We went on the Wild Africa Trek tour this morning (1/22) at 10am. Our tour group consisted of 12 people. We arrived at the Tusker House to get checked in at 9:40, and after signing some waivers, were immediately taken "backstage" to get fitted into a harness that you walk around in for about 2 of the 3 hours (its a little uncomfortable, but after about 15 minutes you actually forget it is on). Our two guides were Megan and Nick (I think?), and they were absolutely fantastic tour guides. We were reminded that unless we really like taking pictures, there was no need to take a camera, because one of the tour guides takes pictures the entire tour, and the pictures are included in your tour package.
To get to our first stop we walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and had a chance to stop and watch the gorillas. We then entered a gate that sent us up a dirt wooded trail that eventually lead us to the backside of the hippo tank. Being on a ledge, and so close to the animals, we had to be hooked up by our safety harnesses to a track. Though it didn't feel entirely necessary (I would have felt safe standing there without a safety harness), I think ti did make everyone feel a little more comfortable to go right up to the ledge to look and observe the hippos. A cast member was stationed there feeding the hippos, so you had the hippos' full attention and were as close as possible as they waited for more treats from the cast member. It really was amazing how close we were.
Our next stop also required being hooked up by our safety harnesses to an overhead line, as we walked across two (very shaky) rope bridges, and as you crossed over the second bridge, you were actually crossing over the crocodile pool. Once over the bridge, we were on a ledge on the backside of the crocodile pool. Just as with the hippos, it was really quite amazing how close we were. We learned that we could be so close because we were up on the cliff, and crocodiles don't climb so well.
Inbetween these stops, there was quite a bit of walking and "hiking" through the backstage woods. It was not overly strenuous, but more than any other tour we have been on. In fact, a lot of the trail wasn't even totally cleared. We ducked quite a bit, and had to move branches out of our way. I imagine this will change after the trail has been walked for a few more weeks.
Our next stop would be to our own private safari truck that was able to pull of and let us watch the animals on the Kilimanjaro Safaris for as long as we liked. This was perfect for taking pictures and just be able to watch and observe the animals. Unlike when riding the safari, our truck would go off-road and get as close to the animals as possible without disturbing them. Totally cool. The truck then dropped us off at a newly constructed platform in the middle of the savannah, where we had "lunchboxes" waiting for us with a fantastic snack. They also provided binoculors there to look out and watch the animals.
We spent about 15 minutes eating, watching, and chatting, but then it was back onto the truck to finish the rest of the safari (again, stopping whenever there was an animal we wanted to take some time to watch with binoculars). Then it was back to our starting point for a final goodbye from our guides and to grab our items out of our lockers.
This was an amazing tour, and the guides even told us that we were VERY lucky to have very cool weather, and the animals were all out. The funniest thing about the tour had to be the animals' reactions to us. I guess after 12 years of the same routine everyday, having trucks go off the safari road, and people staring at them at a closer proximity really seemed to fascinate a lot of them. Sometimes it felt like the animals were observing us as much as we were them!
If you have the chance to take this tour, and have a love for animals, I would definetly recommend this tour. It really was fantastic. However, if you only have one day at Animal Kingdom, and really want to get to the rest of the park and do everything, I would try to get the earliest tour possible. Starting at 10:00, we were not back into the park until after 1:00. We still needed to grab lunch, and after were done with that, we only had a couple more hours in the park (and when you take into account that Everest alone can have a 60 minute wait time, you may not be able to do too many other attractions in the park before 5:00 closing).
And just a quick reminder, when taking this tour, a portion of your tour fee goes directly to the Disney Conservation Fund. So though it may seem expensive, you are not just going on an amazing tour, you are giving back to the animals.
To get to our first stop we walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and had a chance to stop and watch the gorillas. We then entered a gate that sent us up a dirt wooded trail that eventually lead us to the backside of the hippo tank. Being on a ledge, and so close to the animals, we had to be hooked up by our safety harnesses to a track. Though it didn't feel entirely necessary (I would have felt safe standing there without a safety harness), I think ti did make everyone feel a little more comfortable to go right up to the ledge to look and observe the hippos. A cast member was stationed there feeding the hippos, so you had the hippos' full attention and were as close as possible as they waited for more treats from the cast member. It really was amazing how close we were.
Our next stop also required being hooked up by our safety harnesses to an overhead line, as we walked across two (very shaky) rope bridges, and as you crossed over the second bridge, you were actually crossing over the crocodile pool. Once over the bridge, we were on a ledge on the backside of the crocodile pool. Just as with the hippos, it was really quite amazing how close we were. We learned that we could be so close because we were up on the cliff, and crocodiles don't climb so well.
Inbetween these stops, there was quite a bit of walking and "hiking" through the backstage woods. It was not overly strenuous, but more than any other tour we have been on. In fact, a lot of the trail wasn't even totally cleared. We ducked quite a bit, and had to move branches out of our way. I imagine this will change after the trail has been walked for a few more weeks.
Our next stop would be to our own private safari truck that was able to pull of and let us watch the animals on the Kilimanjaro Safaris for as long as we liked. This was perfect for taking pictures and just be able to watch and observe the animals. Unlike when riding the safari, our truck would go off-road and get as close to the animals as possible without disturbing them. Totally cool. The truck then dropped us off at a newly constructed platform in the middle of the savannah, where we had "lunchboxes" waiting for us with a fantastic snack. They also provided binoculors there to look out and watch the animals.
We spent about 15 minutes eating, watching, and chatting, but then it was back onto the truck to finish the rest of the safari (again, stopping whenever there was an animal we wanted to take some time to watch with binoculars). Then it was back to our starting point for a final goodbye from our guides and to grab our items out of our lockers.
This was an amazing tour, and the guides even told us that we were VERY lucky to have very cool weather, and the animals were all out. The funniest thing about the tour had to be the animals' reactions to us. I guess after 12 years of the same routine everyday, having trucks go off the safari road, and people staring at them at a closer proximity really seemed to fascinate a lot of them. Sometimes it felt like the animals were observing us as much as we were them!
If you have the chance to take this tour, and have a love for animals, I would definetly recommend this tour. It really was fantastic. However, if you only have one day at Animal Kingdom, and really want to get to the rest of the park and do everything, I would try to get the earliest tour possible. Starting at 10:00, we were not back into the park until after 1:00. We still needed to grab lunch, and after were done with that, we only had a couple more hours in the park (and when you take into account that Everest alone can have a 60 minute wait time, you may not be able to do too many other attractions in the park before 5:00 closing).
And just a quick reminder, when taking this tour, a portion of your tour fee goes directly to the Disney Conservation Fund. So though it may seem expensive, you are not just going on an amazing tour, you are giving back to the animals.
