Standard or Savannah View?

[PawleyPlatoon]

Hello Intercot Friends!

I am booking a week long vacation for my husband and myself next March. We have chosen AKL Kidani Village for our accommodations. I just can't decide whether or not to spend extra $$$$ on the savannah view. I've read lots of blogs about the matter and seems that half of the posts say you can see the savannahs at lots of different areas in the resort and don't spend the money on the savannah view, while the other half says definitely spend the extra $$$$.

I simply don't know if it's worth the extra price. The purpose of the trip is to watching spring training for the Braves and see the flower festival at EPCOT. Also for us to have some "down" time.

HELP!

[MCeee]

We've stayed at both Kidani and Jambo House. We've also never requested or paid for Savannah View, but out of three times staying there, twice we've gotten it anyway. The other time was our stay at Jambo House, and we still had a wonderful view of the pool and the edge of one of the savannahs. In fact, If you get a chance, take look at a Kidani resort map. You'll notice that there are simply not that many rooms that have no Savannah view. There are a few, but not many. Even most of the ones that face toward the parking area (which is also towards the pool), there is a smaller savannah right there, and its beautiful.
That said, I would not request or pay the extra. If it so happened I didn't get it... then I would enjoy the savannahs from the other public viewing areas.

[ginny57]

I had a standard view - it was what I could afford. I ended up right over the resort entrance so could not see anything for sure! That said, I took a short walk to the overlook and saw the animals. Not a big deal for me.

If you are planning on spending time on your balcony with some wine to chill for a while and can afford it....why not - but don't feel like you HAVE to.

[MCeee]

@ginny57... when I was there and also when I look at the map, it appears that mainly those villas near the resort entrance are the "no savannah" views.

But to add to my earlier post... be advised that you also may have a very long walk to your villa. We actually counted our steps once and did the math (approximate of course) and it was more than a 1/4 mile from the lobby to our room!
Coming in from park touring with some tired "dogs" I would have been happy with the closer non-view room.

[mom2morgan]

We got upgraded to Savannah view (I hear that is fairly common) and it was a really nice little perk - definitely a great memory of the trip. That said, I would not personally pay the extra - while I really enjoyed it, I didn't really spend THAT much time hanging out there, and the rest of the resort and the viewing areas are gorgeous.

[TexansInNY]

My 1.5 cents worth - we paid extra for it and it was great but honestly would not again. The kids spent a while out there the first day but could have spent the same out there in the public viewing area..by fourth night it was back to "wish we were at WL so I could see who is at the pool" Go with what you want and enjoy!

[RedSoxFan]

We have never paid for a savannah view. So many spots to view the animals. We do, however, splurge for a pool view so not to look at a parking lot. Great resort!!

[kakn7294]

My family has never stayed at AKL but when we have considered it, we felt this way - we're not going to spend enough time in our room to justify paying for the view so we likely would not book a Savannah view room.

[MNNHFLTX]

Since I've visited Disney World numerous times, I like to spend time at the resort as much as I do the parks. On that note, my family and I have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge three times, all in savannah-view rooms. I love to wake up in the morning and sit out on the balcony, watching the animals feed; same in the evenings. I've even been known to peek outside in the middle of the night, just to see what's happening. Now I can't imagine staying there without a savannah-view room!

Whatever room you do decide on, I agree that it's wise to put in a request for one close to the lobby. If you have a room at the end of one of wings, those halls seem to go on forever, even with the pleasant viewing spots to enjoy along the way.

[PawleyPlatoon]

Thanks so much for the input from everyone! It was definitely helpful.

I decided on getting a standard view (requesting close to Kidani lobby) at Kidani Village. However, I HAVE seen the total for this and it is, let's say, exciting! I'm going to keep this ressie for a while and see how our budget looks over the next few months. I may change to Saratoga Springs if we need to save money. But, so far so good!

Have a great day everyone!

[Chickojewells]

We never stayed there but took a visit one time from a park to have a look around and it was felt like a whole new mini park. I work as a zoo keeper in Australia so this is something I just HAD to check out when I got there.... I said that I would pay the extra for the animal view next time if we stayed there but that's because personal interest. My husband however was said he wouldn't because of the short walk. To the area and mentioned it they could be seen from the eatery. So thought I would tell u my family is split based on personal interest!