Sleeping at AKL

[sndral]

At Kidani - the hoofed animals are taken in at some point during the evening or night. The times vary. You will notice in the mornings that certain species may or may not be out yet. The later they come in - the later they wake up and head out. Giraffes in particular will sleep late often.

One of the CM's that stands on the walkout is who told us over at Kidani. A manager at Sanaa told us the same thing at one point. We'll be checking in there on June 7 - either way I have no plans on sleeping with the door open.

It was on the Wanyama safari where we learned they stay out all day / night except for their checkup and feeding, which goes savanaah by savannah and takes one or two hours. The safari guide was one of the lead caretakers for the animals on the Uzima savannah, so presumably in the know.

MelissathePooh - enjoy AKL - I highly recommend the Wanyama safari which as a guest @ AKL you can sign up for, the price is a bit steep, but worth every penny IMO - you get so much info. about the specific animals @ AKL, next time I do it I'm taking a notebook, so I can remember the animals on my savanna's 'real' names.
Like Peaseblossom we had 2 animal caretackers for AKL on our Wanyama safari and they said most of the animals stay out 23 hours a day. The animals on sunset come into their barn 1 hr in the morning and the animals on Uzima and Arusha share a barn and come in for 1 hr (Arusha @ 1 time, Uzima another - both in the morning.)
Some animals may be in for various reasons, when we took our safari we learned that a pair of cranes were in the barn w/ their babies full time to protect the babies and an Okapi was in on time out as he had problems w/ aggression, for example. Some animals were there from AK due to behavioral issues - one Ostrich on Sunset, I remember was banned from AK and was still a problem @ AKL, he poked his head into our truck, looking for things to grab, great pix, but we all backed up! A couple of zebras on Uzima were on their way to a zoo in an exchange program. The red river hogs were in (and housed under some rooms @ Kidani - I think, could have been Jambo, it was over where Arusha and Sunset join) because it was so cold, but they were the only animals brought in due to cold.
When I had lunch @ Sanaa several months ago I was surprised @ how many zebras were on Sunset - 7 I think, and the waiter said because the herd was so large, they weren't always all out - depending on behavior. I assume as animals and animal groupings change husbandry practices change as well, so what was the case when I took my safari may be very different now.
I remember the Raffiki train ride and the info. about the different sounds to bring all of those animals in every night, but as mentioned, AKL is a different set up.
In regards to the original question - if you leave the sliding glass door ajar, be sure to leave the drapes closed as I believe they have cameras all over.

 

[mrsltg]

We've slept with the doors open on the second floor, Arusha Savannah, in November and December. Both times were great! One night I kept kicking DH because he was snoring. He finally said, "It's not me!!!" Lo and behold, there was an Ankole cattle sleeping beneath our window.

 

[Sue M]

On the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch, some of the CMs point out the animals' "night houses" and explain they have different calls for each animals to bring them in. They also explain that AK closes earlier than the rest of the parks because it can take as long as three hours to rally all the animals into their night houses. Not sure if there are different animals outside the rooms at AKL, but this made it sound like the animals are in fact housed each night rather than roaming around the savannah. But I'm sure animals like birds, etc are still out.

AK & AKL do things differently. The animals at AKL do stay out at night, and are taken in for an hour in the early morning.

We stayed at AKL one January, and it was too cold at night to consider keeping the balcony door open.

 

[Peaseblossom]

I would take a look around your balcony- there have been recent reports of wasp nest problems but hopefully they've all been resolved. That said, I wouldn't make the A/C run like that at home and treat a resort room like my home when I'm there. In the summer it's still hot and humid in central FL, even in the middle of the night, so the a/c will struggle to keep the room cool. Just a thought...

We have A/C in Canada, too. I pay my electricity bills, so am mindful of the effect of open windows - would much rather spend it at WDW. However, if the overnight temp outside is close to the set / actual temp in your room, the the A/C won't have to work overly hard. Turn on the ceiling fan, so much the better. But this is where common sense comes into it, and I'm sure the OP is an adult and can figure such things out with out a lecture from me.

I can't believe how low most Florida establishments set their A/C. Uncomfortably cold, and dry, hard on your sinuses, especially overnight. I carry a sweater everywhere I go in FL, even in summer. Now that's some wasted electricity!

 

[Planogirl]

I bet that if some of you woke up with a few Palmetto bugs in your room, you might change your mind about leaving the door open!

As for animals staying out, I'm a bit of a night owl and I noticed some animals out all night whenever we've stayed at AKL. If you have insomnia, it's kind of cool to slip on some shorts and wander about.

 

[dzorn]

Probably kind of a weird and unique question, but has anyone who has stayed at AKL in a savannah view room slept with the door out to the balcony openly just slightly to hear the sounds of the animals at night. I tend to sleep better and fall asleep faster with natural outdoor noises and would think you could hear some nice noises out on the savannah at night. Just curious.

Just remember that will also me the air shuts off, bugs, lizards and snakes can get it in.

Denise in MI

 

[Sammie]

And people wonder how palmetto bugs get in the rooms on upper floors, now we know.

 

[kapoof]

i saw one of those roaches in the early morning hours while while pausing to enjoy one of the lookouts. it was outside but still..i can't imagine sleeping with a door open for fear one of those creatures came in!!! i can't believe that doesn't concern some people!

 

[goofy4tink]

After several early morning wake up calls from some really obnoxious bird, we keep the door shut, and the drapes pulled!!! My dh forgot to completely shut our balcony door one night...man, was it noisy just prior to dawn!!! Still not sure what kind of bird was making the noise, but it was god-awful!!!
You do hear the animals shuffling around at night...it's kind of cool. But, not cool enough to leave those doors open. I've seen the bugs down there...!!!

 

[TaraPA]

And people wonder how palmetto bugs get in the rooms on upper floors, now we know.

And where's that thread of the 6-foot snake in the room at CR - on the 5th floor......

 

[Buffalo2Disney]

I guess I just assumed that the doors out to the balconies had screen doors on them, never stayed at deluxe before so never had a balcony. Without the screen door on there, there is no way I'm leaving the door open and letting bugs get in now.

 

[magicLAL12]

The animals are taken in at night so there isn't really much to hear other then general resort outside sounds. The time that they go in for the night and come out in the mornings can vary day to day depending on the various animals.

Keep in mind too that there are cameras watching all the balconies so watch your curtains.

Melissa

We will be arriving this Saturday at AKV- what exactly does it mean when you say "There are cameras watching all the balconies so watch your curtains?" Do you mean they can literally see inside the room?
Just wondering- don't want to be giving any CM an unintended show!

 

[Tigger1]

In some of Disney resorts the air shuts off when the balcony doors are open. I think it is at Vero Beach. Does anyone know if AKL shuts air off. Would hate to wake up to a hot moggy room filled with bugs.

 

[Sammie]

We will be arriving this Saturday at AKV- what exactly does it mean when you say "There are cameras watching all the balconies so watch your curtains?" Do you mean they can literally see inside the room?
Just wondering- don't want to be giving any CM an unintended show!

Yes it literally means they can see into your rooms. So consider yourself seen unless the curtains are closed.

 

[reiella]

We will be arriving this Saturday at AKV- what exactly does it mean when you say "There are cameras watching all the balconies so watch your curtains?" Do you mean they can literally see inside the room?
Just wondering- don't want to be giving any CM an unintended show!

They have cameras that can potentially see into the rooms, keep your drapes closed. The cameras are in place to make sure folks don't feed the animals.