As someone who closely follows the ins and outs of Disney Vacation Club, I often find myself fixated on where DVC might go next. While nothing is confirmed, recent trends and strategic moves by Disney have me wondering: Could Disney Vacation Club be eyeing an expansion at Animal Kingdom Lodge?
In the past few years, we’ve seen DVC successfully expand at several existing resorts, including Copper Creek at Wilderness Lodge, the Big Pine Key conversion at Grand Floridian, and the highly anticipated Polynesian Island Tower. These weren’t entirely new builds but rather smart adaptations of existing spaces to accommodate more DVC inventory. Given this trend, it’s not hard to imagine that Animal Kingdom Lodge—specifically Jambo House—could be next in line for a similar expansion. Here’s why I think this could be a very real possibility.
1. DVC’s Business Model Thrives on Adding Inventory Wherever Possible
One thing has become clear in the post-pandemic landscape: Disney Vacation Club is willing to sell points wherever they can. This philosophy led to the addition of Big Pine Key at the Grand Floridian and the recently opened Polynesian Island Tower.
Lately, DVC has been running some interesting incentives for direct sales at Animal Kingdom Villas. Not only that, but Animal Kingdom has seen the highest number of direct buybacks year-to-date in 2025. When you see Disney buying back contracts aggressively, it’s often a sign they see long-term potential in that property. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone at Disney has looked at the numbers and thought, hmm, there’s an opportunity here.
2. It’s an Easy Flip—And a Studio Inventory Boost
Animal Kingdom Lodge, specifically Jambo House, already houses 214 DVC villas. But what about the rest of the building? Jambo House has a whopping 972 non-DVC hotel rooms, many of which feature two queen beds—almost identical in style to the converted Big Pine Key studios at Grand Floridian.
Turning more of Jambo House into DVC inventory would solve one of the biggest issues at Animal Kingdom Villas: the extreme scarcity of Value Studios. These rooms have long been one of the hardest-to-book categories in all of DVC due to their low point cost and limited availability. If Disney were to convert a portion of Jambo House’s hotel rooms into DVC studios, they could significantly increase inventory while responding to long-standing member demand.
Of course, these wouldn’t be “Value” Studios in the traditional sense—just as we saw at Grand Floridian, Disney would likely charge a premium per point for any new inventory. But from a sales perspective, this move makes complete sense. The majority of new DVC buyers (and add-on members) prioritize Deluxe Studios, and Disney could market this expansion as a response to guest feedback while keeping the direct sales machine rolling.
3. The 2026 Jambo House Refurbishment—Perfect Timing?
One major piece of the puzzle is timing. Animal Kingdom Lodge—Jambo House—is currently scheduled for a full refurbishment in 2026. If Disney were planning an expansion of DVC inventory, this would be the perfect moment to do it.
Consider this scenario: Disney announces the expansion later in 2025, just in time for sales to begin in 2026. This would place it roughly a year ahead of Disney Lakeshore Lodge, Disney’s upcoming brand-new DVC property. The rooms would get their needed refresh and be ready to go, offering DVC owners more options and giving Disney another way to sell new contracts without having to build from scratch.
And let’s not forget—if they did this, these new Animal Kingdom Lodge contracts would still expire in 2057. Unlike new DVC properties that come with 50-year contracts, this expansion would be added to the existing timeline, meaning buyers would be paying full direct pricing for fewer years of ownership. Maybe Disney would offer a small discount to reflect this, but given past trends, I wouldn’t bet on it.
4. The Future of Disney Hotels is Looking More DVC-Focused
I could easily write an entire article about this point alone (and probably will), but I firmly believe that Disney is leaning more and more into the DVC model as the future of its resort business. The transformation of the Fort Wilderness Cabins into DVC inventory is a perfect example of this shift. Rather than building new traditional hotel resorts, Disney seems to be strategically converting or adding to existing properties under the DVC umbrella.
Why? Because it limits the financial burden of constructing new hotels from the ground up, offers tax advantages, and ultimately generates more revenue for Disney. If that’s the case, adding more DVC inventory at Animal Kingdom Lodge seems like a logical next step.
Final Thoughts
Of course, this is all highly speculative, and there’s no official confirmation that DVC is planning to expand Animal Kingdom Lodge. But when you look at Disney’s recent strategies, the pieces seem to fit.
Expanding Jambo House into more DVC rooms would increase Deluxe Studio availability, respond to member demand, align with Disney’s recent pattern of adding DVC inventory to existing resorts, and provide another revenue stream for direct sales.
Now, I want to hear from you! Could you see Disney turning the rest of Jambo House into DVC? Would you be in favor of an expansion at Animal Kingdom Lodge? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Jennifer Toto
March 11, 2025I would absolutely love this! AKL is my favorite resort. We never have an issue getting in at Kidani but I’ll never be sad to see more options. More Concierge level villas would be amazing too, its nearly impossible to get in , even owning there at 11months
Jeff
March 11, 2025DVC flips existing inventory when hotel capacity lags. Grand Flo wasn’t selling out anymore, flip a building. Wilderness Lodge was often the lowest-selling deluxe hotel, flip half the building. If Animal Kingdom Lodge has flagging popularity then they could flip it, but they also offer it as the deluxe option for competition groups to boost capacity. While an interesting thought experiment that I too enjoy, I honestly don’t see this happening – AKL is already one of the largest DVC resorts, it doesn’t need to be bigger. I’d sooner see them convert a portion of Port Orleans as a new “DVC moderate” after Ft Wilderness cabins sell out in 73 years.
Rick Blair
March 11, 2025Another reason to convert to DVC from Hotel is occupancy rates. If the rate is low, converting rooms to DVC can quickly raise the rate. Disney can still rent the rooms for cash if need be, but the resorts rate will look much better almost over night. I don’t know what the rate is at Jambo house, or what the breakage rate is for the existing AK DVC. That would be telling I think. If adding rooms lowers the dues, then I guess I am all in! Do you know these rates? I’m sure others would like to know as well.
We have been members since 1996 starting with BWV and since added on at AKV, BLT, VDH and VGC. I really don’t know how to feel about the explosive expansion that is happening with DVC. It used to feel somewhat exclusive, but now, not so much.
AKV Lover
March 11, 2025I thought there was some kind of Florida regulation that stated a deed based time share must have a minimum of 40 years?
Pat
March 11, 2025This seems a possibility. I’d certainly consider buying.
scenario
March 11, 2025Paul,
I see your points but somehow, it seems unlikely. I also am a long time owner, dislike the impossibility of getting a concierge room and would love to see a small increase in the number of studios. However, it just does not seem to have the fandom that most other resorts have…. Besides, I know this is a different scenerio but, remember how Disney has been buying back Old Key West rooms and nothing has happened to indicate their motivation to do so?
Julie
March 11, 2025Off point, I thought the refurb was supposed to be 2025. Has it now been moved to 2026? Thanks