Kilimanjaro safari in the cold weather - are the animals out?

[peacefrogdog]

Here now in WDW. The mornings have been cold but warm up later in the morning.

We were planning on doing the Safari first thing inthe morning. But if it is cold when the park opens will the animals be out ?

 

[Robo]

Here now in WDW. The mornings have been cold but warm up later in the morning.

We were planning on doing the Safari first thing inthe morning. But if it is cold when the park opens will the animals be out ?

Many will be.
If it's too cold for most of the animals, they won't open the Safari.

 

[Ro Z]

We had one of the best safari's early Dec. It was freezing! The animals were everywhere but no lions. I guess it was too cold for them!

 

[figment_jii]

We were also there during the cold spell in early December. The safari was open, but not all of the animals were out. Notably missing were the crocodiles and the mandrils. Otherwise, most of the animals did appear to be out.

 

[vvv]

We did the Safari the first thing on the morning of Dec. 7th, 2010 which was a very cool morning. I think it was 33 degrees when we got to the park.

Saw hardly any animals at all. It almost got to be comical how the driver kept saying "normally you would see ______ animal here, but not this morning I guess".

It was very dissappointing.

 

[cbg1027]

I was at AK on Dec 14, and it was FREEZING! 35 when we got there I think.

Did KS first thing at RD and I did notice a lot of critters were missing,but it wasn't a total waste. I would still ride even if it's cold.

Animals I notably did not see:
Crocodiles
Mandrils
Elephants
Rhinos

We did see lots of other things though - Lions, Cheetahs, Ankole Cattle, Thomspon Gazelles, Ostrich, Hippos, Giraffes, Flamingos, Vultures, and few other species of hoofed creatures I can't remember the names of.

 

[WDW Freak]

We did KS first thing on a cold morning last January when it was actually in the 20s. I don't remember too many animals that were missing other than the lions. We did however get to see snow being made by one of the fake geysers toward the end when you're racing to get to the poachers. I didn't get a picture because I was stunned and we were moving too fast.

 

[mathew.perry54]

If it’s really cold you might not get to see quite a few animals but the ride is still quite awesome.

 

[Heluvsme]

We were there Dec 19 and rode KS early in the morning, the temp was around 48 degrees and we saw SOOOOO many animals, even the lions! They were all out the driver said, and it was by far the most we had ever seen and we've done this attraction at least 20 times. I think it depends on *how* cold it is, chilly is probably fine, below freezing may not be. Just a guess.

 

[mom2val]

We did the Safari Dec 13 @ 9:30 in the morning... it was COLD!!! We saw tons of animals- I was surprised so many were out. We saw more animals than we have ever seen before! I think the high that day was mid 40's and it was quite windy.

 

[budbeerlady]

We did the Safari Dec 13 @ 9:30 in the morning... it was COLD!!! We saw tons of animals- I was surprised so many were out. We saw more animals than we have ever seen before! I think the high that day was mid 40's and it was quite windy.

Yup, we did the same thing. It was very cool to everyone so active in the cold weather. We also rode again on the the 17th when it was much warmer and saw less...

 

[chartle]

I remember somewhere reading that for animals like the lions they heat the "rocks" so they will stay there during cold weather.

 

[Steph2527]

We were at AK on Dec 12th...it was COOOld! But it was probably the best KS we had ever been on! Giraffe's up close, elephants out, rhino's...it was great!

 

[peacefrogdog]

Was there today. was around 48 degrees when we got on the Safari but felt colder while out on the ride.

Saw everything except the alligators and the mandrills. Giraffes, elephants, rhinos, ostriches and impala were really close to the vehicles. Best safari experience we had in terms of animals that were out. Worst in terms of comfort levels for us!

 

[bradk]

there are both heating and cooling elements in the savanna. what looks like a rock atop pride rock is actually providing heat to them.

the animals are most active when it's cooler and after rainfall. their natural habitat isn't nearly as unbearable as Orlando can be most of the year.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I went in mid-morning when it was in the 40's in early December. All the animals but the lions were out and about.

Even the cheetah and I hadn't seen the cheetah in many years.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

We did KS last Feb in freezing temps and it was one of the best safari's we have been on. We actually saw the lions up prowling and the cheetah moving. I have never even seen the cheetah awake and the lions move off thier rocks. We also got to do a 2nd ride without getting off and had the entire vechile to ourselves. The guide dropped the silly endagered elephant spiel and just talked to us, pointing out animals and chatting. It was one of the best experiences we have had at AK in all of our visits. Some of the animals were missing and the one of the trails, maybe Panjani (the one with all the bird nets) was practically empty of animals from the cold but we went anyway. Most of the animals were up but a few stayed out and they were very active. The trail was empty and we enjoyed chatting with the CM's and didn't feel rushed or like we were taking them away from other guests.

 

[nicki.momof3]

We were at AK on 12/19 and 12/20 in the early AM (rope drop and EMH). Both days we did the safari first and both days the animals were everywhere. The lions were out. It was cold both mornings. The animals were actually moving around more than during our warmer weather trips.

I would highly recommend it.

 

[Ro Z]

The alligators were not out when we were there early Dec. but on the bus ride back to WL we saw one by a pond sunning himself! It was probably 4ft long!

 

[wyoears]

The best safari I have ever been on was on a cool morning. We got to see almost all of the animals on the chart, the flamingos were not out quite yet but we got to see the cutest baby rhino ever.