Resort Change Advice/Animal Kingdom Lodge Question

[disneyfreak202]

So I am currently booked for Oct. 31-Nov. 8 at All Star Sports. However, I am thinking of splitting up the trip to stay half at Animal Kingdom Lodge (I just want a giraffe at my window to be honest lol) and half at Sports. Has anyone ever had a resort change in the middle of their stay? How does it work? It is difficult to do? I would most likely change resorts on the 5th and stay 3 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Also, if you have stayed at Animal Kingdom lodge, is the Savannah view worth it? It would cost me about $245 more to stay in a Savanna view than a standard room. If you stay in a standard view can you still see the animals from the resort anywhere or your room? Which do you recommend?

 

[Nancyg56]

We don't do split stays so I cannot help you with that, but Savannah view? Absolutely worth it to my family. Unless we are at the beach, we do not pay for a view. Location we pay for but not the view, even at WDW, however we will at AKL. There is something surreal about sitting on a balcony, a cup of coffee or glass of wine in hand, and gazing on those graceful animals on the Savannah below.

If you do decide to split stay, try to carve time out of your vist to just relax and enjoy the resort. It is lovely.

 

[raytheyounger]

Search in the forums for "split stay" and you will find a lot of information about this. Many people do it. It is not difficult. Book the two rooms separately checking out of one the same day you check out of the other. The threads on this site discuss strategies as far as how to pack for a split stay, how to get your luggage from one resort to the other, etc.

I did it last year dividing time between AKL and AoA. We stayed in a pool view room at AKL, so I can't speak to the value of the Savannah view (although I will likely try it next time I visit). Even with a pool view, there are plenty of opportunities to watch the animals elsewhere at the resort. It is a great resort.

 

[hdnwaters]

Personally, I hate changing hotels. We had to change rooms last week and it was a pain in the butt! A highlight of our trip was lunch at Sanaa, After lunch, we spent a couple of hours just walking around the AK lodge. We were welcomed guests and there were hardly any people there at lunch time. There are lots of areas to view the animals and CMs to tell you all about them. Well worth the visit! Beautiful resort. Not sure if I could justify the extra cost of staying there. JMHO.

 

[disneyfreak202]

Personally, I hate changing hotels. We had to change rooms last week and it was a pain in the butt! A highlight of our trip was lunch at Sanaa, After lunch, we spent a couple of hours just walking around the AK lodge. We were welcomed guests and there were hardly any people there at lunch time. There are lots of areas to view the animals and CMs to tell you all about them. Well worth the visit! Beautiful resort. Not sure if I could justify the extra cost of staying there. JMHO.

That is my problem, I am trying to justify the cost. However, the pictures look insanely amazing from people I have seen stay there. I just am not sure if we will be in the room enough to enjoy it. I am sure we will make time, though. I might just do it, because this could be the last trip for a while.

 

[rwdavis2]

I would do it at least once. We stayed in a Savannah view room in 2012 and were just amazed at the scenery and watching the animals. Yes, it's expensive but what's $245 compared to the overall cost of going to WDW in the first place?

If you don't have a car you will either have to have Disney move your luggage or take a cab/Uber. Their liggage deliver usually occurs late afternoon, I think.

 

[RADOPT]

On one trip we changed hotels 3 time. It was easy but I had a travel agent book everything. We had disney transfer our luggage. We checked out, spent the day at the parks and returned to our new resort. We tend to dress out of our luggage so repacking was not necessary. I would not do it for one or two nights as it is just as easy to visit the resorts. Have fun.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

That is my problem, I am trying to justify the cost. However, the pictures look insanely amazing from people I have seen stay there. I just am not sure if we will be in the room enough to enjoy it. I am sure we will make time, though. I might just do it, because this could be the last trip for a while.

We've stayed both standard and savannah at AKL and, honestly, enjoyed them both. We actually never saw a ton of animals from our balcony. We kept joking that we were in the "guinea fowl" section as that is all we saw sometimes. If it would be better on your budget, I wouldn't hesitate booking standard. The resort is gorgeous and there is a really beautiful viewing area just off the lobby.

We've done a lot of split stays and find them quite easy as well. We always give our luggage to bell services in the morning, go off and enjoy our day and then go to our new resort when we are done in whatever park we are visiting. Our luggage has always been at the new resort by late afternoon.

 

[DeanDoug]

Split stays are not a big deal... if you don't mind packing all of your stuff! On moving day, leave your stuff with bell services, go to a park, and after your fun go to your new resort. It's pretty easy. As for a Savannah view, yes, it's worth it. We've had one many times and there isn't anything like it (except perhaps in Africa!)

Enjoy!

 

[Ralphmiller007]

We saw more animals from our standard view in May than our Arusha savannah view in December. That being said, it is kind of a toss-up on what kind of standard view you'll get. We were lucky and had a "people pen" standard view, where the animals came down to our corner pretty often.

 

[izzylovesmickey]

We're doing a split stay this summer with BC then going to AKL. We stayed at AKL for one night 2 years ago and loved it. We had just gotten there and we're changing to head to the park. I went out on the balcony and the giraffes headed across the savannah headed towards our room. We almost didn't leave the room. I took tons of pictures. Staying savannah view again this summer and plan on 3 days so we can get our fill of the animals. It's an amazing resort and the views can be wonderful!