One of the most exciting tours in Disney World is the Wild Africa Trek! It’s offered a few times per day, with a very limited number of people allowed on each trek.
One of the things I was most excited for on our recent trip to Disney World was FINALLY doing Wild Africa Trek. The moment I learned what it was it has been on my Disney Bucket List.
Wild Africa Trek is a 3-hour tour that takes place at Animal Kingdom and includes several different backstage elements. This is one of a handful of tours at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and is definitely our favorite tour of the bunch, and we even did it in the pouring rain and still loved it!
The cost for Wild Africa Trek is $219-$229 per person (tax not included). Price varies by date. The full payment is due at the time of booking. Note: There is a 2-day cancellation policy. Reservations can be made online up to 60 days out. Since spots are limited, be sure to reserve ASAP.
This tour starts with checking in right by Kilimanjaro Safaris in the Africa section of Animal Kingdom.
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We went on the 10:15am tour, meaning we had to be back by Kilimanjaro Safari by 10am, of course we arrived nice and early to make sure we were all checked in and ready to go.
The check-in booth is just across from the Safari entrance and you'll be asked to sign a waiver and confirm that you are wearing close-toed shoes and are able to "hike" for an extended period of time.
Closed-toe shoes with a back strap or hiking boots are required. There is recommended casual attire, including shorts or pants with a comfortable shirt. Small personal items, such as cameras and cell phones, are permitted if they can be securely attached to the safety gear provided.
Once everyone checked in we headed into the preparation area where we were weighed (you must be between 45 and 300lbs,) put our loose items in a locker and were fitted for vests.
You also get a vest with tons of pockets and places to attach items you wish to bring with you on the tour. The only things you are allowed to take on the trek are hats, sunglasses, cameras with neck straps and your phone - providing it has a case that you can connect a cord to.
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While getting fitted for our vests they attached my phone to a cord that was then attached to my vest so I could then put it into a pocket when I wasn't using it. We were also provided with souvenir water bottles with the Wild Africa Trek logo. These aren't the best, our water got warm pretty quickly, but they're a fun keepsake.
We also received the tour water bottles at that point which we got to fill up, and connect to our vest, before we headed out.
This is a small tour, when we went there were only 11 of us guests and three cast member guides. One of the nicest things is one of the cast members main job is to take pictures of the group throughout the tour, so we not only did we get some great pictures, but for those of us who forgot to charge their camera battery it saved the day!
For the first part of the tour you actually walk a little through Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail on your way to the special Wild Africa Trek trail. The trail starts on the same path as the Gorilla Falls Expedition Trail.
To start the tour we took a walk “backstage” through a path in the woods, although since there was nothing to see in that area the cast members did let us photograph if we wanted.
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Our guides made sure to point out that we were going from nice paved pathways to actual forest floor so we had to watch our step as we transitioned from the show stage to backstage.
The path was uneven and there were tree roots to watch out for, so you do have to be a bit careful walking this way, but it wasn’t a super long walk to hit our first destination, the hippo pool!
Then the guides took a turn onto an unmarked trails through the backstage area of Animal Kingdom. And this is where the real tour started! It actually felt like we left Disney behind.
We walked single file in our cute matching outfits while our guide chatted about the various animals we were seeing on the trail and passersby were very confused as to who we all were, ha ha.
We "hiked" up a small hill to an overlook spot where we were clipped on to a support railing with our very large carabiners so we could go as close to the edge as we wanted to watch some hippo training!
On this tour you get suited up in a harness that not only lets you cross some rickety looking rope bridges, but also lets you get close to both the hippos and crocodiles while you stand close to the ledge of both the enclosures.
A hippopotamus expert was there to greet us and give the hippos a nice snack of lettuce and watermelon so we could get a closer look. They brought some lettuce with them to feed the hippos to draw them over to us, and so we could see their mouth, which are just wild looking!
Lucky for us, the 2 hippos responded and came out for quite a while as the Cast Member taught us about them and answered any questions we had.
We spent a good amount of time here, with the cast members providing a lot of information about the hippos, and also getting lots of pictures!
After that we had a little more walking through the woods to come to the main attraction - a rope bridge going across the crocodile enclosure.
Next we moved on to the bridges! There were two bridges to cross, and they went over the crocodiles, guess they’re trying to up the fear factor!
It is two bridges connected together that are seemingly falling apart. But don't worry, there's a net underneath the bridge if you lose your footing AND you're connected to a metal wire above via your harness so there's no real danger.
If you’ve ever been on the Kilimanjaro Safaris and seen people climbing the rope bridges, you might’ve wondered how they got there.
Unfortunately, they were cleaning the crocodile enclosure so we did not get to see them while walking over the bridge. I imagine there would be a stop similar to the hippos when the crocs are in their habitat.
Luckily the hippos were still in the water so we got to see some while making the "dangerous" trek across the "rickety" bridges. The baby, Greta, was also in the water!
These weren’t too bad to cross, but there were some planks that were rather far apart, and I have long legs so I imagine someone with shorter legs might have a bit more trouble.
You are connected to a safety line though so no worries if you lose your footing, and there is a net under the bridge in case anything falls off your vest.
As mentioned before, it is not dangerous at all as you are strapped in your harness and connected to a secure wire above. The broken bridge planks are "Disney real" (Disney doesn't like to say the f word....fake) aka perfectly safe to walk on even though they look broken and unsafe. But still watch your step, you don't want to have to use the backup net!
Trek participants go one at a time on the bridges so they are safe AND so your guide can get some great candid (and plandid) shots of you crossing.
Again, the cast members spent a lot of time providing information about the crocodiles, and of course taking pictures.
After you cross the bridges there is a spot to refill your water bottle and grab a cooling towel. Don't miss out on those towels, they can cost you like $18 in the park and they come with the price of your tour here! Plus they're a nude color so they'll match all your outfits.
After the harrowing experience on the bridges (hah!) you have a small hike to your special Safari vehicle.
Finally, it was time to remove the harness and the vest, hop into a special safari truck, and make our way out onto the savanna.
This one is different from the normal Kilimanjaro Safari ride vehicles because it's open space in the middle and the bench just goes around the edges. This was a different truck than the safari vehicles, instead of rows of seats it had benches along the sides, but fortunately it had a roof!
After seeing the crocs, the whole group will head out on a truck that will provide a private safari ride.
You still have to remain seated while driving but your driver will stop a couple times so you can get up and get better views of the animals. We all piled in, happy to get out of the rain for a bit.
We took the normal safari route out into the savanna, but once out there pulled off to the side to sit and watch the animals for sometime, and for the cast members to give us more information about the animals on the safari.
These safari trucks moved way slower than the regular Kilimanjaro safari ride, which meant more time to stare at giraffes, zebras, and even a baby elephant walking close by. This part of the ride was also slower because there was no hurry. The driver would go down side paths, closer to the animal habitats. We could linger to see the giraffes stretching to eat the leaves on the trees.
We had some amazing views of the giraffes, so much fun!
The safari truck will eventually make its way to a private pavilion overlooking the savanna. The view is gorgeous from here and makes for great photo ops. In fact, many proposals have taken place at this spot.
In the middle of our Safari we took a break at the boma, another spot you can see while on the actual ride.
After sitting out on the savanna for a while, it was time to move on to our lunch. For this, we drove further along the safari route until we took a detour up to the boma!
This is where you have your delicious snack, refill your water and go to the bathroom. We got here about 2 hours after the tour started, so make sure you go to the bathroom before your tour starts too.
You may have seen this building while on the safari, you can see it just as you’re leaving the savanna, and the turnoff to it is right by the flamingo pond. We made our way up there and found our table, already set with the tiffins of food!
Bathrooms are available, and a light lunch prepared by Tusker House restaurant is provided.
During our break our guides set our tables with table cloths, got us some POG juice and brought over everyone's tiffin carriers with our snacks. The meal was served with a passion/orange/guava drink. They refer to it as Jungle Juice in much of Animal Kingdom. If you don’t want this juice, the water in your canteen is your only other option.
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tags: #Africa
