AKL - Advice... Is it worth it?

[Lyandra]

All,

We have a split stay coming up, 6 days at the BC and 3 days at the AKL in a Pool View Room. All of the sudden, a savannah room is available for $100 more a night, or $300 total for the 3 days. Is that worth it? Are savannah room worth the extra money? We plan to spend the 3 days there more at AK part and around the resort.

Thanks!

 

[cutigerlady]

My family thought it was worth it. We also spent most of our time at the resort and we loved being able to sit in the balcony and watch the animals go by. There are lots of windows to see the animals, but it was so convenient to have it right there!

 

[izzylovesmickey]

It is really wonderful to sit out on your own balcony and watch the animals. The real question is how much time do you plan to be in the resort. Our last trip we spent more time than usual at the resort and really sat out and watched the animals. It rained one night and we stayed in so we had more time than we had anticipated and enjoyed it so much.

 

[megs1313]

if it's not a hardship for you financially, yes, i think it's worth it. It's an incredibly unique experience. Waking up and heading out to the balcony to drink your coffee with the giraffes eating breakfast? priceless.

 

[HopperFan]

Most times I would say not worth it to spend an extra $100 per night just to change a location .......... but that Savanna balcony room completely spoiled us and was amazing. We didn't even want to go to the parks. Since you plan to have resort time - DO IT!

We have also had a pool view room which was absolutely awful. My pick at AKL is Savanna if I can afford it, if not I will do standard and not pay the extra for pool.

 

[Shanti]

If you choose standard, you might get lucky and be assigned to a standard room on the Kudu Trail, which has great animal views. That happened to us.

 

[BriLovesDisney]

There are observation decks where anyone can view animals if you don't want to pay for it. If you are planning on spending a bit of in the resort/your room then I would say it's worth it to spend the extra. We stayed there once for about 2 weeks and I got sick for half of it so I definitely got my money's worth of the Savanna View, lol!

 

[crazytoshop]

Yes!! The Savannah view is great! We had a pool view room one time. I say one time, because we would never ever do that again. It was so loud that we could never enjoy the balcony. Beginning your day watching the animals have breakfast is incredible!

 

[lelew]

we booked 3 night a Art of Animation in little mermaid resort about 4years ago. We received a call from disney asking us did we want to stay at AKL with bunks beds and Savanna view for the same price and I said no because I thought it was a catch or something. The lady said no catch and if I change my mind give her a call. I told my husband and he said I was crazy and to call her and accept the offer. Long story short that was the best room I ever stayed on in Disney. I was hooked. I did not want to leave my resort. I loved waking up and seeing the animals in the morning. every year I check for discounts there, but its still out of my price range. My vote is if you can afford it go for it, it worth the extra cost.

 

[leebee]

We did 2 nights AKV savanna view by renting points from a DVC member. Hands down, this was my favorite Disney trip ever- and we didn't even go to the parks! I've been to Disney 30 times, always wanted to do AKL savanna view but couldn't justify the price, as we are in the parks from open to close. Well.. now I understand doing a savanna view room just for the experience, not for the parks! I'd do the savanna view, or a standard view, at AKL. No need for a pool view room- they are just noisy, nothing special. I thought the savanna view was amazing, especially having all day access as we didn't go to the parks. I am now seriously rethinking how we "do" Disney, so we can include a couple of non-park days at the end of our trip, just to take advantage of a savanna view at AKL!

 

[Haley R]

We stayed at AKL in March with a Standard view room and had great views of animals. All we had to do was ask to be moved to a different room when we checked in. They originally put us in a room that was less than desirable, but were willing to move us after one night. It was so much nicer with the view of the animals and we still paid the cheapest price for a room. I wouldn't ever get a pool side room because I've heard how loud they can be.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We booked a standard room at AKL on Orbitz for a steal about 2 years ago. Someone decided to give us a complimentary upgrade to Savannah view. Now there is no way we can ever go back to a standard room. DH still always wants to go back and visit "his" giraffe-- the one that was hanging out about 10 ft from our balcony every single night for hours. That 'free' upgrade is going to end up costing us a fortune.

 

[Haley R]

We booked a standard room at AKL on Orbitz for a steal about 2 years ago. Someone decided to give us a complimentary upgrade to Savannah view. Now there is no way we can ever go back to a standard room. DH still always wants to go back and visit "his" giraffe-- the one that was hanging out about 10 ft from our balcony every single night for hours. That 'free' upgrade is going to end up costing us a fortune.

We got our standard view room on undercover tourist and ours was really cheap too! That’s the only reason we stayed there.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You can get a pool view at any resort. How many can you get a savanna view with animals on the savanna? Book the savanna view room.

 

[Shellyb84]

If you choose standard, you might get lucky and be assigned to a standard room on the Kudu Trail, which has great animal views. That happened to us.

Us too. Our first room assignment wasn't great, so I went to the front desk and asked if they had anything with a partial view. We got a room with an amazing view. I can't believe it's not in the savannah view category!

 

[Spencer Wright]

I love AKL!!!! In my own opinion the Savannah view is not worth the money unless you spend a lot of time in the room from about 8am-8pm. You can see and hear animals earlier or later, but it drops off significantly.

There are animal viewing areas both large and small all throughout the resort.

We typically have pool view there, and while there is noise, it is minimal and still offers a really pretty view.

If you have the money to spend there's no reason not to go for it, but I do not believe it is necessary unless you are in the room a lot. I am one who is not in the room a lot.

 

[aggiedog]

Yes. We are early risers, and I loved sitting on the balcony, sipping my coffee and watching the animals. Same for evenings with a glass of wine. We've stayed in multiple resorts and it was my favorite.

 

[BigredNole]

We have had 3 rooms at AKL. 1 was an upgrade do to a screw up on our honeymoon, so that shouldn't count. Our second trip we paid for a Savannah view through a DVC owner. Yes, it was on the "Savannah". However, the view was disgusting, the only thing visible was an ankole cattle while we were in the room. If you were not on the balcony for the 5 minutes they ushered the giraffes around, you never saw anything. A complete waste and complaint to the front desk. The 3rd visit we had a pool view room and it was FAR better than our 2nd stay.

IMO unless you can choose exactly where the room is, there is no benefit of paying the premium.

 

[mickeynut1]

All,

We have a split stay coming up, 6 days at the BC and 3 days at the AKL in a Pool View Room. All of the sudden, a savannah room is available for $100 more a night, or $300 total for the 3 days. Is that worth it? Are savannah room worth the extra money? We plan to spend the 3 days there more at AK part and around the resort.

Thanks!

Worth is subjective as is different for everyone, but we've stayed both pool and savanna view and while the savanna view was nice, I don't think it's worth an extra $100 night (just my opinion). I loved our pool view just as much and wouldn't hesitate to book that again. There are several animal viewing areas around the resort, so having a view of animals from our room isn't a necessity for us.

 

[MrsDuck]

I'd upgrade!