Disney's Animal Kingdom Wild Africa Trek increasing availability further in July

[wdwmagic]

http://www.wdwmagic.com/Attractions...k-increasing-availability-further-in-July.htm

 

[lebeau]

Good for Disney.

I doubt I'd ever do this, but I'm glad it's a success for them.

 

[llrain]

im sure with all the success of it a nice hefty price increase will parallel this expanded availability of the product

 

[menamechris]

I actually have to admit that I am a bit surprised. Given that so many people skip AK altogether, I didn't think that many people would be willing to drop hundreds of dollars on a tour like this. I hope the extra revenue is going to be put back into the park.

 

[llrain]

thats good wishful thinking but in this day and age you know darn well
its all about revenues and stockholders.
AK is seeing plantlife and animals dissappearing. I used to see ochrids everywhere, small areas at the front of the park where single species used to live have been abandoned for a few years now.
Ya these 2 observations are small ones but Disney used to care about this small stuff.
It saddens me that twice a year when i return to this once beautiful park to see so much wildlife I see so many empty homes.
The safari even appears to be smaller in numbers, Once filled with 12-15 crocs or alligators, cant remember which, last week has about 3 in the area.
Hippos section dawned about 2 hippos that once had 6 or 7....

The average person wouldnt notice this stuff but to people like us and me who love this park for its deadication to wildlife take notice.
So all that revenue from this attraction i think is safe to say you wont be seeing anything change by it.

Oh and one more word that shows their lack of care, Yeti......
you can say it costs millions of millions of dollars to fix but the old disney cared and would have fixed this a long time ago.

I actually have to admit that I am a bit surprised. Given that so many people skip AK altogether, I didn't think that many people would be willing to drop hundreds of dollars on a tour like this. I hope the extra revenue is going to be put back into the park.

 

[Liverstealer]

thats good wishful thinking but in this day and age you know darn well
its all about revenues and stockholders.
AK is seeing plantlife and animals dissappearing. I used to see ochrids everywhere, small areas at the front of the park where single species used to live have been abandoned for a few years now.
Ya these 2 observations are small ones but Disney used to care about this small stuff.
It saddens me that twice a year when i return to this once beautiful park to see so much wildlife I see so many empty homes.
The safari even appears to be smaller in numbers, Once filled with 12-15 crocs or alligators, cant remember which, last week has about 3 in the area.
Hippos section dawned about 2 hippos that once had 6 or 7....

The average person wouldnt notice this stuff but to people like us and me who love this park for its deadication to wildlife take notice.
So all that revenue from this attraction i think is safe to say you wont be seeing anything change by it.

Oh and one more word that shows their lack of care, Yeti......
you can say it costs millions of millions of dollars to fix but the old disney cared and would have fixed this a long time ago.

I cannot speak for the plants, but when you mention the front of the park (I assume you mean the Oasis), the only area currently vacant is a macaws habitat. The Hyacinths (think big blue parrots) have been relocated to another institution, so the Scarlets and Militarys cycle through the 3 Oasis macaw habitats. All other habitats in the Oasis are occupied, be they by the babirusa, patagonian cavy, scarlet macaws, wallaby or anteater.

The Safari is home to 26 male Nile Crocs. What you must understand is that due to vet procedures, population management and husbandry management, not all collection animals go out on show each day. There are many animals that never go on show (for a variety of reasons), but live enriched lives backstage. Sometimes, animals just don't feel like shifting out for the day, and the keeper staff isn't going to force them to go out either. Its highly unlikely you're going to see all 26 crocs out each and every day. Being that DAK is a zoo, means sometimes show has to come secondary to animal welfare and safety. The visibility team still rides KSR and walks the trails to ensure 80% animal visibility for Guests and with the recent change of allowing KSR trucks to make short stops on the path, Guest satisfaction numbers have shot through the roof for that attraction.

As far as hippos go, DAK has the largest population of hippos in human care in North America. With WAT in place, I don't expect to see that change anytime soon.

 

[llrain]

All of this logic makes complete sense, but do you really think its a coincidence that I have taken notice of this 4 trips since 2009? Coincidene that during each visit (3 times at least during that week i go twice a year) those just happen to be the days the animals take the day off? I should play the lottery.....

It sounds as though you are a vet there or something so I wont argue your
point....but think this would all be a big coincidence....
I do recall an empty spot all 3 times i went last week where if you walk through the turnstiles, head right not left, there were 2 habitats there that were empty each day. Each of these habitats housed one single animal. I know they arent birds but i cannot recall what they were.
Its just odd thats all....

I do think that walking trek is a cool thing though when you actually see it in person on the safari you have a better understanding of it not being intrusive on the safari....I hope they do use the revenus to upkeep this beautiful park
but I'm not going to hold my breath

I cannot speak for the plants, but when you mention the front of the park (I assume you mean the Oasis), the only area currently vacant is a macaws habitat. The Hyacinths (think big blue parrots) have been relocated to another institution, so the Scarlets and Militarys cycle through the 3 Oasis macaw habitats. All other habitats in the Oasis are occupied, be they by the babirusa, patagonian cavy, scarlet macaws, wallaby or anteater.

The Safari is home to 26 male Nile Crocs. What you must understand is that due to vet procedures, population management and husbandry management, not all collection animals go out on show each day. There are many animals that never go on show (for a variety of reasons), but live enriched lives backstage. Sometimes, animals just don't feel like shifting out for the day, and the keeper staff isn't going to force them to go out either. Its highly unlikely you're going to see all 26 crocs out each and every day. Being that DAK is a zoo, means sometimes show has to come secondary to animal welfare and safety. The visibility team still rides KSR and walks the trails to ensure 80% animal visibility for Guests and with the recent change of allowing KSR trucks to make short stops on the path, Guest satisfaction numbers have shot through the roof for that attraction.

As far as hippos go, DAK has the largest population of hippos in human care in North America. With WAT in place, I don't expect to see that change anytime soon.

 

[Captain Hank]

All of this logic makes complete sense, but do you really think its a coincidence that I have taken notice of this 4 trips since 2009? Coincidene that during each visit (3 times at least during that week i go twice a year) those just happen to be the days the animals take the day off? I should play the lottery.....

It sounds as though you are a vet there or something so I wont argue your
point....but think this would all be a big coincidence....
I do recall an empty spot all 3 times i went last week where if you walk through the turnstiles, head right not left, there were 2 habitats there that were empty each day. Each of these habitats housed one single animal. I know they arent birds but i cannot recall what they were.
Its just odd thats all....

I do think that walking trek is a cool thing though when you actually see it in person on the safari you have a better understanding of it not being intrusive on the safari....I hope they do use the revenus to upkeep this beautiful park
but I'm not going to hold my breath

I'm sorry that you've had some poor animal visibility at DAK lately. I've recently spent some time up at the Oasis, and almost every habitat is occupied--the animals in them just may or may not be visible at any given moment. Each has the option to be out of sight while in their habitat if they so choose, for their benefit. Animals in that area also tend to be more active in the early and late part of the day. Also, there continue to be many orchid species scattered around different areas of the Oasis. I can't speak as to whether or not this is a different number than previous, but they are still present.

I'm not sure why you didn't see as many crocodiles as you expected recently. The crocs were off show for an extended period of time due to Wild Africa Trek construction, but returned after and have been present in very large numbers ever since. As far as hippos go, they will often exit the river in the early evening and wait by their backstage gate. Otherwise, they should be very visible, particularly in the second section of the river. In addition, one portion of the Wild Africa Trek involves an enrichment activity where a keeper feeds one of the male hippos, greatly increasing visibility in that section throughout the day. For all species, visibility will vary greatly during the day, but during any given safari, you should see approximately 75-80% of the total number of species present on the reserve. Note that safaris very late in the day run the risk of animals being let backstage, especially in the case of elephants and white rhinos (though they're the best time to catch the big cats being active). Let's just say that I'm around these animals A LOT. I've frequently heard Guests commenting on how many more animals they've seen on Kilimanjaro Safaris compared to previous trips. I'm sorry to hear that your experiences haven't been the same, and hope you have better luck in the future.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

I thought the introductory price of $129 (or whatever it was) was way overpriced.

Now @ $189, all I can say is that some people are suckers and think just because it is there, they must try it because it is Disney. I know the pixie dust is strong.

I just hope all the money they rob from these people go back into some more animal attractions at AK. And I don't mean attractions where you need to pay above and beyond the admission cost.


Oh and BTW... we have seen the animals in the Oasis many times and have heard folks walking by saying "Oh there is nothing in there" as we are looking at the Giant Anteater hidden in the shadows. You must have a bit of patience as you look at the exhibits... the animals are in there.

 

[Raven66]

I would actually love to do this, but it's just too pricey. Maybe some day.

 

[Gracy_hm]

I miss the days when Disney had 2000 elephants in the safari attraction.

Disney just isn't magical anymore.

They cut corners and I stubbed my toe on my way to the airport to you guessed it DISNEY WORLD so I am suing. What would Walt think if he knew they had removed over 1,900 ELEPHANTS :goodnevil

The last straw was when they replaced the Dinosaur animatronics with 1:1 scale resin cast models of garden lizards and just turned on a strobe light.

 

[dreamfinder]

All of this logic makes complete sense, but do you really think its a coincidence that I have taken notice of this 4 trips since 2009? Coincidene that during each visit (3 times at least during that week i go twice a year) those just happen to be the days the animals take the day off? I should play the lottery.....

Many of the animals in the Oasis are sensitive to the weather. (Or so I have been told.) And we have had the misfortune to be down at WDW a few times in the last few years during record cold periods. So yes, during those times they won't risk the health of the animals by forcing them outside.

In an effort to try to make like at AK as easy on the animals as possible, they don't force them to do anything to keep the guests happy. Even on the trek, sometimes the Hippos haven't wanted to be outside for their feeding, and so the guests that are paying extra don't get to see that special feature they are there for. It happens. Try as hard as you like, wild animals are still wild, and do what they want when they want it. Especially if the animal weighs > 500 lbs, I.E. rhino, elephant, hippo, etc no one in there right mind will try to force you to do something.

 

[lebeau]

I thought the introductory price of $129 (or whatever it was) was way overpriced.

Now @ $189, all I can say is that some people are suckers and think just because it is there, they must try it because it is Disney. I know the pixie dust is strong.

The inclusion of the Photopass disc makes all the difference to me. If you were already planning to shell out $100 for the disc, then the Trek can be a steal for 1 or 2 people. The value gets diluted as your party gets bigger because you don't really need multiple discs for the same set of vacation photos.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I thought the introductory price of $129 (or whatever it was) was way overpriced.

Now @ $189, all I can say is that some people are suckers and think just because it is there, they must try it because it is Disney. I know the pixie dust is strong.

I just hope all the money they rob from these people go back into some more animal attractions at AK. And I don't mean attractions where you need to pay above and beyond the admission cost.


Oh and BTW... we have seen the animals in the Oasis many times and have heard folks walking by saying "Oh there is nothing in there" as we are looking at the Giant Anteater hidden in the shadows. You must have a bit of patience as you look at the exhibits... the animals are in there.

I wouldn't knock it until you try it. I did it when it was $129 and thought that it was well worth the cost. If you don't like animals and don't care about the unique experience then $10 would probably seem like too much for you. Having done it, I would still probably say that $189 would be worth it to me as well. Clearly some opinion can be factored in here, but I think that this particular tour is hard to call overpriced until you know exactly what the experience is. And while it might not matter to some, you do get a free photopass CD from the experience which Disney charges $150 for. While the CD price is obviously a bit exagerated, they do take a lot of photos during the tour that you wouldn't be able to get and you can put every other photopass photo on their as well from your vacation.

 

[menamechris]

I have to agree that $129 was a great price for the tour. But I have to stress that I have an annual pass (so it wasn't in addition to the price tag for admission to AK), and there was only two of us - not an entire family. So with that being said, it was a good deal. In my opinion, if the price went too far over $189, I would have felt a bit cheated. But the tour is new, and if Disney can use that to rake in tons of money, more power to them. I think once the novelty of it starts to wear off - or people realize that they could go to every dinner show on property for the price, the tour schedule may taper off a bit...

 

[Liverstealer]

As an interesting side note, for Easter week, the price for WAT was approximately $250 for the peak season. I'm not sure if this seasonal pricing will continue, but you may want to plan your trips accordingly if you want to go on WAT during the busy times.

Backstage Safari ($72) and Wild by Design ($60) are other tour options at DAK as well.

 

[RSoxNo1]

thats good wishful thinking but in this day and age you know darn well
its all about revenues and stockholders.
AK is seeing plantlife and animals dissappearing. I used to see ochrids everywhere, small areas at the front of the park where single species used to live have been abandoned for a few years now.
Ya these 2 observations are small ones but Disney used to care about this small stuff.
It saddens me that twice a year when i return to this once beautiful park to see so much wildlife I see so many empty homes.
The safari even appears to be smaller in numbers, Once filled with 12-15 crocs or alligators, cant remember which, last week has about 3 in the area.
Hippos section dawned about 2 hippos that once had 6 or 7....

The average person wouldnt notice this stuff but to people like us and me who love this park for its deadication to wildlife take notice.
So all that revenue from this attraction i think is safe to say you wont be seeing anything change by it.

Oh and one more word that shows their lack of care, Yeti......
you can say it costs millions of millions of dollars to fix but the old disney cared and would have fixed this a long time ago.

What time of year are you visiting? What time of day are you riding the ride? I keep hearing people complain about the dwindling animals on the Safari, but I really haven't seen it.

The only thing that's been really removed was the Zebra's and that's because they kept going after babies of other species (Occasionally you'll see them right before the elephants as I believe they're on the large savannah that is mostly not viewable to the ride vehicles).

As for the crocodiles, I did the Wild Africa Trek in March, and it's often tough to see them when they're in the water. Standing directly over head you can see them quite well. Having said that, the crocodiles are not a self sustaining population at the Animal Kingdom, they're all males, so it's possible that some have passed away.

For the hippos, I rarely if ever see them on the right hand side of the vehicle, but that's where you see them for the tour. I regularly see them on the left hand side and I can't think of a time where I've seen any less than 4. My complaint would be the viewing area for the hippos on the Pangani Forest. That's almost always hit or miss.

I cannot speak for the plants, but when you mention the front of the park (I assume you mean the Oasis), the only area currently vacant is a macaws habitat. The Hyacinths (think big blue parrots) have been relocated to another institution, so the Scarlets and Militarys cycle through the 3 Oasis macaw habitats. All other habitats in the Oasis are occupied, be they by the babirusa, patagonian cavy, scarlet macaws, wallaby or anteater.

The Safari is home to 26 male Nile Crocs. What you must understand is that due to vet procedures, population management and husbandry management, not all collection animals go out on show each day. There are many animals that never go on show (for a variety of reasons), but live enriched lives backstage. Sometimes, animals just don't feel like shifting out for the day, and the keeper staff isn't going to force them to go out either. Its highly unlikely you're going to see all 26 crocs out each and every day. Being that DAK is a zoo, means sometimes show has to come secondary to animal welfare and safety. The visibility team still rides KSR and walks the trails to ensure 80% animal visibility for Guests and with the recent change of allowing KSR trucks to make short stops on the path, Guest satisfaction numbers have shot through the roof for that attraction.

As far as hippos go, DAK has the largest population of hippos in human care in North America. With WAT in place, I don't expect to see that change anytime soon.

Animal life in the park is dwindling. The Hyacinth Macaws are no longer there and neither are the Asian Small Clawed Otters (I believe they were on loan) or the Tapir (It has passed away). I heard that the Ring-Tailed Lemurs returned but I'm not sure on them either.

 

[MansionGoer13z]

It's a shame that WAT is too pricey for my wallet. I would love to do this.

As far as animal appearances its basically a luck of the draw. DAK is not an ancient Roman menagerie, where animals are forcefully paraded around against their will for human entertainment purposes. We as a society are beyond that.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

I wouldn't knock it until you try it. I did it when it was $129 and thought that it was well worth the cost. If you don't like animals and don't care about the unique experience then $10 would probably seem like too much for you. Having done it, I would still probably say that $189 would be worth it to me as well.

You do not know how wrong you are about liking animals. Not that I need to justify anything at all to you, AK is my favorite park at WDW. While the animal exhibits, other than KS, are nothing any different from the better zoos out there, it is mostly my like of wild animals in top-notch clean exhibits that makes it my favorite park. As far as photopass being included goes... I have allowed the photopass photogs the last 3 times to take our pics(in addition to mine). They are very often not centered, not in focus, and in some actually the character was blocking my kids face. Sure there were some good pics that they took but not enough in my opinion to justify buying it. So including some not -so-good photos of my family is not really adding anything to the package for me. I know it works for others ... again just not me.

I have no problem if you enjoy spendign your money on what I feel is an overpriced tour. Like I said hopefully it will help AK get some new animal exhibits.

 

[Liverstealer]

Animal life in the park is dwindling. The Hyacinth Macaws are no longer there and neither are the Asian Small Clawed Otters (I believe they were on loan) or the Tapir (It has passed away). I heard that the Ring-Tailed Lemurs returned but I'm not sure on them either.

Hyacinths got moved to another zoo. New otters should be on show at TOL in a few weeks. The tapir unfortunately did pass. 2 bar headed geese currently reside in the tapir's rather spacious habitat. I am unsure of the ring tails, but I saw several brown collared lemurs in the habitat a few days ago as well as some cotton topped tamarins climbing on the trees in their refurbed habitat. There's always a lot of talk of new animal acquisitions but when it comes right down to it, it really hinges on what the AZA breeding programs dictate as well as animal welfare.