Best Safari experience at AK

[galligan4]

Hi Everyone,

Now that we can select our times for FP, I was wondering what time of day should I select for the Safari at AK. My girls love the big cats so I am looking for the time that will give them the best chance to possibly see them. I know that there aren't any guarantees but I would assume someone out there has gotten lucky!

thanks so much!

 

[ConvenientTruth]

Every time we do late afternoon we've seen the lions on "the rock"

 

[Robo]

Hi Everyone,

Now that we can select our times for FP, I was wondering what time of day should I select for the Safari at AK. My girls love the big cats so I am looking for the time that will give them the best chance to possibly see them. I know that there aren't any guarantees but I would assume someone out there has gotten lucky!

thanks so much!

Many recommend the early mornings (and that is a fine time.)

But, we have also found that ANY TIME of day, we experience a great ride with different combinations of animals in sight.

 

[JimmyV]

We prefer first thing in the morning. (And you shouldn't use a FP+ for that. Just go Standby). On our last trip, we went at 8:05 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Both were great. But the biggest thrill of the early morning ride was seeing the cheetahs running around at full speed chasing each other like kittens. Most of the time, if you see a cheetah at all, they are lying down. At 4:00, we could barely make them out. The lions were more visible at 8:00. That said, the hippos, rhinos and giraffes were all more visible during our afternoon tour.

 

[Runnergal]

We went at around 3pm in the rain in February, and 3 lions were out. 2 females and a male. One of the females was grooming the male. Ive never seen anything like it- so cool.

 

[judaloo]

Our best safari was at park opening, (right after a pre-park opening ADR breakfast at Tusker House ). Saw the the lions on the rock with their eyes on the ostrich right next to our jeep. Our entire group remarked at how active the animals were in the morning. Good luck!

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

generally early morning (no FP required) and late afternoon - in the morning they've just come out and in the evening they are getting ready to go back in.

There are 2 different prides of lions - one has one male and 2 females - the other has one male and one female. We have many great lion shots (dh is a photographer) taken at various times of the day.

If you're going to be in AK all day - I'd say go to the safari first thing and then time your FP for late in the day (so you get 2 safari experiences). We will often ride it 2 or 3 times in a day - granted that was easier under the old system...

 

[alisatj]

I think it kind of depends on the weather too. We went just after 9am on a coolish (60's) morning and there were very few animals out - no elephants or giraffes or zebras. When we went at noon that same day, everything was out and it was much better. It was maybe 70 around that time.

 

[Moonwolf]

If you can manage it I would do a ride in the morning SB and then use your FP+ for an afternoon ride. When I went we hit it right at ropedrop and we managed to see a cheetah wandering about but the lions were pretty well hidden/away from their rock. Also if they love big cats, one of the trails (I think the one in Asia) has an area that looks into a tiger area. We ended up there sometime before noon and there were 3 tiger right up by the glass. (note I went in Spring so it wasn't that hot)

 

[galligan4]

thanks so much for the sharing your experiences. I think we will try the first thing morning and see how we do. If it doesn't work out we can ride again later.