Upgrade to Savannah view? worth it?

[Kim Gillihan]

In july I am taking my cousins family with us in a 2 bedroom... another family was coming and I had a studio booked for them.. but they are cancelling so I am considering upgrading to Savannah view with points saved for this trip my second time staying at AKV, first time having savannah view.. I wouldn't be questioning it but I am afraid to get the not so great savannah view vs. the one with giraffes etc. We are staying 7 nights. Advice appreciated...

 

[Crusader10hky]

I will preface this by saying I’ve only been DVC for a couple of years and BLT is my home resort. Last summer we made a 2 night “pit stop” trip on the way to the beach and grabbed a savannah view studio at Kidani. I was super concerned about getting a good giraffe view and asked the front desk etc. They kind of laughed me off a bit and said they’re all great views. I got to my room and was super happy. The savannah, though large, was not as expansive as I originally thought and felt that most of the animals passed by my area at one time or another. Even when they weren’t right in front of my window they weren’t hard to find—especially the giraffesnd zebras.
My semi rash decision to get a savannah view paid off in spades because, well, unfortunately my 4 year old daughter got sick and was basically unable to leave the room. She and my wife spent almost the whole day on the balcony spotting animals and loving it. If it weren’t for the upgrade, it would have been a disastrous day in a decorative hotel room.with a tv.

I totally recommend going for savannah view. Go ahead and request to be near a giraffe feeder but don’t despair wherever they place you.

 

[Kim Gillihan]

thanks so much for your advice and explaining your experience.. I am leaning this direction... why not.. its a big trip and I should enjoy the savannah at least a few times and not be so cheap!!

 

[LittleFishy101]

We stayed savanna view for a couple night a couple years back and absolutely LOVED it. I loved being able to sot on the balcony and watch the animals in the morning. We loved it so much that we have another stay coming up in a couple at AKL savanna view. IMO, definitely worth the upgrade.

 

[AdamsMum]

Savanna views at Kidani are pretty reliable. Twice at Jambo I've been placed in the corner of a spoke and seen very little. Be prepared though for possibly very long walks to your room. The view was amazing, nothing like sitting on your balcony with breakfast and seeing the savanna animals.
But we never used the refillable mugs as we were parking under near the closest elevator to our section.
Also weird access to the pool through the underground parking, we were fortunately on the end of the resort that has the pool so not a far walk, it just felt strange.

 

[zavandor]

Are you booked at Jambo or Kidani? If it's Jambo, you can request the Kudu trail, if they grant it you'll get a reclassified savannah view. Of course there's a reason why those are not savannah view anymore, but for the point of a standard they're a great deal. There are reclassified rooms elsewhere, a few also at Kidani, but the Kudu trail at Jambo is the only one having only reclassified standard, so it's an easy request.

 

[summerw]

I haven’t stayed there but I read several threads on it. A lot of people talked about timing and how sometimes the animals are not on that particular part of the Savannah while you are getting ready in the morning as they rotate sections they clear to give them medical attention etc and it’s dark at night so having some resort time during the day may be important to it being worth it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You can book a standard view at any resort. But you can only get a Savanna view at AKV. We never use points at AKV-KV without booking a savanna view.

 

[cruisin5]

It depends on the time of year and how much time you will spend in the room. If you're up and out early then back to the room after; dark every day, it's not worth it.

We love coffee on the balcony in the morning and happy hour in the evening while looking at the animals. It's such a unique experience.

 

[Granny]

I wouldn't be questioning it but I am afraid to get the not so great savannah view vs. the one with giraffes etc.

I guess I'll start with the Disney standard comment that no room views are guaranteed. And so there is no guarantee you will be looking out over the Sunset Savanna that has the giraffes. You could end up with Pembe and have a view of Okapi, Red River Hogs, Waterbuck, Nyala, and the Northern Ground Hornbill.

Having said that, we have stayed at AKV three times and always gotten our request for a view of the Sunset Savanna with the giraffes (among other animals). Unlike other resorts, the Savanna View is actually better on the lower floors so that the tree foliage doesn't block the view as much.

But again, you never know what villa you will be assigned to, and it may not meet your requests at all. And in that case, you may think that you wasted the points to upgrade to a Savanna View. But all the views have nice aspects to them, and as long as you don't get your heart set on exactly what you requested, you will be fine. Keep in mind that there are places within the public areas of AKV that allow you to view the animals regardless of where your villa is located.

Good luck!

 

[Kim Gillihan]

Thanks for all the replies! Now my cousin tells me they most likely will go which means we will have to keep our standard view.. so funny how people flip flop.. makes me a little nervous.. I am trying to express to them that this is set in stone its not like a normal hotel room etc...

will try and get a partial view.. last time we had a bus stop parking lot view! ugh.

We were actually planning to do a split stay between akv savannah and poly 2 studios... and getting excited about it... oh well....

 

[Momto2minniemice]

I have stayed Savannah, Standard, and value. I will say I would save money vs staying Savannah view. We do not spend that much time on the balcony to see the animals. And they have large viewing areas to see the animals from so many locations.

 

[JackOfAllTrades]

savanna is honestly hit or miss. I have experienced great views with some rooms and poor views with others. It’s technically a “zoo” so with that being said the animals like there certain areas and I have found on two trips now that there were hardly any animals in sight. Also as many said depending on the room you may have a very very long walk if you are near the end of the tusk shape hallways!

 

[James From Utah]

IMO the only reason to stay at AKL is to see the animals. I'd upgrade. Last time i stayed there, giraffe camped in front of my room all trip. It was amazing.

 

[Dizzydizney]

Thanks for all the replies! Now my cousin tells me they most likely will go which means we will have to keep our standard view.. so funny how people flip flop.. makes me a little nervous.. I am trying to express to them that this is set in stone its not like a normal hotel room etc...

will try and get a partial view.. last time we had a bus stop parking lot view! ugh.

We were actually planning to do a split stay between akv savannah and poly 2 studios... and getting excited about it... oh well....

 

[Dizzydizney]

Stick with your original plans. You can view animals from other locations all around and save points. Tell the cousins your cut off date!!! Why should you suffer economically due to their indecisiveness? My relatives seemed to think we got everything free because we were DVC. Once burned twice shy. I do not offer my DVC to family any more. Except my kids.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I have given my family the savannah view and kept standard for ours for a trip last year, but in December we brought friends and I really wanted the savannah. We saw so many animals, I was very happy. Yes, there are places to view animals around the resort, but theres nothing like the convenience of opening up the drapes and seeing them.

I understand not having enough points, right now I am in standard view at Vero because I had used points for those savannah views and wound up having to buy the one time use points. We own 1400+ points and still have to be conservative with views. We recently were reconciled with a branch of our family and that‘s why the sudden extra point useage. Rather have the family coming then having points left over, so all is good!

Have a great time, whatever the view!

 

[Simba's Mom]

There are some people who wouldn't stay at AKV in anything other than a savannah view. But there are some standard views that are "partial" savannah view. I out the partial in quotes, because when I got a standard view once (only because savannah view wasn't available), it had a better view of the savannah than the previous savannah view studio I'd had. I was also fortunate enough once to get a value studio that had a savannah view.

 

[Mom2m&k]

We have stayed at ALK many times and always standard. One of our favorite things to do is go down to the lobby early and get coffee and then sit in the rockers outside the lobby and watch the animals be released onto the savanna. Once it was like a stampeed and so awesome to watch!

 

[Rob Huff]

We have stayed at ALK many times and always standard. One of our favorite things to do is go down to the lobby early and get coffee and then sit in the rockers outside the lobby and watch the animals be released onto the savanna. Once it was like a stampeed and so awesome to watch!

Woah - that sounds incredible!

We're heading to WDW in two weeks for our first no-parks trip and the AKL was the obvious choice. We've stayed there a couple of times and always left wishing we had a little (or a lot!) more time at the resort.

Do you recall roughly what time the stampede occurred? I'd like to target that on at least one of our mornings.