Hi Diana:
Animal Kingdom Lodge is made up of two Resorts, Jambo House and Kidani Village. The Resorts are close by to each other, and can be reached via a short bus ride or via walkway (about a 15 minute walk).
Standard rooms have either standard views, pool views, or savanna views, depending on the room type that you reserved.
The Resorts are laid out like necklaces (actually, "Kidani" is the Swahili word for "necklace"), and rooms are laid out across the "necklace." The further down either side of the "necklace" your room is located, the further the walk to the lobby, pool and bus areas. If you want a Room close to the lobby, contact the Resort several days before check-in. I would note that medical restrictions make a room close to the lobby important. Room-requests are not guaranteed, but if Disney is able to honor your request, they will make every effort to do so. I would even make the request again when you check in. It may help if you are flexible with your check in time and can wait until the right room opens up. As for requesting an upgrade to a room with a savanna view, it never hurts to ask, however, since Animal Kingdom Lodge is extremely popular, there's a good chance such as request cannot be accommodated. If you don't have a savanna view in your room, there are plenty of animal and savanna viewing spots sprinkled through the Resorts. At our last stay at Jambo House, my family enjoyed spending time sitting in a savanna viewing room balcony right off the lobby (open to everyone) to watch the animals.
Enjoy your vacation.