Plenty of animals on Sunset Savannah today

[BCV23]

I just was out on the Sunset overlook. While there, I saw 3 nyalas, a couple zebras, a giraffe, 2 or 3 ostriches, an East African Crowned Crane and three ankole cattle. Are they shy? They hung back while there were a number of us on the overlook. I went inside for a few minutes. When I returned to the overlook, all the people had left and the cattle were quite close to the overlook. They left as soon as I walked out again.

All of these wandered quite close to the overlook which also makes them close to the savannah club rooms.

The giraffe laid down among the plants. I've never seen that. He went down quite slowly and I was afraid he had lost his balance at first. But I think he was just getting cozy. A little later, some CMs in a truck put some leaves in a tree fork and he got up much faster than he went down and more gracefully too.

I'll post pictures when I have some time and finish getting pictures of our view, the lounge, etc..

 

[wildernessDad]

Very nice!

 

[JBCP]

I just was out on the Sunset overlook. While there, I saw 3 nyalas, a couple zebras, a giraffe, 2 or 3 ostriches, an East African Crowned Crane and three ankole cattle. Are they shy? They hung back while there were a number of us on the overlook. I went inside for a few minutes. When I returned to the overlook, all the people had left and the cattle were quite close to the overlook. They left as soon as I walked out again.

All of these wandered quite close to the overlook which also makes them close to the savannah club rooms.

The giraffe laid down among the plants. I've never seen that. He went down quite slowly and I was afraid he had lost his balance at first. But I think he was just getting cozy. A little later, some CMs in a truck put some leaves in a tree fork and he got up much faster than he went down and more gracefully too.

I'll post pictures when I have some time and finish getting pictures of our view, the lounge, etc..

I was at AKV last week, and while I did not go on the sunset savannah tour, we did see the giraffe sitting down. (It's neck and head were up, so it was more of a sitting than lying down thing.) Nonetheless, my husband (who is not crazy about WDW but loves animals, so that's how I got him roped in) said he has never seen a giraffe sit down before, ever. And he used to work on a ranch in Kenya.

We were actually a little worried he/she was sick. Giraffes even sleep standing up.
Julie

 

[kimberh]

Wow, what a great amount of animals to see at one time. I do hope the Giraffe is not sick. With all our stays, we had one visit, where I was able to take pictures from our room, with animals as you have described. It was bittersweet. We were actually checking out early, Hurricane Ivan was coming. I stepped onto the balcony, there they all were. It was heart breaking. We didn't know what the next few days would bring.

 

[DebbieB]

I was at AKV last week, and while I did not go on the sunset savannah tour, we did see the giraffe sitting down. (It's neck and head were up, so it was more of a sitting than lying down thing.) Nonetheless, my husband (who is not crazy about WDW but loves animals, so that's how I got him roped in) said he has never seen a giraffe sit down before, ever. And he used to work on a ranch in Kenya.

We were actually a little worried he/she was sick. Giraffes even sleep standing up.
Julie

I saw a giraffe sitting down one time on the safari. I'll see if I can find the picture.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

2 or 3 ostriches

Do not... I repeat, do not attempt to stare-down the ostriches.



Looking forward to pics.

 

[BCV23]

Do not... I repeat, do not attempt to stare-down the ostriches.



Looking forward to pics.

OK, will you share?

I don't know if it's called lying down or sitting up but his neck and head were certainly up and sticking above the plants. He looked quite cozy once settled. It was very cool here today and is supposed to be downright cold by am when we're doing the Sunrise Safari. So perhaps he was just trying to stay warm.

JBCP, we weren't on the Sunset Safari. I was just standing out on Sunset outlook off the lobby. He did look sleepy as at the end when it was just me out on the outlook, his eyes were drooping.

Oh, and he could have been a she.

 

[kimberh]

Any news on the Giraffe?

 

[WoodysRoundup]

From Kona to AKV! I'm really enjoying your posts on the animals. It's really making me even more excited for our upcoming stay! So glad you're having another magical trip!!! And.....thanks for posting!!!!

 

[keishashadow]

 

[JBCP]

Any news on the Giraffe?

We only saw him sitting down once. All other days he (or maybe she!) looked pretty perky. Or at least as perky as the other giraffes. *g*

btw, I LOVED AKV. This was only my second trip to WDW and my first as a DVC owner. We stayed at BCV for the first two days of the trip because we couldn't get AKV for the whole time, and after everything I'd read about BCV, I thought maybe I'd want to add on there, or maybe sell AKV for it---I loved the description of the pool, and I adore Epcot.

But after trying them both I really prefer AKV. It didn't feel out of the way at all. In fact, I got to the parks much faster than I did when I stayed at VWL two years ago. And I realized I liked how it felt kind of separate. BCV truly felt like an extension of WDW. AKV felt like its own resort, with its own experience. Plus my kids preferred the AKV pool---much less crowded, and the water slide was more their speed. (They're only 3 and 7 and not into "big" rides/slides.)

I did wish that AKV had something like the BCV marketplace, though.

But it just goes to show you that the board veterans are right---if you don't know which resort to buy, there is definite value in checking them out in person! I bought AKV blind and got lucky, but from the descriptions I probably would have bought BCV if it had been available.

 

[Rambler5678]

We were there in Feb. and one of the animal keepers told me there is usually three male giraffes on the sunset savanna. The two that usually stay together are father and son. They said they were keeping the males in the sunset savannah so they could be away from the pregnet females. The animals stay on the savanna 22 hrs a day and are in the barn just two hours. They are trained to come back to the barn on a certain sound.

 

[eporter66]

I was over at AKV the this past tuesday afternoon (Feb 26th). I wanted to check out the resort and thought it looked great. I walked through the lobby and went outdoors, saw two Zebra in the distance. Also went into the little sitting area that has an outdoor deck and there were two Ostriches out and about. A very cool resort, look forward to staying there one day.

 

[BCV23]

Any news on the Giraffe?

I don't think anything was wrong with the giraffe. He certainly hopped up quickly for the browse that was placed in the fork of the tree. It was quite cool that day and he was probably just staying warm.

The next day was even cooler. We did the Sunrise Safari that morning (Thursday) and the forecast had been for 38 degrees. I didn't hear what the actual temp was but it was chilly enough that we didn't see any giraffes on the Safari. Our guide said they have very strict temperature guidelines for the various species.

The Sunrise Safari was excellent. Our guide was Gregg who is the curator for AKL. He was fantastic. Encouraged questions and had interesting anecdotes. They provided very warm blankets which were certainly appreciated. Two for our party of three. We sat on one and draped the other across our laps and were quite toasty. We also layered of course.

Concierge was excellent. The CMs were friendly and helpful. My DH loved the appetizers in the evening in particular. We had one other AKL club level stay prior to AKV and our room was on the 5th floor near the suite. I much preferred the villa location on the 6th. So convenient to the lounge. Loved turndown, triple sheeting and fresh towels each day. I usually wash them myself which I don't mind but this experience has made me lean toward ordering an extra set. It's $12, right?

We had a pool view villa. There were interesting parts of the roof overhang off our balconies and I loved that. It made it feel cozy and added to the atmosphere. Made it seem like you really were on a safari. Plus the sunrise was gorgeous on the colors on the walls and the pictures in the villa. You can see bits of the Uzima savannah beyond the pool but would need binoculars to see much detail.

I took some pictures of the Kidani construction which I'll try to post. They're working on the buildings on the North side of the lobby now.

 

[BCV23]

WoodysRoundup, thanks. It wouldn't be a trip to WDW for us without breakfast at Kona. For many years now dinner at California Grill is another must do for us.

Happy planning for your trip. It's a beautiful resort and staying in a villa provides so much more space than the rooms there. The size of the hotel rooms is a drawback of the resort IMO.

 

[kimberh]

BCV23 thanks for the great update on the Concierge pool view, I had wondered what this would be like. We have our first Club stay in May.With the odds of great of getting a pool view, I have a feeling we will get that view. My husband will not be happy, but... Thanks to all for the posting on the Giraffe. They are my favorite at the Ak resort.

 

[WoodysRoundup]

For many years now dinner at California Grill is another must do for us.

Happy planning for your trip. It's a beautiful resort and staying in a villa provides so much more space than the rooms there. The size of the hotel rooms is a drawback of the resort IMO.

DH and I always do California Grill (alone ) too!!

Thanks for the good wishes about our upcoming trip. We are SO excited about the villas. We're doing a AKV/Poly split this time and will be trying Kona for bfast!!

Loved reading your Sunset Safari experience. The animals there just must be so amazing. Thanks again!

 

[disneymania10]

We have been to AKL lodge a few times. Each time we went we see different giraffes lying down on different savannahs. They seemed to lie down especially at night. So, I don't think it was ill hopefully. It was actually such a sight to see them go down so gracefully and then watch them get up.

 

[jamhayward]

Sounds like a great day for you. It makes us want to head out today. WE just booked our next trip through DVC today......Yeah!