Wild Africa Trek Alternative?

lovesLilo

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Messages
57
Hi,
I'm really interested in the Wild Africa Trek but given that I use a manual wheelchair, it is not a possibility for me. I'm curious, has anyone called WDW and asked for their suggested alternatives to this tour? If so, what did they suggest? Is there anything similar, that would allow DFi and I to have a cool animal experience, without the requirement of walking?
Thanks!
 
Sure.
This was the highlight of our last visit to WDW. If it wasn't so expensive we'd do it each time. I wrote a long description somewhere when I was fresh in my mind, but here are the highlights.

FYI: with Pangani Forest Trail closed for a while, this option might not be open.
Also, when we went the extra magic for wheelchair users was only during the 1:15 tour.

We met with the whole group, got all our equipment, talked with the guides, etc. Then we got our own guide and headed out into Africa while the others were getting trained. She took pictures of everything she wanted and what we asked her to. She described plants and animals as we went along as well. We went through the Pangani Forest. She showed us things in the research hut we'd missed in the past. The extra magic took place in the bird aviary. Then we viewed the hippos, mercats, gorillas. With each exhibit we got new information, lots of cool pictures, etc. Our trip was especially cool because the animals were all exhibiting behaviors new to us and the guide gave us zoological details. After that we met with the rest of the group that had been climbing and crossing bridges, etc. We were loaded into a small truck that had tie downs for the wheelchair. This is in a different place from the regular safari loading area. Our special guide left at that point - by then she felt like part of the family (she was originally from our area) We were given these really good smelling wash cloths to cool down. (We were given thermoses with ice water at the start.) So we rested a bit and headed out to the safari in line with the big trucks. When ever possible we pulled off to the side and took a long time to look at the animals and hear the guides talk. It was so cool just go where we wanted to on the safari ride. We saw a new kind of deer that typically stayed in the back - hard to see from the regular ride. Took lots of pictures there. We then went out to the hut on the hill - it overlooks in three areas. There is a wheelchair loading and unloading dock there as well as an accessible bathroom. The food was wonderful - we did the lunch one. The photographer tried to get pictures with animals in the background by taking people around the walkways and decks. (They tried to do this when we pulled off by the giraffes earlier, but we chose the wrong side - the passenger side - for the tie down. 50/50 chance :-)) Then we loaded back up in the truck and started back on the safari. The cheetas were out and we pulled over and got some really good views. We were taken back to our loading area and we went back to the meeting point. We took pictures of our whole group. Part of the money goes to Wildlife fund activities.
We got to give ours to the one we liked the best. Then we left. I guess it really depends on the weather and the animals whether the experience is good or not. For us both were perfect. We actually left the park when it was over because we felt anything else would be a let down. We later got CDs of all the pictures taken of our family, the general pictures of tour, and some really good stock photos of animals. Hope that is helpful. Don't know how it is handled now, but there was a special number we called to book the less active tour. Also if you go when the weather is warmer and use the 1:15 tour, you usually get $50 off.
Hope this was helpful and you have a great time.
 
Thanks for the info! Your post was super helpful. Not sure if we'll be doing a tour this trip or next as we will be with my inlaws but it is nice to know there are options. :)
 












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