Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of the most interesting and beautiful resorts at Walt Disney World. It features three separate savannahs that partially surrounds the lodge property and from many of the rooms in the Lodge you can watch the wild animals that live on the savannah, including giraffes, zebras and other animals.

There is also a viewing area behind the lodge so guests who don't have Savannah view rooms can also see the animals, and the Lodge has "safari guides" to tell you all about them.

The lobby is cavernous and about three stories tall. The Lodge itself is six stories and was designed by the same architect who designed Wilderness Lodge (one of my other favorite resorts), Peter Dominick.

The Lodge is located close to the Animal Kingdom theme park, but not really close enough to walk the distance and there isn't a walking path between the resort and the park, so guests generally take a short bus ride to get there. There are also buses to the other theme parks. All Disney transportation is free for guests who are staying on property.

Part of the property is known as Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, which is the designation for the units that are part of the Disney Vacation Club.

Animal Kingdom Lodge has two major restaurants and one casual eatery. The two restaurants are Boma and Jiko. Both restaurants serve African inspired cuisine and both restaurants take reservations up to 180 days in advance. I highly recommend advance reservations, but I don't think you need to reserve that far in advance unless you want to eat at either restaurant on a holiday.

Call 407-WDW-DINE to make reservations.

Boma - Flavors of Africa offers a buffet service and in my opinion it has the best buffet at Walt Disney World. The food is amazing, delicious, amazing! Did I mention it is really good?

While Boma has an excellent carvery (Prime rib, chicken, fish, etc), I think the buffet is also one of the better choices for vegetarians on Disney property. There are lots of filling non-meat dishes to choose from -- including several types of hummus, more than one rice dish, breads, various salads, and other vegetables.

There's also a kids table with mac & cheese and chicken nuggets, etc. so everyone should be able to find something to eat.

Buffet prices at Boma range from $15.99 to $35.99

Jiko - The Cooking Place is the table service restaurant with an open kitchen so you can see what is going on, but I have not eaten there myself yet as it is a little outside my price range. But according to most reviews I've ever read of Jiko, it's considered one of the best table service restaurants in WDW. Again, the flavor is African influenced, but you'll also find several of the usual American offerings for those with unadventurous palates.

Prices for entrees start at $36.99 and UP! Way up!

Since Jiko is a signature dining restaurant, (WDW's code for fancy), there's a dress code.

For tips on Disney dining, visit my hub on Walt Disney World Dining Plans.

For information on character dining at Disney World, visit my hub on Walt Disney World Character Dining.

If I've missed anything about AKV that you'd like to know, let me know in the comments. I'll be staying there again in January.