Welcome to our latest roundup of What’s New at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge!
Animal Kingdom Lodge
We have a bunch of menu changes and merchandise updates to tell you about, so let’s get started!
Animal Kingdom Lodge Food Update
The Mara
Jambo House’s quick-service restaurant, The Mara, has updated its menu with Disney’s new plant-based logos and new vegetarian items. Safari Bobotie, a meat-free egg and sausage dish with savory mushrooms, onion and spinach served with Chakalaka sauce is now available for breakfast along with Breakfast Quinoa and Steel-cut Oatmeal.
The Mara
Meanwhile, we saw The Mara’s grab and go cooler was stocked with many meat-free offerings as well including a Plant-based Vegetable Wrap for $9.99.
The Mara
There was also a similar Chickpea Salad Wrap for $9.99. Even folks who aren’t vegetarians can enjoy these tasty veggie wraps as a light meal or snack!
The Mara
To accompany the wraps, we saw several vegetarian sides including Cauliflower Salad for $3.99…
The Mara
…and Chickpea Salad for $3.99.
The Mara
And we can’t forget one of our favorite sides — Tabbouleh Salad for $3.99!
The Mara
We also saw two Dairy-free Yogurts were available for $3.19 including peach…
The Mara
…and vanilla bean! Grab some fresh fruit to go with ’em, and you’ve got yourself a nice, healthy snack!
The Mara
Read more about Disney’s plant-based and vegetarian menu initiative here!
Sanaa
Hopping over to Kidani Village, we saw Sanaa’s menu had also been updated with plant-based items.
Sanaa
Vegetarian appetizer options at Sanaa include potato and pea Samosas with tamarind mango chutney and a Salad Sampler made with black-eyed peas, watermelon, pickled fennel, and beets.
Sanaa
Main course vegetarian offerings include your choice of “Harvest” Potjie-inspired curries. You can select either Chickpea Wat, Aloo Masala, Lentil Dhal, or Cilantro-Coconut Vegetables. All are served up hot over scented basmati rice.
Sanaa
During our trip to Animal Kingdom Lodge Jiko — The Cooking Place and Boma hadn’t updated their menus yet with plant-based signs, but we’ll keep you posted as soon as they do!
Animal Kingdom Lodge Construction Update
Jambo House
While strolling around Animal Kingdom Lodge we noticed some workers on cherry pickers just outside of a few of the resort rooms. To us, it didn’t appear to be any sort of construction — just a freshening up of Jambo House’s paint job.
Jambo House
Kidani Village
Meanwhile, over at Kidani Village, major construction was happening just outside of the lobby in the animal viewing area. We could see several workers climbing on the massive scaffolding structures. Surprisingly, some animals were still nearby and visible even with all the commotion.
Kidani Village Construction
It appears some of the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s feathery residents were a little curious about all the noise and excitement going on!
Kidani Village Construction
Once they saw what they needed to see, they didn’t seem too interested or bothered by all the clambering sounds of construction.
Animal Kingdom Merchandise Update
Zawadi Marketplace
Zawadi Marketplace
Next, we headed over to Zawadi Marketplace where we saw this impressive selection of Halloween merchandise!
Zawadi Marketplace
The store was nicely decorated for the spooky season with the displays brimming with Mickey and Minnie Halloween plush dolls for $15 and other home accessories!
Zawadi Marketplace
How cute is this embroidered Kitchen Towel Set featuring Mickey and Minnie! Usually, we can justify buying these types of souvenirs for ourselves — I mean, who doesn’t need more kitchen towels? Plus they’re on sale — only $15 for a limited time!
Zawadi Marketplace
We also spotted these adorable Halloween Villian Aprons for $25.
Zawadi Marketplace
We love the bright fuchsia pink and black combo! We can’t wait to throw it on and bake up some Halloween goodies!
Johari Treasures
Johari Treasures
Over at Kidani Village, we stopped by Johari Treasures to see what new Disney Vacation Club swag we could snag! We spotted this new DVC Beach Towel for $29.99 with a very relaxed-looking Mickey!
Johari Treasures
As well as these new Disney Vacation Member Tote Bags for $44.99, perfect for throwing our beach towel in!
Johari Treasures
Johari Treasures is full of surprises! We saw this basket of Special Limited Edition Pins for $17.99! Some featured Winnie the Pooh and friends while the other was a Magic of Honor Kilimanjaro Safari pin! SO COOL!
Johari Treasures
While we were there, Johari Treasures was offering a special promotion — you could buy a Lion King Tumbler with any purchase for only $10! Sign us up!
Johari Treasures
Some of our favorite Animal Kingdom Lodge offerings are the unique, hand-carved wooden animals they carry. Johari Treasures has a wide selection of such creatures including these too-cute-for-words Meerkats for $44.99.
Animal Kingdom Lodge Entertainment Update
We were lucky enough to catch Celebrate Africa Day events during our most recent trip to Animal Kingdom Lodge! There were many cultural ambassadors present as well as four stations set up for you to visit and learn about African culture, languages, flags, foods, agriculture, and more!
Celebrate Africa Day
There was even singing and dancing — such a fun experience to participate in! Plus there was gorgeous beadwork jewelry on display…
Celebrate Africa Day
…and face painting which was very popular with the kids and young adults! Isn’t she such stunning beauty?!
Celebrate Africa Day
We’re working on a full story of our Celebrate Africa Day experience, so check back for more information on this special event soon!
Kidani Village
Over at Kidani Village, there was an advertisement for their African-inspired Kidani Art Tour in their lobby.
Kidani Art Tour
Well folks, that’s all for this installment of What’s New in Animal Kingdom Lodge –until next time!
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Is the work being done at Kidani affecting the savannah views at Sanaa? I have lunch planned there soon and was hoping to see the animals!
Any indication if the construction extends to the savannah views from your room?
C, it doesn’t appear to obstruct room views, but it’s possible that could change at any time.
Katie, it looks to us like the views are not obstructed from the restaurant, but we don’t have specifics.
How long is Kidani’s construction supposed to last, as it is not mentioned on Disbeys website? They are usually upfront about construction on the resort’s home page, but there isn’t anything mentioned about it. We have an upcoming trip in a few months, so I’m hoping it will be done before then.
I had a call from Disney to tell me the views are obstructed from saana restaurant .
I can’t believe how much works can be seen in these photos, we arrive next week and feel very worried it will spoil our savannah views.
Lisa, I’ll see if I can find out more information for you.
We are staying at Kidani at the end of the month! How will this construction affect our stay??
Thanks so much for the photos and info on the plant-based options. With so many new options coming all at once, it’s super-helpful to read about these choices.
DFB is always the key resource for planning our Disney trips. (Just back, and frequently said to each other, “thank you, AJ” at various points during the trip.) I’m especially pleased to have your thoughts as we prepare to prioritize among the hugely expanded list of plant-based dishes when we return this winter.
You need to correct the spelling of Kidani …. it’s not Kindani. 🙂
Yes, I’m interested to know about construction, as well. We arrive 10/11 and are staying in a 1 bedroom savannah view villa until 10/16. I’ll be devastated if we can’t see the savannah.
Almost half of Jambo house is actually under refurbishment right now! The entire eastern side of the resort (all of the zebra trail guest rooms) are inaccessible. They put me and my boyfriend in a room directly next to the construction and I got a good picture that shows how much of the resort is actually under construction! Definitely recommend asking for a room over by the Kudu trail if you paid for a savannah room.
Caryn, thank you for your comment! I shared it with the team. 🙂
You’re welcome, Sarah. Of course, when we say, “thank you AJ,” we do mean the whole team.
I’ve got DFB listed in an article I wrote for Vegetarian Journal this coming winter. If they continue with plans to keep in the link, I’ll let you know.
Thanks, Caryn!
We were in one of the refurbished rooms in September in jambo house when we stayed club level they are beautiful no more carpet