Sanaa at Lunch

[Felipe4]

The day that I have planned to do Animal Kingdom, I have reservations for a lunch at Sanaa and Wine Tasting at Jiko.

How is Sanaa in the afternoon? I figure a big draw is seeing the animals outside, but in the middle of the day, they're probably not really out because of the heat (same idea as the Safari). Also heard Sanaa is more for dinner time when the colors reflect the sunset.

Can people who've dined at Sanaa for lunch give me their experiences?

Also, since we're staying at POR and won't have a car, we'll be relying on the bus to AKL. How often do those buses come?

 

[greentea]

The day that I have planned to do Animal Kingdom, I have reservations for a lunch at Sanaa and Wine Tasting at Jiko.

How is Sanaa in the afternoon? I figure a big draw is seeing the animals outside, but in the middle of the day, they're probably not really out because of the heat (same idea as the Safari). Also heard Sanaa is more for dinner time when the colors reflect the sunset.

We ate an early lunch at Sanaa, and the animals were wandering about doing their thing before, during, and after lunch. Not all tables are by windows, but there are plenty of viewing areas around the resort, including one right across from the entrance to Sanaa, so you can spend time there after lunch if you can't get a window seat.

Also, since we're staying at POR and won't have a car, we'll be relying on the bus to AKL. How often do those buses come?

There is no direct bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge from other resorts, you have to transfer at a park. That also means on your way back to POR from Jiko, you'll need to take a bus to a park first.

In case you aren't familiar with Animal Kingdom Lodge, there are 2 bus stops, one at Kidani and one at Jambo. Sanaa is at Kidani (which is normally the first stop) and Jiko is at Jambo. If you accidentally get off at the wrong stop, you can walk between them, it will just take a few minutes.

 

[Felipe4]

We'll be spending that morning at Animal Kingdom and going to AKL for lunch/wine tasting. We might go back to the park in the evening, so my question was mostly about frequency of buses from Animal Kingdom to AKL.

Thanks for the input!

 

[frozenheart]

I ate lunch there in early October after spending the morning at AK.
It was pretty warm out (high 80s?) and there were quite a few animals that we saw. My album on my FB/computer has too much to go through to post them but looking at the pictures on my phone really quick most of them look like they were walking around with maybe a few laying in the grass. We also did not have a window seat, which was fine for us, because there's like an observation deck thing you can go out onto to look at the savannah. We just really wanted to eat here based on reviews from the dining forums.

I can't speak on the bus system though because we drove that day since we had a rental. Originally we were going to do the bus thing (AOA to AK to wherever) but didn't feel like waiting to go back to a park to get back to the resort. It just seemed like such a hassle. I think if we planned on going back to AK after we would've but we got everything out of the way within like 5 hours.

 

[sndral]

We have lunch at Sanaa every trip. IME we've always been able to see the animals and we especially enjoy the zebras - we go in the winter so I'm not sure if the heat at other times of the year affects the animals behavior. They go into their barn for an hour to an hour and a half each morning but will be out by lunch time. It's a lovely calm experience and even if you aren't seated at a window (you can tell them at check in that you are willing to wait for a window table) it's easy to wander outside later and watch the animals. The savanna you will be looking at is Sunset savanna.
Regarding buses - midday the busses are further apart no matter what park/resort, but once you are on the bus it's a very short ride. Kidani where Sanaa is will be the first stop. After you are done with Kidani either walk down to Jambo or go back to Kidani's bus stop and take any park bus down to Jambo.
Unlike Kidani, which feels more intimate, Jambo has a majestic lobby (think WL w/ a different theme) and the gift shop is worth a visit as well. Jiko is downstairs next to Boma and does not have a view of the animals, so take time to see Arusha savanna - which is outside the lobby, and Uzima savanna which can be viewed out by Jambo's pool.
When you are done simply take a bus to any park and then hop over to your resort's bus. You can also transfer via DTD, but I never have much success doing this.

 

[hooch11bear]

We've eaten at Sanaa for lunch on our last two visits. We have been there in July and August. We have seen several animals wondering around while we've been there.

 

[ssmurphy28]

We stayed at AKL back in January and went to Animal Kingdom three times on the trip. We always had exceptional bus service to and from Animal Kingdom from AKL. We may have just been lucky, but between the six legs of the trip, the most we waited was about 8 minutes one afternoon (5PM Close) heading back to AKL from Animal Kingdom.

We also ate at Sanaa for lunch one day, and it was my favorite meal of the trip. The food was the best I had over the ten days we were there, and the atmosphere was awesome! We had the first lunch reservation, so when we arrived all of the animals were not out yet, but by the sounds of it, they regulate the viewing pretty well. Our server told us exactly when we would see Zebras and which direction they would be coming from. I would definitely try to keep the Sanaa reservation. It was great.

 

[Belle61513]

I'm excited to hear all this great feedback on lunch!

We've never been before (or even to AKL period), but have a late lunch set up one day on our upcoming trip. Decided to book there after seeing Jeff Mauro's lunch there on Food Network:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...agical-disney-vacations-airs-on-food-network/

 

[Felipe4]

I'm excited to hear all this great feedback on lunch!

We've never been before (or even to AKL period), but have a late lunch set up one day on our upcoming trip. Decided to book there after seeing Jeff Mauro's lunch there on Food Network:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...agical-disney-vacations-airs-on-food-network/

Me too! My lunch is scheduled about an hour and a half before wine tasting so we may have a little time to explore in between!

 

[BABYJOSIE98]

Hubby and I had lunch there last month around 2pm and I requested a window table and it was given to us with little wait. We absolutely loved our lunch at Sanaa. I had wanted to try it for a long time. The Naan bread service with all the dipping sauces is a must! OMG I could have just made a meal out of the bread! It was so delishes! Then hubby and I split an entree where you pick 2 items. We had the butter chicken and the short ribs. It was all fabulous and plenty of food for us since we had the bread service. It is just a lovely place to have lunch! Enjoy!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . .
How is Sanaa in the afternoon? I figure a big draw is seeing the animals outside, but in the middle of the day, they're probably not really out because of the heat (same idea as the Safari). Also heard Sanaa is more for dinner time when the colors reflect the sunset . . .

1) Actually, we prefer the lunch versus dinner - for food AND animals.
2) The animals are VERY acvtive during this time. even with the lunch-hour heat.

 

[mommd]

We have eaten lunch at Sanaa twice-11am and 2pm. Animals were active during both times. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and loved watching the animals. Enjoy!

 

[MrsDuck]

DH & I just did lunch at Sanaa last month and LOVED it. Food was great, service was good, and we saw a TON of animals.