Rant: Kilimanjaro Safari from Hell!

[rainfully]

Ok Santa Tink... when do they do this? Do they do these practice runs during operating hours? Like could guests potentially see one of these empty boats or trucks looking up or down the course?

Yeah it's just durring operating hours.

Last time I went on Living with the Land, the boat that came up was empty, and the guy said "we're not loading this boat... he's training! wish him luck" or something like that. Poor guy looked terribly nervous...

 

[Denscott]

They just take out guestless vehicles for the driver to practice...

The same thing with Jungle Cruise, Living with the Land, etc.

I saw a show on the Travel Channel on Animal Kingdom and it explained that every ride vehicle has a GPS device on it so Control can tell exactly where each vehicle is on the course. This is because the ride course is so large and there are so many vehicles out at once (40 I believe). Being able to see all of the vehicle positions at once, Control can tell where there are clusters forming and how the ride timing will become affected.

I'm surprised Control didn't tell the vehicle driver that she was dangerously close to the other vehicle and to back off or that she was straying off course onto the service area.

 

[Magic Maker]

Information From The Source!

Here I am to save the day!!!!

I worked at Kilimanjaro July -September of this year. Rob I am sorry about your experience. My first safari after leaving attractions, we all know it was a temporary role for me anyhow, was a bad one. I knew the driver but she was tailgating like crazy which made us stop before the tilting bridge which is a HUGE no-no.

I never met Christy, she must be new, but there are about 100 drivers. The training is five days long. Typically you learn most of the script and the attraction's basics during the first day. I was driving my first day since I knew the script and animal facts well from riding it as a guest so many times. Days 2-4 will be spent driving most of the time. Day 2 first half of the day you are usually seated in the passenger seat while your trainer drives and spiels so you can see it in action. Then the second half you drive without spieling, just driving, getting used to a 30 ft truck on African mud roads.
Day 3, you start to bring the spiel into play, going around empty while driving and spieling. Day 4, you typically start to pick up guests and go live with your trainer next to you. Day 5, you check out which is you do a round with a manager with a clipboard with guests on board and the manager critiques you. Then the rest of the day you go through the "land" positions with a different trainer who makes sure you know what to do when you are not driving.

The driving was very hard for me. The first three days I had issues with taking the turns too narrow. Bottom line - safety comes first. They should not have put Christy out there if she was not ready. What manager did you talk to?

By the way, if I missed answering anyone's question please reply to the thread and I will do my best to answer it.

 

[MickeyTigg]

So,

The ms and I decided to go to AK on the 27th of November. We had a great time, except for our Kilimanjaro Safari from hell.

Things that went wrong..

#1- Our driver, Christy, kept messing up the lines, ad-libbing incorrect information, stuttering, and talking over the prerecorded parts

#2- She ran into the bushes on the left. Not a little scrape. A full wheel went in.

#3- She started to turn into one of the service side road. Now, I know where these can lead, and I’m not in the mood to disturb an animal feeding area.

#4- She came within inches of hitting a Bongo on the right side. Guests had to shove it away to save it.

#5- She kept tailgating the vehicle in front of us, and in turn having to slam on the brakes. Now, if you’ve ever ridden in the back of these vehicles, you’ll know how bad their rear suspensions are. Well, couple that with a person who is having difficulty staying on track and is continually slamming on the brakes, with a back seat filled with males jumping up and down… LANDING ON YOUR PRIDE AND JOY. (men, keel over in pain… cause it did hurt like hell!)

#6- The tailgating led to a collision. Granted, it was at slow speed and was just a bump, it shouldn’t have happened. On the plus side though, she did stop for a minute or so, which allowed us to recuperate and take some photos.

#7- After several of us verbally criticized her on the vehicle; she didn’t apologize to any of us. In face, when we brought it up to her, she ignored us. GRRR

But was Little Red okay?

 

[mkt]

we didn't know about little red until after we passed him and she mentioned him

 

[mkt]

They should not have put Christy out there if she was not ready. What manager did you talk to?

I spoke to some Kilimanjaro CM's, and she has been there a few months. Apparently, she has a reputation for being among the worst of the CM's they have. The manager I spoke to was....

err...

gimme a second...

VICTOR!

 

[col]

MKT - that was a great story; it was fun reading it :lol: :lol: . if i would of been on the "ride from hell" i would of been laughing coz theres not much else you can do but just enjoy what happens. i especially enjoyed the line about the service road :lol: plus you have some awesome avatars!!!!

 

[imagineer boy]

Gosh, that's aweful. Kilimanjaro safaris is one of my most favourite rides. I think she should be fired immediately. Making a bad guest experience is one thing, but nearly hitting animals is just unacceptable.

 

[Dragonrider1227]

That stinks. I hope that driver gets fired or have her habits severly removed. (for lack of a better term)

 

[TTATraveler]

I hope she doesn't drive her car like the way you described. Sounds like she may need dome drivers ed retraining, not to mention retraining on Kilimanjaro Safaris.

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I have scene one during operating hours at Living with the Land. Empty boat... lady giving the spiel to no one.

Yeah. We used to be not nice to some of the CP CMs we knew and board the boat when they were practicing. They didn't like it, but it was fun. Had to know the instructor also, though, because managers aren't too happy to get that report (as a fellow intern can attest to!).

 

[Epcot82Guy]

I hope she doesn't drive her car like the way you described. Sounds like she may need dome drivers ed retraining, not to mention retraining on Kilimanjaro Safaris.

Actually, on I-4 and several other south Orlando roads, I doubt she would stand out much... :lookaroun

 

[TTATraveler]

She certainly wouldn't stand out here either, except maybe for the bumping during tailgating. She may fit into NYC perfectly:lol:

 

[Mr Bill]

It would be one thing if she was a new CM, but if she has been around for a few months and driving like that, management needs to step in.

 

[Nicole]

That's horrible. I have often wondered why KJ has a motion sickness warning. I guess now we know. Rob, thanks for risking life and limb in the name of research. (Hope there's no permanent damage!)

 

[RSoxNo1]

I had a similiar bad experience on Jungle Cruise yesterday. Now, nobody was endanger in this bad ride experience, except for those of us that may have wanted to jump overboard.

Our skipper was a middle aged lady, I'm guessing 55-60, and in fairness to her, I really didn't have high expectations going in. I can handle it if someone isn't good at improvising (although I think the more creative individuals should be on attractions that allow them to showcase this creativity). I can handle it if the person sticks strictly to the Jungle Cruise, script, but this lady effectively read it verbatim with no inflection or sense of delivery, other than to laugh at the end of each joke. I'm guessing the script actually has the words "ha ha" after each joke.

Her voice was piercing and right off the bat, she butchered the first two jokes:
These Amazon butterfleis are larger than life and their wing span can grow all the way up to an impressive one foot. Ha Ha (12 inches to one foot is the actual joke)

Why do we call it inspiration falls? Because it inspires us to go deeper and deeper into the jungle (She had no pause after the word go... the joke is that the waterfall inspires guests to go to the bathroom)

 

[jojowentbyby]

#2- She ran into the bushes on the left. Not a little scrape. A full wheel went in.

#3- She started to turn into one of the service side road. Now, I know where these can lead, and I’m not in the mood to disturb an animal feeding area.

#4- She came within inches of hitting a Bongo on the right side. Guests had to shove it away to save it.

#5- She kept tailgating the vehicle in front of us, and in turn having to slam on the brakes.

I think I drove behind her today. She must where an Old Lady disguise while she is here in Massachusetts.

 

[mousermerf]

I think I drove behind her today. She must where an Old Lady disguise while she is here in Massachusetts.

Curse those North Eastern Bongos! Always in the road!

 

[Yost Nut Zero]

I've arrived, it seems, just in time to correct several mis-statements. (I am a current safari driver, long time reader, first time poster)

- Kilimanjaro Safaris has roughly 200 cast members

- The tracking map is not a real time map, it refreshes roughly once every 10-15 seconds. As such, the trucks will jump around a bit on the map, and the map may not accurately show truck spacing.

- It's not necessarily a "huge no-no" to have to stop before the tilting bridge. The good drivers will be able to play off the brief delay, or stall long enough to avoid it having it be an issue.

- Several drivers fake as if to turn onto one of the service roads, then "change their mind" and stick to the real road. Again, this is used both as a show element and a stall tactic.

- The training is 5 days of training, plus a full (6th) day for the assessment

 

[beazer4444]

Let’s get this story straight from the perspective of someone who’s not trying to impress people with over-exaggerated complaints and from someone who actually works at Kilimanjaro.

#1- Our driver, Christy, kept messing up the lines, ad-libbing incorrect information, stuttering, and talking over the prerecorded parts.
-- I’d like to see you try to do a 17-page spiel plus animal facts without stuttering sometimes. Everyone talks over the audio: we converse with Wilson to make it seem more real.

#2- She ran into the bushes on the left. Not a little scrape. A full wheel went in.
-- Bushes? Have you seen those trucks? They aren’t afraid of bushes. Besides, those bushes aren’t trimmed; you do remember that it’s supposed to be a wildlife reserve, not a city park, right?

#3- She started to turn into one of the service side road. Now, I know where these can lead, and I’m not in the mood to disturb an animal feeding area.
-- No she didn’t. For one, we don’t do that unless it’s an emergency. Like someone said before, coordinators GPS-track our movements. If she was going somewhere she wasn’t supposed to, she would be in BIG trouble. Two, how would you know where we are supposed to go? Did you know the ride path has been changed lately? Maybe you shouldn’t assume that you know this type of information.

#4- She came within inches of hitting a Bongo on the right side. Guests had to shove it away to save it.
-- First, kudos on getting the animal name right. However, guests can’t reach the animals unless they stand and lean out of the vehicle. Those are both big no-no’s. Plus, animals can get close to the vehicles and it happens regularly. That is what makes Kilimanjaro Safari different from a zoo.

#5- She kept tailgating the vehicle in front of us, and in turn having to slam on the brakes. Now, if you’ve ever ridden in the back of these vehicles, you’ll know how bad their rear suspensions are. Well, couple that with a person who is having difficulty staying on track and is continually slamming on the brakes, with a back seat filled with males jumping up and down… LANDING ON YOUR PRIDE AND JOY. (men, keel over in pain… cause it did hurt like hell!)
-- “Please remember to stay seated at all times.” Sound familiar? We have to say it every time we go on a safari. It’s your own fault your “pride and joy” is damaged.

#6- The tailgating led to a collision. Granted, it was at slow speed and was just a bump, it shouldn’t have happened. On the plus side though, she did stop for a minute or so, which allowed us to recuperate and take some photos.
-- Nope. No collision. Had that been true she would no longer be working there. I think she has the same shift as me tomorrow…

#7- After several of us verbally criticized her on the vehicle; she didn’t apologize to any of us. In face, when we brought it up to her, she ignored us. GRRR.
-- Once again untrue. I heard the story from not only her, but the gentlemen who unloaded the vehicle and the manager you spoke to. You didn’t say anything to the unload-er except for ask for her name. The driver didn’t know there was a complaint until the unload-er told her you asked for her name.

Let it be mentioned that you didn’t point out any of these complaints except for the hard breaking, talking over audio and damaging you “pride and joy” to the manager. Sorry dude, charade is over.