Tours at AK

[cslafferty]

We are taking my daughter’s family (grandsons 4.5 & 2.5 yrs) and staying at Ft. Wilderness Dec 1-10. She is a vet tech and LOVES AK. I am debating on surprising her with a special tour. They used to have one that took you behind the scenes on how they care for the animals (showing more of their medical facilities) but they don’t do that anymore. I’m debating between 1) tickets for her, her hubby and older son to do “Caring for Giants” and “Up Close with Rhinos,” or 2) ticket for just her to do “Wild Africa Trek” Opinions?? I haven’t done any of these so I have no idea! Thanks!

 

[monothingie]

If the desire is to get up and close with the Rhinos or Elephants and go backstage then the first two are worthwhile. For a more in-depth and exciting experience in the Savanah than the standard Kilimanjaro Safari, with lunch at the Boma in the Savanah, the Wild Africa Trek is a great option. Just make sure they're ok with heights for the rope bridge portion of the tour. There is a fourth option for enjoying the Savanah, Savior the Savanah Tour which is a more personal version of the Safari attraction, but includes a stop at the Boma (in the middle of the Savanah)for adult beverages and small plates.

All options are great, make sure you let them know if you're DVC or AP for additional discounts while booking. The Wild Africa Trek and Savior the Savanah are a little pricy, but if you can swing it, it's probably the best tours/experience on property.

 

[StarshipDisney]

One thing I can say about the Caring for Giants tour is that seeing Elephants is a "hit or miss" situation. While I am sure that many here will say they went on this tour and had a great time, we went in December 2022 and saw no Elephants in the backstage pen where they took us. The cast member was very nice and said they must be sleeping somewhere out of sight. We saw the Elephant poop and tooth they always show to guests on this tour, but we saw no Elephants and that was the whole purpose. They also wanted the lanyards back after the tour, so it was nothing but disappointment for us. Good luck if you want to try it.

 

[dmw]

We are taking my daughter’s family (grandsons 4.5 & 2.5 yrs) and staying at Ft. Wilderness Dec 1-10. She is a vet tech and LOVES AK. I am debating on surprising her with a special tour. They used to have one that took you behind the scenes on how they care for the animals (showing more of their medical facilities) but they don’t do that anymore. I’m debating between 1) tickets for her, her hubby and older son to do “Caring for Giants” and “Up Close with Rhinos,” or 2) ticket for just her to do “Wild Africa Trek” Opinions?? I haven’t done any of these so I have no idea! Thanks!

Oh, I so wish they still had the behind the scenes tour for your daughter. We took our vet tech daughter on that tour while she was still getting her degree. Other than the spider house, she loved the tour! We've been watching the Magic of Disney's Animal Kingdom and have seen several of the backstage areas that were shown on that tour.

 

[RememberWhen]

We did the rhino tour this august with my 10 and 5 year old. It was awesome!! I highly recommend it.

 

[JoeCamel]

The child will need to be 48" tall for Wild Africa Trek and it only gives near views of the animals. For the Vet to be the behind the scenes tour is better for animal care.