The Most Educational 3 Hours We’ve Spent at Disney World

A few years ago, while riding Kilimanjaro Safaris, my husband spotted people on a rope bridge. I missed it entirely, but he kept thinking about it.

Fast forward to kiddo #2’s graduation trip this year. We scoured the internet looking for something special. He’s not a kiddo who requests much & he kept saying that a few particular restaurant meals were all he wanted.

That’s when my husband thought to track down that tour, the Wild Africa Trek at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Kiddo #2 loves Animal Kingdom & was practically raised on Wild Kratts, so this was a perfect surprise. And seeing as our school year wasn’t technically over yet when we went, I (only half-jokingly) called the tour a field trip. More on the educational side later!

It did not disappoint!
(The surprise didn’t disappoint either!)

Our (Detailed!) Wild Africa Trek Experience

Check-in

Our tour started at 12:30, and we checked in about noon. (The check-in desk is across from the standby entrance to Kilimanjaro Safaris.) Everyone over 18 had to fill out a waiver, and then one of us had to fill out our 16-year-old’s waiver. That only took a few minutes & then we were free to wander, as long as we were back around 12:20.

HEADS UP: There is no shade around the check-in desk, and there is no seating either. Across the walkway, you’ll find shaded seating around the Harambe Fruit Market. Since we were there at lunchtime, there were no seats. Plan accordingly.

(The famed corn on the cob at the fruit market was a disappointment. Stick with the fresh fruit if you need a bite to eat.)

Make sure you go to the bathroom! The first bathroom on the tour is at the safari near the end of the trip.

The Surprise

As we walked away from the check-in desk, kiddo #2 looked at us and said, “Was this planned? Or did we just decide to do this?”

We all chuckled, since the three of us knew about it and had gone to great pains to keep it a surprise. Even as we walked up to the desk, we said nothing. Being the child who just goes along with things, he didn’t ask questions & signed the waiver.

He had the biggest smile on his face when we confirmed that, yes, we had planned it & purposefully kept it a secret.

This part of the tour will go down as my personal favorite!

getting rigged

Since we were the first group to come back, we were the first group taken to get fitted. When you first enter the area, a cast member will show you to a locker for your personal belongings. It was a standard-sized park locker, nothing too small, but it’s not monstrous either. Our small backpack + a few other random items fit into the locker fine. If you have a large park bag, I’d pack it minimally so it folds easily into the locker. At least one family had more items than could fit in a single locker, so they were given two lockers.

Phones are allowed on your Wild Africa Trek. However, it must have a wrist strap (they provide one), and the strap must be tied to your safety harness vest. My husband & I took our cell phones and put our teens’ phones in the locker.

While you’re waiting for everyone to go through their fittings & safety checks, you’ll be given a water bottle & access to a filling station, and you’ll have time to take photos.

After the initial vest fitting, we moved to the back of the area. There…

• One of the guides came around to tighten our fittings.
• Another one came for a second safety check.
• We learned how to use our ear piece headset (the guides were microphones).
• We filled up the stainless steel water bottles included with our tour.
• Took family & group photos.

Disney is known for going above and beyond when it comes to safety & this was no different. Throughout the tour, we were reminded of safety procedures, and our tour guides were always watching. It felt a bit much to me, but I also understand that Walt Disney World sure doesn’t want an accident!

The hippos & Trails

After our group was rigged & ready to go, we headed through the park to our walking trail, which is nestled over by the Gorilla Falls Exploration trail. Our first stop was the hippo pool; the walk wasn’t long, but the ground was very uneven. If anyone in your party is unsteady, I’d be cautious about booking this tour for them.

One of the hippo trainers met our group, which is not guaranteed on every tour. She shared parts of her job, talked about the hippos (in general & these specific ones), and we asked questions. Her talk was interesting enough that we all agreed we’d love to take the Up Close with Rhinos experience sometime.

I’m going to do a quick interruption here. The guides on this trip are part of Animal Kingdom’s education department. While this tour is about the adventure of the trails, the rope bridges & seeing the wild animals, it’s also about educating each group. We learned Disney’s attempts to replicate natural environments, the steps they take to manage individual animals & their relationships, and how they work with other zoos to balance needs.

Like any good educator, they encouraged our questions and, when they couldn’t answer them, they reached out to someone else in the department to find the answers. I was so impressed with the guides.

the rope bridges

Next, we got our safety briefing for the rope bridges & how to hook up to the safety line. There are two suspension bridges with a landing tower between them. Once one person is about halfway across, the next person will go. I appreciated this because it minimized swaying, something I knew would make me nervous!

The view from the bridges was pretty cool. It was fun to wave to the guests on the Kilimanjaro Safaris. I didn’t time how long it took to get across each one, but I’d estimate it was a few minutes. You’re allowed to stop on the bridge to look around and take photos. Rope bridges are not my favorite thing, but I forced myself to slow down and enjoy the view.

(That’s how we found out about this tour. We spotted people on the bridges on our last trip & poked around on WDW’s site to find out what the tour was.)

After you finish the bridges, there is a shaded waiting area. There were cooling towels waiting for us, as well as a water refill center. While it was shaded, there wasn’t much seating. Once everyone had crossed the bridges & refilled our water bottles, we loaded up in a safari truck for the next part of our tour.

The savannah

It may’ve been my imagination, but I swear our ride was bumpier than a regular safari trek. Whether it was because it was a slightly different truck or the path we took, I don’t know.

Note! While the private safari ride goes through Kilimanjaro Safaris, you will not go through the entire attraction. We knew we wouldn’t have the typical ‘tour,’ but we (mistakenly) thought we’d still see most of the animals, even without the spiel. If Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of your must-do rides, plan to do it separately. We had dinner reservations, so we had to skidaddle after the tour, unfortunately.

On the savannah portion of the tour, the guides will stop a few times. I’m sure there are some preferred spots, but they do vary the stops based on which wild animals are active and where they are hanging out. There was a new baby giraffe when we were there, so we stopped for a while there to look at them and ask questions.

The Boma

The final destination is the Boma, a covered dining & observation area for African-inspired snacks. While our guides prepared our tables, we had the opportunity to use the restroom & refill our water bottles.

While the menu is subject to change, in addition to water & POG juice, our tiffins of food included:

• seven-layer bar
• marinated olives
• cured meat & fresh mozzarella
• pita & hummus
• a small chicken wrap
• marinated cold shrimp
• mixed fruit (mostly melon)

There was plenty of food in our tiffins, but opinions are mixed on whether it was a full meal. If you eat everything in it, it could be hearty enough to count as a light lunch. If you have two teenage boys, like I do, it’s barely enough for a snack!

Don’t leave food unattended. The guides warned us, then someone left their seven-layer bar, and a crow quickly swept in to grab it. The guides aren’t kidding! One guide ran after the bird & was able to grab the bar. They take ‘do not feed the animals’ seriously!

If you have food allergies or other special dietary needs, be sure to mention it at the time of booking. They also asked us if we had any special needs when we checked in for the tour.

This part of the tour was relaxing, but I wish it had been shorter, and it looked like most of our group felt the same. We were all just sitting around, checking our watches, etc. Still, sitting in a covered spot on the savannah looking at animals? It’s not a bad place to feel bored!

Back to home base

On the ride back to the start, they passed out Photopass cards. All of the photos the guides take are included & the code on the back of the card is how you get them. If you purchased Photopass that trip, they will show up alongside your other photos.

I’m not sure anyone was glad to see the end of the trek. It was such a unique experience for us.

What should you wear? Bring with you?

Short answer: show up in shorts or pants & closed-toe shoes, and you’re good.

Avoid shorts with excessive zippers, pulls, or strings that could get caught in safety gear. I wore dresses a lot this trip, which aren’t ‘banned’ from this tour, but they aren’t recommended either.

Shoes like Keens aren’t always considered closed-toed, but they were allowed in our group. The tour description indicates that your shoes must have a back strap, which sounds like Crocs could be allowed. Personally, I’d stick with a regular ‘ol tennis shoe — you don’t want to be turned away!

Your tour package includes an aluminum water bottle, which they strap to you. (Several water refill stations are included.) The tour guides take photos, so you don’t need to take your phone. On the savannah, the last stop, there’s a hearty snack provided, too.

Don’t forget, Animal Kingdom does provide lockers if you have anything with you.

Is Wild Africa Trek worth the cost?

This is such a hard question to answer.

If this is your first time visiting the Walt Disney World resort, $229/person for a 3-hour tour might sound insane, especially since you need a park ticket to get into the tour. If you’re doing Walt Disney World on a small budget, I would hesitate to say it’s worth the cost. It IS a lot of money!

Our oldest son graduated high school this year, so the tour was a special event to celebrate his graduation.

But if the question is really about the value? I would say yes, absolutely.

1. The suspension bridges offer a unique view of the park & animals.
2. The food was delicious! My boys finished off their entire tins, my husband ate about half of it & I ate less (I’m a picky eater…) Still, we all enjoyed what we ate.
3. Disney is mindful to limit the size of tour groups. There were about 15 of us. We were the second family across the bridges, and didn’t feel like we were waiting for-e-ver before we could move on to the next stage.
4. The included PhotoPass photos make it easier to keep your phone down & eyes up, taking in the entire experience.
5. Who doesn’t wonder about what goes on behind the scenes? Getting a peek at that, including being able to actually GO into the back areas, is just pure fun.

But the biggest value-packed part? The opportunity to ask questions about the animals, hear from the educational guides and trainers & talk with the trainers…that was awesome.

Know before you go….

1. Closed-toe shoes are a must. No dresses or skirts are a recommended don’t.
2. Reservations open up at 60 days out. If that mark has already passed, still check for availability. As I am writing this, I checked dates for a few weeks out (late July) and found quite a few slots available.
3. There is not much walking, but it is on uneven terrain.
4. Carefully consider the time of day you book. If you’re going during the warm months, I’d suggest booking a morning tour. By the time we finished, the sun was blazing & I was melting.

Homeschool Connections

While I did half-jokingly call this tour a field trip, if your kiddos are elementary-aged, I’d definitely count it. And I’m pretty picky about what I count as field trips!

The Wild Africa Trek is the best educational experience we’ve ever had at Walt Disney World, and we’ve had a lot!

If you want to extend the learning at home, pre– or post-trip, here are some ideas:

• Savannahs — locations, how weather affects them, animals that live or travel through, agriculture
• Animals — hippos, alligators & giraffes are the ones we talked about most
• Africa — countries, foods, “walk around” parts using Google Maps, music

Final Verdict: Would We Do It Again?

Absolutely. We all loved the tour and agreed that we would enjoy doing it again. It won’t be an experience we book ASAP, but it will definitely show up on our plans again. And we’ve already started researching other possible tours that might show up on our next trip!

My older son & I have both taken another tour, Behind the Seeds (fabulous!). It’s a lower-priced tour (about $50), and I wish Disney World offered more tours in that price range.

tl;dr

• Book an early time during the warm months. We booked the last slot, reasoning that we’d have the morning to hit our favorites, and then we would leave right after the tour for our ‘Ohana dinner reservations. But 3:00 on the savannah? Even in a covered area, that is hot!!
• Out of your price range for this trip? Check out the Caring for Giants ($39) & Up Close with Rhinos ($49) experiences. Shorter, cheaper, and open to kids as young as 4.
• Three hours of educational fun. You’ll learn, ask, see & listen, guided by Disney’s educational department guides.