Kilamanjaro Safari - your experiences?

[Torontogal]

I was just reading about this ride and it sounds awesome. I would love to know what the best times are to try it (AM or PM). I was told morning is better but what about after lunch? Did anyone actually see loads of animals? Also, do you think it would be fine for a 3 yr. old (he loves animals). Is car sickness a possiblility? I would love to know your experiences...photos would be great if you have any...
Thanks.

 

[makinorlando]

We enjoy the safari - definitely FastPass it. I found last time we did the safari that we had time after we got our FP to take the Train back to Rafiki's Planet Watch and explore there for a bit, and still had plenty of time to get back to the safari.

The day we were there was early February, a warm but not hot day, in the afternoon - we saw quite a few animals - zebra, okapi, giraffees, hippos, Pumbas (for the life of me right now the name won't come to me.....)elephants, antelope and other like animals. The only thing that we have never really been sucessful in seeing have been the "big cats", but I have seen other folks who have had great success!!!

Here is one picture that I took of the baby elephant.... I didn't get too many good photos this last visit, I always seemed to be on the wrong side of the vehicle.

 

[Torontogal]

Great photo! Thanks for sharing!

 

[daisyduck123]

We love it.

No, I don't think car sickness is a possibility...unless someone is already prone to it.

We always FastPass it. I take all of our park tickets & go ahead & get the FP while the rest of my family hangs back somewhere closer to the front of the park.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

No matter when I go, the animals aren't doing much. One time the male lion stood up and lied back down again...that was first thing in the a.m.

Hope you have better luck than I!

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We have had better luck seeing the animals in the morning. By the afternoon, it is usually getting hot and they just want to stay cool. They also seem to be more active in the morning and will wander around more.

 

[cyndilou01]

I would say go in the morning, the afternoon they seem to be all laying around I guess trying to find some shade or cooling off...
The ride is a little bumpy, but your child will love seeing the animals.

 

[Pugrpooh]

I'm very prone to motion sickness -- I can't even watch video games of car races. I've been on this ride a couple of times though and I didn't have any problems. We saw lots of animals, even the lions and hippos. The funniest thing was a wart hog that was chasing a few small gazelles. They passed in front of the vehicle a couple of times before the gazelles found the rest of the herd and stayed there.

 

[makinorlando]

wart hog .

That's it - wart hog = Pumba. I could not think of wart hog for anything last night.... Tired Brain=Martha

 

[slo]

Early morning is the best time to go before it gets to hot. Once it gets hot, the animals become very inactive and just lay around in the shade.

 

[DeterminedOne]

I'm one of the few who thinks Kilmanjaro is best in the afternoon. At least that was the case for us on our last trip. It was November though, not as hot so I don't know if that had anything to do with it. We saw almost every animal, even the lions who in previous rides remained elusive. This was around 2:00PM. Maybe we got lucky, but from now on we'll ride Kilmanjaro during the afternoon.

 

[topplebogan]

On our visit in early October we went twice, once in the evening EMH, it had been a cool rainy day and by 5/6 o'clock most of the animals were out on this occasion we saw 'the cats' lions and cheetahs(which was a real treat) and then we went back in the morning later in our trip and came rally close to rhinos, elephants and within touching distance of an incredible Giraffe. So go when it's cool and if you can go at least twice for a different experience everytime.

 

[Ghost]

Bes time; early in the morning. But if not to hot visit it again just before park closure.

I love this experience

here is a picture

 

[MrsMud]

We have only been on it twice, but both times were mid- morning (10:00 AM or so). The first trip was early Dec. and we saw loads of animals, many were moving around and many were resting in the shade. Second trip it was early Oct., much hotter, and the animals were less active even at this time in the morning. I'm not 100% sure but I think it was the first trip that seemed to be mating season, LOL! We were treated to demonstrations from both the lions and the elephants

 

[Feralpeg]

The neat thing about Kilimanjaro is that it is never the same. I personally think early morning is the best time. The animals are more active when it is cool. Especially in the summer, the animals will try to find shade during the afternoon and are not as visible. I've also found that they are a little more active late afternoon because they get fed about that time.

I've had varying experiences. I've been when we've seen a ton of animals. Other times, I've seen just a few. We had a rhino come right up to the truck. We had a bunch of giraffe run along side the truck. We watched a CM work with an ostrich very near our truck.

I love the safari. Just a tip. The farther back you sit in the truck, the bumpier it is.

 

[LakeAriel]

My best experience was in the evening, all the animals were active (may be dinner time)! This is a must do adventure. The ride can get bumpy and there is a chase of the bad guys acted out that COULD make a timid child frightened. I would let the little ones know in advance that it is not real.
To me the Safari "tour guide" makes or breaks this ride. Most are fabulous!

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Different animals are more active at different times of the day. From what I've seen, the big cats tend to be more active closer to sunset, and some of the forest animals. Although, the one thing that I've noticed very consistently, the best time to see lots of animals is right after a hard rain.

(Rough estimate that I've been on the ride at least 3,000 times)

 

[Kapp]

when we were at AK, the baby giraffe and the mother giraffe walked right up to our "truck" and we got to stop and take some great photos. When the truck strated back up, the mother giraffe walked behind us and almost put her head in the back seat!
The LOVE the safari and only had on ride that we didn't see many animals. We try and ride it a number of times throughout the day as different animals are active at different times.
Have a great time!

 

[jann1033]

I was just reading about this ride and it sounds awesome. I would love to know what the best times are to try it (AM or PM). I was told morning is better but what about after lunch? Did anyone actually see loads of animals? Also, do you think it would be fine for a 3 yr. old (he loves animals). Is car sickness a possiblility? I would love to know your experiences...photos would be great if you have any...
Thanks.

i really love this attraction...if you go early, imo it's one of the best in wdw. we went 3 times in 2 days, 2 early( one at emh so first thing) and 1 time around 3( right before the parade). this was in Jan so the weather was cooler. there was so much difference between am and pm activity i'd probably never go pm again. pm we didn't see the lions at all, the elephants were listless, nothing much grazing by the giraffes, totally different than am when the baby elephant ( not the newest one, this was in 04) was playing like a crazy toddler running all over so cute, everything was pretty close to the car ( cept the lions hehe but they were up and around). i can't wait to take my grand daughter on this as she also loves animals. i think the chance of getting car sick would be slim as you go pretty slowly.i'll see if i can get my photos up but it doesn't usually happen. they are all from KS.but my camera wasn't working right ( salt water had gotten in to it and messed it up )