Is it worth it??

[minnie04]

We are going for 4 days during spring break, but I also want to plan a quick weekend in May. I wanted to book Animal Kingdom. My question is do you think it's worth a $400 Jump in price to get the Savannah View room? My DS9 has only been there once when he was 11 months old. It would be kind of cool for him, but just for the weekend I’m not sure about the price... I know it’s “if you have the money spend it”, but is it worth it?? I haven’t been there since then also. I don’t remember if they have places he can see the animals and watch them being feed. Thanks

[buzznwoodysmom]

If you've never stayed in a Savannah view room before then it's probably not a big deal. However, for my family at least, once we stayed in a Savannah View room we couldn't imagine being there and not being in a Savannah View room. But "worth" is so subjective, only you know if it's worth the extra expense.

There are places to see the animals even if your not in a Savannah View room. I'm not sure if you can see them being fed from those locations. I know we've watched the CMs set out food and the aminals come eat from our room, but I've never noticed if you can see this from other locations as well.

[SBETigg]

Worth it is very subjective, and I've never stayed at AKL, but-- the few times I've paid extra to upgrade my view, I've never regretted the decision. I don't need to do it every time, and I wouldn't do it if it hindered my Disney spending, but for an extra special every now and then, it has always been worth it for me.

[floridamom]

For me the decision would be made in part based on how much time we planned to spend in our room. Since it's only a weekend trip, are you going to spend most of your time in the parks, or because you will have recently returned from your spring break trip, will you appreciate some more relaxed time?

There are definitely places around the AK resort where you can view animals, and we've even had interesting discussions about the animals with CMs stationed at certain spots. Our DDs are 10 and 8 and at this point they actually enjoy exploring the resorts more than staying in our room!

[minnie04]

I think I’m going to pass on the upgrade this time. I don’t think we are spending enough time in the room this trip. It was super cool when we did it the first time, but I think if we had a longer trip planned it would be more worth it. I’m sure he will love just being there. I'm going to wait and see what rates come out for summer and maybe we will go back.. or in the fall when the weather cools down (yeah right the weather cooling down in Florida).

[AgentC]

I've stayed at AKL multiple times and have never booked a Savannah view. We always do standard or pool. I'm sure we would like the view but I have never felt I was missing something by not having it.

We don't spend tons of time in our rooms and there are lots of placed to go to see the animals. I agree that the interactions with the African cast members at the viewing sites add an extra dimension to the experience.

[minnie04]

Great thanks Cindy, I'm not going to book the room this time. We will be back another time longer then a weekend and it might be worth it then..

[EJS-Houston]

We are going for 4 days during spring break, but I also want to plan a quick weekend in May. I wanted to book Animal Kingdom. My question is do you think it's worth a $400 Jump in price to get the Savannah View room? My DS9 has only been there once when he was 11 months old. It would be kind of cool for him, but just for the weekend I’m not sure about the price... I know it’s “if you have the money spend it”, but is it worth it?? I haven’t been there since then also. I don’t remember if they have places he can see the animals and watch them being feed. Thanks

My family and I stayed in a Savannah view room in November 2011, as did friends who travelled with me, and we would all agree that if you can afford it, it is most definitely eminently worth it. Any time of day, amazing African wildlife right outside (sometimes nearly right below) your balcony. And at twilight it's absolutely amazing!

[disney obsessed]

I always book a standard view. We have been lucky enough to be upgraded to a savannal view a few times. To me, there was not much differance.

[epceddie]

My wife and I stayed in a savannah-view studio in February of 2012. We saw some giraffes and zebras, which was nice, but we thought there would be more action.
Allison was looking forward to sitting on the balcony and watching the animals with her morning coffee, but we found out later that the animals aren't released back into the savannah until later in the day.
We did come back one night after dinner to find three zebra grazing right underneath our balcony and that was really cool.
The resort was one of the quietest we have ever stayed at and we didn't see a whole lot of people in the halls. At times, it felt like we were the only ones around.
We stayed on DVC points and that was worth it to try a new resort (our home resort is Old Key West).
Personally, I think you could spend the $400 a lot better. Even if you don't stay at AKL, you can still visit and take advantage of the many viewing spots to see the animals. Have lunch at Sanaa and make a day of it at Kidani Village.

[joonyer]

The question of "worth" is such a subjective one, as others have stated. In this case it's not just about whether you can afford to spend an $400 or not; just because you can afford to doesn't mean you should.

Personally, while it would be really cool to be able sit on your hotel room balcony and watch African animals grazing about, I don't think that perk alone is worth anywhere near $400, even if you were going to sit & watch them for hours on end, especially when you can see all of the same animals at AK without spending any additional money (assuming you already have park tickets).

Of course, $400 means a lot more to some people than others, depending on your income, etc. For myself, I have never stayed or seen any hotel room that I would consider to be worth spending $400 on, mainly because of our family income, and the fact that at places like WDW, we only stay in the room to sleep and shower. I have a hard enough time justifying spending $100.00 for that. But that's me.

For others, spending an extra $400 in no different than $40 or even $4.00. You'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth it. You can "google" around online and watch some some videos to see exactly what you might see from the room if that helps.

[minnie04]

Thanks Epceddie & Joonyer. I have stayed in a Savannah view room years ago and it was really cool. The animals where around here and there. I agree spending an extra$400. On a room is crazy and I don’t know if I mentioned, but that is the upgrade to the Savannah room. It’s a total of $900 (give or take) that's why I was hesitating since it's only a weekend trip. I do have park tickets and will take your advice to go and see the animals at AK for "FREE"..LOL if we do a Safari ride I think that will be cooler than just watching the animals from a balcony. Again if we were staying a week or more. Then maybe, but two nights we probably won’t see that much in the hours we are in the room.

[Kaps]

Plenty of viewing of the animals in other areas if you would rather spend the money elsewhere. most time is spent in the parks anyway but as others have said it is subjective.

[EJS-Houston]

The question of "worth" is such a subjective one, as others have stated. In this case it's not just about whether you can afford to spend an $400 or not; just because you can afford to doesn't mean you should.

Personally, while it would be really cool to be able sit on your hotel room balcony and watch African animals grazing about, I don't think that perk alone is worth anywhere near $400, even if you were going to sit & watch them for hours on end, especially when you can see all of the same animals at AK without spending any additional money (assuming you already have park tickets).

Of course, $400 means a lot more to some people than others, depending on your income, etc. For myself, I have never stayed or seen any hotel room that I would consider to be worth spending $400 on, mainly because of our family income, and the fact that at places like WDW, we only stay in the room to sleep and shower. I have a hard enough time justifying spending $100.00 for that. But that's me.

For others, spending an extra $400 in no different than $40 or even $4.00. You'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth it. You can "google" around online and watch some some videos to see exactly what you might see from the room if that helps.

I would submit that it is worth it if you have any photographers, professional or amateur, in your group. The ability to take your time to set up on you own private balcony with no urgency to rush because you don't want to hold up foot traffic, or someone else wants your vantage point is pretty premium. There was not a day when I didn't take loads of photographs from the balcony...and my brother who's a professional photographer was able to set up his tripod and special equipment and shoot away to get amazing photographs. If, like me, photographs are your principal souvenirs of your Disney vacation, and if you can afford the extra $, the Savannah View Room is a good investment.

[lawgirl]

I rarely get the Savannah view room. Most of the times we've lucked up on upgrades and also, you can try to request the "restricted view room" for the standard price...we saw giraffes and zebras out of our "standard" priced room last time.

Even if you have it, $400 is alot to pay for a view....