Walkabout The World - A Disney Podcast - Animal Kingdom Lodge with Host Pete

Episode Date: August 2, 2026

Hello Travelers! This week join host Pete the Neverland Local as he walks the grounds of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge taking in what makes this one of the most unique, beautiful, and relaxing Disney resorts on property. We are listener supported - contribute to the Dole Whip Fund via Google or Apple Pay. Thanks! Walkabout the World is now on TikTok! Come follow our visual companion to the audio podcast at Walkabout.the.world.pod on TikTok And of course, visit us on Instagram and at walkabouttheworld.com - find links to all the things - attraction episodes, Insta accounts of all the hosts, and even how to buy your own Walkabout shirt! Walkabout The World is a weekly Disney podcast, always recorded on property at Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort with the simple goal of making you feel like you are in the middle of the magic.

Well, welcome back to another episode of Walk About the World. I am your host today, Pete, aka Neverland Local. And today I'm kind of off the beaten path a little bit, kind of away from the parks a little bit, but here we are here at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. Whereas this may not be an episode that you think, I guess, could happen. I think we've done one in the past, because it's more visual here than it is audio.

I wanted to try to see if we could capture some of the music and some of the sounds that are heard here at the resort. I'm going to be taking a lot of photos for you guys, stopping at a bunch of different areas to see what we can hear. And yeah, let's just start right here and enjoy some Animal Kingdom Lodge. Now the first place we would start our audio tour would be here. We are currently in Jombo House,

and the first largest savannah, kind of right when you walk through the lobby, would be Arusha. Arusha is the savanna, right when you walk through the lobby, out the back doors, kind of one of the areas where you'd see the most animals, right away. So that's where we're currently going to start, and we'll see what we can see.

Right outside the doors here, the first thing we would see would be Pinkback Pelicans. And I'm going to see if I can snatch a photo for you here. And we'll see if we could see those pelicans. See if we can see anything else. Stay tuned. Now, I feel like one of the best things about this resort, is just how calm and relaxing it is.

Don't get me wrong. I would like nothing better than to sit on a balcony here in one of these resort rooms and just see animals going by left and right and playing and eating and things like that. But I think there's something to be said about resting also while on vacation. And I don't know that there's a better place to do that than here at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. Paired with the music that is played throughout the resort grounds,

as well as the foliage, and can you feel that? Can you hear it? The wind. And just everything about it, it breathes relaxation. So I hope, if nothing else, that this episode, brings you some of that relaxation as if you're walking along the resort grounds with me today. So the day today that I picked to come out here is it's a partly sunny day. When not too gusty but enough to where you feel it and it gives you definitely a break from the humidity in the air. but one of the reasons why I came here and I came here at the time that I came

is that majority of people either one sleeping still or two are early at the parks so there's not a whole lot of people around this particular area that I'm in right now I see one guest 50 feet away I see at least well one two three guests on their balconies and one Disney cast member. Other than that, there is nobody around. And that also goes for the animals. Not sure if they're getting fed right now or if there's a changeover, but I'm hoping that changes throughout so that I can post some photos of some animals that I see. But nevertheless, we will press on and hopefully you can close your eyes and just imagine that you are here. walking with me touring this beautiful resort.

So one of the most popular attractions, I would say, at this resort is going to be the restaurant here, Boma. Boma is a buffet-style restaurant currently serving breakfast. And if this was smell of vision, y'all would be in heaven right now because it smells great. But that is where the majority of the people in this resort currently are behind me below, enjoying a nice meal here at Boma. So we're going to walk through kind of the area where everyone's gathering, and then we'll head outside and see what we can hear when we get down there. So I'm going to snap us a couple of photos along the way,

probably one of my favorite hidden mickeys. So we'll snap a photo of that. And then we'll continue walking through. And see if you've been here, if you've been to this resort before, see if you can close your eyes and kind of see, imagine where I am as I'm walking through. All right, here we go.

All right, so as you leave where Boma is and come outside towards the pool area, there is a waterfall to the right. And that is a restaurant GICO. Let's say it's a small little waterfall. Let's take a photo of it for you. And as you come out here, the music continues, that relaxing music that I spoke of earlier.

And notice in the background the water, the water rushing, the music, it's perfect. Right, so if you continue on the path and here traverse towards Uzima, which is the next savannah, we will check out. We have the large pool to our left-hand side. Guys, this is the epitome of relaxation right now. Morning.

Up here on the right-hand side is their fitness center. Zahanati, I think. Very relaxing. Hot tub here to the right. Pool is not open yet, so that's why. why it's even quieter over here right now. Playground here in the back right as well. One family enjoying that.

Up here, we have the flamingo pool. Let's see if the flamingos are out. They sure are. We're going to get closer. Let's get closer. Flamingos all seem to be sleeping currently. You know, just how you and I would sleep standing up. And then as we move this way, it's going to be windy.

We have Uzima over here, which is another one of the savannas. Morning. How are you? Good. Look at you got perfect right here, huh? Good lunch or good breakfast, brunch, maybe. A couple of giraffirfs. Everyone's eating. We got two here in the front. We got two in the back. We got some Ancoli cattle.

We got more of that music, guys. What kind of animals are those? That is the addicts. That is an antelope from the northern part in the desert. Gotcha. They're all just chilling. They're usually active in the night. Okay. Because they are from a desert type of environment. And they will be active at night when it's cooler. Okay. And they get to hang out during the day when it's very hot. Gotcha. When it's warm. Yeah, I gotcha.

You'd think they'd pick a shadier spot to hang out, right? They're like, nah, we're good right. Yeah, we're good right here. I think the highest record it was 136 Fahrenheit. Holy moly. Oh, yeah. So that's... This? This is cool.

This is cool. Yeah. And then there are more over there, right? Yeah. In the middle by the cattle. Yeah. So we have nine in total here. Oh, okay. They're pretty in danger.

Very dangerous. Looks like they're all... If there's four there, there's five here? Five here, four there. Oh, there. Got them all. Yeah. Awesome. Feeding time, too.

Oh, yeah. So currently, because they are coming out of the barn time, okay. They will probably be eating, but the giraff eats pretty much. Oh, day. They have the life that we all want, man. Yeah. Over here, they do. That's awesome.

Well, have a great day. Thank you, sir. Seeing guys, that's probably one of the best things about this resort is that there are guides on each one of these savannas explaining to you what animals are what and what they're doing and it's feeding time and this is what they normally do and things like that. And I just, I don't know. I can't express enough how amazing this resort is. So we're going to keep walking back this way. And what we're going to do now is we're going to head back to the lobby. And then I'm going to walk to Kadani Village, which is the DVC building or other part of this resort. and when I get there

we will continue kind of taking a tour of the grounds but I don't want to walk through all this and give you guys dead air so once I get back in there by the magic of podcasting and audio I will meet you at Kadani Village

so I will see you there very soon And we're back. We're back here at Kadani Village, exploring Kadani Village and seeing what we can hear. So let's go. So as you walk through the lobby at Kadani Village, their viewing area, their massive savannah that you see here with the rocking chairs right outside of Sana'a is called Sunset. Definitely great views here. of both Kadani village and Jamboh house.

And if you've never been to Sana, make the reservation yesterday because it is everything that you would like and more. So let's go see what we can see and we'll see if we can't snap a couple of photos for the animals that we do see here.

So unfortunately a lot of the animals are a little farther away here but I did snap a photo or two for you. and yeah sunset is a great place to visit. We're going to go check out one other savanna. It's called Pembe, and it is home to your favorite magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom

Celebrity Star Casanova, the Hornville. We're going to see if we can see him and see what else we can hear. So in a moment, we will be at Pembe. Join me there. Alright, so if you were to leave Kadani Village Lobby, hang a right and take the walkway all the way down. To our left-hand side is the water park with the pool. Pretty cool, actually. And then if you keep walking down here, you will find your way to the savannah known as Pembe.

So let's see what we can. can hear. It looks like Pembe is very quiet. I see an Okapi which you may or may not know is my favorite animal. Way in the back. I wonder if I can get a photo. Can't really get a photo of the Okapi. But back here we have Okapi. We have a copy. We have ground Hornbill, which is what Casanova is. We have waterbuck. We also have Niala, which I feel like are in the back as well, Impala, and then the Red River Hogs. Just a different group of animals on this side than the other savannas. There is also a pool bar and snack shack over here. I think it's called Magi, M-A-J-I.

Let's see what's on their menu. Got some frozen drinks. We've got some drinks on the rocks. And the food-wise, they have a non-pocket chicken club. We got all-beef, foot-long hot dog, chili and cheese, spiced chili nachos, grain bowl, some kids' meals, and assorted beers and other drinks. It's a beautiful resort, I feel. Let's see.

We'll take one other gander over here to see if we can't get a photo with the man, the myth, the legend, Casanova. I don't see him. I wish we did. He's entertaining. If you haven't watched it, the Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom, he has his own episode. And he is an avidnaissance. absolute hoot. So check it out if you haven't already.

The episodes are great to show behind the scenes of what happens at, or behind the scenes of Disney's Animal Kingdom. So definitely check that out. I believe Disney Plus. So. All right, well, I think this is a little wrap it up today.

Thanks for being a part of today's episode as well as all the other episodes, Travelers. If you haven't already, please give us a follow on Instagram and TikTok to see photos and videos of all of our other walkabout. I personally do more Instagram than TikTok, but we are on both places. You can find us at Walkabout WDW. past episodes, current episodes, special holiday episodes, definitely check us out. It's also a place for you to say hi and interact with us. So let's say there's a particular episode that you really enjoyed. Definitely let us know.

Or do you have an idea? Hey, you know what? Jeremy, it would be a great episode for you to record the audio of, I don't know. Best bathrooms on property. That's just a joke. Don't do that, Jeremy. But we'd love to hear the feedback and, you know,

sharing the love that you have for the parks just like we do. We value you guys and we love hearing from you. So I hope you enjoyed your time with me today and we'd like to end our time together with the hope and promise that there's a great big, beautiful tomorrow out there. We will see you in one of those tomorrow's on a future episode of Walk About the World. I've been your host. You've been the listener. Have a magical day.