Hi Richard, thanks for bringing your question to planDisney!
I have been lucky enough to stay at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and it is a beautiful resort! I loved that I could look out almost any window and see animals roaming the savannah.
If you are utilizing
Online Check-In through the My Disney Experience app, you will be asked to link a credit card to your account and set up a PIN number to use for room charges. If you link a card to your reservation, on the date of your arrival an
authorization hold will be placed on your card. If you do not have any charges to your room, the authorization hold will be released after you check out.
If you don't use Online Check-In, you’ll need to stop at the Front Desk of your resort when you arrive. If you choose not to put a card on file with your Resort reservation, you will not be able to use your MagicBand to make any purchases until you stop by the Front Desk of your Resort. Several of my fellow panelists recommend using
Disney Gift Cards to pay for charges made to their rooms. They recommend
visiting the Front Desk to make payments throughout your stay so that your card will not be charged for the purchases.
When I stay at a Disney Resort hotel, I try to find special activities that are offered at the resort. At Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, they offer the
Starlight Safari, an opportunity to view the animals of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge at night! Reservations for this activity can be booked in advance, and the safari takes place later in the evening, so this sounds like the perfect activity for after spending the day at the resort pool, or when you have a shorter day at the theme parks.
I hope this was helpful, Richard. Please visit us at planDisney again if you have any future planning questions!
Kaitlin