Savanna view room at AKL - animal?

[jacksmom]

I’ve read some reviews lately of people staying in savanna view rooms and not seeing many animals. We are planning a Dec trip with a standard view booked but we’re considering upgrading to a savanna view, but if the animals are missing not sure it would be worth it? Anyone with a recent stay have any advice? Thanks for any help!

 

[DisneyDiana]

The animals are there it’s just that they may not choose to hang out on the area by your room when you are on your balcony. Usually in the morning they are having their check ups and the savanna is quiet but late afternoon there is usually plenty of activity. We were just there and had many relaxing afternoons watching the animals.

 

[Tornat]

Just spent 7 nights at savanna room . As in checked out last night . Lots of animals and they were very active . Big giant cows gave some loud moos we could hear with glass door shut. We enjoyed it a lot. Looked like there were more animals out there this year than there was 5 years ago.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I’ve read some reviews lately of people staying in savanna view rooms and not seeing many animals. We are planning a Dec trip with a standard view booked but we’re considering upgrading to a savanna view, but if the animals are missing not sure it would be worth it? Anyone with a recent stay have any advice? Thanks for any help!

Some savannas are more active than others. They could have had a sunset savanna room, its typically the least active especially if you are in the U that runs along the lobby on the kudu trail. Just FYI there are standard view rooms that overlook the savanna, either the sunset or Uzima savanna. These rooms are over the people pens that are used for evacuation so it is possible to get one of these rooms and pay the standard price. In addition, there's tons of lookouts all over the resort, so you will get to constantly see animals wherever you go

 

[sndral]

I always spend the first couple of days at AKL frequently checking the view from my balcony when I’m in my room including at night. Animals move around, but tend to have a routine as to when they wander where & I want to learn when they’re likely to be visible from my balcony. From one room we saw Giraffe wandering by every night, and after a couple of nights I started sitting on my balcony waiting for them to show up, it was so eerie to see them silently emerging from the darkness. Also if you see the truck driving through the savanna putting out food/browse you’ll likely see animals showing up fairly soon thereafter.

 

[Disneyworldlocal]

We recently stayed at Kidani room 7676 and the amount of animals and close proximity was MIND BLOWING. We came back to eat dinner one evening and outside our balcony was three giraffes eating close enough to us that I could throw a football and they could have caught it (and I am not talking hair mary pass either... just a basic pass. We saw so many different animals on a regular basis it blew my mind. I wake up early (like 4 am everyday naturally). I sat on the balcony at 4:30 am one morning and was shocked to see a number of zebras and a few other animals sleeping nearby. I just did not expect it.

 

[Anthony1971]

while all the savannas are connected food is mostly what brings them from one part to another. Best to take a walk to the main viewing area speak with one of the guides let him/her know what savanna your room overlooks and you will be told what times it is best to see the most animals from your balcony. My best advice.... if you spend time at the resort a savanna view is well worth the extra cost if you plan on going to the parks every day and spending the majority of your day in the park come back expect to see a lot of animals you will likely be disappointed.

 

[jacksmom]

Thanks for the information, we booked the Savannah view!

 

[Mazz519]

We always book a Savannah view, never in an area where there are no animals, My wife actually chooses to stay on verandah all day just looking at the animals... definatley get a Savannah view !!

 

[JenSop]

Animal Kingdom is my home resort with DVC, and I've stayed there more than any other Disney resort. The animals are always very active on the savannah, but they go where they want to go. They might be hanging out near your room, or another room. But they do actually live on the savannah. They have the option to go in for checks every morning, but it's up to the animals themselves. (I did the on-site safari years ago, and learned that the animals are trained to react to woodblocks being banged together as a call to come in to the stables for check-ups. But it's voluntary on the animals' parts.)

Savannah view is worth it, if you want to see animals from your room. But also keep in mind that there are viewing areas ALL over the resort, so you can still watch the animals, even if not from your balcony.

 

[married2grumpy]

We just completed a stay a few weeks ago at AKL. We had Arusha savanna Zebra trail, 3rd floor room 3511. We did not like the view from this room. Third floor the trees were in the way. The animals were sparse the entire trip and the giraffes were too far away from our room to enjoy them. The bundles of giraffe feed were very far from our location and the closest one was directly behind a tree. One floor down and a few rooms over I'm sure saw that giraffe much better than we did. I did make mention to the desk about the lack of animals and someone came around to put more feed on the logs closest to each room and also sprayed the ground. It was amazing how many animals came after that. They didn't stay long but it was fun to finally see them!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Be sure to also keep your eyes open for the food truck or the "gator" type small vehicle.

Generally that means meal time and the animals will flock to wherever the keepers leave the food.

They do meals and snacks a couple of times a day.

Regarding "no animals"-- there is a part of the day where the keepers do wellness checkups and other "vet" type stuff. It seems to us that the Arusha savanna might have behind the scenes care being done in the morning since there were several times there were no animals out at 8 or 9am.

 

[jacksmom]

Really appreciate all the info. Now looking forward to our Savanna view room!