Hi Zack! Welcome to planDisney! It’s always great to speak to a fellow Palmetto State resident!
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is my family’s home away from home. We have stayed there on multiple occasions and each time has been better than the last. Where else can you stay that has a savanna filled with giraffes, zebras, and antelopes just outside of your window. The food options are second to none. I just recently tried the breakfast buffet at
Boma - Flavors of Africa and it’s going to be hard to follow up that meal! There is also dinner at
Boma - Flavors of Africa,
Sanaa, and
Jiko - The Cooking Place (which has just opened back up). Each of these table service restaurants has offerings that are incredibly authentic to the region they are representing.
Your perks and benefits to staying in a
Disney Resorts Collection hotel start on your check-in day and last until the end of your check-out day. If you plan on visiting
Disney’s Hollywood Studios the day prior, you will not be able to enter the parks earlier than the official park opening. The
Early Theme Park Entry for Disney Resort Hotel Guests will be available to you the morning of your check-in day, regardless of if your room is ready just yet. On a recent trip, I arrived early at Walt Disney World and took advantage of this early access before I received the notification that my resort room was ready.
Since you are staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, do yourself a favor and get an order of the Nyala Brownie at
The Mara. It’s a top-three dessert for me at all of Walt Disney World. It is a chocolate brownie topped with the most delicious peanut butter buttercream frosting you will ever taste. We ordered one recently and then had to go back the next night for seconds.
Zack, I hope you have an amazing time on your upcoming stay. I have a feeling you are going to love your stay at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge!
See ya real soon!
Greg