ANIMAL
KINGDOM

TOURING
Attraction Seating
   Photo Gallery
Basic Services
Calendar of Events
Character Meet and
   Greet FAQ
Extra Magic Hour
FASTPASS
Fun Facts
Guide Map
Kennels
Operating Hours
Overlooked Attractions
Reader Tips
Rehabs and Closures
Restaurant Photo Gallery
Ride Restrictions
Smoking Policy
Special Needs Travelers
--Animal Kingdom
    in a Wheelchair
Ticket FAQ

WDW At Large

AT A GLANCE...
Animal Species by Area
Attractions
Restaurants
Characters
Shopping

THE OASIS
Place of Transition Part I
Place of Transition Part II

DISCOVERY ISLAND
The Tree of Life
It's Tough to be a Bug
Discovery Island Trails

CAMP MINNIE-MICKEY
Festival of the Lion King
Pocahontas and Her
   Forest Friends
Character Greeting
   Trails

AFRICA
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Pangani Forest
   Exploration Trail

RAFIKI'S PLANET WATCH

ASIA
Expedition EVEREST
Flights of Wonder
Kali River Rapids
Maharajah Jungle Trek

DINOLAND U.S.A.
Dinosaur
The Boneyard
Dino-Sue
Chester and Hester's
   Dino-Rama
   --Primeval Whirl
   --Triceratop Spin
Finding Nemo: The Musical

ENTERTAINMENT
Mickey's Jammin'
   Jungle Parade
Mickey's JINGLE Jungle Parade
DiVine
Live Entertainment

Special Reports
African Comb Duck
Asian Tigers
Baby African Elephants
Capybara
Giraffe
Nile Hippopotamus
Okapi
Photo Essays
Gorillas
Faces
Hidden Mickeys
Park Details

ALL EARS®
Feature Articles
-- Animal Kingdom Turns 10
-- Animal Kingdom Turns 5
-- Kaleidoscopic Kingdoms
-- Other Side of Animal Kingdom

TOURS
-- Back Stage Safari
-- Wild by Design

ARCHIVES
Tarzan Rocks! Closed 1/06
Journey into the Jungle Book
Closed 4/99
Lucky the Dinosaur May-July 2005
March of the Artimals Closed 6/99
Radio Disney River Cruise aka
Discovery River Taxi aka
Discovery RiverBoat Ride aka
Discovery River Boats - Retired 1999
Walk Around Artimals
Pre-Opening Guide Map

OTHER THEME PARKS
Disney's Hollywood
   Studios
Epcot
Magic Kingdom

Disneyland
Disney's California
    Adventure

INTRODUCTION

Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY! Feel transported half way around the world to a 100 acre African savannah as you board Disney's Kilimanjaro Safari jeeps! Oh, and you won't see any tigers or bears, but if you're lucky, you will see the lions!

ATTRACTION

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 especially during busy times.

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.

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

FastPass is almost always a must here! One suggestion is to go get your FastPass when you are ready for breakfast or lunch and about the time you finish eating, it's time to ride the Safari! You won't see any visible walls or fences here. Disney has done a remarkable job of hiding all the barriers that keep you and the animals safe.

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.

There is some padding on the seat bottoms and tops, 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.

The Stroller Park is about half through the queue area. Be prepared to walk with or carry your little one approximately 40 feet.

Guests in wheelchairs should follow the signs to head to the special boarding area. You will need to either transfer from your wheelchair to a seat, or transfer to a standard wheelchair.

I have ridden Kilimanjaro Safari countless times now and each ride is very different. Perhaps my most recent ride, was the best yet. We saw 29 different animals and enjoyed all 4 Cheetahs sitting out posing for us -- they even played a bit.

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!

Assistive Listening Devices from Guest Services Can Be Used Here.

KIDS AND CHARACTERS

The ride is very bumpy and even though our driver took care to avoid some of the bigger bumps, our son was still jostled around quite a bit in his wheelchair. Smaller children will actually come out of their seats on some of the bumps. (The Belcher Family)

One tip I can offer for riding the Kilimanjaro Safaris with youngsters is NOT to try to point out the animals. What?! I'll explain: The first few minutes of our safari were an exercise in frustration as I would listen to the guide, then ask my daughter, "See the bongo?" and attempt to point it out. Inevitably, she wouldn't see the (whatever animal) as we cruised on by, and then she d become upset, meanwhile missing out on the next creature coming up in our adventure. So I closed my mouth and let her see what she could spot on her own, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the safari. (Kim Kilgore)

For more information on Animal Kingdom Live Entertainment, Visit Steve Soares' WDW Entertainment Website.

Animal Kingdom Characters At A Glance 
Character Meet and Greet FAQ!

DINING

There is no place to dine in the immediate vicinity of the Safari! Back in Harambe Village you will find Tusker House (counter service), the Dawa Bar, Harambe Fruit Market, Kusafiri Coffee & Bakery, and Tamu Tamu (ice cream).

Animal Kingdom Restaurants At A Glance
Menus From Around the World
Vegetarian and Other Special Diets

SHOPPING

There is one small shop just before you enter into Kilimanjaro Safari -- it sells film, Duka la Filimu! This is one attraction you don't want to run out of film on!

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 Kindom Lodge!

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.

In 2007, the ride vehicles were modified to add an additional row in the back. Also, the narrated story line was changed a bit.

AFRICAN FOREST
Black Rhinoceros
Bongo
Egyptian Goose
Helmeted Guineafowl
Northern Pintail
Nyala
Okapi
Pink-backed Pelican
Saddle-billed Stork
Yellow-backed Duiker
Yellow-billed Stork

SAVANNAH WEST
Gerenuk
Grant's Zebra
Greater Kudu
Greater Flamingo
Impala - Photo taken at Animal Kingdom Lodge
Mandrill
Mhorr's Gazelle
Nile Crocodile
Nile Hippopotamus
Reticulated Giraffe
Sable Antelope
Thomson's Gazelle
White-bearded Wildebeest

SAVANNAH EAST
African Elephant
African Lion
Cheetah
Eland
Ostrich
Scimitar-horned Oryx
Warthog
White Rhinoceros