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Author
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dgaston
Studio
Registered: March 2006
Location: South Woodstock, CT
Posts: 157
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Review Date: Tue January 22, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Good views of the Uzima savanna
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Cons:
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Yes, the rooms are dark
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We stayed 1/1/08 to checkout on 1/4/08 in rooms 5469 and 5471 on the Zebra Trail. These rooms are a mirror image of the drawing posted above, with 5469 being the studio portion and 5471 the 1 br portion of the lock-off. I loved the Lion King characters in the sheer drapes, and stepping outside on the balcony to view the giraffes and other grazing animals. One morning an animal keeper was herding an African Spoonbill away. I asked if he was lost, and the keeper said the African geese are very territorial and were picking on him too much!
These rooms were in excellent condition, and had all the dishes, hot pads, etc.
I slept very comfortably in the living room sleep chair.
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Debbie
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ciannamea
Studio
Registered: September 2006
Location: upstate NY & Davenport, FL
Posts: 143
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Review Date: Sat January 26, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Huge balcony with great savannah views
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Cons:
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none
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We stayed here 10/18/07 for 3 nights. We checked in late morning after checking out of OKW and our room wasn't ready but we knew that. We were given a number to call to see when our room was ready. We walked around the lodge for a bit. There is alot to see. The playground had little biting bugs on the slides so the kids went swimming. They liked the pool but the slide was "boring". Just after 4pm our room was ready. We were in rooms 5522(studio) & 5524(1br). The rooms were very close to the elevators, restaurants and pool. The rooms were very clean. They are a little dark but I think it added to the tranquil atmosphere. The kids really liked the pullout chair. The balcony is really big. I liked sitting out there with a drink just watching the animals. Lots of giraffes, elands,tommies, and african spoonbills. This is my husband's favorite resort so far.
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Dawn
1 vacation is never enough
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disneyeveryyear
Waiting to pass ROFR (i.e., n00b)
Registered: March 2006
Location: Springfield, IL
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Review Date: Mon February 11, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Brand new and wonderfully furnished.
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Cons:
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Furnishings a little dark; can't completely open silverware drawer
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We stayed 2/3 - 2/8/08 in 2 BR Savannah Room - 5307 & 5309. We checked in at 12:30 p.m. (after moving from All-Star Music's family suite), and to my disbelief, our room was ready! When we walked in, our 11 year old guest was amazed that there were 3 plasma TVs. We had a great view of a lot of zebras, a few giraffes, some cattle and the spoonbills. We really enjoyed sitting on the balcony and watching the savannah.
Considering the construction of these rooms were retrofits of current hotel rooms, they are amazing. We were very pleased overall.
There were only a couple of things I would change. I didn't like that you had to walk through an open hallway when going from the Master BR to the master bath. In addition, the w/d were a little loud while in the master BR. The kitchen was fairly well laid out, the only glitch was that the silverware drawer was next to a corner and you could only open it about 4" before it hit the handle to the other door and stopped it.
Overall, we would come back without a second thought!
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DisneySunflower
Studio
Registered: April 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Posts: 136
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Review Date: Fri September 5, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Theme, Pool, Spacious
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Cons:
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Master Bathroom
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We stayed in Room 5510/5512 from July 25th - 31st. All I can say is WOW! Disney is definitely known for their Wow Factor and Animal Kingdom Lodge/Villas exceeded our every expectation.
We had a rocky start, as our Villa was not ready at 4pm. However, the CMs were very helpful with our luggage and the brief storage of our groceries as our Villa was still not ready at 6pm. Yet, at 6:30 pm the Magic began and the journey to our Villa was exciting.
There were 8 of us. My parents and brother stayed in the studio portion of the 2 bedroom. Myself, husband, 2 daughters and son stayed in the 1 bedroom portion. The Villa was very spacious and the character details were amazing. My children enjoyed finding the hidden Mickeys and Lion King characters. But, the priceless moment was their realization of the balcony and Savannah view. My family truly enjoyed the view and finding new animals everyday.
The layout of the 2 Bedroom Villa was perfect for us. The studio allowed my parents to close their door and have quiet time from our kids and my brother. Word of caution the opening between the Master Bedroom and Bathroom was a concern. We had to dress and undress in the Bathroom because the walk through was quite visible. We were very pleased with the kitchen. The appliances were very nice and everything was clean. (I had read tale of quite the opposite and was relieved to find cleanliness - we even had towel animals)
The pool was fantastic. I even did the slide! There were daily activities which including pool games during the Family Fun Time.
The "Kingpin" Pin trading was a hit with my girls. So, remember to bring your pins!
One late night my husband wanted to get a bite to eat at the Mara, but they were getting ready to close. The CMs insisted on preparing whatever he wanted and gave no notice to the fact that we were the last ones there. That is truly great service! My husband had a Bacon Burger and he says that it was Magical.
My husband, brother and I would steal a moment each evening to sit by the indoor fireplace and have a drink from Victoria Falls Lounge. We loved the Passion Fruit Mojito - AWESOME!!! We sat by the outdoor fire pit and met wonderful DVC members.
My husband worked out at the Zahanati Massage and Fitness Center - it was "nice'.
The Zawadi Marketplace was nice and there was even a small DVC section.
There were so many exciting moments during our stay. Animal Kingdom Lodge/Villas had the feel of Africa. And the very best part of it all - Our family enjoyed our first trip home!
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http://disneysunflower.wordpress.com
 
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ggatorgirl
Two Bedroom
Registered: May 2008
Location: Chicago Area
Posts: 924
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Review Date: Sun September 7, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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We stayed in 5254/56 from 8/26 thru 8/31. Room was clean, in good working order. View from balcony was a little disappointing as the savanna was reduced because of construction of Kidani on adjacent land.
Very disappointed in the lack of DVC touches, such as the "Welcome Home" from the guardhouse and CMs at the reception desk. Didn't feel like a DVC resort at all.
Check in was a nightmare! The CM was only 2 weeks into the job. We had the 2 bdrm and a studio for our extended family. Keys were mislabeled for the various members of our party...wrong names, wrong room numbers. Either I did not understand how the DDP plan worked or the CM didn't, but I thought all the meals for all our group would be tracked together, not on a room by room basis.
Another snafu occurred when the concierge added our park tickets to the KTTW cards. Dh and I have AP, the others had discounted length of stay. I handed the concierge the tickets and KTTW cards for the 4 others, but he added the length of stay to DH and mine. He had no way to correct it and add the LOS to the correct 2 without charging me for the tickets, then crediting my account. It all worked out in the end, but that was another 20 minutes for standing around, fearing we would miss our 5:15 Aloha reservations.
Also disappointed at the lack of Designated smoking areas..only 2, and one of those was behind the pool area, which was closed when the pool was closed. So in effect there was only 1. No wonder I saw people smoking on the balconies. Smokers will abide by the DSAs but only 1 at the AKL is totally inadequate.
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Sue
Member since 1992
OKW, AKL, BCV, BLT
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Treeguy
One Bedroom
Registered: June 2008
Location: Downriver, MI
Posts: 444
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Review Date: Fri September 26, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great View
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Cons:
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Long Walk from lobby
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We stayed end of July early August. The room was great. We had a great view, but I think I would perfer a lower room so we could see under the trees. We had 4 teenagers in thier own room whille DW and I had the master BR. The pool was fine, nothing spectacular, hopefully the new pool will be very cool.
When we checked in, our room was not ready, but it was 10am and wqew were not expecting it. They gave us a # to call around noon so we went to DTD. When we called, it still was not ready and to call around 1. This went on a couple of time and we were back in the lobby @ 2:30. We called again and they said it was not ready. I went to the desk and sure enough, it was ready. We won't use that # again, we will keep checking with the desk. Our luggage soon came from DME. The store did not much selection, bur the new one will probably be better.
We ate both at Boma's and the quick service. Boma's is excellent, we had both breakfast and dinner there. Quick service was what you would expect.
This is my favorite DVC resort, though we are not owners here (OKW, BC).
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[/url]Every red-blooded American knows that the only condiment that you are ever supposed to put on a hamburger is KETCHUP! Or MAYBE some of that SPECIAL SAUCE you like so much here in Canada; which I think has a little bit of mayonnaise in it too! But I swear to God when they start slapping that mayonnaise on there I could kill somebody.
Jimmy 'The Tulip' Tudeski 'The Whole Nine Yards'
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ms4403
Waiting to pass ROFR (i.e., n00b)
Registered: July 2009
Location: NJ
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Thu July 16, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Very Spacious; Great CMs; great views; Plenty of in house activities
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Cons:
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Johari Treasures could be larger; long walk to room; rooms are too dark
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Stayed in Kidani Village from 6/29/2009 to 7/10/2009. We had 6 in our party (2 grownups plus 4 kids [12,10 and 5 year old twins]. We arrived @ 11AM; well before the 4PM checkin. Left our luggage and hit AKP. We rec'd a text msg @ 2:30P that our room was ready. When we got to the room both our groceries and luggage arrived.
The accomodations were much more spacious than SSR (stayed there 8/2008) and designed better, too. The MB suite was very impressive from the views of the Sunset Savanna all the way down to the size of the shower. The 2nd bdrm (2 Queens) was as spacious as the SSR. It appears the extra room is made up in the living area. The kids loved the Simba and Naarla cutouts and the curtains have character faces sewn into them as well. It is very nice.
We used Magical Express; relying heavily on the bus transportation to get to the parks. It seems after only 8 weeks the buses are a little sluggish with the new path. However, in one instance, a bus driver was very accomodating and apologetic and provided a FP for our trouble. Another driver went so far as to take us "off route" to get back to JAMBO because of my mistake getting on the wrong bus!
The inhouse CMs are very friendly and helpful. The trading pin time @ Johari Treasures (3PM everyday) was a lot of fun for the big kids. Samawati Spring pool was a lot of fun for the small and big alike (Don't sweat it if you leave your room card, you can let yourself into the pool area by reaching in to press the green exit button). I didn't get to use the basketball or tennis courts. The exercise room is right near the pool and has a lot to offer.
We'll definitely return to this resort.
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jrbdad
Add-on Aficionado
Registered: October 2008
Location: North Texas
Posts: 8997
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Review Date: Wed January 6, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Beautiful decor, love the SV, Sanaa was great, good pool (2nd only to SAB), wonderful staff
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Cons:
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Lack of Counter Service Restaurant
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We were there for Christmas of 2009 -- LOVED it! So glad this is our home resort. Look forward to many, many years of stays here. Great bus service to parks. Easy to get to & from Jambo for additional services. Great to park under the resort. Three full bathrooms! Terrific long balcony. Cast Members were super helpful. We were in 7640 -- a long way from the lobby, but on the same level -- we were lucky to get the 2BR so couldn't really complain about not being higher or closer to lobby. Ended up being glad to be where we were -- could view almost all of the Savanna, close to parking, close to pool, could view Pembe Savanna via windows in hallway. Didn't need to use elevators. Highly recommend. Oh wait -- forget all that -- don't stay at Kidani in a 2BR -- they stink (more for us!  ).
A few pics:
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John
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MamaB
Two Bedroom
Registered: November 2009
Location: Milwaukee WI
Posts: 782
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Review Date: Sun March 28, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Room size
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Cons:
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Dining options
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We stayed at AKV Kidani the first week of March for 7 nights. Our room was fantastic, at 1,000 sq ft it was extremely comfortable for 3 adults 2 kids. We were in room 7640 it wasn't the furthest from the lobby but still a pretty long walk. We had a "family" of 5 wildebeests that were outside our window 24/7 they slept under the tree right outside our villa. We didnt see many other animals but you can see those anywhere throughout the resort. The view was nice for a treat but to save points I wouldn't hesitate to book a standard or value view.
2 downsides to the resort. It is very dark in the bathrooms and the lack of dining options. I hope they look into adding a QS option and expanding the gift shop.
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Leane
DH :jester: Me  DD 9 :tinker: DD 10 :Princess:
 
Past Trips: March 2010 BCV/AKV, Oct 2010 Poly/BLT, Disney Dream double dip Spring Break 2012 THV/BWV 2012 Only 2 more on-site resorts to go WOOHOOO
:coolcar:
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cvjw
Grand Villa
Registered: June 2009
Posts: 1553
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Review Date: Tue June 8, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Loved the room, the balcony, and the pool
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Cons:
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Long walk to the Mara
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We just returned from a 4 night stay in room 5946 - a dedicated 2 bedroom, savannah view. We fell in love with Kidani. Our room was a top floor room, a pretty far distance from the lobby. We didn't see that many animals, as most stayed close to the lobby. My 2 sons spent so much time on the huge balcony - waiting for animals to wander by. The room was so spacious and nice - plenty of room for 4 adults and 2 children. Bus service was stellar - and we were there Memorial Day weekend. We loved the pool - but thought it wasn't quite large enough for a resort the size of Kidani. We ate at Sanaa twice, and have added it to our list of favorite restaurants. We did not like the fact that there is no counter service at Kidani. We were on the side of Kidani that is the furtherest from Jambo House, so the walks to the food court were killer after a long day at the parks. Overall, we loved the resort, and will definately be staying there again.
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AKVHutch
Waiting to pass ROFR (i.e., n00b)
Registered: August 2009
Location: Dublin, OH
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Wed September 15, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Great Views, lots of room,
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Cons:
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long, long walk to rooms from lobby in some parts
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Kidani was absolutely great. We stayed last December. It was better than we hoped. 4 adults and 6 year old DGD. More than enough room. The master bath is bigger than a studio. Not so sure that the savanah view is everything it is supposed unless you stay in the room during the day a bit. But the hotel was marvelous and the staff was very nice and friendly.
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AKVHutch
[/FONT]
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tsmith76
Waiting to pass ROFR (i.e., n00b)
Registered: December 2010
Posts: 24
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Review Date: Sat March 10, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Room is nice, food is good, tranportatin works well
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Cons:
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if savannah, must stay or main savannah or you will be dissapointed likely
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Let me preface this by saying on our first savannah stay we were on the main savannah and we couldn't have been happier, it was a 10+ all around.
Our second visit was dissapointing, we "used" a lot of points to get a savannah view for the 2 br and were placed on the uzima savannah. We were there for 5 days and I am not exaggerating when I say we saw maybe 5 animals besides the occasional antelope. It was very dissapointing, plus our room's primary view was the large concreate pad for the fire safety area. It made us question completely our choice of resorts. We couldn't change the room due to capacity. Needless to say, the whole point of using extra points on the savannah is to actually see animals.
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