Next door to Africa

Giraffes and wildebeests move through the savannahs and sometimes approach your quarters. Africa? No, Orlando. But Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is the next best thing to being there.

By ROBERT N. JENKINS

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 6, 2001

[Photo: Walt Disney Co.] Two impala and a giraffe wander past the newly opened Animal Kingdom Lodge.

LAKE BUENA VISTA -- 7:08 a.m., eight days ago.

"Animal. Animal. ANIMALS?"

The child speaking was peering over the metal railing of a hotel room balcony, looking out at grass and trees lit by dawn's light.

"There is no animals," he announced.

7:34 a.m., same day, different balcony.

"There's the giraffes -- I see 'em. I'm ready. I hope the kids are ready."

The woman was also looking at the same general swath of grass and trees at the just-opened Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. And therein lies the catch to what may be the best hotel gimmick in the state:

Guests on their balconies can be within 10 yards of giraffes, zebras, various antelope -- more than 100 animals, all native to Africa. But they are all wandering on their own schedules, and while food is placed so as to bring the critters close to the guest rooms, their appearances are a matter of chance.

The 1,293-room hotel is adjacent to the Animal Kingdom theme park, but the animals and guests are not free to roam between the two. You need a ticket to the park, which opened April 22, 1998, and fences keep the Lodge's herds on the hotel's 74-acre site.

About two years ago, groundskeepers began landscaping the construction site and its three savannahs, or animal habitats. The greenery includes about 90,000 shrubs and 3,000 trees, arranged so that none of it blocks views from the hotel toward the savannahs.

Last November, members of the 214-person crew that now cares for animals in the park and at the Lodge began acclimating the hotel's animal herds. In addition to the popular giraffes (small herds are located on each of the 11-acre savannahs) and zebras, there are such antelope species as eland, impala and bongo, plus wildebeest and ankole (ann-KOH-lee), a kind of longhorn cattle native to Africa.

There are also about 120 birds, ranging from flamingoes to ostriches, vultures to pelicans.

[Times photo: Robert N. Jenkins] A view of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and its swimming pool.

Where the wild things are

No guest rooms are on the ground floor facing the savannahs, to prevent people from wandering into the habitats. As they register, guests sign an agreement to neither throw food to the animals nor wander onto the habitats; violation can mean removal from the lodge.

Inconspicuous low-voltage electric fences keep the hoofed critters away from the hotel building and pool deck; clipped feathers and wing restraints keep the birds from flying off.

[Times photo: Robert N. Jenkins] Bongos, an African antelope, wade into a stream for a drink just beyond the Lodge’s pool deck.

The restraint methods are approved by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, of which Disney is a member, according to Joe Kalla. Now animal curator for the lodge, Kalla has spent 22 years as an animal keeper, "working with everything from humming birds to elephants." He moved to the lodge from Animal Kingdom.

Speaking to reporters late last month, Kalla explained that the animals on the lodge savannahs were brought from the theme park (some were born there) or were bought from zoos or similar institutions; none was taken from the wild.

Guest rooms have a printed sheet with line drawings and information on 20 species. Guests also can buy a Field Guide that has color drawings and information about more than a dozen species.

Kalla said the animals are free to roam and sleep on the savannahs. Nighttime lighting resembling that of the full moon enables guests to better see the creatures.

Cues -- a bell, a cook's triangle -- are sounded about midday to lure the animals into barns, where each is given nutritional supplements and is checked by keepers.

("The birds are a little bit smarter than the hoofed animals," Kalla said, "and they are also a little more food-motivated" to come to the barns.)

But the lodge touts the fact that guests can easily see the wildlife from the hotel rooms; 80-85 percent of the rooms look out on the savannahs, the rest overlook the 9,000-square-foot pool or the parking lot.

To increase the chances of viewing, workers harvest cuttings from a 60-acre plant nursery and attach these branches to holders on trees close to the hotel rooms. This also keeps the animals from eating so much foliage that the trees die.

While I watched, a truck crew adding the clipped branches to one tree attracted three animals of two species.

[Times photo: Robert N. Jenkins] A waterbuck, left, and an ankole cow come to an area near the guest rooms as animal keepers place trimmed branches in holders fixed to a live tree.

Cultural lessons

[Photo: Walt Disney Co] Pillars rising more than 40 feet above the lobby are topped with these colorful artifacts.

With an attention to detail unusual even for a Disney product, Animal Kingdom Lodge was created and decorated with the goal of letting guests experience the culture of Africa.

The structure itself is elevated above its flat surroundings; the explanation is that such places in Africa are prized by both travelers and animals as vantage points.

The main building is shaped like two back-to-back letter U's. The U is the general shape of villages created by nomadic herding tribes, who would move their cattle within the U at night and then shield them from predators by drawing thorny bushes or branches from the acacia tree across the opening. Acacia trees have indeed been planted on the savannahs, for their leaves are favored by giraffes.

Vying for your attention as much as the animals is the vast cultural collection within the hotel: about 4,000 authentic pieces of art, service and ceremonial items displayed in the main lobby, in smaller lobbies and in the curving corridors to the guest rooms.

A recurring theme in the art "is the interaction between humans and animals, as prey and predator, keeper and food source," explains Charles Davis, an art historian from New Orleans hired more than two years ago to assemble the collection.

[Photo: Walt Disney Co.] A spectacular 18-foot-tall ceremonial mask from Nigeria is the showpiece of the hotel.

There are sculptures and wall hangings of fascinating detail, often in glowing colors. There are metal medallions, perhaps 4 feet across, set in the main lobby floor.

"The whole concept is celebration, the interaction and socialization of Africans' lives," added Davis, his excitement about the collection forcing his native North Carolina drawl into a higher gear.

The lodge's showpiece is spectacular. Like a huge fountain of neon colors, an 18-foot-tall ceremonial mask of sewn panels sits near the floor-to-ceiling lobby windows facing a savannah. The mask is an igbo ijele (EE-boh ee-JELL-a), created by the Igbo people of Nigeria.

Though the mask weighs about 300 pounds, the Igbo believe that if one man dances about wearing it and the mask does not touch the ground, it is an omen of good fortune for one year.

"It is an extraordinary blend of what we want to express here -- the color, the brightness, man and animal. It is a cacophony of the African (cultural) language," Davis said.

"It has become iconic here at the lodge: Everyone has their picture taken with it -- including me."

Viewable from two levels in the guest room corridors, cases in mini-atriums illustrate themes such as royalty, hats, puppetry and, of course, animals.

These mini-atriums, called knuckles, occur about every 100 feet along the hallways after the main lobby. This reinforces a theme of "passage and rest," according to Jim Kwasnowski, the Imagineer who was senior developer on the lodge project.

Similarly, every so often the hallways will be interrupted by floor-to-ceiling windows letting passersby look out on the savannahs or the pool.

[Times photo: Robert N. Jenkins] Typical of the Lodge’s African items is this large puppet head, displayed in one of the mini-atriums.

Corridor walls also are decorated with African cloth wall hangings, each like a flag telling a tale.

"I want to open up the ideas of both cultural themes and a museum experience," for lodge guests, said Davis. "It is a thrill to learn something . . ."

He added: "These vast resort hotels have the responsibility to more than just house and feed guests . . . These people are staying here; they are not running off to Animal Kingdom."

The comment was echoed later by Jean Marie Clement, food and beverage manager for the Lodge. Noting that he is developing cooking lessons and wine tastings for guests, Clement said, "It is surprising: Some people are staying in the hotel all day. In-room dining is a big hit" because guests want to view the animals, not sit in one of the three restaurants.

Could it be that Disney has trumped itself, making the newest of its 18 on-property hotels more alluring than the Mouse and all his attractions?

"We have kiddingly talked about this," said Kevin Myers, vice president for resort operations for Walt Disney World. "The reality is that guests are here to see the Disney theme parks. There is absolutely no way around it.

"What is going to be fun for them is that the themed experience here is going to be something special."

If you go

GETTING THERE: Head east on Interstate 4 and follow exit signs for Animal Kingdom and then for the adjacent lodge.

STAYING THERE: Animal Kingdom Lodge opened 793 rooms on April 16; the balance of the 1,293 rooms are set to be open by July 15.

In the guest rooms, the heavy furniture is all hand-carved wood, most of it from Zimbabwe and Rhodesia. Bedspreads are brightly colored batik-style images of birds, lizards and fish. The vivid spreads contrast with walls plastered in a rough finish and painted a sandy beige.

Nothing about the rooms is actually primitive, however: They all have dual-sink vanities, hair dryers, iron and ironing board, wall safes, foldable cribs in each closet and lots of drawer space.

The TV receives 30 news and entertainment channels -- from Black Entertainment Network's Jazz channel to the four Disney-owned ESPN channels to MSNBC. The cable also repeats numerous channels with closed captioning. One channel carries, from 7 to 10 p.m., actors reading bedtime excerpts from such Disney classics as Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid.

Serious animals watchers are advised to bring binoculars, for those times the animals are roaming at the distant sides of the savannahs, or during low light hours, and a long lens for their cameras.

PAYING THERE: Rates start at $199 a night for a non-savannah view, in low season, and rise to $490 for a deluxe savannah view in the highest of four price seasons, Dec. 21-31. The resort offers five standard-room categories and a concierge level, and there are also two deluxe suites. The current regular, or summer season, rates are the second-lowest charged, and some introductory rates may still be available.

The 980 standard rooms measure 344 square feet; the grander of the two deluxe suites measures 2,115 square feet and rents for $2,350 a night. These prices do not include 11 percent tax.

Children 17 and younger are free when staying in the same room with adults. Many of the rooms come with bunk beds and a king-size bed.

For reservations and more information, call (407) 934-7639, or contact a travel agent.

EATING THERE: While there is a casual, poolside restaurant, executives are proud of the two African-themed restaurants.

The 270-seat Boma uses wood-burning grills and a show kitchen. Diners move to six side-by-side cooking stations for made-to-order entrees. Boma is open for breakfast and dinner.

Jiko (GEE-koh) is open only for dinner and is the most formal of the three. But both Boma and Jiko specialize in dishes created from recipes gathered by Disney chefs during trips to Africa. Chef Serge Burckel, who has worked in five Michelin-starred restaurants, says the dishes are "a fusion of European influences and African basics."

Entrees range from horseradish-crusted salmon to roasted papaya stuffed with beef to sea bass steamed in a banana leaf, with asparagus puree.

The restaurants also boast more than five dozen South African wines -- guests will find Jiko general manager-sommelier Suzanne Bonham bubblier than any of the wines she helps select.

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