AKL - Savanna View, Minus the Animals

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

We are currently at AKL (Jambo) in a Savanna room, and while the room and view are lovely, there are almost never any animals out in front of our room. There are a fair number of animals out by reception, but over here it’s quite barren. Would Kidani be any better? Is ths just par for the course at AKL? My mom stayed in the Jambo 3BD last year and said she never once saw an animal outside of her room.

We own here and my mom loves the resort, but honestly these may become SAP if the animals remain MIA.

(Edited to correct a spelling mistake)

 

[Hubalorian]

When I had a Savannah view room at Jambo in June, there were always of some kind out and about

 

[Jonnnyap]

I've stayed in Kidani 3 times and Jambo once, and it seemed to me that there were more animals viewable from Kidani. I stayed on the sunset savanna on all four trips, but I know there are others savannas, so perhaps this might factor into your experience. On my second trip, we had a sunset savanna room on the top/north end of Kidani, and that was the trip we saw the most animals; this room was very close to the animal "house" between Jambo and Kidani, so that might explain it. AKV and AKL are lovely in their own right, but especially when you get to see animals.

Hope you see more animals for the remainder of your trip and have a great time!

 

[RuntheMouse]

We always had animals outside our room when we stayed at Jambo. We ended up spending a ton of time on the balcony!

 

[sndral]

I just got back from 12 days at Jambo last Wed. & we saw animals from our standard view balconies overlooking Sunset savanna near the Sunset savanna barn every day. If I hung out on my balcony long enough I’d usually see the 4 giraffes wander by, other animals were only occasional visitors.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

That is insane! We saw the outline of a giraffe once…in the dark…by looking waaaaay off in the distance. But we have a great view of the fence and the gate that the trucks drive on.

I think that we overlook the Uzima Savanna.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I was in Kidani in February, and we had animals outside the room grazing for most of the day.
We would even see them at night sleeping as we made the mile-long walk to our room....
Not sure if being all the way out on the end helped but it was pretty cool.

 

[ajiuo]

I had a Savana view a Jambo a month ago… there were always animals outside my room. There was even a pair of frisky giraffes.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

The view from our room, straight out (lots of buildings) and looking to the side at 0.5x so you can see more of the savanna.

 

[TikiRob]

The animal caretakers work creatively to encourage the animals to explore the entire savannah. At the end of the day, they are animals who can go where they want. I've spent many days at AKL Jambo and Kidani and have had highly active days throughout the year and desolate days. If you are in the parks and look out only a couple times a day, you likely won't see a thing. We spent 5 nights in July 2020 when only the resorts were open and no parks. We saw animals all day long because we spent a lot of time sitting on our balcony.

Personally, I think an empty savannah is still better than most other room view categories and cheaper, too! Not to mention I just love the design, smell, and vibe of AKL after a day in the parks. Oh, and Boma, Jiko, and Sanaa!

 

[RanDIZ]

Must’ve just been bad timing. Last week from our Jambo room was amazing! Jambo is always filled with animals. Best time is in the morning. Keep an eye out for the feeding truck.

 

[ajiuo]

Outside my room in November.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Which savannas did you stay in? I think this one is just a loser. We have looked at many times during the day and it pretty much always looks like the pictures that I posted.

 

[drusba]

That is insane! We saw the outline of a giraffe once…in the dark…by looking waaaaay off in the distance. But we have a great view of the fence and the gate that the trucks drive on.

I think that we overlook the Uzima Savanna.

Uzima is the weakest of the savannas for seeing lots of animals although you should still see animals. Timing can also make a difference because there are times of the day when animals are off the savanna and in their living house for feeding and cleaning, and those times actually differ among the savannas.

For Jambo, I usually request a room overlooking the Arusha savanna (one the middle of the building), away from the lobby, which has great animal views (rooms near the lobby have the weaker views). However, better for a GV is to request a room overlooking the Sunset savanna. At Kidani, Sunset savanna is better because it has giraffes and zebras and Pembe does not.

 

[ajiuo]

Which savannas did you stay in? I think this one is just a loser. We have looked at many times during the day and it pretty much always looks like the pictures that I posted.

I was towards the end of the Kudu trail on the Sunset Savan. I think I was kind of facing Kadani. There was a mix up with my studio so they offered to put me in a hotel room and bring me a microwave. I totally accepted because it was on the lobby level which got me much closer to the animals. I also got daily room service and the hotel rooms are remodeled, so they are nicer. It was a long walk from the lobby, but it was definitely one of the best views I’ve had, so it was worth it. I don’t mind walking anyway.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We've enjoyed many stays at Jambo and Kidani, and I can't say one resort view was better than the other. Sometimes it's a matter of luck and timing regarding how many animals come near, and what time of the day they come by. We have had stays when we were looking (in the morning or later in the day when returning from parks), it was sparse. We have also had stays where there were animals every time we looked. With all our stays, however, we never had a stay where we didn't see any animals that were closer to our room - such a unique amazing resort.

 

[RanDIZ]

Which savannas did you stay in? I think this one is just a loser. We have looked at many times during the day and it pretty much always looks like the pictures that I posted.

We’ve always stayed in Ostrich Trail rooms. Sunset Savanna I believe.

 

[sndral]

The view from our room, straight out (lots of buildings) and looking to the side at 0.5x so you can see more of the

Looking at your photos I think the mud looking half wall/fence projecting from the end of the building is the barrier by the Uzima savanna overlook down by the pool & if so, you’ve had really bad luck w/ timing because whenever I spend time at the overlook chatting w/ the CM there I’ve seen something - 10 days or so ago it was 3 teenage giraffes hanging out there mid afternoon & that’s also the spot where I saw the baby oryx a couple of years ago.
Here’s a google earth shot - I drew the red line to show where the mud looking fence for the Uzima savanna overlook by the pool that I’m talking about is.


If you’re still there I hope things improve & you start seeing lots of animals from your balcony.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Thanks! That’s exactly where we are staying, except we are in the building at the top left corner, so we can’t see the mud flats.

We will be back at the hotel for most of the afternoon. I’m crossing my fingers that the view improves.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I've only stayed on the Uzima savannah once and since it was the one time I'd reserved a value studio but I got upgraded to savannah view, that makes my opinion biased-I was so happy for the upgrade, it seemed fine. However, thinking back, I probably did see fewer animals than on Sunset Savannah. I've stayed at Kidani twice-once I saw virtually nothing, the other time I saw a lot , both times from the same savannah. So I'm afraid that I think it's mostly the luck (or lack thereof) of the trip.