Anyone been on AK's Wild By Design Tour?

[DeterminedOne]

We have the option to go on select tours during our stay and DH really wants to do one at AK. Between Wild By Design and the Backstage Safari we both seem to think Wild By Design would be the best for our taste. Any comments on what you thought of it? We've done KTTK so whatever tour we decide on needs to be on par with KTTK. Will that happen with Wild By Design? Thanks

 

[ZoZo]

Have not been on Wild by Design tour, but did go on the backstage safari in 2002 and really enjoyed it.

Got to see lots of interesting things like how the animals' food is prepared, the hospital, etc. Lots of interesting tidbits from the guide (did you know that when the park first opened, they found that the lions sought out the shade because it was so hot, and people couldn't see them very well. They enticed the lions to sit on the viewing rocks by drilling holes in them and blowing cold, air-conditioned air through the holes!) Also got to pet a rhino (very cool!) and see a giraffe up close and personal. I thought it was very worth the time and money (but I work as a volunteer at a zoo, and was very interested in how Disney does things).

 

[GoofyDad869]

I'd be interested in "Wild By Design" too. How much does it cost? Are kids allowed (for example, mine are 6 & 11)?

 

[Lancer]

Wild by Design is a great tour. Basically, if you want to see alot of animals,take back stage Safari. Wild by Design,although you do stop at some of the animal sites, is more geared for learning all sorts of interesting trivia on how and why things were built the way they were. It was amazing how much I hadnt noticed walking through the park, until I took this tour. Even in the que lines, there are a lot of subtle references and hidden meanings. We did get to meet some of the animal caretakers on stage and got to ask them alot of questions. Like alot of the tours now, they use headsets so you can hear everything. It also included a small snack breakfast. A highly recommended tour!

 

[Praise2Him]

We did Wild by Design last July. It was wonderful! The minimum age is 14 though. We homeschool and DD14 loves animals, so I counted it as a school day and she did a report on it when we got home. It was very interesting and educational.

 

[lsutigger2]

DH and I have done both AK tours and I think I enjoyed the Wild By Design tour best, although both were very good. We did it in the early days and parts of it may have changed, but it really was good. Lots of interesting info on why things are the way they are.

 

[DeterminedOne]

Did you go on any rides, and if so which ones? How big was your tour group?
Thanks, guys!

 

[Simba's Mom]

Between the 2 MK tours, Wild by Design and Backstage Safari, I wanted to go on Wild by Design, but at present it's only offered on Thursday and Friday, I think. I know it's not offered on Monday or Tuesday. I went on BS and enjoyed it (but then, I love anything related to AK), but I really want to do WbD. I think it cost $58 and includes a continental breakfast. Is that right?