Safari Changes?

[Sarangel]

From MousePlanet:

Kilimanjaro Safaris will see some changes to the ride vehicles and the attraction itself in the next few months. The load area will be modified to create a queuing space for a ninth seating row. After that is completed, in the spring the safari trucks will be taken out of service one at a time to add an additional row on the back, which will allow the attraction to carry about 320 more passengers per hour. Tests were conducted late last year on a modified vehicle to see if the truck could handle it. The actual truck modifications should only take a few weeks to complete work on the entire 44-vehicle fleet.

In the meantime, the attraction itself will see modifications to both the spiel and a show scene. The character of Miss Jobson will be eliminated from the radio conversation, and the "poacher scene" will be almost entirely removed. Safari drivers are undergoing training in the new spiel, and it should go live in late January or early February. The dates may slide in one direction or the other depending on various factors, but it looks like all of the changes are going forward at this time.

We'll have more information as it becomes available.

Sounds good to me... The Poachers were getting old & didn't add to the story (such as it is). It'll be interesting to see what they change it to.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

I'll miss Miss Jobson and her "Thomas' gazelle" which quickly gets corrected to:

"Tommies. We call them, tommies." I love that!

In all seriousness, the changes sound like good ones. No two drivers ever got the poacher story the same anyways.

 

[YoHo]

So wait, does this mean Little Red is gone? Or am I reading too much into it? Cause Little Red disappearing may be the Best Disney News in years.

 

[MJMcBride]

Although Little Red did not ruin the Safari experince for me personally, but I will be happy to see it go nonetheless

 

[boBQuincy]

I always daydream of a safari ride when the driver asks "do you want to help save Little Red?" and the passengers reply "nahh, keep going on the safari road".

 

[Disneybag]

I always daydream of a safari ride when the driver asks "do you want to help save Little Red?" and the passengers reply "nahh, keep going on the safari road".

I took the safari last week and tried that. "No! Let's go back to the lions. They were actually up and moving." All I got was a disapproving look via the rear-view mirror.

They've already been stripping it down. There is hardly any water in the springs scene toward the end of the ride and the poacher's jeep has been gone for a long time now. However, the track is still very visible through the weeds.

 

[dbm20th]

I always daydream of a safari ride when the driver asks "do you want to help save Little Red?" and the passengers reply "nahh, keep going on the safari road".

You and me both

 

[Lilolvr]

I liked it when it first opened before the first cuts.

 

[Mickmse2002]

I always daydream of a safari ride when the driver asks "do you want to help save Little Red?" and the passengers reply "nahh, keep going on the safari road".

Count me in as well. Change here will be good.....I hope!

 

[mitros]

From MousePlanet:

Sounds good to me... The Poachers were getting old & didn't add to the story (such as it is). It'll be interesting to see what they change it to.

OK, I'm wondering if this means that by adding another row, are they just going to squeeze the other rows closer to each other? There is barely enough leg room in those trucks as it is! . Hopefully they will remove that "baggage area" in the back and stick another row in there instead.
Also, I remember the original story where you chased the poachers {phony vehicle on a track behind the trees} and you came upon a CM dressed as a park ranger, holding a gun on the poachers in their vehicle. First they took the guys gun away and gave him a radio, then they took the guy away completely. At this point, they might as well just eliminate that whole sequence with the poachers.

 

[MJMcBride]

I guess the poachers win

 

[mitros]

I guess the poachers win

Yea, don't they always............

 

[hannah's dad]

The poacher story is fairly pointless. The attraction doesn't need additional "story".

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I had noticed it was scaled down each time we did it. Several trips DH and I could have done the skit better! I can't imagine how that must have worn on the CMs every day...over and over again. I can't wait to see the new version.

 

[dbm20th]

My last time there, the audio on the truck was obviously down, and the CM tired to make up for it herself. Really poor. Should have just been skipped.

The next time, however, the audio was fixed.

 

[Mecha Figment]

This makes me sad. The whole point of the safari is about conservation. With out the pocher story, it doesn't really hit home to most people. You need to stab people in the eye sometime to make them notice something.

 

[MJMcBride]

This makes me sad. The whole point of the safari is about conservation. With out the pocher story, it doesn't really hit home to most people. You need to stab people in the eye sometime to make them notice something.

I agree with your point about conservation, but the poacher drove nothing home. To me, it was silly. You could still have interplay with the driver and even the "radio" personalities to make some points. Just no more silliness

 

[Mecha Figment]

well it also added a sence of excitment to it. i fear that it will just become another safari ride like they have at bush gardens. and won't tell a story anymore.

 

[raidermatt]

I'm in the it's no loss camp.

A strong story is definitely a plus, but a bad story can be more of a distraction than anything. And really, the Little Red thing is a plot, not a story.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

I agree that it'll be no (big) loss but we always saw the end as total kitsch, a lot like Jungle Cruise and just had fun with it...But to each their own.