Backstage Safari at AKV-Is it Worth It?

[BWV Dreamin]

I am trying to decide if I want to do the Sunrise Safari or the Backstage Safari (assuming the DVC gods let me get AKV Concierge at 7 mos.)! Can anyone comment on the Backstage Safari? Not sure if I really want to do the breakfast that comes along with the Sunrise Safari. Comments appreciated.

 

[BCV23]

Do you mean the Wanyama Safari that includes dinner at Jiko?

The Backstage Safari at DAK is open to any WDW guest. That's the only one I haven't tried.

The Sunrise Safari is fantastic and was my favorite. We also did the Wildlife Discovery Tour which is open to club level guests from any WDW resort. It doesn't include a meal. Our guide on that one was good but nothing compared to the one we had for Sunrise....Greg who is the curator at AKL. He was phenomenal.

The Wanyama was third on my list and not worth the money IMO although most people seem to really enjoy it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We did the Wildlife Discovery Expedition in September and it was an excellent backstage experience. It's available for concierge guests at any resort, we were at AKV. It's on the KS, but you take side roads, and see more animals up close and learn neat things about the area. We had a baby giraffe stick his head inside our vehicle. Great stuff! We will do that again if we decide to get concierge again.

Bobbi

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Ok, I thought the backstage tour was only for concierge guests. The breakfast is now at Pizzafari though. Has anyone ate there since the change?

 

[BCV23]

Ok, I thought the backstage tour was only for concierge guests. The breakfast is now at Pizzafari though. Has anyone ate there since the change?

Do you mean the Backstage at DAK? Still not sure since your title is Backstage Safari at AKV?

The breakfast at Pizzafari is quite good.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Do you mean the Backstage at DAK? Still not sure since your title is Backstage Safari at AKV?

The breakfast at Pizzafari is quite good.

Well now I guess I am totally confused...... Yeah the title says Backstage Tour at Animal Kingdom, so I guess that would be DAK. I guess I really don't know what tour I'm talking about! I was just reading about them in Allears.net. What I want to do is get the discount for one of the tours by staying in concierge. I guess I have more reading to do!

 

[BCV23]

Well now I guess I am totally confused...... I guess I really don't know what tour I'm talking about! I was just reading about them in Allears.net. What I want to do is get the discount for one of the tours by staying in concierge. I guess I have more reading to do!

The one that is discounted for AKL concierge guests is the Wanyama Safari at AKL. It includes a tour of the AKL savannahs and dinner served family style at Jiko.

Happy reading!

 

[erionm]

The Backstage Safari is available to anyone. It's booked by the regular tours office (407-WDW-TOUR).

The Sunrise Safari is only available to AKL/AKV concierge level guests.
The Wanyama Safari is available to all AKL/AKV guests. Concierge level guests pay less.
The Wildlife Discovery Expedition is only available to concierge level guests at all WDW resorts.

 

[DebbieB]

I did the Sunrise Safari last year, it was awesome! They use the backroom at Pizzafari and setup a huge buffet. It was very good. The best part was the guides, ours had been on a real African Safari and had so much information and they walked around during breakfast asking questions. The safari itself lasted about an hour I think. They made sure all the animals were right by the road (they fed them there).

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Ok, now I have it!! It's the Sunrise Safari I think I would be most interested in. Glad to hear the food was good. That will help me with what days I will probably have to wait list for. Since I'm arriving at WDW on a Sunday, I will probably try and wait list for a Wednesday and Thursday and do the Thursday Sunrise tour. Well that is the plan anyway!! Thanks everyone, it sounds fantastic.

 

[clutter]

Do you mean the Wanyama Safari that includes dinner at Jiko?

The Backstage Safari at DAK is open to any WDW guest. That's the only one I haven't tried.

The Sunrise Safari is fantastic and was my favorite. We also did the Wildlife Discovery Tour which is open to club level guests from any WDW resort. It doesn't include a meal. Our guide on that one was good but nothing compared to the one we had for Sunrise....Greg who is the curator at AKL. He was phenomenal.

The Wanyama was third on my list and not worth the money IMO although most people seem to really enjoy it.

We got to meet Greg when we stayed at Kidani. He was awesome!!! Isn't the Backstage Safari age-restricted?

 

[BCV23]

We got to meet Greg when we stayed at Kidani. He was awesome!!! Isn't the Backstage Safari age-restricted?

I don't know but you are probably right about an age restriction for Backstage Safari. Most of the theme park tours have them I guess. I think the Wanyama Safari also has an age restriction.

So true about Greg.

 

[erionm]

We got to meet Greg when we stayed at Kidani. He was awesome!!! Isn't the Backstage Safari age-restricted?

You have to be 16 or older for Backstage Safari.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have done 3 of the 4 mentioned safaris, and are doing the Wildlife Discovery one in December when we are staying Concierge level.

Backstage safari: This one is offered to anyone and takes place mostly in the barn housing areas. We loved it, and found it very informative. We even got to see the veterinary care area while they were doing treatments and before Rafiki's planet watch was open for the day.

Sunrise Safari: This is the one that includes breakfast at Pizzafari. The breakfast is wonderful, by the way. It takes you on the regular safari vehicles but slower and with a live guide who tells you more details about the individual animals and their habitat and behaviours. We were fortunate enough to get the animal curator from the Lodge as our guide, and he was fantastic! This one is only open to concierge guests.

Waynama safari: This one is the one that tours the savannas of AKL in a small open truck. It also includes a fabulous dinner at Jiko and is open to anyone, but AKV concierge guests get it for a much reduced price. We loved that the animal keepers from the lodge are the ones doing the tour, and they are very good at giving great details about each of the animals...including their names. We especially enjoyed the giraffe stories! Their is an age limit on this one. I think it's 10 and over.

Wildlife Discovery Expedition: This one is done in the park and you ride in a different vehicle and observe the animals from the keepers side of the savanna. I don't know much else about this one, because we haven't done it yet, but we are doing it in December.