Animal Kingdom tours

[pasta37]

We absolutely love Animal Kingdom and would like to do a tour there. Can anyone share any thoughts on their tours?

Thanks!!

 

[Praise2Him]

DD 14 and I did the Wild by Design tour last July. It was very interesting and also educational. I would highly recommend it!

 

[bgdiznee]

My family did the Backstage Safari tour. It was great . The tour last about three hours and includes viewing the animal barns, the "kitchen" and watching food prep, the breeding aviary and concludes with your own private KS ride without the "rescue little red" storyline. You also get some up close and personal time with a few of the AK residents. Now I want a job being a chef in their kitchens .

 

[pasta37]

Thank you both - good feedback on both tours.......now...which do I pick? My husband is concerned that our AK experience could be tainted by learning behind the scenes info - I would assume not. The Keys to the Kingdom tour is something we have had great memories of for years. And, we have done all of the Seaworld tours.

Which one of the AK tours should we choose? Our favorite thing at the park is the safari...so based on the comments you made, sounds like the Backstage Magic one??

Thanks!!

 

[Praise2Him]

Well, just to make your decision a little more difficult, the Wild by Design tour also ends up with the private KS ride. It also includes a light continental breakfast halfway through the tour (fruit, pastries, etc.) It focuses more on the park itself and how it was designed and built. For example, when I watched the Modern Marvels show about DisneyWorld and they told how the tree of life was built, I already knew that the base of it is an oil rig! It also tells how the animal areas were built to incorporate their feeding and play habits.

Good luck deciding! I'm sure they're both great, and I'd love to do the Backstage Safari someday too. I chose the Wild by Design based on my DD's age - the minimum is 14 instead of 16 like most tours.

 

[Garden Stater]

my parents and i did the wild by design tour in may 2005, and really enjoyed it! we learned a lot about the origins of the theming and how designs from all over the world influenced the decor of the park - and how some of the interesting effects were created. we also found out about some fun little fictional storylines that are told by the theming throughout the different lands. our guide even told us about the histories of some of the animals in the safaris and in other areas of the park. depending on the preferences on the group and the tour guide, i think the tour can vary slightly from day to day...i would consider doing it again, but not anytime very soon. i'd like to try the other backstage ak tour first.

some things to consider: we were given earpieces so we could hear our tour guide more clearly (who was talking through a microphone so he wouldn't have to yell)...but my mother who is hearing impaired and wears hearing aids about 50% of the time still found it hard to hear him. also, i was the youngest person on the tour (18 at the time), and my parents, who are in their mid-50s seemed to be the youngest adults!

but since we go to wdw at least once a year, it was good to add another dimension to our ak experience! plus, i think we were able to score a discount with either our dvc membership or our annual passes.

hope this helps,
-amy

 

[Simba's Mom]

I did the Backstage Safari tour in November. We also got the earpieces so that we could hear the guide more easily, we had a private KS ride near the end, and we had an indoor break 1/2 way thru-not with a full continental breakfast, just bottled water and individual nutrigrain bars, cookies, things like that. What really made the decision of which tour for me was that the 2 tours, at least at that time, weren't offered on the same days of the week. Wild by Design was only offered on Thursday and Friday. I was looking for a tour on Monday or Wednesday, so I "had" to do Backstage Safari. I say "had" to, but eventually I'd love to do both of them. Great tour, but then I love anything to do with AK.