When you visit a Disney World hotel, do you spend a lot of time at that hotel’s pool?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

The answer is probably “yes,” if you’re one of those midday break kind of people (you know, leaving the parks for a little while to recharge) or if you have kids. We’re also sure you have opinions on which hotels have the best pools, but there’s one pool you may not have ever seen that you might NEED to know about.

Okay, so the most OBVIOUS answer to the best pool at Disney World is probably Stormalong Bay, which is a pool shared by Disney’s Yacht Club and Disney’s Beach Club Resorts. This pool is more of a water park than pool with a little something for everyone. 

Stormalong Bay

We get it, this pool has a sand bottom, a life-sized shipwreck replica, a 230-foot waterslide, a lazy river, and THREE Whirlpool spas. What’s not to love? When we asked DFB Readers, the majority actually said this was the best pool in Disney World, and we understand why!

Stormalong Bay’s life-size ship

But some of you chose a DIFFERENT pool, one we might think is Disney World’s best-kept secret. That pool is Samawati Springs Pool at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge — Kidani Village. This 4,700-square-foot pool has a 128-foot waterslide and zero-depth entry. But many of our readers love it for other reasons.

Samawati Springs Pool

DFB Readers Cassie, Hannah, and Justin had no problem saying that this was the best pool in Disney World, while Eric said, “I like Samawati Springs Pool at Animal Kingdom Lodge—Kidani Village. It’s beautiful and fun.”

Samawati Springs does have a beautiful pool area with lots of trees, so the vibe is more relaxing than some of Disney World’s other pools. There’s also a lot more shade, so you don’t really need an umbrella. Even better? There’s a savanna overlook where you can watch animals just doing their thing while you’re getting some relaxation time in at the pool.

Samawati Springs Pool at Kidani Village

This is also a great pool because it has a very secluded feeling about it, so it feels even more exclusive. Why go to Stormalong Bay, where EVERYONE IS, when you can just chill in your own little oasis at Animal Kingdom Lodge?

Samawati Springs Pool

DFB Reader Kati mentioned that it’s a good pool for little ones. The kiddie pool area, Uwanja Camp is a water playground with three different areas for kids of all ages. There’s Observation  Station where kids can climb through cargo crates, solve animal photo puzzles, and splash around in a small geyser and kiddie pool. The Departure Zone has a water tower that squirts water at kids, but there are also water cannons (YES!) that kids can shoot at each other. We love a water cannon. SO much fun!

Samawati Springs Pool is also home to the Maji Pool Bar, which we’re a big fan of. This bar often serves drinks that are exclusive to Animal Kingdom Lodge — as in, you can’t get those drinks ANYWHERE else in Disney World.

Maji Pool Bar

Also, here’s another insider tip: the bar has AMAZING food! We’re just going to go ahead and recommend the Short Rib Grilled Cheese. 

Short Rib Grilled Cheese

So what’s not to love? You’ve got a quiet pool area with loads of things to do for adults AND kids, great drinks, and great food! So that’s why we think Samawati Springs Pool might be the most underrated pool in Disney World. It seems some of our readers agree!

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What’s your favorite pool in Disney World? Tell us what it is and why in the comments!