma each day and I was able to eat many of my favourite dishes from South Africa , which was just wonderful. But the absolute highlight for me was meeting so many wonderful smart hardworking young people from Southern Africa - it felt truly like being home! Michael, Tina, Tsakani and Leonora from South Africa, Lala from Zambia and Admire from Zimbabwe were some of the wonderful hosts in Boma, who made us feel extra special. Stephen, Michelle and Nelson our servers (not from Africa, but we won’t hold it against them 😉) were great too! We can’t wait to come back! Thank you for spoiling us.

Hotel was beautifully appointed with a heavy thematic African motif. Our rooms were suites with a savana view from which we could look out on giraffes and other furry quadrupeds. The room was insanely far from the main ‘lodge’. A brisk 5-7 minute walk to the main desk/restaurants. This got old after walking 5-7 miles in the parks. Also allow 15-30 minutes for a bus to other parks, eg. Magic Kingdom, vs a 5-10 minute easy monorail ride if staying in the ‘loop’ hotels ( Polynesian/Contemporary/Grand Floridian. Room appointments were ‘thematic’ to African motif. Nice but a bit in need of refreshing. So under-lighted, could not even shave easily, and that was the brightest area. The room itself was, nice, but for price not a great value. Annoyingly half the usb chargers and 110v outlets were nonfunctional, as was the toaster. The staff was courteous, well trained. Generally gave correct information. Very accommodating. Pool and restaurants in hotel great with wide range of adult and kid-friendly foods, albeit Disney-level costs.

Impeccably-themed resort. The African touches are just amazing. Joe Rohde is at his best with the development of this resort. The Cast Members truly make your stay even more memorable. Jiko and Boma are excellent dining choices. I hold one star back before the rooms are due for a refresh. They can use a refurb as has recently occurred at other DVC properties. That said, the villas are still very nice and accommodating. The 1 bedroom is excellent for a small family. We will gladly stay here again … soon.

Best resort on property hands down if you like quiet. Food is great at BOMA. Splurge on savannah room if you can. Pool has great water slide. 5 min bud ride from animal kingdom park. Highly recommend. We’ve stayed here multiple times and it never disappoints!

We stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House for 2 nights from April 8-10 before our cruise on the Disney Wish out of Port Canaveral. We chose this hotel because we spent a day at Animal Kingdom as well. We flew in from LAX to MCO on Saturday morning and got to the hotel around 5 pm. We had 2 rooms - one for myself, my wife, and my two daughters and one for my in-laws. Both rooms were on the 5th floor as we booked through David's Vacation Club Rentals and I believe it's a DVC floor. One of our rooms overlooked the pool and the other looked out to the makeshift savanna within the hotel grounds. We immediately got the girls to the pool and they were able to swim for a few hours. They enjoyed the waterslide and the camp-like atmosphere that the pool staff put on with games, dance competitions, etc. We ate at The Mara by the pool both nights there and enjoyed the convenience. We considered the buffet but with an all-you-can-eat cruise waiting in the wings we tried to eat light. I didn't find much convenience with the hotel's location with regards to Animal Kingdom as it felt like a decent drive to get to the park in the morning. Walking was out of the question and although they had a shuttle I didn't want us to feel stranded so we drove our rental minivan - it's free to park at the parks if you're a guest at one of their hotels so it worked out fine. You can stay at any hotel if you want to visit Animal Kingdom as each will require a drive. We really enjoyed the day at the theme park - the whole experience felt more like a zoo visit than a Disney Park but we all really loved the Avatar Flight of Passage ride that you'd never find at a zoo. The park was smaller than expected and with our lightning lanes we got through it all by around 4 pm. That got us back to the hotel and the girls got another night at the pool. My lasting impression of the hotel was that it was beautiful although a bit dark. My youngest daughter LOVED the fact that she could see zebras and giraffes and other animals while at the hotel. The rooms were a bit dated but met all our needs. All in all, a very nice hotel.

This hotel is absolutely amazing. We were there quite a few years ago and just wasn’t that wowed - this time wowed. We just had a regular room - which was great for the 4 of us! When we were there before we had a savannah view room which was nice and roomy but didn’t see a lot of animals. We saw so many animals this time it was breathtaking and amazing. Just relaxing to me to sit on my deck and watch them. The resort was immaculate - the staff was amazing especially Edwin. Pools are beautiful both with slides. It was just an amazing trip. Would highly recommend !

This is marketed as a premier resort. The room was fine. The pools were good. The service was very poor. We couldn’t get a bell hop to help with luggage when we arrived or when we left. There was no one working the front desk when we needed assistance. We were worked up to a fire alarm at 5am and were led out to a holding pen directly beside the hotel. We were never given an explanation of the reason for the alarm.

The hotel is very nice, but for those wanting the disney experience, you wouldn't know this was a disney hotel. No characters whatsoever, nothing apart from the gift shop had any sign that we were in a disney hotel, the savannah lookout was amazing with a good selection of animals always viewable. Restaurants and amenities were great.