Hippos at AK - real or fake?

[twinkle49]

So this past Saturday my boyfriend and I went went out to breakfast and as always I brought up our upcoming Disney trip - BTW BF is not a fan of Disney. So we were talking about about the Animal Kingdom and the Kilimanjaro Safaris (the ride where you see wildlife and have to save the baby elephant oh no! hehe), that's when he told me that the hippos are fake, because hippos are dangerous and they can't trust hippos around people. That's when I said that lions and alligators are dangerous to but their still there. So my question is are the hippos on the Kilimanjaro Safaris real or fake?TIA!

 

[CindyIsMyFave]

Real. Definitely real. There are all kinds of natural barriers built in (that we really can't see) to protect us humans. Does he think the lions aren't real?

 

[newtodis]

They are either really good audioanamatronics or they're real! We've seen them moving around in the water and yawning and stuff like that. Our truck has been "stalked" by a rhino (I'll have to find the picture for you - I could have reached out and touched him!) and I would think that's more dangerous. I'm sure Disney has lots of "barriers" built in to the attraction to keep the super dangerous animals away from us.

 

[Chip's My Hero]

They are totally real.

 

[drew64]

They are real, those at MK are fake.

People are well protected from the hippos same as at any other zoo with hippos

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

my understanding is the only fake animal on the safari ride you see is te baby elephant-all other animals are real.
Have you seen the AK special on the travel channel? The way the safari was laid out to have different zones for the animals and maintain safety for guests is pretty amazing!

 

[Nadjalu]

The Hippos at AK are real. The documentary show that the travel channel ran involving and explaining the building and in's and out's of AK show how the barricades are underneath the water....pretty interesting. Of course the show didn't give it all away, but the hippo exhibit was shown. You may miss it if you only watch it once, but as a nut for AK and all things WDW I have watched that show at least 7 times.
It is very cool how the barricade is there and you can't see it. It looks as those the hippos can come right up to you, but there is a large gap between the barrier and the trail. Very cool.......if you get a chance to see it definitely do.

 

[twinkle49]

Thanks everyone for your replies!!! I can't wait to show him this!!!

 

[Muppet_Girl]

They're real and I LOVE them

 

[justgeorgi]

They are either really good audioanamatronics or they're real! We've seen them moving around in the water and yawning and stuff like that. Our truck has been "stalked" by a rhino (I'll have to find the picture for you - I could have reached out and touched him!) and I would think that's more dangerous. I'm sure Disney has lots of "barriers" built in to the attraction to keep the super dangerous animals away from us.

Hippos are actually one of the more dangerous animals. They do have a natural barrier in the tank they are in. It impossible for them to climb over the side. Rhinos are actually supposed to be quite docile...like really, really odd cows

 

[JDUCKY]

Just watch out for the ones in the trees!


Had a close call with some on a jungle cruise once. Good thing our skipper was a marksman!

 

[doconeill]

Rhinos are actually supposed to be quite docile...like really, really odd cows

Well, SOME of the rhinos are relatively safe. White rhinos are OK, and they are free-roaming on the safari paths. Black rhinos can be very aggressive, and are kept in their area by a similar non-visible retaining system.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

There is only one audioanimatronic at AK and that is the elephant in the truck. (Plus the dinosaurs in the attraction.) We're not sure about the Yeti.

All of the other animals you see in the park are live.

 

[doconeill]

There is only one audioanimatronic at AK and that is the elephant in the truck. (Plus the dinosaurs in the attraction.) We're not sure about the Yeti.

Being animatronic would imply that he moves...

 

[ToddyLu]

Folks at AK get asked that all the time. One of the CMs at Kidani said that a couple of guests asked her if she liked wearing shoes. Evidently some people don't think they wear shoes in South Africa.

 

[DisMN]

One of our videos of our safari shows a hippo pooping. Was this real or animatronic poop?

 

[TillyMarigold]

Folks at AK get asked that all the time. One of the CMs at Kidani said that a couple of guests asked her if she liked wearing shoes. Evidently some people don't think they wear shoes in South Africa.

When I did the College Program, I had 2 roommates from Kenya who worked at AK and we used to keep a list on the fridge of dumb things guests had said to us (there were 2 of us on the CP, plus 4 international--2 from Kenya, 1 from Austria, 1 from Brazil). One of my Kenyan roommates got asked if she'd ever lived in a real house before! She was like, um, I'm from Nairobi ... it's bigger than almost any city in the US ...

 

[fostrmom2mny]

One of the original Hippos was donated from the OKC Zoo. We said goodbye to our Hippo, but knew that she would be well taken care of at Disney. I also know that in the first few months, Disney lost some of their animals, but I don't know if the Hippo from OKC was one of them or not.

 

[Disney Khi]

One of our videos of our safari shows a hippo pooping. Was this real or animatronic poop?

 

[Piglet4Ever]

Very real. We had the best Safari ride ever on our last trip, we had giraffe walk right next to our truck for about 3 or 4 mins, it was the best. We also saw the lion awake and walking around, granted he was just about the lay down for his morning nap, but it was the first time we have seen him standing before so that was cool too.