Sanaa questions

[elt0307]

As soon as I read that Sanaa had a view of the safari I wanted to try this restaurant. However, the first few reviews I read were lukewarm and at first glance the menu didn't get me overly excited. However, I think it'd be REALLY neat to eat overlooking the safari. With further research I've found many more really positive reviews of this restaurant so I think I'm going to try it. Two questions - how difficult is it to get a table by the window and do you think my best bet is to call the ADR number and have them note that on my reservation? I have a 5pm reservation on 4/30 and 5pm is right when they first start serving dinner so I hoped that would increase my chances? However, that is a little early for dinner for me...think 6pm would be easy to get a window table as well?

Also, I read several reviews that stated you could customize the "spice factor" - is this true? I can handle a little spice but my GF cannot at all - problem or no?

TIA!

 

[catne]

I would stick with your 5 PM seating...when we went...in 3rd week of May we also went right when they opened, got a window seat. By 5:30 all the window tables were full...none at 6:00 PM. If that's a bit early for you, order drinks & an appetizer first...put in your entree order later to stretch your meal time out a bit maybe. But if you want a window seat for sure, don't go later. The window seats are obviously very popular and go fast.

But more importantly, the animals may actually be gone for the evening if you wait for a later seating...when we were there, they started feeding around 5:15 and it was great to see the animals up close but most of them had moved on & out of sight by 6:00 PM. The waiter told us that the animal handlers place the food out in a set pattern to "naturally" move the herds toward the safe enclosure area before nightfall so the animals have a chance to "graze" in a natural pattern, yet also get to where they can settle down for the night in a secure area. That's one of the reasons they close Animal Kingdom early most nights...get the animals settled before nightfall. They want to keep the animals onto a fairly set schedule to insure as normal an environment as they can for them

 

[gerows]

I love Sanna. We have been for lunch twice and we loved it both times. I'm not sure if they have it for dinner but if you like lamb then the lamb kefta burger is amazing

 

[cbg1027]

Sanaa is amazing. It's one of my favorites.

Catne gave you a great answer about the seating - I agree with everything she said.

Everything is served fairly low on the spicyness scale. There are a few items that will be hotter than others, like the Red Chile Sambal dip, but just ask your server and they will be able to tell you what is spicy and what is just spiced, but not hot.

You can also ask for sauces on the side if you are unsure about things.

 

[robandkelly13]

We always eat at Sanaa since we typically stay at Kidani. We have always had the 5 o'clock ADR (we eat early) and we always get a window seat. We've eaten at Sanaa 6 times and the first 5 we're great - food and service. The last time we had an awful and rude waitress which ruined the experience. We won't be going back this trip since we're staying at BLT (We'll miss our home at Kidani), but I'm sure we'll return on our following trip. Arrive a little early and you'll have no problems getting a window seat

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

Also, I read several reviews that stated you could customize the "spice factor" - is this true? I can handle a little spice but my GF cannot at all - problem or no? TIA!

our server specifically told us that the spice depends on how heavy the cookstaff's hand is that day. i told her i couldn't really handle spice--she said she'd let them know. well my food was spicy and i was throwing up in no time. they took it off my bill... but it put a damper on my departure day for sure. if your gf can't handle it--i wouldn't chance it. you can do boma or jiko and visit the viewing areas which are awesome... or you can just visit kidani's viewing areas. sanaa has a club sandwich for lunch that was good... if i wouldn't have attempted the spicy appetizer first. she could be safe with that if you do lunch. i'm sure it's delicious to those who CAN handle the spice... but speaking from someone who can't... it was pretty painful.

 

[madalex]

But more importantly, the animals may actually be gone for the evening if you wait for a later seating...when we were there, they started feeding around 5:15 and it was great to see the animals up close but most of them had moved on & out of sight by 6:00 PM.

I wouldn't worry too much about this. We had dinner a couple weeks ago at Sanaa and had a 6:30 reservation. When we arrived at 6:15, we went to the savannah overlook and there were plenty of animals still out and about. Many of them were also still around after dinner (around 7:30).

 

[elt0307]

Wow, thank you EVERYONE for that great information. I think we will take our chances with the spice and also keep the 5pm dinner reservation. Having a leisurely early dinner with a nice bottle of wine (wine list looks fantastic!) sounds great to me, especially as we are planning on making it an early night so we can visit Harry Potter at Universal bright and early the next morning. The more I read about the restaurant the more excited I get about our meal there. I've also never visited AKL and it looks like a beautiful resort so I'm hoping to explore a bit. Are there any other safari viewing places in the resort other than the restaurant that we should check out?

Thanks again, I knew I could count on my fellow DISers

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

if you go right out the door by the restaurant... there is the main viewing area. there's rocking chairs and great CMs to tell you anything you need to know! christine is soooooo nice love her! enjoy!

 

[Sandi]

We had lunch there a couple of weeks ago. We had a 12:00 noon ressie and were seated at a window table -- didn't even have to ask. We enjoyed the bread service, but not either of the meals we selected. DD16 got the lamb burger and I had a vegetarian selection. Both were pretty bland, so we tried to spice them up with the dipping sauces from our bread service. It helped somewhat. It was very pleasant to see the animals on the savanna. Our server was excellent. We prefer Boma and Jiko, but I'm glad we tried Sanaa.

 

[tinkmom2]

I loved Sanna! You can check my trip report for details. We arrived before our ressie time and were ealily seated. When we first arrived at Kidani we got there early and went out to explore on the savanah. Like the previous poster said you can sit there in rocking chairs. There is also a fire out there if you get cold. We were seated right by the window when we went but once it gets dark you cannot see much.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2337135
PS. There is also a free tour you can take with nighvision goggles to see the animals for free.

 

[elt0307]

I just wanted to check back on this thread and thank everyone who replied to answer my questions and provide information. I did keep my 5pm reservation at Sanaa on my trip two weeks ago and I'm SO glad I did! Even though we arrived a bit late we still were able to get a nice window table after waiting only a few minutes. The whole dinner experience there was so cool! There were a bunch of animals out on the savannah within view that night - 4 or 5 giraffes, a bunch of zebra and antelope, some cranes and other birds, along with a few smaller animals. They were also very active - we watched the giraffes run across the savannah several times! Our waiter was phenomenal - super nice and friendly, extremely helpful with the entire dinner, from wine suggestions to helping us with the spice level to food recommendations. The food was also great - we did the bread service and echo all the other praises of the naan and various dips. I had the slow cooked entree with shrimp and short ribs. I forget what my DGF had - I'll have to check my notes. We had a very leisurely and slow dinner and the waiter didn't mind at all. He also brought over a little guidebook they published for the animals on the savannah...it included pictures and fun facts and helped us identify what we were seeing. This is really a great restaurant and I would highly recommend it!

 

[Betsyp]

I have a reservation at 6:50 pm at Sanaa on 5/23 - is that too late to see the animals?

Glad you enjoyed it - this will be my first time and it's one of the ADRs that I'm most exciteda bout

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I have a reservation at 6:50 pm at Sanaa on 5/23 - is that too late to see the animals?

Glad you enjoyed it - this will be my first time and it's one of the ADRs that I'm most exciteda bout

No, they keep the animals out after dark, unlike at the park. They go in around sunset to eat, but they come back out later.

 

[Betsyp]

No, they keep the animals out after dark, unlike at the park. They go in around sunset to eat, but they come back out later.

Thanks I'm so excited about the thought of having a wonderful meal while enjoying these magnificent animals.........it can't possibly get any better than that. I imagine it won't be dark at 7pm, also