What would you do? AKL Kidani 2BR Savannah or Standard

[TheMick424]

I am getting ready to book our first DVC stay on points (AKV is our home resort). Will have to borrow some from the next UY either way, but trying to decide whether the Savannah view is worth it (85 points more for our dates). We want a dedicated 2BR so my kids (DS 12 and DD 10) can each have their own bed (and mom and dad don't have to listen to constant bickering about who has to sleep on the pullout). I would love to stay at Jambo, but with only lock-outs there, that is out. I would also love to stay at Beach Club at some point, but thinking that is a pipe dream.

What would you do?

 

[sleepydog25]

Spend the extra points. Certainly, the room will be lovely either way, but vacations now are always more important than vacations to be--one never knows what life will toss at you. Besides, it's darn cool to wake up knowing you'll likely see a lot of animals during your stay.

 

[drusba]

Personally, I would do savanna view if I could. However, if you decide on standard view in a dedicated 2BR at Kidani, you can potentially get a room overlooking the Pembe Savanna (which has animals but not giraffes) that was converted from savanna view to standard view by making a room request for near the Pumba elevator. Note that getting that request will leave you with a long walk to the lobby and bus station.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I say if you have the points, do it. Our first stay at AKV (our home resort) included one night in a club level studio at Jambo and six nights in a savanna view 1-BR at Kidani. It was amazing! Now, we will probably never splurge again like that since I'm more into getting a good value for our points and also staying longer, but I'm so glad I did it once.

 

[Tksolomom]

I would say it depends on how much time you are planning on staying in the room. If you are doing RD to park close, I wouldn’t get the savanna view, if you are spending time at the resort I would. We always do the savanna view as I don’t think you can beat having coffee on the balcony looking at the animals.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Savannah view is awesome and if you can do it... go for it!
Enjoy.

 

[miTnosnhoJ]

The reason to stay at AK is the magic, and the magic there is the animals. And your kids are the perfect ages to enjoy it.

 

[kristenrice]

I know it's just my opinion, and our situation is totally different since my DD's (12 and 14) don't mind sharing a pull-out, but we would do the standard and save the points. That being said, our first stay as AKV owners WAS in a savanna view room (studio) and I couldn't get the kids out of the room! They wanted to sit on the balcony and watch the animals instead of going out to the parks. They were younger (3 and 5!) so that was probably a big factor. We've stayed standard view at Kidani since then and we've had plenty of opportunity to view the animals from around the resort. When we stay at Jambo, we stay in either a standard or value room and we've actually had nice, savanna views most of the time. (We had a pool view from the value rooms on two visits). Again, our situation is very different. We only have 100 points so we are always looking to spread them out as much as possible. When I see that you are talking about an extra 85 points for a savanna view, I see an entire extra vacation for us! To me, no view is worth giving up an extra trip But since it is your first visit, I can totally understand the splurge for the savanna view.

 

[cruisin5]

Savannah all the way.

Nothing like a cup of coffee on the balcony watching the animals or just looking at the savannah. Without the view, it's just a hotel IMO. But, we aren't park commandos anymore so the resort and the room are important to us.

 

[kniquy]

We did a 2 BR at kidani just a couple weeks ago. We had a standard view room which did overlook the bus stop -- now which room you choose really depends on how much you will be at the resort. We were not in the room a ton so the view didn't break our trip. The room was amazing for our party of 7 with plenty of space and plenty of bathrooms. When we were at the resort we did find that there were plenty of areas to sit and view the animals so with that in the future i don't think i would use the points for animal viewing. We ventured over to Jambo for breakfast and even when we were done breakfast around 10:30a the animals were still not out. So I'm not sure what kind of schedule they have for the animals because they do take them off the savanna at certain times.

If it is your first DVC trip and you have the points then splurge this time, but if you think saving those 85 points could provide help with another trip then maybe save them. I am one to plot out our point usage for the next couple of years so that i am not caught wanting to go and have used up my points.

For your family of 4 you could still book a 1 bedroom and each kid can have their own bed - one gets the couch and one gets the sleeper chair. a 2 BR will feel huge with only 4 people. Even with 7 we each had plenty of space. We used the couch and the chair this past trip and my 12 yo son and 4 DD were more than happy and comfortable. You can forewarn the kids that they have to have this sleeping arrangement so that you can save points and plan the next trip. If they know that info then they might not complain (who am i kidding they are siblings they will complain and fight about anything and everything). This save points, you can certainly get the savanna view and you can still save points for your next trip.

At any rate - have fun planning and definitely plan to eat at Boma for breakfast -- simply amazing!!!