Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is known for its gorgeous theming and attention to detail. So when we heard that the rooms had been renovated, we had to go check them out!
Animal Kingdom Lodge
With all of the recent resort changes in Disney World, like upgrades at Caribbean Beach Resort and the opening of the Riviera Resort, we were excited to see what the renovations at Animal Kingdom Lodge would bring! Let’s take a look at some before and after photos of the rooms!
One of the first changes we noticed was the updated flooring. Before the renovation, the rooms were covered in carpet.
Before: Carpet Flooring
The carpet has now been replaced with laminate flooring. This isn’t a surprising change since we’ve seen other Disney resorts replace carpets with laminate flooring in recent renovations.
After: A Renovated Room with Laminate Flooring
The seating area also got a redesign! Before the changes, the seating area featured a mirror, table, and chairs.
Before: Seating Area Furniture
The new seating still has a different mirror, table, and chairs, but the design of the furniture is less detailed than before.
After: New Seating Area Furniture
The beds lost a bit of theming as well. There used to be mosquito netting draped at the head of the bed.
Before: Beds with Mosquito Netting
Now, the beds have a larger (repurposed!) headboard, and the mosquito netting has been removed.
After: New Beds
Before the updates, the nightstand was pretty basic.
Before: Nightstand
Compare that to the new nightstand we saw — feat. easy access outlets! Thank you, Animal Kingdom Lodge!
After: Nightstand with Outlets
The coffee area now includes a Keurig and a gorgeous nod to The Lion King.
After: Coffee Area
There were also huge changes to the bathrooms! Here’s a look at the old tub with colorful tiles and a patterned shower curtain.
Before: Tub and Shower Curtain
The tub is now almost unrecognizable, with glass shower doors and a more muted tile design.
After: Glass Shower Doors
Here’s a closer look at the new showerhead.
After: Shower Head
And here’s a look at the toilet and shelving for all of your towels and toiletries.
After: New Bathroom Design
And keeping in line with Disney’s environmentally friendly initiatives, the shower features refillable shampoo, conditioner, and body wash dispensers. Can you spy the hidden Mickey?
After: Refillable Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash
The sink also saw some major updates. Take a look at what the sink area looked like before the renovations.
Before: Bathroom Sink
Wowza! The new bathroom sink has an updated design, and The Lion King art was added to the wall.
After: Bathroom Sink
Here’s a closer look at the new sink. Oo, we fancy now!
After: New Sink
Here’s one more angle, with the complementary H20 products included.
After: Sink with H20 Products
Overall, we were a little bummed to see the new rooms feel less themed than before. We will miss lots of the little touches of African theming that were removed (including the cool “tent roll” on the windows!), because now the room definitely feels more like a standard hotel. But we definitely appreciated some of the upgrades (the bathroom is gorgeous!) and if you’re looking for a more streamlined room, these may be a really great option for you!
Check out our full photo tour of the Riviera Resort HERE!
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
What do you think of the room renovations at Animal Kingdom Lodge? Let us know in the comments below!
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
Those armless chairs look a lot whole less comfortable than the previous ones.
We scored 4 of the purple chairs from a furniture liquidation store near us that gets old Disney Resorts stuff. We love them!!
I too will miss the the tent-roll window treatments and the mosquito netting. These are the type of inspired details that elevated a hotel stay into an immersive experience.
Has anyone else commented about noise levels with the vinyl plank flooring? I found it a little noisy but I wasn’t there to experience the carpet. We loved animal kingdom lodge otherwise!
I think it looks much less garish and therefore more high end. If you travel the world, no fancy hotel looks like those old rooms. Now they’re much cleaner (no carpet! YAY), and fresh and calm. Love it.
I have to say I’m glad to see the netting gone. I can’t imagine what kind of critters take up residence in those unless they were taken down frequently and cleaned which I would guess they probably were not. I do love the addition of the Keurig and backsplash in the coffee area, the artwork, bathroom sink area, and those shower heads are amazing!
Everything looks lovely. I know the prices are over the roof. With all the upgrades.
I really like the new look. Only thing I wasn’t keen on was the shower…I would have preferred frosted glass. I like my privacy.
I love the new renovations! I’m so excited to stay there and see them for myself in July!
Glad the nasty unhealthy netting is gone & all the other improvements look great except for the new chairs & table. Can you say UNCOMFORTABLE.
Daya, I wondered what Disney would do with some of that furniture! Way to go grabbing those!
We stayed in a refurbed room recently – we had a walk-in shower with a hinged door rather than a sliding door over the tub. I preferred it – much easier to get in and out, and especially that I could wash my hair without getting my whole body wet.
Wasn’t keen on the floor – it wasn’t stuck down properly, and made funny sucky noises when we walked on it. It also showed the fluff and dust more than the carpet would have.
Im glad the netting is gone, but the rest looks fairly cheap and bland, hate the flooring the rooms are going to be loud. They keep doing this everywhere and there is nothing cozy or comfortable about these rooms anymore which are becoming generic and too basic for the prices being paid.
Looks awesome! Do you know if all the rooms in Jambo House are now refurbished? We are staying there in July and wondering if I need to request a refurbished room. Thanks!
Once again Disney has beiged out the resorts. Really disappointing what my home OKW now looks like. Why have these themed resorts anymore if there’s no imagination in guest rooms? That was part of the magic in staying on property! Now? Meh
As a parent of a toddler, I am bummed they are replacing rounded corners with sharp corners. I’m always looking out for that kind of stuff. And replacing the tubs with track doors that make it harder to bathe a child. What happened to Disney being baby/kid-friendly?
Seems like every time Disney refurbishes one of the hotels, they get less themed & more bland.
Could be almost any place at any hotel but twice the price now. Kind of generic, that’s fine for a Hilton but at WDW, I want to enjoy the details, the imagination and fun that seems missing here.
We stayed in a refurbished room in February. You haven’t mentioned the cute little torches which pop up out of the headboard and are completely directional! Some downsides – the floor ‘crackled’ underfoot which meant it wasn’t stuck down properly. It also was not spotlessly clean – and the white bedding means you end up with dirty smudges on the covers as a result. We had a walk-in shower rather than a shower/bath, and it was brilliant – but they need more hanging rails in the shower/toilet area so you have somewhere to put your wet towel.
And why are the beds at AKL so high up? I have arthritis and found it very difficult to get into bed. I was having to perform a Fosbury Flop just to get into bed, and you couldn’t just sit down on the edge either.
Many of the changes will remove difficult to clean surfaces. The mosquito netting and some of the detailed carvings would have been impossible to truly deep clean. Even removing the shower curtains and replacing with glass doors will help dramatically.
Whether Disney had improved cleanliness in mind (I bet they did) or not, they are a step ahead for when we get back into the parks following this closure.
I hope the refillable soap and shampoo bottles work better than the ones we had at POFQ. Could only get one pump out and the top would get stuck. Thank goodness so had a small sample of shampoo from another hotel in my luggage.
Nooooooo. I will mourn the loss of the bathroom wall paper and the lacey curtains that had simba hidden in them.
So Disney has replaced the fun, colorful bathroom décor with plain vanilla. Yuck
After walking all day in the parks you return to your room with aching feet and gat to walk on another hard surface.
Keurig coffee maker? What happened to Disney’s commitment to the environment? Those things are a disaster. Even their inventor says he wishes he’d never made them.
Out of my price range, but we have stayed in the refurbished rooms at All Star Music, and found them surprisingly comfortable, clean, and with a more upscale feel, particularly in the bathroom areas. I didn’t find the floors noisy and did appreciate that they could be cleaned more thoroughly than the old carpets. Not a fan of glass shower doors as they make me nervous, being an older person who already finds getting into and out of a tub challenging.
Removing the mosquito netting—good. Uncomfortable chairs—why?
The bathroom—disaster. It was stunning before now it’s garish. The charm n theming are gone. I used to love the rooms. Now they’re boring. We took the tour before it opened. It took ur breath away. No need to stay there now. So sad.
I wonder what they do with the old furniture and fixtures. Do they re-use it somewhere else? Sell it wholesale or in bulk?
I’m going to miss seeing the amazing wallpaper in the sink area. Rooms look brighter and more spacious too. Like the glass in the bathroom instead of the old sticky curtain.
Looking more like Motel 6 every day. It was way cooler BEFORE! Looks like everywhere else. The Magic is gone. Loved the mosquito netting and carpeting. Africa doesn’t look like this!!’