Kilimanjaro safari fastpass

[Tarffri]

We have a breakfast reservation at Boma in AK on March 6th for my DD's 9th birthday at 7:30 am. She is not really interested in spending the day at that park, and we have park hopper passes so we will go to the park of her choice after we leave AK. But before we go, we would love to do the Kilimanjaro safari. Will we be able to get a fastpass before breakfast? What is the earliest time that a fastpass can be obtained? How long is the interval between obtaining a fastpass and the fastpass time coming due?

I have to plan my day carefully because we are doing an Illuminations cruise that night so it will cut short whatever time we spend in a second park. But it's her birthday, and she doesn't want to spend the entire day in AK.

 

[Robo]

1- Will we be able to get a fastpass before breakfast? What is the earliest time that a fastpass can be obtained?

2- How long is the interval between obtaining a fastpass and the fastpass time coming due?

1- Nope. Sorry. FP's won't be available until the park opens (9AM-reg hours or 8AM EMH.)

2- That varies. Earliest FP's taken (at 9AM-reg hours or 8AM EMH) would be between 40-65 minutes.


Tusker House is the restaurant inside AK PARK near K. Safaris.

Boma is at the AK LODGE.


.

 

[ironz]

You do know that Boma is at the Animal Kingdom LODGE, not in the park?

 

[mjp12831]

Try to change it to a Tusker breakfast ADR - this is a great breakfast and it's inside the park.

Even if you have a later ADR like 10 am, that works well because you can get into the park and get a FP or two that you can use after your breakfast (3/6 is before return time enforcement) - and do a ride or two.

Tusker is right by the Safari entrance, so it's convenient to either pick up a FP before going in or to even leave mid breakfast with all of the family's park tickets to go get them - you'll be out and back before anyone even knows you are gone.

 

[lions1995]

We had ADRs at Tusker for 8:05. Got in the park around 7:45, ate, stepped outside around 8:50. There was a rope their preventing you from going any further. At about 8:55 they walked us back to KS and we were the first Safari. Being their early in the morning is the best time. I think as the day progresses you see less and less animals.

 

[dansdad]

You do know that Boma is at the Animal Kingdom LODGE, not in the park?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the answer is no.

 

[Tarffri]

Boy, do I feel dumb. I didn't know that Boma is not in the park. My bad. I assume AK lodge is not horribly far from AK park? How do I get from one to the other? Boat? Bus? We really want to have our breakfast at Boma.

Any suggestions about how to manage my time that day so as to fit in the safari after breakfast and what should we do while we wait for our fastpasses to come due?

 

[dansdad]

The Lodge is very close to the park. You would take the bus from the lodge to the park. If you went to the park right after breakfast, you should be able to just ride the safari stand-by with very little wait and not worry about a FP.

 

[MareSINY]

Are you driving to breakfast or taking Disney transportation? Since you didn't realize Boma was at AKL you also might not have thought about getting to AKL for your reservation. You can't take a Disney bus from one resort to another, so you'll have to take a bus to AK and then a bus from AK to AKL for breakfast.

Just wanted to give you a heads up incase you aren't

Have a great trip!

 

[ktlm]

Boy, do I feel dumb. I didn't know that Boma is not in the park. My bad. I assume AK lodge is not horribly far from AK park? How do I get from one to the other? Boat? Bus? We really want to have our breakfast at Boma.

Any suggestions about how to manage my time that day so as to fit in the safari after breakfast and what should we do while we wait for our fastpasses to come due?

Just a thought- since it looks like you are relying on Disney transportation, have you thought about how you will get to AKL for your 7:30 a.m. ADR? I'm assuming since you didn't know Boma was not in the park, you aren't staying at AKL? If you are at another WDW resort, there won't be a bus directly to AKL from that resort.

March will be a bit of a busy time with Spring Break. Depending on what time you get done at Boma (And you might want to take a look around the resort and see the animals there as it is a really neat place), you probably will be able to go straight to Safari without the line being too horrible. If you do wind up fast passing it and need to spend time at AK waiting for your FP window, if your DD is a thrill seeker, you might want to go over to Expedition Everest. They have a single rider line if you don't mind being split up. There are also trails around Safari where you can go look at animals. I could sit there and watch the gorillas all day. Happy Birthday to your DD- lucky her to get to spend it at WDW!

 

[Tarffri]

Thank you all for your help. I think I read somewhere that AKL overlooks the savannah, so I was making an assumption that Boma was just outside the park. I was even thinking it was within walking distance. I know that I will have to take the POP shuttle bus to AK, but I didn't realize I would need another bus. I should be able to get a bus from AK park to AKL, but I'll have to leave enough time….hmmm…this may be one of those situations I budgeted for that requires a cab.

My soon-to-be 9 y.o. DD is not into any ride that is scary or rollercoaster-y in any way, so the Everest Expedition is out. Maybe we will wait standby for the ride as we have to wait for the fastpass to come due. Since we are going in early March as opposed to late March, Spring break won't be in full gear yet (I'm taking her out of school for this vacation).

I really don't want to spend a lot of time at AK because we plan on going to the Bronx zoo this summer. If all goes well next year, we will be going to visit family in San Diego and can do the big zoo there.

 

[chartle]

I really don't want to spend a lot of time at AK because we plan on going to the Bronx zoo this summer. If all goes well next year, we will be going to visit family in San Diego and can do the big zoo there.

Oops you didn't really want to say that because AK lovers will point out quite bluntly that AK is

NOT A ZOO

We went two times both we we ever did any of the "zoo" stuff. AK is more than a zoo.

 

[mattsdragon]

If your ADR is at 7:30, you should have no problem eating, jumping the bus from AKL to AK, entering the park, walking to Kilimanjaro and walking on stand-by and being out of the park by 10 am. I assume you won't take more than an hour to eat.

If you take an hour, you can be to AK by 9:15 at the latest. At that point, the stand-by line for KS will be no longer than 15 minutes. There will be no need for FP.

Easy

Peezy

Lemon Squeezy.

 

[dissybroad]

Tusker House character breakfast first thing then hop on KS as soon as the interior rope is dropped is my favorite way to start an AK day. I agree, NOT a zoo!

 

[WickedDreamer]

You need to catch the bus but it should only take 10 minutes. We went to Boma for dinner after spending the day at AK. After breakfast, check out the viewing area outside and you might see some animals. After dinner we saw Zebra, Giraffes and Antelope.

The safari is on the other side of the park. You could check out the wait time and FP if necessary. You could go to Camp Mickey, meet the characters or see The Festival of the Lion King. During the show, the lines to meet Mickey and the Gang are almost zero.

Boy, do I feel dumb. I didn't know that Boma is not in the park. My bad. I assume AK lodge is not horribly far from AK park? How do I get from one to the other? Boat? Bus? We really want to have our breakfast at Boma.

Any suggestions about how to manage my time that day so as to fit in the safari after breakfast and what should we do while we wait for our fastpasses to come due?

 

[nytimez]

FWIW, I don't think the Boma breakfast is worth all the effort if you're not staying in the AKL.

Dinner at Jiko? That's worth going out of your way for... but the breakfast at Boma ain't all that, IMO.

 

[ILoveToRun]

AK a ZOO? Ugh...... I can't do it.



<3 An AK lover.




Ok, I'll do it.

I agree Boma isn't worth it. But if you go, you should be able to get to AK and ride KS and be out by 10. I also wouldn't rely on the buses to get you to the ADR, 7:30 at a resort is definitely a cab situation. Especially if you try to get over to KS at opening to get out by 10, you'll want to be seated as early as possible for the ADR.

If you can manage to switch your ADR to TH, you should be able to walk over at 9 and get a FP while everyone else is eating. You'd be one of the first ones getting one. We've done this numerous times, it's very easy. We've also been on the first safari this way too!

 

[ShariVT]

I am still not sure you realize you can't take a bus for Pop Century to Animal Kingdom lodge. you will need to go to a park first or downtown disney and then take a bus to the lodge from the lodge you can take a bus directly to the park. So I would plan for a cab and pop and akl are a good 20 min drive apart just so you can plan time wise.

 

[kitnrose99]

I would get a cab, no question. The bus itself is still a 10 min commute from park to lodge and you also have to factor getting to the park and waiting for that bus ... and I've never had good luck with that. Cab will save you probably about 45 min to an hour. Money well spent.

And personally I think Boma is worth it anytime - love it all!

 

[Tarffri]

Again, I thank you all for your advice and input.

Please forgive me for calling AK a zoo. I have researched every aspect of my upcoming WDW/Universal vacation to the Nth, but based on what several friends have told me, I was led to believe that AK is not that great. Sorry! Don't kill the messenger! I'm only going on what friends who have been there have told me. One friend actually told me not to go to AK at all because it is a waste of time! It appears that I was mis-informed. I really didn't do much homework on that particular park. I figured the safari would be sufficient to experience AK. And since it is DD's birthday, I would honor her request to use our park hopper option and go back to MK where she wants to get extra time. BTW, my almost 9 y.o. has no interest in character breakfasts. She's always been sort of freaked out by people in those big costumes.

I've heard such great things about BOMA. Even the reservationist told me it was a good choice. And no other reservationist said that for any of the other ADRs that I made. I guess we will find out about that. The atmosphere looks very attractive, and as one poster said, after we eat, we may be able to glimpse a few animals from the viewing area near the restaurant. I thought it would add an interesting element to have some food choices that are slightly exotic. We will see about that.

And I will definitely catch a cab from POP to Boma, it seems like the least hassle. I'm sure it will all be good, and am looking forward to it.