AK safari - 30 mins makes a huge difference!

[samsteele]

Rope drop safaris have always been my best. If possible, I try to get in stand-by right after that first ride & while still good, that very first early a.m. ride tends to be the best.

 

[addiln]

We have done this ride so many different times it seems like a new ride each time. You never know what you are going to see what animals you are going to see that ride. On our next trip I would like to try it around sun set just to see what that would be like since that is really the only time we have not tried it yet.

 

[mrzrich]

We had an amazing Safari at 630 PM. The lions both male and female were walking around and roaring.

 

[cigar95]

. . . . . . On our next trip I would like to try it around sun set just to see what that would be like since that is really the only time we have not tried it yet.

That's right about the time that the switch is made from regular to nighttime version, and that's when several of us have seen really remarkable animal activity that we'd never seen during daytime hours. (Coincidence? Possibly, but then . . . ) The "forest" portion seems to be usually rather unremarkable at dusk, but the savanna, . . . !!
I'm hesitant to schedule a safari in full darkness - seems like it would be hard to see anything with only very limited lighting.

 

[1308Miles]

We've been on the safari ride a million times, it seems. This past August was our best safari tour ever...it was ridiculously hot and it just started pouring. The animals were everywhere and absolutely loved the rain (even the lions!). The giraffes came right up to the truck and we could have reached out and touched them. They ran alongside us for a few minutes and it was so cute. I understand it's nearly impossible to schedule your safari around the weather but if you're lucky enough to ride during a rainstorm, you're in for a real treat!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Coming from a former cast member who drove around the safari multiple times a day for months....

You are SOOO envied here! In the days of paper FPs, I once spent an entire day riding the safari, alternating among FP and stand-by (as my FP sat in my pocket awaiting the next FP time).

 

[minoh]

Glad I saw this. Our FP+ is scheduled for 11 but now I think we'll head over right after EE and try to ride it first thing. It's an EMH day so hopefully the lines won't be too long if we're not there right at RD. I never thought to ride it twice but I think my kids would love it, they're looking forward to AK so much, especially the safari.

 

[katethegreat24]

You are SOOO envied here! In the days of paper FPs, I once spent an entire day riding the safari, alternating among FP and stand-by (as my FP sat in my pocket awaiting the next FP time).

I could not have asked for a better experience. While I loved making magic for guests, my favorite part of the day was riding with an empty vehicle near the elephant watering hole, when the music used to come through the truck speakers. Something so serene about that spot. I miss that music sooo much, I dream about it!

 

[Robo]

-when the music used to come through the truck speakers... I miss that music sooo much, I dream about it!

HERE ya go.

 

[katethegreat24]

HERE ya go.

You are my HERO , Robo!!! Thank you!!!

 

[mouserrificmom]

I could not have asked for a better experience. While I loved making magic for guests, my favorite part of the day was riding with an empty vehicle near the elephant watering hole, when the music used to come through the truck speakers. Something so serene about that spot. I miss that music sooo much, I dream about it!

I was thinking just the other day while riding the safari how much I missed that part (the music) of the "show" from the older script of the show!! Though, I do find I learn more about the animals on the current version as opposed to when we would try to follow the story of the poachers. Either way, the Safari remains my VERY FAVORITE experience. My husband and I hope to do the Wild Africa Trek soon.....

 

[Dentam]

We had a fp at park opening during our last trip and I agree! We saw the baby elephant running around after her mom, the giraffes with their baby, and the lion pacing on his rock and roaring as we drove by! It was awesome! I think the animals had all just been fed or were impatiently waiting for their food like the lion.

 

[bizeemom4]

Why do people use fast passes at park opening for this ride? It always makes me literally lol when I see them marching proudly thru the line while the standby time is nill. They have to run just to make it to the loading area at the same time as standby folks. I want to tell them to save it for an hour and do it twice.

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

You never know what you will see though. Last week we went at about noon time and it was warm so I did not expect to see any animals but to our surprise everyone was moving!!! We saw Hippos out of the water walking on the land (have never seen that in all the times we have ridden since the park opened), saw the baby elephant, cheetahs were out(I admit they were lying down but we could see them), and the male lion was walking around too!! It was much better than I ever expected in the heat of the day!

 

[MouseDogMom]

We've been on the safari ride a million times, it seems. This past August was our best safari tour ever...it was ridiculously hot and it just started pouring. The animals were everywhere and absolutely loved the rain (even the lions!). The giraffes came right up to the truck and we could have reached out and touched them. They ran alongside us for a few minutes and it was so cute. I understand it's nearly impossible to schedule your safari around the weather but if you're lucky enough to ride during a rainstorm, you're in for a real treat!

We had the same experience last trip. It was pouring, but we decided to give it a shot. It was the best safari experience ever. I highly recommend the rain for the best adventure!

 

[Dentam]

Why do people use fast passes at park opening for this ride? It always makes me literally lol when I see them marching proudly thru the line while the standby time is nill. They have to run just to make it to the loading area at the same time as standby folks. I want to tell them to save it for an hour and do it twice.

For us, we were happy we had them at park opening since that gave us an hour window after the park opened to use them. There was already a 20-30 minute standby wait when we walked right on and we had a breakfast ADR to catch at Tusker House immediately after that. Worked for us.

 

[Ava]

For us, we were happy we had them at park opening since that gave us an hour window after the park opened to use them. There was already a 20-30 minute standby wait when we walked right on and we had a breakfast ADR to catch at Tusker House immediately after that. Worked for us.

I like having a 9-10 (or thereabouts) FP for the Safari as an "insurance policy." That way if we're running late or want to stop to take pictures in front of the tree or sign up for Wilderness Explorers on the way in, we can do those things without worrying about there being a long standby line by the time we get there. If the line is short we'll go standby and either ride again with the FP or change it to something else.

On our last trip we had a pretty good safari. The giraffes decided to cross the road right as we drove up so we had to stop and wait for them to clear the way. Got some great close up views. I want to try the sunset version this year since that's new since our last trip.