Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Kilimanjaro Safaris is certainly one of the most popular attractions at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The most commonly asked question is WHEN to ride. Most people will tell you to ride first thing in the morning, just after the park opens due to the animals being most active. With that being said, many people go to this attraction first, which means exactly what you are thinking……a long wait time! My recommendation would be go there first, if the line is crazy long, get a FASTPASS! Mid afternoon tends to have the shorter lines, as everyone thinks the animals will not be moving around much. I have to say, as many times as I have been on this ride, I have never had a bad experience of not seeing many animals.

The line for the safari is outside, but in a nice, covered and shady area. There are many fans blowing to help during the hot times of the day. There are also several televisions that will be playing videos with information about the safari.

You will even see some great themed areas during your wait.

I always try to squeeze in a photo of one of my kids, here is my oldest when she was two. She is a little sweaty, but still pretty darn cute waiting in line!

At the end of the line, you will board an open aired, 32 passenger vehicle. So where should you sit? Of course if you sit on the outside seats, you will have better viewing, but everyone wants to know which side is the best. Honestly, there is not a great answer to this question. The reason for this is that the animals are free roaming. For example, I have sat on the right side and had a great view of the giraffes, but I have also sat on the driver side, and could have reached out and touched a giraffe it was so close to me once. My only recommendation for seating is to not sit too close to the very front where the driver is. If you sit in the first few rows, your views are slightly blocked by the front of the truck, whereas if you sit a little further back, I think the views are a little better. 

Here is a photo of the posted list of animals that you will likely see, this is in every truck:

And your journey begins.....

There are over 34 different species of animals that can be seen during your ride, but it is not likely you will see them all. Here is a list of some that I routinely see the most:

Antelope

Cheetah

Crocodile

Elephant

Flamingo

Gazelle

Giraffe

Hippopotamus

Kudu

Lion

Nyala

Okapi

Ostrich

Rhino

Wildebeest

Zebra

Termite Mounds

The total ride time varies every trip. The estimated time to drive through the 110 acre Harambe Wildlife Reserve is about 20 minutes, but that is with no stops. Your driver will stop several times to allow for viewing of the animals, and on some occasions, you will have to wait for animals to move out of the path of the truck.

The truck does not drive on a track, and therefor is quite a bumpy ride. Keep this in mind for those in your family that may have a bad back, heart problems, issues with motion sickness or that may be pregnant. Personally, I have motion sickness issues, but have not had any problems riding this, and I have also rode this while 20 weeks pregnant, although not advised! J I know that the kids will want to sit on the outside seats, but it is best to keep the small kids closer to the inside, or at least be able to keep your arms around them for those big bumps. 

We always enjoy the Kilimanjaro Safaris, our favorite in Animal Kingdom for sure! 

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