Anyone pay extra for Savannah view and not see animals?

[Dakota731]

AKL is one of our top choices at this point and with the price difference has anyone been disappointed with the extra cost?

 

[mevelandry]

We chose "Savannah View" once. Was so disappointed with the view (half of our view was some kind of warehouse with lift vehicles and all) that we downgraded to Standard. We had a better view (in front of the feeding spot) than we did with the savannah view.

My advice: If you really want a savannah view, go for Arusha. It's the best.

 

[MTstitch]

You won't be disappointed. This is our home resort. Tons of animals. I just love sitting out on the balcony in the morning and for afternoon break and watching them all.

 

[bumbershoot]

Whereas I have consistently been disappointed by any view other than from the PUBLIC areas of the resort. If one isn't lucky enough to have giraffes right outside their balcony, one needs to get used to cattle and ostriches and make sure that those "work" for expectations. I mean, sure, the cattle are Ankole-Watusi, but still. Cows. Animals are cool and neat and I like them so much I refuse to eat them, but using more points (we're DVC) means I want giraffes. And I haven't gotten them in 3 visits.

I like to stay elsewhere and go to Sanaa for a meal (they have a few lovely vegetarian things on the menu) and wander Kidani and Jambo's public areas to see animals.

Not to mention, people on their balconies (or keeping their doors open while inside their rooms) can be super-obnoxious and loud.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We stayed AKL CL once with a savannah view and started joking that we had the "guinea fowl" view because that was typically all we saw from our balcony. The best view we ever had at AKL was in an AKV Jambo 1-bedroom value view that had a view of some holding or feeding building in the back and it seemed ALL the animals congregated back there in the morning. It was AMAZING, but we really just got lucky with that room assignment. Honestly, if we were to stay at AKL again, I would probably pick standard or pool view and just go see the animals in the public areas. I, personally, don't think the savannah view is worth the upcharge and I also didn't like seeing everyone else out on their balconies.

 

[Syndrome]

I think that's why its designated savanna view, not animal view. Its in the "fine print" !

We like Uzima at Jambo , and believe it or not, we love Pembe at Kidani . Its very private and quiet . No Giraffes, but plenty of other animals.

Some of the worst view we have had always seemed to be Sunset Savanna. Club level has the worst Savanna views of them all. Just had a CL room in September, and we really had to look hard to see some animals !

 

[sndral]

The animals are not stationary - they roam, thus you'll see different groups of animals at different times of the day/night. Two families staying in side by side rooms could have totally opposite experiences just because one group looked for animals when they happened to be in that part of the savanna and their next door neighbors only looked when the animals were elsewhere.
To maximize your sightings - check outside often, including in the evening & especially watch if you see the truck driving on your savanna. Spot the location of the high browse baskets visible from your balcony and after the truck comes through filling those baskets the giraffes won't be too far behind. Likewise lower browse will attract other species. Most animals will visit the water hole at some point, usually about the same time each day/evening. If you are w/in view of the exit/entry path to the barns you'll see the animals going in and out at about the same time each morning. Sometimes you're lucky and an animal or group may bed down w/in view of your balcony each night. IME once I kind of figure out the habits of the animals I may see at various times I'm pretty successful at seeing them at that time for the length of my stay.

 

[Yarbogash]

Our first savannah view room was facing the back side of the far end of Kidani furthest from Jambo. The 'savannah' was a couple small pens with a few zebras. And the lights in the room did not work. After long walk back to the front desk got reassigned to a room near the end closest to Jambo and had a fantastic view of a regular parade of animals of all types. If we had been stuck with the first room I would have been very disappointed.

 

[Zife]

We've lucked out with Arusha each time we've had Savanna View. We've seen lots of Ankole Cattle each time, saw Zebra each time (only on the vary last day our first trip), and Giraffe each time.

We were told (on our first trip, way back in 2008, so things may have changed) that the animals are out more in the early morning and the evening/night. They tend to take the animals off savanna during the day for full feedings (the stuff on the savanna is really just a snack) and check ups, since that tends to be when most people are in the parks. They do cycle the animals out though, so the savanna is never completely empty.

That said, it is a very large space, and even though the animals are out there, you still might not see them.

 

[wench]

I have always seen plenty of animals from my room when we had Savanna view. No disappointments here.

 

[rwdavis2]

The animals are cool to look at. For about 20-30 minutes. We stayed in a Savannah view room, saw lots of animals, but did not spend much time after the first day looking at them. They do keep food in close to the rooms to draw the animals in closer.

 

[Yarbogash]

Not to mention, people on their balconies (or keeping their doors open while inside their rooms) can be super-obnoxious and loud.

Unfortunately that can be an issue. We spent a lot of time on the balcony watching the animals and saw the same routine over and over; near end of the day as people return from the parks the noise would rise. Most people were good but some would let their kids yell and scream on the balconies. One group across from us in two rooms was the worst as the kids seemed to be left in the rooms with no adults each evening.

That aside love staying there and would again any time I could. It's our 6 year olds favourite Disney resort by far and definitely in my top 2 or 3 and the savannah view is a big part of why.

 

[Megara5115]

We did savannah view once and it was ok but we found not really worth it for us. We didn't spend enough time in our rooms to enjoy it and the novelty wore off kind of quickly. We were in Jambo and saw plenty of animals though. Glad we tried it though.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Whereas I have consistently been disappointed by any view other than from the PUBLIC areas of the resort. If one isn't lucky enough to have giraffes right outside their balcony, one needs to get used to cattle and ostriches and make sure that those "work" for expectations. I mean, sure, the cattle are Ankole-Watusi, but still. Cows. Animals are cool and neat and I like them so much I refuse to eat them, but using more points (we're DVC) means I want giraffes. And I haven't gotten them in 3 visits.

I like to stay elsewhere and go to Sanaa for a meal (they have a few lovely vegetarian things on the menu) and wander Kidani and Jambo's public areas to see animals.

Not to mention, people on their balconies (or keeping their doors open while inside their rooms) can be super-obnoxious and loud.

Yes! This is us We stay Contemporary and do Sanaa....it's our absolute favorite restaurant on property!

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We find Savannah view to be more of a value at Kidani. It is just quieter all around and it seems like the animals are more often in the areas closer to the hotel.

 

[prgal0715]

I stayed AKL CL a couple of years ago and spectacular views of the animals from the room. During the hottest part of the day, it was a lot of birds and warthogs, but at night it was spectacular! There were two giraffe that would feed right under our balcony, zebra roaming around, etc. From my experience, early morning and late evening were the prime times for viewing.

 

[glocon]

The one time we stayed at akl, we had Arusha savanna view and saw animals all day every day. There were two giraffes, zebras and more.
We wouldn't do it any other way.
I think that the different savannas have different animals, so maybe not all have giraffe?

 

[Ruth B]

We had an amazing view. 3 giraffe, including the baby. Water hogs, zebra,cattle.
Very worth it for us.

 

[sndral]

...
I think that the different savannas have different animals, so maybe not all have giraffe?

Back when AKL opened before they built the DVC building (Kidani) and enlarged Sunset savanna - I think you are correct & not all of the 3 savannas had giraffes &/or zebras.
These days, however the 3 bigger savannas usually have giraffes & a least a pair of zebras.
The smaller Pembe savanna which was added when they built the DVC building - Kidani, and is which is located on the far side of Kidani does not have giraffes as the Pembe barn isn't tall enough for them.

 

[Syndrome]

We really like Pembe at Kidani, most dont because they want the giraffe wow factor.
While Pembe does not have giraffes , it does have Okapi . If anyone is into animal viewing , they would appreciate Pembe as the Okapi are endangered, and you will not find them at just any zoo. SO to see them while sitting in your hotel room is kind of special.
Actually, if you look up Okapi on Wikipedia , the main picture of an Okapi, is from Disneys Animal Kingdom. Thats how rare they are, unlike a giraffe, which you can find at almost any zoo .
Just giving some props to Pembe , with some info most people dont know about .