bytheblood said:
It is called the Sunset Safari, which is a special offering to Conciergeguests at AKL.
The sunset safari takes AKL concierge guests around the savanahs at Animal Kingdom Lodge, not the park.... and its just before sunset, not 10:30 am.
I suspect that what you saw, was another ride for concierge guests (at any hotel, not just AKL) that runs a couple of days each week. I took this safari ride in September while I was staying at GF concierge.
We were loaded into a small van with three keepers and driven around the savanah for a couple of hours. You ride partly along the regular route, but also pull off into side tracks and park up to view the animals at your liesure and take photos. It is especially good because you are escorted by real keepers who know everything about the animals, not just the CMs who drive the regular trucks.
I was telling one of the keepers with us that I had recently seen a nature programme on TV about lions (I think), being shipped from a wildlife park in Florida and released into the wild. The keeper said she had cried when she loaded them onto the truck at AK.
Later in the day I was at Conservation Station watching a lioness having a dental checkup, and there, in the operating theatre was that same keeper, waving to me through the glass..
On a previous visit I have also taken the 'Sunrise Safari' that goes into Animal Kingdom an hour before it opens and rides around the Safari route with a driver and a keeper before going for breakfast. This would not have been the safari you saw, because if finishes just as the park opens.
Andrew
