We always stay on the 5th floor as we are DVC & so far have been on Zebra trail & had both Uzima & Arusha view. Personally I have enjoyed seeing animals from my balcony every trip I've taken w/ savanna view.
When I arrive I make it a point to check the savanna whenever I am in the villa. IME after a couple of days you get a sense of what animals will show up when. It probably helps that many of our trips have been 9-10 nights. Last trip we had Arusha view midway down the hall and were able to watch the animals as they left the barn mid mornings if we happened to be in the room. They let them out in groups depending on species, who walks fast & who dawdles & who gets along w/ whom - it was like Noah's ark, and since we'd learned all about the barn exit protocal at that year's Wanyama Safari we had learned a great deal about how husbandry managed the in & out of the barn & recognized what we were seeing. That said we were usually in the parks when the animals left the barn, so only saw it a couple of times - but it was pretty cool to see it after hearing all about the personalities of some of the animals. The giraffes tended to come by in the evenings (including my avatar - Gordon, who while on Arusha my most recent trip, had been on Uzima the year before) at night a herd of gazelles would be silently grazing down below.
On Uzima I remember several animals coming by for water at the pond we could see, including giraffes and the zebra pair.
I'm sure you'll see animals particularly if you make it a point to check from the balcony often and then make a mental note (like zebras at waterhole just before dinner, giraffes follow late night feed truck, etc.) so you know to look for particular animals around that time. If you see the truck putting out high browse in the tree, wait awhile as the giraffes will show up to eat it. Likewise low browse will attract grazers.
I think most people prefer Zebra trail because it's more convenient to the pool and Mara, not because the view of the animals is better, in fact I think Kudu & Zebra trail are equal for animal viewing (except for when the animals saunter out from the barn which is over on the Uzima side & thus visible from the end of zebra trail.)
Do speak w/ the African CMs at the Arusha and Uzima overlooks as they'll fill in information about the animals you are watching.
I like doing Wanyama or lunch with an animal specialist early in the trip to get the back story about the animals currently at AKL. Next trip I may do the evening safari (if it's available.)
I hope you enjoy your visit
