Animal Kingdom Lodge - Location to See Animals

[ElizabethBowman]

Hi everyone. I'm thinking of trying the AKL this year... even though the price scares me! It will probably be a one time vacation - we usually stay moderate.

So I'm looking for advice. Where is the best place to stay in AKL to see the animals.
Any tips are really appreciated!!! thx.

Liz

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

You book a savannah view room which is significantly more expensive than a standard room.
I know everyone has their opinion on this but I personally don’t think you need a savannah view to enjoy the resort. We stayed in a pool view which I liked (this was an upgrade from the standard I booked). When you go downstairs and out the back door there are plenty of viewing areas. You can also view the animals from the pool area.

 

[LilacGarden]

We were in a Studio that overlooked the Savannah - I think we had an upgrade. But, you do not need to have a room that overlooks the Savannah areas. There are plenty of viewing spots to see the animals. Most days we left the room too early and got back too late to see them. We did spend our first day exploring before our room was ready and saw almost all of the animals that you could see just walking around.

 

[FSU Girl]

I feel the resort is only worth staying at with a savanna view room. The hotel is beautiful and I do visit it on trips I’m not staying there, but they are far from a lot and I feel like it’s not worth it unless I can see the animals from my balcony. When I stay there I love hanging out watching them, it’s so unique and different

 

[CynBeth]

One thing to think about is if you get up early and do not return until late you might not be able to see the animals from your balcony. It can be a long walk from your room to the restaurants and bus stop which is the only transportation they offer. Depending on what is a priority to you it might not be worth it to you to stay there you might be better off at a different deluxe. We have only stayed at 1 Epcot resort the YC and we loved being able to walk to that park and DHS or take the boat. We also love the MK resorts. We like the boat or monorail and being able to see the fireworks and the electrical water pageant is wonderful.

 

[Best Aunt]

Animals are called into the barn for a bit every morning, one savanna at a time. If you expect to see them while drinking your coffee, you might see nothing depending on your timing.

 

[Haley R]

We had a standard room and saw lots of animals. You don’t have to book savannah view to see animals. We actually had two rooms: one by the stables which was cool, another in an open area with tons of animals. Both were standard. We booked through undercover tourist and got a great rate with them.

 

[disneyvoice]

Totally agree that if you are wanting to be careful with cost you do NOT need a Savannah room to really enjoy all the resort has to offer. We have only stayed here once so far (but it quickly became my favorite resort, tied closely with BC due to the proximity to Epcot) and did get a Savannah room. We really enjoyed the room however we did not spend as much time as I thought we would just sitting out on the balcony watching the animals. AND there aren't always animals in close view so sometimes there isn't much to see. We actually spend a lot more time than we thought we would walking around outside to see the animals and using the public outdoor balcony areas to sit and watch them. We actually decided that in the future we won't pay the additional money for a Savannah room - for a deluxe resort if you can get a discount price for a standard room, AK is actually a really great deal.

 

[mar7967]

I'm staying at AKL in November and we rented DVC points - it's something to look into to save some money potentially.

 

[sticker231]

We stayed at Kidani last summer and just booked again for the end of July. We enjoy the Savannah view, but as others have said, you can save money by booking standard view and using the numerous viewing areas.

 

[brent02139]

Like mar7967 says, you can book by renting points, but if you are going this year, you better hurry. Most rooms are gone.

If you are looking to save cost, you can book a standard room, then request for partial savanna views, there are many rooms that qualify under this category.

 

[mckenk]

Ditto booking DVC points. We booked a Savannah view through David's DVC for our trip in 2016. We paid just over $200 a night. I loved having a Savannah view - especially because we had little kids. They would go on the balcony and look at the animals all the time. However, like PP said, they were not out in the mornings. (We watched them after coming back from the parks and getting ready to swim or eat dinner.) I guess it was because of the Savannah we were on - I have always been confused when people talked about watching the animals while drinking their coffee!

 

[Shanti]

Hi everyone. I'm thinking of trying the AKL this year... even though the price scares me! It will probably be a one time vacation - we usually stay moderate.

So I'm looking for advice. Where is the best place to stay in AKL to see the animals.
Any tips are really appreciated!!! thx.

Liz

Standard rooms that are on the Kudu Trail have very good animal views.

 

[rlk]

This trip we had two separate reservations at Kidani with a night at BLT in the middle. For our first reservation, Studio-Savanna View, we got all our request met: second floor, close to the lobby and Sunset savanna view. It was great being close to the lobby and buses. The animal viewing was good, but there were no animals around in the early morning when we were in our room getting ready to go to the parks.

Our second reservation, same category as the first, the only thing on my request list that was met was the second floor. The room we had was 1/4 mile from the bus stop and we didn't have a view of the Sunset Savanna. When I entered the room, I said it reminded me of animal jail. The Pembe Savanna isn't very deep, therefore you really notice that the animals are penned in. My annoyance diminished after my first day there because the animals were always in view. We had a front row seat to three zebras interacting with the ostriches, kudu and longhorn cattle(don't know the name). It was fascinating watching the zebra bully any ostrich that tried to get close to their turf. This would take place all day long, so whenever we were in the room, something interesting was happening. We also witness a mating dance bt an Abyssinian Hornbill.

 

[Sajchinook2015]

Is it better for animal viewing to have a higher floor?

 

[sndral]

Is it better for animal viewing to have a higher floor?

Be aware that the DVC villas at Jambo are on the 5th floor (and DVC club villas on the 6th floor.) Kidani is all DVC so you could be on any floor.
Higher floors you are looking down at the animals, lower floors you are looking closer to their level. Which is better is really a matter of personal preference.

 

[pkpope]

Hi everyone. I'm thinking of trying the AKL this year... even though the price scares me! It will probably be a one time vacation - we usually stay moderate.

So I'm looking for advice. Where is the best place to stay in AKL to see the animals.
Any tips are really appreciated!!! thx.

Liz

So i actually just got back yesterday from my first stay at AKL and it is hands down my new favorite resort!!! I will say, if you want too 100% make sure you can see animals from your room, it’s best to book a savannah view. However, we booked a standard view (also during a marathon weekend plus AK’s 20th birthday weekend plus earth day) so the hotel was pretty busy, but we were upgraded at check in without issue. The cast member saw how excited we were to be there and secured us a “partial savannah view” room which was only considered “partial” because of a wooden fence that was so far below our 4th floor room that we didn’t even notice it! So if you’re willing to take that risk i think buying a standard and asking for the best view they can give you at check in should be fine, however if you want to guarentee that view you might want to go ahead and get the savannah view. Also, there are multiple spots around the resort where you can walk outside and see the animals! So even if you don’t get that savannah view, you’re still only minutes away from seeing a zebra or giraffe eat lunch!

 

[steg]

Is it better for animal viewing to have a higher floor?

Not necessarily. I finally got the "Upper Floor" request I wanted the last time we were at Kidani village last time and the majority of my view was tree tops with a100-150 feet of visibility below the trees i regretted asking for an upper floor. We were on the 5th floor on the inside of the middle of the "upper" spur of Kidani village. The lower down you are the farther out across the savannah you will be able to see.

Looking at various room views at Jambo the tree lines seem to be less densely packed than Kidani Village. I'm hoping this is the case as we will be on the 5th or 6th floor of Jambo house this time (our first time at Jambo house) and am hoping we get a view that isn't full of trees while being on an upper floor

 

[steg]

Hi everyone. I'm thinking of trying the AKL this year... even though the price scares me! It will probably be a one time vacation - we usually stay moderate.

So I'm looking for advice. Where is the best place to stay in AKL to see the animals.
Any tips are really appreciated!!! thx.

Liz

Having stayed at Kidani village twice, both time in a savannah view room I would happily stay in a standard view room the best animal viewing we experienced were from the observation decks.

If you're staying at Jambo, as others have mentioned some "standard" view rooms have partial savannah views.

 

[patster734]

Last September, we had a Savanna View, Club level room in the 4th floor of Jambo house. We were very close to the lobby, so we had short walks to the restaurants, gift shop, and busses. The view was nice, and each morning, I would sit on the balcony, watching the different animals, while DW would get ready.

But the best view I had was when I walked to the end of the hallway and exited through the doors to an outside stairwell. Both times I did this, I had a giraffe very close to me. It was awesome as it was just the giraffe and me the first time. The second time, I had DW with me so that she could experience it too.