Wild Africa Trek... A Must Do at Disney!

As someone who has been fortunate enough to visit Disney more times than I can count, trying to find new things to do each trip can be difficult.  During my last few trips, I have looked into doing some of the extra tours that Disney offers.  I have done the Segway Tour through Epcot, Lunch with Imagineer, and most recently the Ultimate VIP Tour: Day of Thrills Tour.  However, one of the best tours that I think they offer is the Wild Africa Trek that takes place at Animal Kingdom (to be completely candid I did this tour in February 2016).

During this 3 hour tour, you are given a behind the scenes tour of Kilimanjaro Safaris.  The pricing of this tour ranges from $189.00 to $249.00 before tax.  When I did this tour in February 2016, you were able to use your DVC, Annual Passholder, and Visa Discounts on all of the tours.  I just booked another tour for my trip this February and was told that the discount now only applies to afternoon tours.  Tour start times begin approximately every 45 minutes (starting at 8:00AM and concluding at 2:00pm).  There are age requirements and weight restrictions so check Disney's website before booking. 

The check-in for this tour is located on the left hand side of the entrance for Kilimanjaro Safaris. When you get there, your tour guides will check you in and run through a few safety precautions before fitting you for your vest, harness, and giving you your lockers.  As you can see from the below picture, you are given a green vest that will be hooked up at one point during the tour to a pulley system.  You are also given an ear piece, a sunglasses strap, a phone strap, and a metal water bottle to use during the tour.   After everyones harness is checked no less than 2 times, you are introduced to your two guides.  During the tour your two guides will take turns leading the tour and being the photographer (you are given a special photographer who will document the tour and then give you a link to download the pictures at the end of the tour).  

Our tour guide Marcus "pretending" to be an innocent gazelle.  Also, check out the man in the blue shirt.  He's retired NFL quarterback Steve Young!

After a short walk to a secret walkway, you are lead to a special area that over looks the hippo enclosure.  Here, you will have to link your harness onto the metal guide rail to continue on the trail.  At this time, another cast member (typically someone who works with the animals, will join the tour to tell you about the hippos.  They will also bring food so you can feed the hippos. During our tour, the hippos were just content to sunbathe so we sadly did not get to feed them.  We did however get a cool picture of the hippos right behind us.  

After the hippos, you continue walking among the trail leading to the rickety bridges that you see while on the safari tour.  These bridges connect the area by the hippos to the Nile crocodile pit.  In full disclosure, I was terrified to do this.  The bridge bounces when anyone walks on it and for someone with short legs, the planks were not as close together as I would have liked.  Our tour guide Marcus told me that the bridge was stronger than it appeared so if I wanted to step on the mesh netting below the wood planks I could.  Although a scary experience, there's something special about getting an up close and personal look at animals from directly above.  You also get to look pretty cool when you are walking over the bridge and the regular safari tours are driving past.  

  

After the bridge you are able to ditch your vest and relax on your own private safari truck that is waiting for you.  This truck is a little different from the normal trucks because the seating is around the perimeter of the truck (which allows for great pictures).  This truck does a bit more off roading compared to the normal tours so you are able to get closer to the animals than they typically like to get.  After exploring for a little bit, you are lead to the observation deck (the house that you see on the Savannah) for lunch.  This is the first area where you can set and over look the Savannah.  They provide a typically African cuisine.  I am an extremely picky eater so I typically request a Vegetarian option so I do not have to worry about what I will be eating.     

 After lunch, everyone gets back on the vehicle and continues on the tour!  This tour is honestly one of the best experiences I've ever had at Disney!  I had so much fun that I am doing it again when I visit Disney next month!!! I will post an update of the tour the second time because honestly, I remember a lot of it, but it has been 2 years so I'm sorry if I've forgotten anything.