Wild Africa Trek - best time?

[Babsy]

Hi!

Have planned to do this tour multiple times, but it looks like we will finally get to do it in Jan 2018. Now I need to decide on the day and time of booking..........

For anyone who has done this, what time of day would you suggest in early-mid January? First thing in the morning? Afternoon?

We are not early morning people, but want to make the most of this tour, so is it worth the extra hassle of lost sleep to see it early in the day? Do you see the lions better than asleep on a rock (maybe) like they are on the safari ride?

Thank you for sharing your insights and experiences?

 

[OutNChiTown]

I have found that the animals are more active first thing int he morning or in the evening. That's when the animals are coming out more and it's a much more enjoyable tour.

 

[Hopefully]

I agree. We took the first tour of the morning. The animals were very active.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We did the 10:15 am tour back in Dec. 2015 and it was perfect for us. We also aren't early risers (well, that's not really true, we are just really slow in the morning!). By doing the 10:15 am tour, we didn't have to wake up super early to rush anywhere, we still saw the animals relatively early, it wasn't super hot and the "snack" (which is quite a lot of food, IMHO), served as our lunch.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I went at 1pm - the CM discount isn't valid on the early tours - but it was in January and not super hot. I saw plenty of animals up and active. I think the temperature and weather matters more than the time.

 

[bwang123]

We went in March one year in the afternoon and there were a lot of animals out and weather was nice.
You will see animals either way, I would personally schedule it based on when you feel you want to experience it and it fits with your timelime.

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

We went in the late afternoon too, also due to the CM discount and the animals were all out to view. It was a nice day, not too hot and we didn't feel like we missed out by being on a later tour.

 

[mindeola]

We went at 0800 in May. The Lions were up and about and he was roaring. That was very cool!

At least in January, it won't be that hot and you can choose to go to a later one.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

We chose the earliest possible time when we did this in early Oct, mostly because we were worried about heat -- less of an issue with Jan. We had active lions while we were there, which was quite cool. I will say that I have heard a lot on DIS that the activity level of the animals really varies across the day -- not necessarily a slam-dunk that morning is best.

For Jan, and if you are not early morning people, I would just book whatever time you think works best for your itinerary. You'll love the trek -- it was truly fantastic!

 

[GoofyK]

I'm going 2nd week of December and really trying to determine if this experience is worth it. Id go in the morning as the aninals would be more active but im concerned over the 3 hours not the cost and if I'd still have time to see the rest of AK or if a 2nd day is needed?

 

[skier_pete]

I came on to ask this same question - we are going in February, and our two days for AK we have potential late nights the night before, so I was thinking of a slightly later start for this. (Perhaps 10:30 AM.) Good to see most people didn't think it made much of a difference. Anyone have a feel for doing it later in the day? What is the latest time that they run the tour?

 

[GoofyK]

I came on to ask this same question - we are going in February, and our two days for AK we have potential late nights the night before, so I was thinking of a slightly later start for this. (Perhaps 10:30 AM.) Good to see most people didn't think it made much of a difference. Anyone have a feel for doing it later in the day? What is the latest time that they run the tour?

I believe there may be a discount for times after 12.
There is generally a tour available at 12:30, 1:15, and 2:30.

How many days would be needed in AK if we wanted to do this tour as well as Pandora and everything else in the park?

 

[skier_pete]

How many days would be needed in AK if we wanted to do this tour as well as Pandora and everything else in the park?

This is a 3 hour tour. If you really want to see the park and Pandora, I would suggest at least 1.5 days here. Lion King, Nemo and Flights of Wonder are all worth a look if you've never been. You probably don't need to do the safari again if you are doing the Trek, but there is lots to see in this park, as well as Everest and Dinosaur plus the nighttime show. I am a big AK proponent as it is my second favorite park.

 

[GoofyK]

This is a 3 hour tour. If you really want to see the park and Pandora, I would suggest at least 1.5 days here. Lion King, Nemo and Flights of Wonder are all worth a look if you've never been. You probably don't need to do the safari again if you are doing the Trek, but there is lots to see in this park, as well as Everest and Dinosaur plus the nighttime show. I am a big AK proponent as it is my second favorite park.

Thank you, we've been multiple times and will probably pass on lion king this time around. Will be there 12/8 - 12/15 I think I've just been trying to convince myself that $ is worth it and that there will still be enough time for the other parks and other Xmas activities.

Any recommendations on what time would be a better option to do this trek

 

[skier_pete]

Any recommendations on what time would be a better option to do this trek

Your asking the wrong guy, I came to this thread to answer that question.