Wild Africa Trek

[Dixiemom]

Heading down May 28-June 4 for my daughters high school graduation trip. She loves animals and hopes to be a wildlife biologist. Thinking of surprising her with the Wild Africa Trek and would love reviews, tips, etc.. We will be having breakfast at Tuskegee House that morning. I’m so excited to surprise her!!!!!

Thanks!!!!

 

[MinnieInVA]

Heading down May 28-June 4 for my daughters high school graduation trip. She loves animals and hopes to be a wildlife biologist. Thinking of surprising her with the Wild Africa Trek and would love reviews, tips, etc.. We will be having breakfast at Tuskegee House that morning. I’m so excited to surprise her!!!!!

Thanks!!!!

I just did this with my 12 year old daughter last week and we loved it! If you Google search for reviews, they still accurately capture the tour’s content so I won’t recap the activities. The guides we had were awesome and informative, and they do take lots of photos for you, which you can access via the Photopass site afterwards (no additional charge, they’re included in the cost of the tour). That time of year, be prepared to sweat a lot, especially since you’ll be walking quite a bit for the first half of the tour. If you have specific questions, I’m happy to answer them! We definitely recommend this tour!

 

[sophy1996]

Just finished this tour and loved it! You interact with some of the keepers, who I’m sure would love to answer any questions your daughter might have about career paths.

 

[mindeola]

The best Disney money I’ve ever spent. I’ve done it twice. Just fantastic from beginning to end.

 

[jpkkld]

Absolutely the highlight of our last trip! We lucked out and had a private tour that day, with 2 guides who were incredibly knowledgable and genuinely friendly. The pace was just right - plenty of time to watch the animals, whether on foot, in the truck, or from the lunch pavilion. A HS senior is a great age for this - actually, any age is a great age! We also really appreciated that they were taking photos all day - it let us really enjoy being in the moment or exploring with binoculars (they supply really good ones). And lunch was magical! We felt liike we were all alone on the savannah with animals just everywhere all around us.

Tips - if you usually wear flip flops or open sandals, you may prefer a closed sneaker or a Keen type sandal. They may even have a rule about footwear, I can't remember. They provide a safety vest / harness thing - once you're strapped in, it's not so easy to remove a layer. So whatever you're wearing when you gear up will be on for the next 1.5 hours or so. We went on a chilly morning, but the tour ended around 80 degrees. We chose to keep our jackets on, but even a little warmer, and we would have regretted it by the time we boarded the truck for the safari ride.

When we went, they supplied water - we each got a nice water bottle as a souvenir - and their water bottles are designed to clip to your vest so they can't fall off the rope bridges. So you really don't need to bring much. There's a safety session to begin the tour, and they're very thorough with the instructions. DH is afraid of heights, but was able to navigate all the trails and overlooks because he felt very secure with the safety features. If you like to take pictures of the animals, I do recommend a good camera on a neck strap. I believe handheld cameras and phones are not allowed for the first part of the tour.

Enjoy!!

 

[sophy1996]

Closed toe shoes are required. Also shorts or pants; no skirts or dresses. They will supply a strap that works for most cell phones.

 

[wdp]

I did it with my young teen before Covid and it was GREAT (and I assume it is still great). Hopefully they'll take pictures of you on the rope bridge with crocodiles lurking below. That picture looks much scarier than the adventure itself, and some people may think that the picture is fake. (It isn't!) There were a few families/couples on our tour.

 

[MushuHill]

We did it pre-COVID and had a blast. I wore Capri length workout pants. I was glad I wore those. I think if you were to wear shorts the harness you wear would cause them to ride up.
You also got a meal on the savanna. We were the first group of the morning so it was more of a breakfast meal and came with POG juice.
We also received metal water bottles that clipped to our harness that we got to take home.

 

[maryj11]

We did this about 2 years ago. It was the highlight of our trip. Loved it! Well worth the extra money.

 

[HuskieJohn]

I need to book this for a party of 8 in a few days. What time (ET) does this open for booking?...as I will have to be ON IT to get my party in!

 

[HopperFan]

My kids did it and LOVED it! My other son and I are afraid of heights so that was a no go .... but we got on the Safari trying to time it to see them AND WE DID! That was cool enough for me.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I did it with my mom last month and had a great time! It's really cool to see the areas (and animals!) in the safari from a different and closer angle, and to spend more time in there versus just driving through. You do a variety of different things and the time passes by quickly! You end with a meal on the savannah and the food was delicious (and I felt like it was something you really couldn't get elsewhere at Disney World, so it felt very unique). They also take a lot of photos of you and the animals that you see, which are made available to you through Photopass/MDE (but the photos are included, so you don't need Photopass/Memory Maker).

They are sticklers on safety the whole time. As others noted, you have to wear closed toed shoes and pants/shorts. They provide straps for your cell phone and sunglasses, and a water bottle.

 

[ars0525]

Did it pre-Covid with my parents for my Dad's birthday. LOVED IT!!! I have considered doing it again it was so enjoyable.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

I posted this in the other thread, but thought I’d share here. I’m not sure if a lot of the other reviews were from preCovid or if we just didn’t have the best group, but our Trek was something of a disappointment.

We did the Wild Africa Trek at the end of March. There were 12 of us on the Trek - our party of 3, and then 3 other parties of various sizes. I struggled with whether or not to give my opinion, but, for us, while it was nice, it really wasn’t worth the expense. I was very excited to do it, and I really thought it was going to be a highlight of the trip.

I know a lot of it depends on the animals, but not having animals that were present and/or engaging didn’t help.

It seems like you spend so much time on getting in the safety equipment and hearing all of the rules…but very little time actually doing anything.

To summarize our Trek - We walked and saw some hippos from a cool spot. They tried to feed them, but it wasn’t super successful. Then we went to the rope bridges and walked across them. Very cool, no doubt. But I would say maybe 10 minutes max of being on the bridge. (And the crocodile area was drained and the animals weren’t there, so that was also a disappointment. Seeing the empty structure below wasn’t really thrilling at all. Picture a drained water ride in the winter.).

After the bridge, we took off all of the safety gear and loaded into the safari type truck and rode around the giraffes to the boma. The meal was nice and it was interesting to be in the boma, but it wasn’t really anything? Like you could kind of see the flamingos and giraffes and such in the distance, but, I don’t know, it seemed like being at a pavilion in a park.

Then back on the truck and back to the exit.

So for $200/person, it was a slightly enhanced Safari ride, a walk over the rope bridge and a nice picnic lunch. I can find value in just about all of the Disney extras (Club Level, VIP tours, etc.), but this was a one and done for us.

Here is the view from our boma -

 

[abbyandangel]

I posted this in the other thread, but thought I’d share here. I’m not sure if a lot of the other reviews were from preCovid or if we just didn’t have the best group, but our Trek was something of a disappointment.

We did the Wild Africa Trek at the end of March. There were 12 of us on the Trek - our party of 3, and then 3 other parties of various sizes. I struggled with whether or not to give my opinion, but, for us, while it was nice, it really wasn’t worth the expense. I was very excited to do it, and I really thought it was going to be a highlight of the trip.

I know a lot of it depends on the animals, but not having animals that were present and/or engaging didn’t help.

It seems like you spend so much time on getting in the safety equipment and hearing all of the rules…but very little time actually doing anything.

To summarize our Trek - We walked and saw some hippos from a cool spot. They tried to feed them, but it wasn’t super successful. Then we went to the rope bridges and walked across them. Very cool, no doubt. But I would say maybe 10 minutes max of being on the bridge. (And the crocodile area was drained and the animals weren’t there, so that was also a disappointment. Seeing the empty structure below wasn’t really thrilling at all. Picture a drained water ride in the winter.).

After the bridge, we took off all of the safety gear and loaded into the safari type truck and rode around the giraffes to the boma. The meal was nice and it was interesting to be in the boma, but it wasn’t really anything? Like you could kind of see the flamingos and giraffes and such in the distance, but, I don’t know, it seemed like being at a pavilion in a park.

Then back on the truck and back to the exit.

So for $200/person, it was a slightly enhanced Safari ride, a walk over the rope bridge and a nice picnic lunch. I can find value in just about all of the Disney extras (Club Level, VIP tours, etc.), but this was a one and done for us.

Here is the view from our boma -

Wow. I have been on the wild Africa trek twice, both before Covid. The first one was pretty good. The second one was the best experience I have ever had. I was thinking about doing it again. Now I am not sure.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I posted this in the other thread, but thought I’d share here. I’m not sure if a lot of the other reviews were from preCovid or if we just didn’t have the best group, but our Trek was something of a disappointment.

We did the Wild Africa Trek at the end of March. There were 12 of us on the Trek - our party of 3, and then 3 other parties of various sizes. I struggled with whether or not to give my opinion, but, for us, while it was nice, it really wasn’t worth the expense. I was very excited to do it, and I really thought it was going to be a highlight of the trip.

I know a lot of it depends on the animals, but not having animals that were present and/or engaging didn’t help.

It seems like you spend so much time on getting in the safety equipment and hearing all of the rules…but very little time actually doing anything.

To summarize our Trek - We walked and saw some hippos from a cool spot. They tried to feed them, but it wasn’t super successful. Then we went to the rope bridges and walked across them. Very cool, no doubt. But I would say maybe 10 minutes max of being on the bridge. (And the crocodile area was drained and the animals weren’t there, so that was also a disappointment. Seeing the empty structure below wasn’t really thrilling at all. Picture a drained water ride in the winter.).

After the bridge, we took off all of the safety gear and loaded into the safari type truck and rode around the giraffes to the boma. The meal was nice and it was interesting to be in the boma, but it wasn’t really anything? Like you could kind of see the flamingos and giraffes and such in the distance, but, I don’t know, it seemed like being at a pavilion in a park.

Then back on the truck and back to the exit.

So for $200/person, it was a slightly enhanced Safari ride, a walk over the rope bridge and a nice picnic lunch. I can find value in just about all of the Disney extras (Club Level, VIP tours, etc.), but this was a one and done for us.

Here is the view from our boma -

Thanks for sharing your experience! I think it is really important to know that the experience can vary so much on the unpredictable animals (isn't that why Walt Disney ultiamtely decided to make the Jungle Cruise animals animatronics?!).

I went last month, so post-COVID, but we were really lucky with the animals. Hippos cooperated for feeding, there were crocs under the bridges, on the truck to lunch we stopped to see the rhinos up close (including the babies!--It was nice that the truck was able to stop here, when the regular safari trucks had to just pass by), and there were quite a few cattle and other animals right near the lunch spot.

But I totally agree that the bridge parts are short and you spend a bit of time waiting for it to be your turn. And while I had a great experience, it was expensive (and that's with my AP/DVC discount!), so I probably wouldn't do it a second time.

 

[mort1331]

I posted this in the other thread, but thought I’d share here. I’m not sure if a lot of the other reviews were from preCovid or if we just didn’t have the best group, but our Trek was something of a disappointment.

We did the Wild Africa Trek at the end of March. There were 12 of us on the Trek - our party of 3, and then 3 other parties of various sizes. I struggled with whether or not to give my opinion, but, for us, while it was nice, it really wasn’t worth the expense. I was very excited to do it, and I really thought it was going to be a highlight of the trip.

I know a lot of it depends on the animals, but not having animals that were present and/or engaging didn’t help.

It seems like you spend so much time on getting in the safety equipment and hearing all of the rules…but very little time actually doing anything.

To summarize our Trek - We walked and saw some hippos from a cool spot. They tried to feed them, but it wasn’t super successful. Then we went to the rope bridges and walked across them. Very cool, no doubt. But I would say maybe 10 minutes max of being on the bridge. (And the crocodile area was drained and the animals weren’t there, so that was also a disappointment. Seeing the empty structure below wasn’t really thrilling at all. Picture a drained water ride in the winter.).

After the bridge, we took off all of the safety gear and loaded into the safari type truck and rode around the giraffes to the boma. The meal was nice and it was interesting to be in the boma, but it wasn’t really anything? Like you could kind of see the flamingos and giraffes and such in the distance, but, I don’t know, it seemed like being at a pavilion in a park.

Then back on the truck and back to the exit.

So for $200/person, it was a slightly enhanced Safari ride, a walk over the rope bridge and a nice picnic lunch. I can find value in just about all of the Disney extras (Club Level, VIP tours, etc.), but this was a one and done for us.

Here is the view from our boma -

I am glad you posted. Not everyone experiences the same, some are lucky some not. I am sorry yours did not turn out.
As an example, I was fortunate to go to Africa for a real safari. We were very lucky to see the big 5 and multiple times. One day everywehre we drove we saw different prides of lions, babies, and large males so many we actually got bored of lions...lol....we got back to our camp and were talking about it over dinner. There was another group next to us, they were there for their 3 trip and still had not seen any lions,,on any of their trips. We felt kind of bad complaining about being bored of the lions.

 

[brightlined]

I need to book this for a party of 8 in a few days. What time (ET) does this open for booking?...as I will have to be ON IT to get my party in!

Midnight at the beginning of your 60+10. (For clarity: six hours before the 6am for ADRs.)

 

[chicagodisfan]

I posted this in the other thread, but thought I’d share here. I’m not sure if a lot of the other reviews were from preCovid or if we just didn’t have the best group, but our Trek was something of a disappointment.

We did the Wild Africa Trek at the end of March. There were 12 of us on the Trek - our party of 3, and then 3 other parties of various sizes. I struggled with whether or not to give my opinion, but, for us, while it was nice, it really wasn’t worth the expense. I was very excited to do it, and I really thought it was going to be a highlight of the trip.

I know a lot of it depends on the animals, but not having animals that were present and/or engaging didn’t help.

It seems like you spend so much time on getting in the safety equipment and hearing all of the rules…but very little time actually doing anything.

To summarize our Trek - We walked and saw some hippos from a cool spot. They tried to feed them, but it wasn’t super successful. Then we went to the rope bridges and walked across them. Very cool, no doubt. But I would say maybe 10 minutes max of being on the bridge. (And the crocodile area was drained and the animals weren’t there, so that was also a disappointment. Seeing the empty structure below wasn’t really thrilling at all. Picture a drained water ride in the winter.).

After the bridge, we took off all of the safety gear and loaded into the safari type truck and rode around the giraffes to the boma. The meal was nice and it was interesting to be in the boma, but it wasn’t really anything? Like you could kind of see the flamingos and giraffes and such in the distance, but, I don’t know, it seemed like being at a pavilion in a park.

Then back on the truck and back to the exit.

So for $200/person, it was a slightly enhanced Safari ride, a walk over the rope bridge and a nice picnic lunch. I can find value in just about all of the Disney extras (Club Level, VIP tours, etc.), but this was a one and done for us.

Here is the view from our boma -

I wonder if we were on the same Trek because we went at the end of March too and I felt exactly the same! I had originally booked it for my teenage son and I in March 2020 right before everything closed for Covid. I was thrilled to see that it was opening back up and I booked it for our end of March trip this year and we felt very similar and had almost the exact same experience! Hippos didn’t want to participate in enrichment, and the crocodiles “were off that day” so we walked over an empty pool. We did see the mom and baby hippo as we crossed so that was fun. We enjoy more rugged hiking as a family and adventure rope courses, etc. so by comparison this felt kind of anti-climactic. The bridge cross is fun, but that is really it. It’s a lot of prep for just that. The Safari ride is nice but not too different than what you see on Kilimanjaro Safari, just in a smaller vehicle with fewer people. My favorite part was the meal on the Savannah. That was delicious and relaxing. But what it really made me want to do was book a Savannah view room at Animal Kingdom Lodge so I could stay out there longer! All and all I am glad we did it once, but I thought we would experience more backstage areas or more unique places on the Savannah or just more. For the cost I don’t think we would do it again.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

All and all I am glad we did it once, but I thought we would experience more backstage areas or more unique places on the Savannah or just more. For the cost I don’t think we would do it again.

Yes! I kept waiting for the wow moment, and it just never came for me.

Every single review that I read before our Trek was so glowing, I really expected to be amazed. But for us, it seemed like all safety theater without any adventure. I’m very protective of DD11, but even I thought the clipping in and multiple safety checks for the hippos was a bit much. We never got closer than 10 feet to the ledge. A railing with a fenced bottom or some plexiglass would have served the same purpose without needing the multiple equipment checks.

In case it helps anyone - I just went back to confirm the times. Our Trek started at 10:15, and I have a picture of DH and DD in their safety gear before we took our group picture and started walking. The picture was taken at 10:26. I’m sure it took longer than 4 minutes to get the picture and get moving, but even still, that means that at least the first 15 minutes were spent gearing up. We were out of our safety gear and in the safari car by 12 and at our table in the boma by 12:15. We were back to the base and wrapped up at 1:15.