Caring for Giants Tours

[disneyca]

Hi

I was thinking of taking the "Caring for Giants" Tour in December.
I would appreciate any thoughts of this tour from anyone who has taken it.
Thank You.

 

[RedDad]

We just did this tour back in April and enjoyed it. Our 7yo daughter loves elephants, and for the relatively cheap cost it was a no-brainer for us. We checked in at the tour desk near the entrance to KS, and were led backstage to a small bus with about 10 to 12 other people. We were taken to a fairly small viewing area located along the back side of the elephant section of KS. We were there for about 15-20 minutes and listened to a talk from one of the staff members charged with caring for the elephants, and then from a couple of cast members who were from Africa. We had the opportunity to ask questions, take photos, etc.

The view is not much different from the one we get visiting elephants at our local zoo. You're a good 20 to 30 yds away from the animals, at best (and that's IF the animals happen to cooperate and come to that side of the enclosure). You're paying to interact with the CM's who care for the elephants, rather than the animals themselves. But it was definitely worth the relatively low cost for us, and was pretty cool to see portions of the backstage area at AK.

 

[disneyca]

Thank you for your reply and picture. I think we will probably do this in December. It looks like fun and the price is right.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

We just did this tour back in April and enjoyed it. Our 7yo daughter loves elephants, and for the relatively cheap cost it was a no-brainer for us. We checked in at the tour desk near the entrance to KS, and were led backstage to a small bus with about 10 to 12 other people. We were taken to a fairly small viewing area located along the back side of the elephant section of KS. We were there for about 15-20 minutes and listened to a talk from one of the staff members charged with caring for the elephants, and then from a couple of cast members who were from Africa. We had the opportunity to ask questions, take photos, etc.

The view is not much different from the one we get visiting elephants at our local zoo. You're a good 20 to 30 yds away from the animals, at best (and that's IF the animals happen to cooperate and come to that side of the enclosure). You're paying to interact with the CM's who care for the elephants, rather than the animals themselves. But it was definitely worth the relatively low cost for us, and was pretty cool to see portions of the backstage area at AK.

Just how low is the cost?

 

[RedDad]

Just how low is the cost?

$30 / person (plus a discount for AP or DVC)

 

[Phonedave]

I thought it was worth it as well. $30 (plus discounts) and that money all goes to a consevation fund, not to Disney's pockets. Great cast members, great interaction with CM's, the elephants cooperated with us, and we had some great views. Not that anybody can count on it happening, but we got to hear the elephants rumble - not trumpet, but rumble. They will explain it on the tour, that elephants rumble to each other, but it is rarely heard, because it is usually subsonic and below the range of human hearing. We were standing on the berm when the one female rumbled. The two CM's were very suprised and excited. She rumbled again, and about 4 other elephants that had been out of view came trotting over to her from across the savannah. That to me was worth the cost. Even without that happening I would have been very satisfied with the tour.


-dave

 

[Captain Barbossa]

$30 / person (plus a discount for AP or DVC)

That's not bad at all.