Maximizing Animal Sightings at Jambo House

[DisneyDiner]

Hi! I will be taking my four-year-old to AKL Jambo House in May for her first visit. We will be on the 5th floor in a DVC Villa with a Savanna view. I want her to see the most animals possible at the closest possible range. Having looked at all previous discussions of the views at AKL, I have read both that Zebra Trail Arusha Savanna view and Kudu Trail Sunset Savanna view near a feeding station are "the best." I am unconcerned about idyllic views - I want my daughter to see a lot of animals! Based on your own experiences, what view should I request?

Thanks!!

 

[AngiTN]

I'm afraid I have no ideas here. Those darn animals are free ranging and go where they darn well please. They feed them all over the areas but even then, they still go where they want when they want. I'm not certain there is any way to maximize seeing them.
We stayed 10 days at AKL a couple years ago and what we saw varied greatly daily, all from the same room. Some days we saw tons and others none.

 

[Shellyred8]

I agree with AngiTN. It really varies from day to day as to what you will see from your room. In addition to viewing the animals from your room, I would plan some time to walk around the rest of the resort area. They have several places for viewing the animals and you will perhaps get to see some animals from these areas that you might not see from your room.

You might want to plan a trip over to AKL-Kidani to see the animals from the public viewing areas over there too.

I found that we enjoyed the public viewing areas as much as the view from our room. Also, in some of the public viewing areas, there will sometimes be a cast member that is available to ask questions. They are usually pretty fun to chat with.

 

[rwdavis2]

Be prepared to spends some time. As was mentioned the animals move around. From your balcony you should be able to see everything. Once you get there you will get the lay of the resort and figure out which areas are best.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

The resort doesn't even guarantee that you will see animals-Savanna View means you have a view of the savanna, which the animals just happen to wander across. Some days you'll see a good amount, some days you won't. It all the depends.

 

[DisneyDiner]

Can no one offer any other guidance? This makes it sound utterly random. Is all the talk about Arusha views, feeding stations, etc., that I've found online really meaningless?

Thanks!

 

[disnut8]

Can no one offer any other guidance? This makes it sound utterly random. Is all the talk about Arusha views, feeding stations, etc., that I've found online really meaningless?

Thanks!

It's not really meaningless, it's just that the animals don't have a schedule. Other than a feeding schedule, where food is put out at certain times in certain places, that's about it. And even when the food is put out, you could have one or two animals coming by but the next day, a dozen.

I can say that the most powerful demonstration we ever experienced with animals was at Animal Kingdom Lodge and savannah view. Most people will say that animals will run from the weather but a huge thunderstorm was starting up and we saw the reactions of the animals to that. No, they didn't run. Some were surprised (giraffes) but then just sauntered away from where they thought the danger was. A few wildebeasts way out just looked up and stayed where they were during the storm. The regular ducks were making a ruckus though So it was interesting to see the different animals reacting differently to the same storm. Of course, the humans were the funniest of them all.

 

[Best Aunt]

Not sure if this still happens, but they used to call the animals into the barn, one savanna at a time, every morning. That meant that you would NOT see any animals outside your window during that time period. Some people were unhappy that they never saw animals while they drank their coffee in the morning; that's why.

 

[BalooFan]

I have stayed at AKL with a savannah view several times. I couldn't tell you which trails my rooms were on, but I can tell you that I never left disappointed that I hadn't seen enough animals. As a matter of fact, I find it hard to pull myself away from animal-watching to head out to a park. The animals are more scarce at some times of the day and you won't see every animal from your room, but as a previous poster mentioned, there are a few viewing areas throughout the resort and you can go there to search for animals you don't see from your balcony.

 

[spiceycat]

If it is real hot or humidity - you won't see them near the lodge - now some rooms have shade trees nearby and sometimes you can see some under the trees.
the best times for viewing early morning or dusk - are when you are generally in the parks.

Do you have a cat or dog - can you say where they will be all the time - that is just impossible unless you make them stay in a cage.

the animals are allowed to range - sometimes though they will fight - that you generally see because of the noise involved.

 

[Nancyg56]

Can no one offer any other guidance? This makes it sound utterly random. Is all the talk about Arusha views, feeding stations, etc., that I've found online really meaningless?

Thanks!

It is not meaningless, but you really need to understand that this is not a zoo. The animals are nto contained in a caged area for your viewing pleasure, so while the odds are good that you will see animals, you need to understand that these are living breathing creatures who roam where they please. IF you are prepared to accept that the animals may not be grazing in your balcony line of sight when you are watching for them you will not be left angry if that occurs.

I am perplexed honestly. You have done research but your post indicates that you thought you might be able to request a location that had giraffes at your balcony. I wonder if your expectations are setting you up to be very disappointed.

 

[AngiTN]

Can no one offer any other guidance? This makes it sound utterly random. Is all the talk about Arusha views, feeding stations, etc., that I've found online really meaningless?

Thanks!

It IS utterly random. You must realize this going in.
You are mis-understanding the feeding stations. They are all over the savanna and visible from all rooms that can view the savanna. One one is not going to have a better view of them than others. I haven't seen what you read online but if what you found assures any guarantee other than you an view the savanna is indeed misleading. Just because someone posted that they had room X and saw # number of animals doesn't have any bearing on what you'd see in that same room. So other's reviews of a specific room are really not going to be of any consequence to your stay.

 

[Dug720]

The resort doesn't even guarantee that you will see animals-Savanna View means you have a view of the savanna, which the animals just happen to wander across. Some days you'll see a good amount, some days you won't. It all the depends.

Exactly! There is a reason they are called Savannah View and not Animal View.

 

[Dug720]

It is not meaningless, but you really need to understand that this is not a zoo. The animals are nto contained in a caged area for your viewing pleasure, so while the odds are good that you will see animals, you need to understand that these are living breathing creatures who roam where they please. IF you are prepared to accept that the animals may not be grazing in your balcony line of sight when you are watching for them you will not be left angry if that occurs.

I am perplexed honestly. You have done research but your post indicates that you thought you might be able to request a location that had giraffes at your balcony. I wonder if your expectations are setting you up to be very disappointed.

This. So much this.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Staying in a 5th floor villa at Jambo is going to put you WAY above all the animals...giraffes included. None of the animals are able to get much closer to the buildings than 15-20 yards due to the barriers.

We prefer a view of Arusha Savanna.

Make sure your expectations are not too lofty. You WILL see animals. You will NOT be ultra-close to them...even less so on the 5th floor.

The closest you will get to them will be at the public viewing areas in most cases.

 

[Nancyg56]

Staying in a 5th floor villa at Jambo is going to put you WAY above all the animals...giraffes included. None of the animals are able to get much closer to the buildings than 15-20 yards due to the barriers.

We prefer a view of Arusha Savanna.

Make sure your expectations are not too lofty. You WILL see animals. You will NOT be ultra-close to them...even less so on the 5th floor.

The closest you will get to them will be at the public viewing areas in most cases.

We stayed on 5th floor Jambo house, and yes, the view was a bit distant due to the height. It was teh impetus for me to purchase a better camera for my DD so she could zoom in and bring those lofty creatures closer.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Ever tried to give directions to a cat? Yeah, something like that.

They are wild animals being kept captive in a habitat enclosure.... they are NOT programmed animatronics.

Sorry but no guarantees on "viewing" when you're discussing the behavior of wild animals. If you or your DD are going to feel horribly slighted and disappointed in Disney Magic over the fact that the animals aren't going to put on a parade and perform a scene from the Lion King.... it's time to re-direct your vacation to include a high-quality zoo like San Diego.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

It is definitely random. We were on the second floor of zebra trail. We left for the parks between 7-9am and then some nights returned after dark. On the days we left early or returned late, we did not see many animals, just the birds and cattle. We saw the giraffes on the mornings we left later or the the nights we returned around 5-6pm. However, since we returned other people have reported in the AKL thread that they stayed on zebra trail and saw lots of animals early in the morning. We still had a fantastic time and my kids loved seeing any animal that was outside, even the birds. One night we saw 3 giraffes! The savannah was very peaceful and beautiful.

 

[DisneyDiner]

I appreciate the thoughtful replies. Are there parts of the building to which the animals can come closer than others? I have seen some pictures that show chain link fencing and the like.

 

[AngiTN]

I appreciate the thoughtful replies. Are there parts of the building to which the animals can come closer than others? I have seen some pictures that show chain link fencing and the like.

Not really. It feels closer when you are outside on the rock area at the Arusha Savana but it's not really closer. The parameter around the building is the same all the way around