Dine w/ Animal Specialist - Sanaa

[disneykidsince1970]

Hi all - I have been reading all the reviews and Sanaa looks like a winner.

I am intersted on opinions/experiences on the Dine w/ Animal Specialist experience at Sanaa. Has anyone done it? Is it worth the money? Does this help guarentee a good table for viewing? Any ideas about how long it takes to get there from Contemp by taxi (for various reasons, we won't be doing WDW transportation). I assume normal kid menu that offers standard kid fare for those not intersted in Indian/African food?

We are 5 adults and 4 kids (12, 10, 7, 5). Kids are not super adventurous but think the adults are.

Thanks so much!

[Strmchsr]

We did this in September and LOVED it. As for the "good viewing" seat, well, we weren't really interested in the view as most of the meal focuses around the discussion with the Animal Specialist. We were in a separate section of the restaurant that was kind of private. There wasn't a view of the savannah or anything.

I would say if you love animals, love learning about Disney, then it's definitely worth it. I am not a very adventurous eater, but I enjoyed everything they brought out with the exception of the beets. My DS6 is not an adventurous eater and the staff was able to work out some chicken fingers for him. There is not a menu or a kids menu. The meal is a sampler. They bring you a bread sampler, then salad sampler, entree sampler, and a dessert sampler. On each course there were 3 different things to sample. So, they can find something for picky kids, but don't expect a full menu to order from. It's more like they scrounge something up for the kids.

Also, keep in mind (for the sake of the younger kids) that the experience is pretty much sitting for 2 hours talking with the Animal Specialist. At the very end we were taken out to meet a special tortoise, but that's not hands on. More just seeing. So, if your kids get antsy easily or wouldn't engage in the conversation, it might not be the right thing for them. My DS6 was very interested in animals and our animal specialist was glad to answer questions from him, too, so he stayed engaged.

[disneykidsince1970]

Thanks Chris for the reply - I think everyone would enjoy but my youngest who will have ust turned 5. He might be able to do 30 min but not 2 hours....and...if only a turtle at end and no animal guarantee in between, it is risky. We'll save it for another year...

thanks again!

**Also, in case anyone else is following, this is only available two days/week at certain times (according to the Disney site).