Kilimanjaro Safaris After Dark - night safari

[No Name]

Seems like most people are enjoying this, which is good. A ride's operating hours (and thereby daily capacity) being extended is something I can't complain about, unless the ride is really bad, which is not the case here. Man, I wish I was down there to actually experience it all, rather than having to rely on videos and reviews.

I think an issue is that people want to take pictures and more pictures, and a night safari just isn't the best for clear pictures of the animals. I'm happy with less light on them becuase it's better for them. It makes their environment more natural. I think it also looks better to not have a fully illuminated animal when it's clearly nighttime, so basically, it is more natural for both the animals and the riders.

On a seperate note, I'm surprised steve doesn't have an article on this, the ToL awakenings, and the other entertainment on the front page of the site. I've yet to see the "streetmosphere," which there is apparently, so if anyone has a video of that, please share!

Awww. I really hate to agree with you. However, it is very beneficial to keep AK open at night in order to prepare for the grand opening of Avatarland and Rivers of Light.

Disney can continue to work on fine tuning things and the CM's will receive the necessary practice and training needed for night operations.

Okay, so I think Disney is attempting to model their night time AK experience after the -->Chiang Mai Night Safari<--

The Chiang Mai Night Safari also features an amazing water fountain, laser and light show that features the animals. They also have night performers, in addition to the safari. It appears to be a really popular and a huge success there. And, they can't offer half of what Animal Kingdom can.

So, I am baffled as to why Disney's night time offering seem sort of underwhelming.

-->Gorgeous AK Artificial Sunset video<--
The comment said the video didn't give it any justice.

Thanks for the pics, and that is an interesting find about the Chiang Mai night safari. I'll have to read more on it.

About the AK nighttime entertainment being underwhelming, while I personally don't agree, I honestly wouldn't say it's even being recieved that way. Two out of three of the main new nighttime offerings are being very well-received on here, and I imagine the Jungle Book show has been and will be at least decently enjoyed by non-online people (social media commnts are already favorable). The streetmosphere I have not unfortunately not heard much about, and Tiffins is getting good reviews.

And though not open today, Pandora will only improve the experience when it opens next year. I think they have a very strong and quality lineup of nighttime entertainment.

 

[marni1971]

Our driver mentioned it right at the beginning. He said to not use flash because the animals don't like it and he doesn't like it..

Excellent

 

[Next Big Thing]

The driver I had mentioned it as well.

As far as the actual experience, it was definitely different. Slow moving, quiet, yet just the right amount of light (for the most part). I was sitting in the front row, so I could see our driver clear as day. He was constantly listening to his communications radio, much more than during daytime safaris. Much of the reason we seemingly go slower is due to darkness/unpredictability of the paths. One deer-like animal came out in front of our vehicle, he waited and it seemed good to go, as soon as he hit the gas the tiniest bit, another one ran across the way, almost getting hit.

I wasn't a big fan of the faux-sunset. I understand the reason it's there though. It illuminates the entire savannah, all the way through to part of the Lions area. Unfortunately the Lions had terrible lighting for the most part, hopefully we see that change over the coming months. I was a HUGE fan of the moonlight colored lighting they used though. It was beautiful and i'd love to see it throughout the ride more as it wasn't intrusive or overly bright - it was perfect mood lighting for a night safari.

 

[Texas84]

The lightning and the Star Wars fireworks during my safari last night was a nice touch.

 

[Siren]

Just did the night safari and in line for it again. Saw pretty much all the animals except black rhinos and cheetahs.(edit: Saw cheetah on the second ride)

A few places could be lit better but in general it was good enough to be light enough to see but not too light as to defeat the purpose.

Also the sunset effect is really cool. I don't think any pictures or video will be able to capture it but it looks like a real sky with various layers of color. Very convincing. View attachment 143878View attachment 143879

Thanks so much for your excellent review! The night safari must have been great for you to ride two times in a row, lol. @danlb_2000 - here is yet another exceptional night safari review.

Ah, ok, so these reviews don't really exist, got it.

They do exist. They are on twitter and instagram. I am *not* doing this for you. If you can look up all these hard to find patents and stuff, then you can easily find them.

Besides, I provided you with pictures and video. A picture is worth a thousand words and video must be like a hundred thousand or something like that. Seriously, you should be thanking me.

We did the night safari last night and loved it. There were plenty of lights and we could see quite well. The driver was excellent (although he did almost drive us into the flamingo exhibit) and was able to point out many animals. We saw quite a few animals. The only thing I didn't like was the fake recorded animal sounds at the beginning. The fake sun was cool though.

We also did the safari at around 3:30pm and at that time the wait was only 15 minutes. We had a FastPass for 9:20pm and at that time the wait was 75 minutes. So it was interesting so see that many guests were waiting for the night time version.

Wow. Thank you for this very well written and excellent review of the night safari. I'm glad to hear that you saw so many animals! @danlb_2000 -- here is yet another amazing review. Give it up, your time is done. LOL.

Seems like most people are enjoying this, which is good. A ride's operating hours (and thereby daily capacity) being extended is something I can't complain about, unless the ride is really bad, which is not the case here. Man, I wish I was down there to actually experience it all, rather than having to rely on videos and reviews.

I think an issue is that people want to take pictures and more pictures, and a night safari just isn't the best for clear pictures of the animals. I'm happy with less light on them becuase it's better for them. It makes their environment more natural. I think it also looks better to not have a fully illuminated animal when it's clearly nighttime, so basically, it is more natural for both the animals and the riders.

On a seperate note, I'm surprised steve doesn't have an article on this, the ToL awakenings, and the other entertainment on the front page of the site. I've yet to see the "streetmosphere," which there is apparently, so if anyone has a video of that, please share!



Thanks for the pics, and that is an interesting find about the Chiang Mai night safari. I'll have to read more on it.

About the AK nighttime entertainment being underwhelming, while I personally don't agree, I honestly wouldn't say it's even being recieved that way. Two out of three of the main new nighttime offerings are being very well-received on here, and I imagine the Jungle Book show has been and will be at least decently enjoyed by non-online people (social media commnts are already favorable). The streetmosphere I have not unfortunately not heard much about, and Tiffins is getting good reviews.

And though not open today, Pandora will only improve the experience when it opens next year. I think they have a very strong and quality lineup of nighttime entertainment.

Hi @egg! After reading your comments I wish I at AK right now, too! I am so glad to hear all of this and I am so relieved you don't agree with me *this time*. LOL. This makes me even *more* excited to see AK at night!

I watched the Tree Awakening video and just got lost in it because it's so beautiful. I will be on a mission to find the most perfect spot where I can sit and just look at this gorgeous tree.

Also, I am looking forward to riding Everest at night. And, Kali River Rapids in the dark. This is going to be so scary for me.

I think the night safari will be scary at night too. Like, there exists this element of danger being so close to lions and cheetahs in the dark with their glowing eyes and hearing the growls and stuff. It's going to be so exciting. LOL.

I do want to see the Jungle Book show but I will *not* use a FP+, maybe a dinner package though. Again, I didn't love it but I didn't hate it, either. And, to be fair, F! is my least favorite night time spectacular. So, I am hoping that I will love Rivers of Light, as I already love the theme and concept art.

I just happened to stumble across that website for the other night safari and it appears to be very similar to what Disney is offering right now -- except they have far less and the guests seem very happy and satisfied.

Anyway, I think DAK's night safari should be modeled after the AKL night safari experience where they provide night time vision goggles. This will set the tone and temper guests expectations on what to expect on the safari.

Thanks so much @egg for chiming in on this because at first I felt a little bad about the show -- but, now I am super excited again about everything overall. The Jungle Book show is just one small part of an otherwise amazing night experience!

 

[marni1971]

Night vision goggles won't work with artificial fluctuating light levels.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Night vision goggles won't work with artificial fluctuating light levels.

They also wouldn't work with the number of guests on Kilimanjaro. Cleanliness and sheer number of goggles needed aside, just imagine the driver trying to tell 40 guests exactly where to point their goggles to see a cheetah. It works better at AKL as it is a small number of very interested guests already predisposed to using night vision goggles. 2000 guests per hour is quite different.

 

[-em]

We rode last night and really liked it. The light levels were good (I liked the sunset..) though I wish the lions had better light- 2 were really active but it was hard to see well..

I liked the animal sounds cause it made everyone quiet down. So you could really listen..

I need to master my cameras focus as it had a hard time in the lower light but when it did the pics were amazing..

 

[wdwmagic]

We've attempted to closely match the video lighting to how it appears to the naked eye. Here is a full ride through.



http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...-full-ride-through-kilimanjaro-after-dark.htm

 

[rioriz]

Great video! Can't wait to experience it!

 

[MrPromey]

There were plenty of lights and we could see quite well. We saw quite a few animals. The only thing I didn't like was the fake recorded animal sounds at the beginning. The fake sun was cool though.

We did it Sunday night and I completely agree with all of this.

 

[DisneyJeff]

I read one review (through Facebook, I believe) that said that the night safari was best around dusk (actual dusk, not artificial dusk) and not as good after that. Can anyone else confirm/contradict this opinion?

Also, how are they handling the transition between daytime safari and nighttime safari? Is there a "break in the action" where they stop running the vehicles for a while? Or is there a particular time where they announce that all vehicles will now be running in "nighttime" mode? Obviously, if the path were the same for both daytime and nighttime, it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but now there has to be some way to let people (at least the driver) know that they will be following the nighttime path.

 

[dstrawn9889]

I read one review (through Facebook, I believe) that said that the night safari was best around dusk (actual dusk, not artificial dusk) and not as good after that. Can anyone else confirm/contradict this opinion?

Also, how are they handling the transition between daytime safari and nighttime safari? Is there a "break in the action" where they stop running the vehicles for a while? Or is there a particular time where they announce that all vehicles will now be running in "nighttime" mode? Obviously, if the path were the same for both daytime and nighttime, it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but now there has to be some way to let people (at least the driver) know that they will be following the nighttime path.

i would assume there is a light(like in GMR) that lets the CM know when to proceed (clear track), there can also be one marking the proper path

 

[Otamin]

We've attempted to closely match the video lighting to how it appears to the naked eye. Here is a full ride through.



http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...-full-ride-through-kilimanjaro-after-dark.htm

Brilliant video!

The lightning certainly adds to the atmosphere as well!

 

[ToInfinityAndBeyond]

I read one review (through Facebook, I believe) that said that the night safari was best around dusk (actual dusk, not artificial dusk) and not as good after that. Can anyone else confirm/contradict this opinion?

Can confirm you will see more animals at dusk (8:00 PM - 8:30 in May) than at say 9:30 PM onward. I would recommend trying to get a FP+ for 15-30 min after the sun goes down for the day. Look up a predictions online beforehand.

I enjoyed the ride in the dark, but it is not my preferred version. It was peaceful. It was also surreal to have the driver quietly drive almost the entire time, as opposed to the chatterbox narration they go through during the day (which I prefer, honestly).

 

[Rider]

I read one review (through Facebook, I believe) that said that the night safari was best around dusk (actual dusk, not artificial dusk) and not as good after that. Can anyone else confirm/contradict this opinion?

Also, how are they handling the transition between daytime safari and nighttime safari? Is there a "break in the action" where they stop running the vehicles for a while? Or is there a particular time where they announce that all vehicles will now be running in "nighttime" mode? Obviously, if the path were the same for both daytime and nighttime, it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but now there has to be some way to let people (at least the driver) know that they will be following the nighttime path.

One of my safaris was a FP right at 8:30. We were a little slow getting out so it was pretty (but not totally) dark in the forest. By the time we were in the savanna it was dark. It is very fair to say that real dusk is the best time but it is very hard to time that perfectly due to all the random delays that can happen.

As for the switch, I don't know exactly how/when they do it but there is a new sign on the lampost at the start (the clear to drive signal) that gets switched to a star and moon symbol to tell drivers to use the sunset route.

 

[Angry Warlock]

Just watched the start of the video where the guide says he will be talking less. Not sure thats going to make much difference when the animals can hear the squeaking brakes of the bus 2 miles away.

 

[Siren]

Night vision goggles won't work with artificial fluctuating light levels.

Okay Marni you're right, I should have watched the video first before suggesting that! It's just that I had read a few reviews that the night safari was way too dark which is why I recommended the night vision goggles.

Also, I didn't know that the safari handled 2000 people an hour. I guess that would be a lot of goggles for Disney to sterilize. But, they have to sterilize the glasses for the AKL safari not to mention rides like TSM and Star Tours, no biggie -- it's not brain surgery, lol.

Anyway, the safari video was so amazing. It was very clear and the lighting was absolutely perfect. I can see why most of the reviews are so positive. I thought is was going to be all dark and scary, lol. I am very excited about the Night Safari.

 

[joshwill]

went on it last night. granted it was raining, it looked nothing like the pics posted. it was rather disappointing. ill have to give it another try when the weather is better

 

[JCoppola]

My wife and I did the night safari this past Saturday, we have done the day safari many times, it was the best safari we have ever experienced. We went just at dusk, by the time we finished it was dark. On the trip we had a giraffe come straight up the road at us, the animals with the large horns (forgot the name were almost close enough to touch). When we got to the lion area we saw

a male and 2 females active and closer than ever. The females were fixated on a mother white rhino and her baby that were on the road in front of us and forced us to stop and wait 10 minutes or so. We even liked the fake sunset as seen through the trees, nice effect.