Animal Kingdom

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Kilimanjaro Safaris

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Walking through the queue area you find yourself in the Harambe Reserve. Overhead TVs explain that poaching has killed many animals. Soon you arrive at the boarding platform, enter your jeep and head into the animal reserve. Your driver begins radio contact with a pilot....and off you and your jeep goes, down the bumpy dirt trail and into Africa!
Your driver will point out the various wildlife for you -- but don't count on them to stop for your photo op, most barely pause. Bongos are hiding around the first bend - look quickly or you might miss these shy creatures.
Passing the local watering hole you might see the Black Rhino. On the right, the rare Okapi.
Hippos are at the base of cascading waterfalls. (and alligators)
The Vehicle emerges from thick vegetation into the vast savannah grasslands. In this area you might see Giraffes, Sable Antelope, Thomson's Gazelle and Ostriches. The land is very different here and is accented by termite mounds up to 20 feet high.
On the left is a huge rock formation where the Mandrill Baboon family lives. Around the next bend are the Elephants. The radio contact picks back up as the pilot searches for Big Red and Little Red (elephants). The ancient baobab trees can be found in this area....
Pink Flamingoes inhabit a tiny island that legend says is in the form of a "Hidden Mickey".
More watering holes, you might see the white rhinos wallowing in the mud. There are other hoofed animals: the kudu, scimitar-horned oryx and the long-horned eland along with sharp-eyed cheetahs up there among the rocks. "
Coming around the last bend, your attention will quickly be drawn to the high rock formation on your left, where the King and Queen of the Savanaah reside...the Kopje Lions. Lions do spend the majority of their day sleeping; so don't expect to see much activity.
The warthogs start to ramble across the field when the radio comes on again to alert your driver to poachers in the area.
The jeep takes off, you hear gunshots and smoldering campfires. Finally, the poachers are in custody! The pilot waves to you and you'll find that Little Red is safe!
This is when your safari comes to an end, as the vehicle rejoins the main roads and the Park Ranger Station comes into view.
TOURING TIPS
The ride vehicle is 8 feet off the ground enabling you to wind your way through the grasslands and waterways of the Savanah. 32 passengers fit in this all terrain truck with a driver for your guide. The drivers are trained to spot the animals along the Safari and point them out to you. Photography, however, is a challenge, as the vehicle stops momentarily at best.
Some padding has been added to the seat bottoms and tops recently, a nice improvement from bumping along on hard plastic. Unfortunately when the padding was added, the photo identification charts of the animals was put overhead. This makes it very difficult for children to view.
Sammantha finished a six-month tour working at Disney's Animal Kingdom and offers some "insider tips":
  • Best time to ride is in the afternoon, around 2 or 3 o'clock. That's when the animals are most active because most of them are getting ready to be brought into the barns for the night.
  • If you get a driver from Africa, ask them questions. Many are very happy to talk about their homeland! If you have questions about the animals, ASK. Though there is an assigned script, every safari really is different depending on where the animals are and who your driver is. So ride as much as you want!
  • If you don't want a bumpy ride, ask to sit in the front of the truck. The ride feels bumpiest in the back. Some drivers will hit EVERY pothole in the road, but most will warn you before you leave the dock.
  • PLEASE REMAIN SEATED AT ALL TIMES! I can't stress this one enough. So many people stand up to take pictures. Because the drivers are not allowed to stop on the ride path, the truck is always moving (the trucks are governed so the maximum speed is only 10 mph, though it feels faster). Animals can move in front of the vehicle at any time causing the driver to slam on the brakes and causing you to go flying. There are many mirrors on the trucks for the drivers, so just because you can't see an animal doesn't mean the driver can't. If you want to take good pictures sit on the end of the rows, you get better shots.
  • Chances are your driver has already been on safari for a couple hours, so please be nice to them!


INTERESTING FACTS
  • When building the savannah, landscapers asked that the plants and trees be in place for 2 years before moving in the animals.
  • The details of the savanah were carefully crafted to give the illusion that it had "always been there", right down to the ruts in the road that make the jeep jolt and bump!
  • Early plans called for a moonlit savannah so that nighttime safari rides could take place. This never came to be, but was created for Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge!
  • Beginning the moment you enter the queue area until you leave your safari vehicle, you will travel through 5 habitats: Ituri Forest, Safi River, West Savanna, Savanna Flamingo Pool and East Savanna.
  • The hippos are actually the same ones you will sometimes see on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. The hippo barn resides in between Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and the savannah river.
  • Here is the list of animals I saw on a recent safari in the order in which I saw them.... Bongo - Okapi - Black rhino - Nyala Hippo - Nile crocodiles - Sable antelope - Reticulated Giraffe - Thompson gazelle - Impala - Wildebeast - Mhorr gazelle - Mandrill baboon - Black Grey Vultures - Elephants - Flamingo - White rhino - Cheetah - Lions -  Warthog - Ostrich.

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