Animal Kingdom Lodge: Tips for Your Savanna View Stay

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge offers one of the most unique amenities of any resort: Savanna View rooms that allow you to see the more than 200 animals that call Animal Kingdom Lodge home!  Savanna View rooms are a specific booking category and are available at both Jambo House and Kidani Village. 

If you have a Savanna View stay coming up, here are some tips to make the most of the incredible view!

Check the Animal Spotting Guide

While it’s fun to just look out the balcony and see the animals on the savanna, did you know that Animal Kingdom Lodge offers a wildlife spotting guide?  You can get the guide by visiting the front desk and scanning the QR code.  The illustrated guide not only includes names and pictures to help you identify the various animals, but it gives some fun facts about each of them.

If you have questions about the animals, you can also chat with the Animal Educators whom you can often find by the public viewing areas for the savannas.  

Note When Animals Are Most Active

Guests typically find that the animals are easiest to spot in the morning and early evening.  They are especially active when it’s feeding time.  If you hear the sound of trucks along the savanna, it is usually a sign that the cast members are coming around to feed the animals.  

Cast members do a brief medical check on the animals each morning, so that is one time of day you may not see any of them out.  However, you may be surprised to find that the animals are out on the savannas even late at night. 

Take Advantage of Mobile Ordering

From the wide variety of foods at Boma’s buffet to the signature dining at Jiko, there are some wonderful restaurants to try at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  However, if you want to spend as much time as possible enjoying the savanna view, you may want to consider mobile ordering food in the My Disney Experience app to enjoy on your balcony.  

You can mobile order breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks from the resort’s quick service location, The Mara, which is located at Jambo House.  At Kidani Village, you can order breakfast to go from Sanaa.  Having a leisurely breakfast on your balcony while watching the animals is a much more relaxing start to your day than rope dropping!

Get to Know the Different Savannas

There are four different savannas between Jambo House and Kidani Village: Uzima, Arusha, Sunset, and Pembe.  Which savanna you can view from your balcony will depend on your building and room location within the building.  Each of the savannas has a slightly different variety of animals.  

The Uzima Savanna is visible from the Zebra Trail at Jambo House.  The Arusha Savanna is towards the back of Jambo House and visible from the Zebra Trail and Kudu Trail.  The Sunset Savanna is the largest of the four and is visible from the Kudu Trail at Jambo House and many of the rooms along the North and South Trail at Kidani Village.  The Pembe Savanna is the smallest of the savannas and can be seen from the North Trail of Kidani Village.  

Don’t Forget the Public Viewing Areas

Even if you stay in a Savanna View room, be sure to explore the various savanna viewing areas throughout the resort.  This not only lets you visit the other savannas, but some provide a closer view of the animals from the ground level!

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