Wild Africa Trek Questions???

[alayne]

I have read all the information on the Disney Website about this but I have a BIG question.

It states "Participants must be between 45 and 300lbs with the harness gear on. The safety harnesses used for this experience may prohibit Guest of certain body shapes or sizes from participating."

I weigh 256 but I'm heathy and active. I have a 2 year old daughter and a 9 year old son and I'm ways chasing after them or playing with them in the front yard. I'm always the last one standing out of my family when we go to the parks (my husband is not over weight and active).

I just don't want to be embarrassed in anyway.

Has anyone done this and can give me feed back. Animal Kingdom is my fav park and this trip it will just be me and my husband. We are celebrating my birthday and our 15 year wedding anniversary. I wanted to do something different and special.

Thanks for the info!
Allison

 

[2Tiggies]

We were going to do this for our summer trip this year and I'm still on the fence about it, but more because of the cost and time of year than anything else. While you wait for someone to respond, have you had a look at the youtube videos to see if you can get an idea of how the harness is fitted? I posted a few threads on here when I was gleaning information and didn't get many responses so you may find that there aren't many folk (at least not regularly checking the DIS) on here who have done it.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

We have done the experience. The harness has to go around your thighs and it's quite heavy. They weigh everyone on the tour so they can give you the right harness and vest. Honestly, no one paid any attention to each other as they were being weighted, simply because they were busy getting their own vests on, getting water (you fill your own water bottle) ect.

This is a picture of the vest so you can get an idea what it is like. There are clips that go around your legs

 

[alayne]

I didn't think about YouTube. I will check that out. Our trip is in June and I booked the 11:45 time. I was worried about the heat. I wonder if it will be too hot for this.

 

[heidibilotti]

I did this at around 250 no problem. They weigh you but the numbers face them and they are not mentioned. My big problem was bugs. Hose yourself down in bug spray. I got eaten really bad and started to feel sick midway. Aside from that best tour on property. Many amazing animal photos very educated guides. Really loved this tour

 

[2Tiggies]

I didn't think about YouTube. I will check that out. Our trip is in June and I booked the 11:45 time. I was worried about the heat. I wonder if it will be too hot for this.

We are there June/July this year. I was thinking of doing it first thing in the morning to avoid the worst of it. I am fine in the heat, but my concern about the heat is more for my daughter who doesn't cope as well with it. However, when I thought about it, it's going to be hot no matter what. I don't actually think the walking is too strenuous. There is the suspension bridge and it's uneven ground in some places but with Disney being so careful with safety, I doubt you have cause for concern as you sound very active.

I have a few favorite videos I bookmarked when I first started looking into it and if you want links I am happy to forward these when I get home from work. A search will bring up a nice selection though and you'll probably beat me to it getting the good ones

I also read a review or two (might have been on Trip Advisor? - can't recall) where someone was concerned about feeling uncomfortable with the weighing and he/she was reassured by folk who have done the Trek that they are very discreet about it and only you can see the weight displayed.

 

[LisaTC]

I don't know if you do a search, if you'll find it, but a lady last year posted this same ? She was trying to get down to 300 and I think she made it and went on the Trek and did fine. I think you'll be ok!

 

[mrp4352]

I did the tour at about 285 (I'm 5'2") last year and had no issues. It was extremely discreetly done and I was very comfortable the whole time. It's an amazing experience and I am hoping to do it again this fall!!

 

[tsme]

We did it last year in Sept. We went with the first one of the day because of the heat. My DH & I are active (work out at gym 5days a week, most of the time) & are in the normal weight catagory for our height. My DD was 10 att. We all enjoyed it, but were very tired after, not just because of the walking, the heat (even in the am) is draining. But we'd all totally do it again. The only warning I could give is when you are walking up hill thru the trees, look down & watch out for roots. I tripped because I was taking it all in while walking. LOL. And they do pull those straps tight on that harness. I tried to loosen them up, but they check before you get hooked to anything & they retighten. Personally, I didn't care for the tight fit, but I understand the reason behind it. Your family will really enjoy it. Oh, one more thing, wear longish shorts! There was a woman on our tour that wore shorts(3"about) that were not longish (7") & that harness was brutal on her & the creeping that was happening was NOT lady like. It didn't help that she was pushing 50 if a day. (DISCLAIMER: No insult intended to anyone in that age range that wears short short)

 

[FiggieFan]

You will be FINE! I am not far away from you weight-wise and have done it twice. We absolutely LOVE Wild Africa Trek and plan on doing it next trip for a third time. Our first two experiences were so different because of the animals and guides. They have the vests in many sizes and I didn't find it to be uncomfortable. As above poster says, everyone else is busy getting their gear together so no one is paying attention. You only wear the gear for about the first hour of the tour, then you get in a safari vehicle (not the ones on the safari ride) and they give you a tour and make many stops along the way and a break to eat which is on the savannah (AWESOME!). It is worth the money and has become one of our favorite parts of our Disney vacation. I was hesitant before I went the first time for the same reason and almost cancelled, I am so glad I didn't. Everything was wonderful!

PS - we also loved the Marceline to MK tour. It is much cheaper and lasts about 3 hours - you get to go under the Haunted Mansion to see how the ballroom ghosts work. We liked that tour better than Keys to the Kingdom, although I know a lot of people loved that too. Wild Africa is my favorite by far!