Welcome back to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge! The resort reopened to all guests today, and we’re staying in one of the newly-remodeled rooms in Jambo House themed to “The Lion King.”

Many features are similar to what we’ve seen at other recently remodeled resorts. The vanity area has a sliding door that does not lock (don’t worry, the door to the actual bathroom does lock).

There’s a double vanity with both a backlit mirror and an adjustable, lighted cosmetic mirror. It has shelves and small cubbies for storage.

The standard Disney H2O mouthwash, body wash, body lotion, shower cap, and vanity kit are provided.

Art featuring the “Hakuna Matata” scene is hung to the left of the vanity.

The entrance to the bathroom is to the right.

These rooms do not have a bathtub.

Shelves for towels and toiletries are over the toilet.

There is both a rainfall and a handheld showerhead.

The new standard mounted amenities are below a shelf for your own toiletries. The shower also has a small shaving ledge.

A closet is across from the bathroom. The left side is narrow, with a little space for longer items guests wish to hang.

The right side is wider, but the hanging storage space is much shorter. The safe and extra bedding are stored inside.

The new standard coffee station with shelves and a decal is located just to the right. We actually really like the decal here as it’s a more subtle use of IP rather than characters. The sunrise from the opening of the movie pairs nicely with fresh coffee. Plus, we were very happy to find actual glasses have returned to the resort rooms.

The drawer below contains coffee pods for the Keurig coffee pot, condiments, disposable cups, and ceramic mugs.

The bottom cabinet conceals the minifridge.

The same themed luggage rack and combination trash and recycling container remain from before the remodel.

Crafted bowl art is hung on the wall above the luggage rack.

The biggest difference from the remodel is the switch from carpet to “wood” floor. Additionally, there are more outlets, including USB. The television is slim and wall-mounted, and the dresser below it has been upgraded to a smaller profile.

The beds are raised off the floor for additional storage.

We love this art. It’s so rare to find dimensional art in rooms nowadays, and this room has multiple pieces. This sculpt resembles a cave painting depicting the moment that baby Simba is introduced to the animals of the Pride Lands. Rafiki can be seen holding him up under the sun.

Small wall-mounted shelves sit on the far side of each bed, along with a set of outlets for easy recharging.

Reading lights are built into the beautiful headboards.

The nightstand between the two beds features Rafiki’s art of Simba.

Above the nightstand, labeled light switches control the uplights above the headboards, the sconces, and the ceiling light. “Good night” turns all of the above off.

The room also has a small seating area with a cool table and chairs, plus a mirror and a sconce.

The Disney Conservation Fund book is found beneath the TV for guests to peruse during their stay.

We had the savannah view, which, in our opinion, is the only way to go at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We were located across from Kidani and Sanaa.

The small balcony has an end table and two themed chairs. One chair had the face of a lion worked into the back, and the other had a giraffe.

Speaking of giraffes, we had a few visitors. Seeing animals is never a guarantee, but it is common.

A few giraffes stopped by for a snack outside our room.

Overall, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge remains our most recommended resort. The addition of “The Lion King” theming was very minimal. We think this resort fared the best of the three recently remodeled resorts. It still very much feels like Animal Kingdom Lodge with modern touches.

Watch our full room tour below.

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Katie Francis