Nighttime safari

[ccudmore]

I have a few questions about the nighttime Kilimanjaro Safari.

Would a 7pm ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris in February (Sunset time is 6:15) be a nighttime tour with the twilight lights? Is the Nighttime safari worth seeing? We've been on the daytime one several times but I'm wondering if perhaps using our Fastpass for a nighttime ride might be an option this year to see something different. For the nighttime safari, are there enough crowds in the park to make it worth a FastPass, or are things thin enough to go standby.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ArielSRL]

The best time, imo, for the nighttime safari is right before sunset. Lots of active animals and not yet too dark to see them.

 

[Accident]

I agree with that. If you like truck drives in the dark for that safari experience then later is nice but to me, I kind of want to see the animals and while you'll see some, it's too dark to make out many of them.

 

[Disneylover99]

We did night time once. It was so dark, we really didn't see any animals. Plus we were sitting in the very back of the truck. I kept thinking some animal was going to creep up behind us and pull us out of the truck. Yep. I'm paranoid like that. We'll stick to daylight safaris from now on.

 

[gap2368]

I went on it around 630 and it was an amazing time ( I have been about 20 other times) and this time was by fair the best the animals were out and moving and some playing, some where very close to the vehicle, the sunset looked cool ( but a little fake) now dose this mean you will have the same thing happen no

and about the FP I am not sure if you will need it ( the line was about 45 minutes when I went) and I am not sure if I got a FP for it or used the DAS for it.

 

[samsteele]

Like the PPs, I was happy with sunset time. I had a great safari at that time. While fewer animals out, the ones that were there were active. A lioness had just batted down a seagull (or another white feathered bird) as we came around the rock and was crunching away in a big cloud of feathers while the other lions circled and called (not roared but that huffing keen sound?). Awesome. The sunset was not that impressive but still different and something unique to see. I'd def get a FP for that time again. However, I would never give up my rope drop early a.m. safari for it. Two completely different animals and the classic early morning safari is still best IMO.

 

[Mickey76]

I'm intrigued with everyone's answers, as I haven't done it yet, either. We'll be there this summer so I'm hoping we have a chance to do this.

 

[ccbloom]

We went on 2 the other day: mid-afternoon and probably the last ride of the evening at about 7:30pm (after sunset) this past week. Both were great...just different! It was dark during the night time ride and there weren't a ton of animals out, but those that we did see had been left food in the lighted areas, so they were there and somewhat active. The hippo opened real wide after eating and shook all around, so that was cool to see.

 

[thepicklebee]

We started a safari just before sunset. It was awesome. We even heard the male lion roar.

The downside was that we got stopped for about 15 mins by an animal in the road and by the time we started moving again it was really too dark to see anything. If animals aren't precisely in the lighted area it's nearly impossible to see them.

 

[maryj11]

The best time, imo, for the nighttime safari is right before sunset. Lots of active animals and not yet too dark to see them.

I agree maybe make a fastpass for 6:00

 

[maranara]

We did it on Friday. We got on as it was getting dark (about 6:15) and it was dark by the time we were done. I think our fastpass was for 5:45-6:45. It was neat - my daughter was thrilled to get such a good view of the lions and we saw the hyenas as well. I'm glad, though, that we did it twice - once in the morning and once at night - because we definitely saw far more animals in the morning. Got to see the baby elephant in the morning - no elephants visible at night. And the last section or so of the safari we sort of sped through because there weren't any visible animals.

 

[Flamingeaux]

We rode right before sunset and it was fun. While you don't get to see as many animals you do get to see them differently. The coolest thing we finally got to see a great shot of the lions. It looked like a scene from the Lion King.

 

[ccudmore]

Ended up being a moot issue. We're going the first official week of Rivers of Light and I was able to get FPs for the show that would be at the same time as an evening safari. I'd rather see RoL that night so we'll see the safari during the day.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts.

 

[mortimor]

My exact comment on the ride this past January.....I have seen more wildlife in the parking lot. Seriously, was not impressed. We did see the hyena, first one I have ever seen and I was truly looking forward to. We also did the night time safari on our previous trip ( a few months prior) and had decided at that time is was not worth our time. I guess our last trip in January re-enforced it. Safari is one of our favorite rides and we were expecting much more than what we saw.

 

[goofy4tink]

A few weeks ago, I had a free afternoon. I rode the Safari three times!! Once around 3pm, then at just at the start of sunset, then shortly after sunset. I also did a true nighttime safari in Sept. I have to say I loved the sunset one! The lighting was beautiful. The animals were fairly active and you could still get some decent shots. Once sunset was over though, it was more difficult. We also heard the lion roaring! That was a wee bit scary! And you could see him and the two lionesses up on their rocks, but it wasn't easy! If the animals weren't directly in the light that was set up, you couldn't see them. When we did the full nighttime safari last Sept (it was an after hours DVC party), you couldn't see anything. They were just starting to do the nighttime rides and hadn't gotten the lighting down yet!!! We saw nothing..not one animal. I did see a giraffe shadow though!!! It was very disorienting to do that after dark, with no way to get your bearings! I've done the Safari more times than I can count....that night Safari was not a good thing!!!! They've improved it, but there's only so much you can do.

 

[Mousetopia]

If sunset is 6:30 as it,is when we go in march what is the optimum time to hit truck for safari. ?

 

[Momto2minniemice]

We have done a night time safari and it really was more of a keep ride not a safari. I would not do it again per say.