Dinner at Sanaa... Can you see the Savannah?

[Altoqueenkelly]

I *recently* (ahem yesturday ) added a night to our vacation in June and booked the restaurant Sanaa for dinner at 5:15 after our Animal Kingdom park day..... Will you be able to see the Savannah at night time??? Also! Does anyone know if you can request a window view or is it like O'hana's and a luck of the draw thing?

It will just be my Daughter(4) and I, so the view would be amazing for her!

Oh ya... I have never been to the AKL (I KNOW RIGHT!?) So I am dying to check it out, those who have been, advice? How do we get to this restaurant?? Is it in a different section than the "main" lodge??? (We will be taking the bus from Animal Kingdom.)

 

[walkdmc]

It's a very small, narrow restaurant with floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the savannah. When we ate there, we sat at a booth, all the way in the back, and we still saw giraffes through the window. It probably would've been better to have a seat right next to the windows but no matter where you sit, you'll see the animals.

Edit: I just re-read your post and realized you're eating at 6:55pm. We ate around 5pm and the giraffes were plentiful. I don't know about later?

It's kinda like the Coral Reef, if you've eaten there. YOu can see the tank from anywhere but there are better seats for tank viewing.

As far as location, at the back of the main lobby at Kidani, there's a set of stairs (can't miss them) leading down to Sanaa. Sanaa is on the bottom floor of the resort.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Do they light the Savannah?? Can you still see the animals at night?

OK - They have an earlier reservation.... I changed it to 5:15.

 

[walkdmc]

I'm sure you'll see the animals at that new time.

The handlers actually feed the animals in very strategic locations, for optimal viewing. We had a savannah view during our last AKV stay and around 4-5pm the animals (Zebras, giraffes, ostrich....other cattle-type animals) all showed up in the savannah. The giraffes were drawn to the area right outside the Sanaa windows.

 

[Nathaniel.Strawn]

I think you should be able to request a window at Sanaa, I know I did and I got one. We were there for a late lunch and still saw plenty of animals.

 

[cbg1027]

Even with the later ADR, you would have been able to see the animals during your meal. In June, it won't get completely dark until after 8pm.

So you will definitely be able to see the savannah at 5:15!

You could certainly request a table by the window. I think you would be more likely to get lucky at Sanaa since it's not as busy as 'Ohana.

Even if you don't get a table with a view, there is an observation area right by Sanaa so you could spend some time out there before or after your meal.

AKL is AMAZING! I love going there (love the restaurants!) and I finally was able to stay there this past December. I almost cried when we left, not because we were leaving Disney, but because we were leaving AKL!

http://www.aklresort.com/content/printed-materials
If you click on that link and look at the third picture down, you can see the layout at AKL and the two different buildings.

When you get a bus to AKL from a park, it will stop first at Kidani Village - this is where you want to get off for Sanaa. The second stop is Jambo House (where Boma and Jiko are).

If you ever go to AKL from DTD, the bus stops at Jambo House first and then Kidani Village.

So you could even take time to see both parts of the resort. When you're done at Kidani, you can just take the first park bus that shows up over to Jambo house. You can also walk between the two buildings - it's about a 10 minute journey.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Thankyou so much for your help!! I cant wait to go!!!