AKL Savanna view

[petunia]

We have never stayed at AKL, and are considering it.. my question, is it worth it to pay extra for the savanna view, as in, do you always see animals at some point, or is it hit or miss/not really a lot of animals? Thx

 

[iteachlit]

If you pay for savanna view, you'll definitely see animals. We stayed right above the Jambo House checkin area. We saw giraffes, ostriches, ankole cattle, elands, and other animals all of the time. One of the eland slept right below our balcony every night, bathed in the artificial -- and real -- moonlight. In the morning, we enjoyed breakfast on the balcony while watching the animals graze.

Feeding time is also fun. The ostrich would chase the food cart all over the savanna!

That being said, if you don't plan to be in the room much, it may not be worth it. We go frequently, so we don't need to spend every waking moment in the parks.

We have also stayed in Kidani Village in rooms that used to be considered savanna view. These rooms are located at the rear of the resort, between two different savannas. In those rooms, we still saw a variety of animals every day. There was a feeder (disguised as a log) right outside our room.

 

[petunia]

Would that be a standard room you are referring to? It says it view of parking lot, but I wondered if their standard views are just not the best savanna views and all have some savanna view, or if it is actually parking lot view?

 

[iteachlit]

In general, standard view rooms will be of the parking areas or landscaping. I think some may be pool view.

In the Kidani Village building, which is all DVC rooms, SOME of the standard views used to be classified as savanna view. People complained because the "savanna" was just a small strip of land.

If you want to be sure to see animals, book a savanna view in either Jambo or Kidani.

 

[Shanti]

We have never stayed at AKL, and are considering it.. my question, is it worth it to pay extra for the savanna view, as in, do you always see animals at some point, or is it hit or miss/not really a lot of animals? Thx

We stayed in a standard room at Jambo House last April, and requested a room on the Kudu Trail. In online check-in, it was described as "near paddock". We had a great animal view in that standard room: we saw giraffe every day just yards from our balcony. Other animals, too, but the giraffe were the most memorable.

The reason these rooms on the Kudu Trail are standard view is they don't offer sweeping views of the savanna. But we still had plenty of animals to look at, 24/7. There was a watering hole & feeding station outside, which ensured that animals were always there. It was extraordinary.

I'd personally never pay the steep savanna upgrade cost after that experience. I'd just check my room location at check-in, to see if it's on the Kudu Trail, and ask if they could move me if it isn't. That does entail the risk that no Kudu Trail rooms would be available and you'd get no view of animals, though. Keep in mind, however, that even some people in savanna rooms complain that animals were rarely outside when they looked out (they were probably feeding/drinking next to our balcony, lol), or that trees obscured much of their view. So there is always some risk no matter what type of room you book. Avoid pool view, which never has animal views.

You'll have to choose the combination of cost and risk of no animal view, that works for you. For me, a standard room (much less expensive) that could possibly have an animal view is what I prefer.

 

[Haley R]

We had a standard room last year in March and we had AMAZING views of animals. We actually asked to switch rooms. Our first room wasn't terrible view-wise because we got to be by the animal pens, but we were right by the stairwell so asked to move. I'll include some pictures from our room.

 

[petunia]

Wow, and that was a standard?? I guess its just luck of the draw.. thats a great view!

 

[Shanti]

Wow, and that was a standard?? I guess its just luck of the draw.. thats a great view!

Yes, that was the same view we had from a standard room on the Kudu Trail.

 

[Haley R]

Wow, and that was a standard?? I guess its just luck of the draw.. thats a great view!

When we asked to move rooms I just asked for a room on the Kudu Trail. There are quite a few there with pretty good views. I say go for it if you have never stayed there. We always get a standard view and are usually always happy with our stays. The only one was the room by the stairs, but they were able to move us after one night. I think if you are flexible they will do their best to get you the kind of view you are looking for.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

This was our standard view last week:

 

[FSU Girl]

One of my favorite rooms on property is the savanna view at AKL. I won't stay at the hotel without the view, I find it's really the only thing worth it for me since the hotel is far from everything. But I love coming back to the room in the afternoon and sitting on the balcony watching the animals. It really is something so unique that you can't find anywhere except maybe Africa.

 

[fab1976]

We did one night savannah view in April. It was breath taking to step out in the morning and just SEE these animals out there! I don’t know if I could do more than one night there though, the novelty may wear off? Or may not be worth the extra cost. But for our one night, was totally worth it. Such an amazing experience.

 

[VandVsmama]

We stayed 1 night at AKL savanna view. It was amazing. Saw tons of animals. It was 1 of the biggest highlights of our trip.

 

[Mayhem1976]

We stayed at Kidani Savannah view a few years ago and loved it.

My kids sat every morning and ate quietly while watching the animals.

I would stay again!

 

[iteachlit]

The first photo is a savanna view room at Jambo House. The second is a standard view at Kidani.

 

[iteachlit]

This was taken from a standard view 1BR villa at Kidani village. We had a studio once in nearly the same spot. Both rooms were on a narrow strip of land along Pembe Savanna, a LOOOOONNNNNGGG walk from the lobby.

 

[KenHutch]

I paid for standard view and just requested a partial savanna view. They gave us rooms 4343 and 4345 which were above one of the people pens but had an incredible view otherwise. It became a great view to the girls during a rainstorm when a young giraffe played tag with its mother for about 15 minutes right below us. I think that memory will stay with both girls for the rest of their lives.

 

[sndral]

OP, if you are booking a room through Disney (and not a DVC villa/studio) you will be in Jambo House. The standard views can be a partial savanna view or they can overlook the parking lot/front of the building and perhaps a few the roofs of the restaurants w/ the pool beyond.
If the resort is pretty full then some people will be in rooms that overlook the front. Be aware that you may end up in one of those rooms and w/ the new system of assigning rooms (and sending texts out to those not yet there) it may not be possible to move you to another room. AKL seems to be increasing in popularity, thus assume that you'll get what you paid for - a non savanna view if that's what you booked & a savanna view if that's what you booked. If you end up in a partial savanna view when you paid for a standard view consider yourself lucky

 

[Crystal824]

We did a savanna view room in April at Kidani Village. I am so glad we did. We saw lots of animals. We all loved seeing the animals from our balcony. I am not one who usually books or pays extra for a view, but I felt it was worth it here. I just wanted to point out that there are lots of places to view the savanna if you do not book a savanna view room. There are lots of overlooks and such.

A word of caution so that you manage expectations. While we saw lots of animals in the late morning, afternoon, and evening, the animals were not out in the morning. We did not eat breakfast on our balcony and watch the giraffes because they weren't out yet. They put teh animals in at night (at least where we were) and bring them back out in the morning.

 

[sndral]

We did a savanna view room in April at Kidani Village. I am so glad we did. We saw lots of animals...
A word of caution so that you manage expectations. While we saw lots of animals in the late morning, afternoon, and evening, the animals were not out in the morning. We did not eat breakfast on our balcony and watch the giraffes because they weren't out yet. They put teh animals in at night (at least where we were) and bring them back out in the morning.

Good point, the animals move around the savanna and aren’t always visible from a particular room/villa.
The animals do stay out at night, however each savanna is emptied each morning as the animals go to their barns and then return, so depending on when you were looking it may have seemed like they had been gone all night - but they are typically only in the barn for about an hour & a half each morning. Sunset savanna, which lies between Jambo and Kidani and is the largest savanna has it’s own barn. Arusha and Uzima savannas share a barn, so they bring one savanna’s animals in and release them before bringing in the other savanna’s animals.