Kilimanjaro Safaris

One of the the park's few E-ticket attractions, Kilimanjaro Safaris is a half-hour tour of the African wildlife in the park, taken aboard large untracked trucks. While animals on the reserve may change occasionally, you'll usually see zebras, hippos, gazelles, giraffes, many birds, elephants, rhinos, and other inhabitants of the Serengeti; if you're lucky you might even get a glimpse of the lions that typically sleep twenty hours or so per day even though the odds are obviously against you. The attraction conveys a conservation message, including a diversion from the regularly scheduled tour to help park wardens capture some ivory poachers. It is nice enough to just be seeing the animals close up that some guests find the last part of the journey to be a distraction. To increase the chances of seeing the animals doing more than sleep, try to ride in the morning or late afternoon.

Walt Disney World > Disney's Animal Kingdom > Africa

General Information

Location: To the left side of Africa's back-end, before the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

Date Opened: 4/22/1998

# of Ride Units: 44. Up to 41 operate at any one time, with at least 3 in reserve.

Ride Capacity: 36 passengers per truck

Restraint Method: No restraints, though there are grab bars in front of each seat and side doors close.

Ticket Rating: E Ticket

Ride Photo: No

Time Commitment

Open/Close: Opens with the park and closes at sunset. This attraction is open during morning Extra Magic Hours but not the evening version. This attraction will stop allowing guests into the queue when the line length exceeds the amount of time left before sunset.

Wait Times: FastPass is available for this attraction, though it is most needed during the middle part of the day when the animals are least active. For the best experience visit in the morning or near closing to see most active animals. Depending on season, standby wait times can range from a little more than 30 minutes up to 75 minutes or more.

Length of Ride: The ride through the reserve runs approximately 18 minutes without animal stops. From load to unload, the trip is closer to 20-25 minutes without animal stops, though animal stops may lengthen travel times by 10-20 minutes.

FastPass: Yes

Single Rider: No

Queue Description: The queue is really just a covered corral, though monitors show video from "Kilimanjaro Safaris."

Access Information

Health Restriction: The ride is bumpy with sudden starts and jerks by the truck. Riders should be in good health and free of heart, neck, or back problems that could be exacerbated. Pregnant women and those prone to motion sickness should consider not riding.

Ride Access: The queue is accessible to both ECVs and wheelchairs. Once the front of the line is reached, ECV users will need to transfer to an available wheelchair. Wheelchair users will be directed to a loading area to wait for one of the wheelchair accessible trucks.

Wheelchair Transfer: Not necessary

Service Animals: Service animals are only allowed on the wheelchair-accessible truck.

Audio: Assistive listening, devices are available from Guest Services for the film portion of this attraction.

Weight and Size Issues: Leg room between rows can be tight for the very tall.

Parenting Information

Height Restriction: None.

Child Swap:

Other Issues:

History and Trivia

At this location: Kilimanjaro Safaris has been in this location since the park opened.
The Attraction's History: The biggest change to Kilimanjaro Safaris happened before the park even opened (officially). In the original poaching story Big Red not only was killed by poachers, but the scene was shown to park guests. This didn't "test" well during park previews and was removed.
Other Trivia:
- What you can see: Among the animals you may see on this safari are: various exotic birds, impala, Nile crocodiles, hippototamus, gazelles, warthogs, giraffes, lions, elephants, cheetahs, and zebras.