[mrmath]

Have decided to stay at the AKL with the help of all of you. THANKS. Now my problem is, to go with savannah view or standard view? We will be spending alot of the time in the parks. Is the savannah view worth the extra $70 per night? I have read alot of people being upgraded to savannah, I hope that may happen to me. HELP!!!!!!

[queensmama]

If your view is a must then go with the Savannah view. If you are flexible well that just go standard.
As far as upgrades go it really all depends on the time of year when you are going.

[cinderbella]

I think you made a good choice with AKL!
Honestly, the view is up to you based on your budget and everything..you can easily see the animals from the savanna veiwing areas and like I said before we had a standard room but we could still see the animals although none were walking up to our baclony or anything crazy.

[Cavey]

I've heard pros & cons. My brother once had the Savannah View with a giraffe that came up to the balcony to peek in. He said it was the highlight of his trip.

[Dana]

I have been upgraded to savannah both times I have stayed there. If that view isn't that important to you (worht $70 a night), book standard and hope for the best. There is a great chance of being upgraded. They have many more savannah rooms than standard. that being said, I do think it's worth the extra money. There is nothing cooler than waking up and having animals right outside your balcony. I only chanced the standard thing because I know that their smoking rooms are in savannah view only and once I requested the smoking room at check in, I would be automatically upgraded...same for WL.

[Cavey]

Originally Posted by Dana

I have been upgraded to savannah both times I have stayed there. If that view isn't that important to you (worht $70 a night), book standard and hope for the best. There is a great chance of being upgraded. They have many more savannah rooms than standard. that being said, I do think it's worth the extra money. There is nothing cooler than waking up and having animals right outside your balcony. I only chanced the standard thing because I know that their smoking rooms are in savannah view only and once I requested the smoking room at check in, I would be automatically upgraded...same for WL.

Ahhhh! The perks of nicatene addiction.

[Dana]

Originally Posted by Cavey

Ahhhh! The perks of nicatene addiction.

That's the only one I can think of...lol

[Jen]

Originally Posted by Dana

That's the only one I can think of...lol

I was just gonna say the same thing....

[Soundgod]

But the smoking rooms are allllllll the way at the ends of the fingers, not close to the lobby.
Any time that cash is as much or more of a consideration than view or location, cash wins out. You all know I'd prefer to stay in the deluxe resorts, but even we don't have a bottomless wallet, so, I will choose from time to time to stay in a value or mod. AKLodge is a fine hotel and I wouldn't worry too much about the view from your room. Book the standard and hope, but don't make an issue of, an upgrade to Savannah view.

[bethishooked]

The first time we stayed there, I made sure we got the Savannah view, to assure we didn't miss anything. In fact, when we walked into the room, both DS's ran to the balcony getting so excited about seeing the animals, the bell hop excused himself and got on the phone. When he hung up, he said "don't unpack. After seeing your kids reactions, we have to get them a better view, with the animals closer." He then moved us to another room where a giraffe was 10 feet outside our door. It was amazing, and again, true Disney magic. The last time we stayed, we decided to save a little money and get a pool view. The within a minute of checking in, I was congratulated in being upgraded to a Savannah view.

I would recommend spending the extra $70.00 a night, a least for your first visit to AKL. It is so amazing sitting out on the balcony after a very busy day at the parks, being mesmorized by the animals walking about at night.

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by bethishooked

The first time we stayed there, I made sure we got the Savannah view, to assure we didn't miss anything. In fact, when we walked into the room, both DS's ran to the balcony getting so excited about seeing the animals, the bell hop excused himself and got on the phone. When he hung up, he said "don't unpack. After seeing your kids reactions, we have to get them a better view, with the animals closer." He then moved us to another room where a giraffe was 10 feet outside our door. It was amazing, and again, true Disney magic. The last time we stayed, we decided to save a little money and get a pool view. The within a minute of checking in, I was congratulated in being upgraded to a Savannah view.

I would recommend spending the extra $70.00 a night, a least for your first visit to AKL. It is so amazing sitting out on the balcony after a very busy day at the parks, being mesmorized by the animals walking about at night.

That is an AWESOME story. What a wonderful dose of Disney Magic!!

[leslieh]

Originally Posted by bethishooked

The first time we stayed there, I made sure we got the Savannah view, to assure we didn't miss anything. In fact, when we walked into the room, both DS's ran to the balcony getting so excited about seeing the animals, the bell hop excused himself and got on the phone. When he hung up, he said "don't unpack. After seeing your kids reactions, we have to get them a better view, with the animals closer." He then moved us to another room where a giraffe was 10 feet outside our door. It was amazing, and again, true Disney magic. The last time we stayed, we decided to save a little money and get a pool view. The within a minute of checking in, I was congratulated in being upgraded to a Savannah view.

I would recommend spending the extra $70.00 a night, a least for your first visit to AKL. It is so amazing sitting out on the balcony after a very busy day at the parks, being mesmorized by the animals walking about at night.

How incredibly awesome! One day we'll get to stay there....

[jenbarnwell]

That is very awesome, great resort choice, if money is an issue, I would go with standard but if not go with Savannah and take lots of pictures, because we will probably not get to stay there til we are old and alone!

[CaraMia]

We stayed at AKL about 2 weeks ago. We had a standard room. At check-in I asked about a free upgrade. They said normally if they have a savannah room available and you are booked with a standard room they would upgrade a passholder free. However, we went Dec 1st weekend and the hotel was booked. They said because of the season they could not give it to us free that particular weekend. They wanted an extra $51 a night. We knew we would only be in the room to sleep and shower so we didnt take it. The funny thing is our room had bunk beds and a queen bed in it. The bunk bed made a bigger impact on my 5 yr old then the animals..LOL He thought that it was sooo cool.

We did see the animals through the hallway windows on the way to our room. That was fine for us since we were not at the resort during the day and we didnt get back to the room until evening.

[timsha]

When we stayed at AKL 2 years ago, we had a Savannah view room. It was so cool to sit on the balcony first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee and watch the animals before we started our day. It was also col to watch them late at night. IMHO, if you can afford the difference, go with the Savannah room.