Kilimanjaro Safaris After Dark - night safari

Jon81uk

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Siren said:
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.
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The 3D glasses for Tough to be a Bug, TSMM, Star Tours, Muppets etc just go through a dishwasher machine, really easy to wash.

Night Vision goggles are electronic, so can only be wiped down with a cloth or wipe, a much more labour intensive job. So for 100 people a day on the AKL exclusive safaris it is easy. Also if they are more like binoculars (which I think the ones used on the overlook at the hotel are) then don't need cleaning at all really. However with the risk of damage and theft when unsupervised, they would never be used in a high throughput attraction.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
How do they switch from day to night safari? Do they post times for the last day Safari and the first night Safari? Do they shut down for, say, 30 minutes to convert to nighttime version? How does that work? Or do you just get in the queue at dusk not knowing whether you're doing the day or night version?
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
JohnD said:
How do they switch from day to night safari? Do they post times for the last day Safari and the first night Safari? Do they shut down for, say, 30 minutes to convert to nighttime version? How does that work? Or do you just get in the queue at dusk not knowing whether you're doing the day or night version?
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I believe it just transitions without any downtime. There really isn't any need to stop, because nothing really changes, other than the slight detour.
 
JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
I believe it just transitions without any downtime. There really isn't any need to stop, because nothing really changes, other than the slight detour.
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Okay, thanks. It does beg the question of how you know whether you're boarding for the day or night safari. I guess it's a crap shoot at sundown?
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

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Moderator
Premium Member
JohnD said:
Okay, thanks. It does beg the question of how you know whether you're boarding for the day or night safari. I guess it's a crap shoot at sundown?
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To guarantee you get the night version, just make sure your ride time is after dark. Riding during early sunset could go either way.
 
Rider

Rider

Well-Known Member
Angry Warlock said:
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.
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Doesn't seem to matter (I imagine they are quite used to the sounds). In my experience it sure felt like the animals were more willing to be near the roads than in daytime.
 
yoda_5729

yoda_5729

Well-Known Member
I just watched wdwmagic's wonderful video, but had a quick question. About a quarter of the way through the video, the driver talks baout Honey Badgers. Though part of me doubts they actually have them, as they are quite rare in zoos, to have him specifically mention them, when he could be mentioning anything I found to be a bit odd. Anybody have any information on if they actually have them or not? They just as easily could have mentioned red river hogs, which are actually at Animal Kingdom, at the lodge.
 
B

Brian Swan

Well-Known Member
Siren said:
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.
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NVGs are high-tech items that cost hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars (like any electronic equipment, there is a considerable range). 3D glasses cost a few bucks - if that. the plastic glasses can be mass-sterilized; the NVGs would have to be individually hand-cleaned. Also, NVGs are fragile, and if dropped, could easily break, and like binoculars, they have to be focused for each individual.
 
S

Siren

Well-Known Member
JCoppola said:
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 sawView attachment 144243 View attachment 144244 View attachment 144245 View attachment 144246 View attachment 144247 View attachment 144243 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.
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Nice pics! Thanks for sharing.

Jon81uk said:
The 3D glasses for Tough to be a Bug, TSMM, Star Tours, Muppets etc just go through a dishwasher machine, really easy to wash.

Night Vision goggles are electronic, so can only be wiped down with a cloth or wipe, a much more labour intensive job. So for 100 people a day on the AKL exclusive safaris it is easy. Also if they are more like binoculars (which I think the ones used on the overlook at the hotel are) then don't need cleaning at all really. However with the risk of damage and theft when unsupervised, they would never be used in a high throughput attraction.
Click to expand...

Brian Swan said:
NVGs are high-tech items that cost hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars (like any electronic equipment, there is a considerable range). 3D glasses cost a few bucks - if that. the plastic glasses can be mass-sterilized; the NVGs would have to be individually hand-cleaned. Also, NVGs are fragile, and if dropped, could easily break, and like binoculars, they have to be focused for each individual.
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Okay @Jon81uk and @Brian Swan, I stand corrected and thank you both for clarifying everything.

I think the night safari looks gorgeous and the lighting seems perfect to me. I'm not going to bother with taking pictures on the night safari unless I miss something significant during the day safari.
 
FigmentForver96

FigmentForver96

Well-Known Member
Rode it last night and it while the lighting can take time to adjust to it actually does work for a convincing effect. The best place is obviously the Savannah but other smaller places looked pretty cool. You could see plenty of animals of you looked in the right spots, except for lions which were practically impossible to find. Overall I think they did a great job.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
FigmentForver96 said:
Rode it last night and it while the lighting can take time to adjust to it actually does work for a convincing effect. The best place is obviously the Savannah but other smaller places looked pretty cool. You could see plenty of animals of you looked in the right spots, except for lions which were practically impossible to find. Overall I think they did a great job.
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Just like in the daytime, it is variable.

You'll see in our video both lions were fully on display.
VIDEO - Take a full ride through on Kilimanjaro Safaris After Dark
 
jrogue

jrogue

Well-Known Member
Are the wait times high for the Safari around 10pm - closing? I'm hoping to wait in the stand by line after seeing the later Jungle Book show
 
djkidkaz

djkidkaz

Well-Known Member
Saw the safari tonight and I enjoyed it besides the loud mouth family behind us talking about how she had been on a "real safari" in Africa.

I thought the lighting was really nice. The Savannah sunset I thought looked really good as did the twilight effect towards the end.

My only complaint would be the lack of lighting in some prime viewing areas. The giraffes very often tend to hang in that large grouping of palm trees yet it is pitch black. Not a single light facing it. The cheetas and lions have no lighting on them either which is strange considering they should both be more active in the evening and a great part of the safari.

All in all, it's nice and different enough from the day safari to warrant a second ride.
 
ToTBellHop

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
yoda_5729 said:
I just watched wdwmagic's wonderful video, but had a quick question. About a quarter of the way through the video, the driver talks baout Honey Badgers. Though part of me doubts they actually have them, as they are quite rare in zoos, to have him specifically mention them, when he could be mentioning anything I found to be a bit odd. Anybody have any information on if they actually have them or not? They just as easily could have mentioned red river hogs, which are actually at Animal Kingdom, at the lodge.
Click to expand...
I thought it was odd, too. I was waiting for him to say "honey badgers don't care..."
 

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