Kilimanjaro Safaris – The African Savannah at Animal Kingdom

Photo of author
Written By Carlos Braga

Located in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Kilimanjaro Safaris is a safari in an African Savannah with dozens of animals to see and meet.

On this guided tour through the African savannah, you'll see a variety of free-living animals spread across the vast expanse.

The attraction opened in 1998 and has been running ever since.

There are more than 800km² filled with animal and plant nature throughout the land.

In this way, it works like a photographic safari, in which you have contact, albeit from afar, with the animals that live there.

Kilimanjaro Safaris - Safari at Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safaris – Safari at Animal Kingdom

The place, called the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, is home to more than 34 species.

There are 110 acres of land and breathtaking landscapes.

Recently, the adventure could also be done at night, after sunset, when you can see the behavior of the animals without being in the morning light. Isn't it amazing?

The Kilimanjaro Safaris tour

The vehicle you are going to ride will have an experienced guide, who will talk a little about the wildlife, as well as show you his knowledge of the animals that inhabit there.

The car is open on the sides, which makes it possible to have a very wide view of the animals.

More or less 30 people will be able to go at a time in each vehicle that is a kind of bus.

The journey lasts, on average, from 18 to 22 minutes, the difference is that vehicles may need to stop for an animal to cross the path and the driver has complete control over the car.

Even so, the whole adventure is made in a slow way, so that it is possible to take many pictures and enchant with the landscape.

Kilimanjaro Safaris - Safari at Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safaris – Safari at Animal Kingdom

That is, there is no need to be afraid, the animals are free, but there is no risk.

It is truly impressive how Disney has managed to reflect the animal life of the African continent inside a theme park.

That's why the park is so well-liked by visitors.

Some animals are very common to be seen on Kilimanjaro Safaris, such as: lions, giraffes, zebras, flamingos, wild boars, hippos, ostriches, rhinos, cheetahs, elephants, crocodiles and many others.

This attraction is highly recommended for children who like animals.

One of the most sought after animals during the tour is, without a doubt, the lion.

A big recommendation, if possible, make the tour have the highest chances of seeing most of the animals awake.

In addition, it is interesting that you arrive early and do the safari as soon as the park opens, as it is a popular attraction and always has moderate to long lines.

Of course, if that is your priority, as the park has more popular attractions than this one, such as the Flight of Passage Avatar and the Yeti roller coaster.

So don't leave this experience to the last minute.

Kilimanjaro Safaris - Safari at Animal Kingdom
Kilimanjaro Safaris – Safari at Animal Kingdom

Plan well to get the most out of it.

Recommendations for Kilimanjaro Safaris

Kilimanjaro Safaris is for all ages with no minimum height requirement.

There is all necessary security, as well as accessibility for visitors.

The opening hours of the safari are from 8am to 7pm, when the night tour takes place.

To go to the attraction, just arrive at the park and go to the Africa area, which is on the left of the site, in the background.

Check out the Animal Kingdom map to locate.

Depending on the season, queues can exceed the wait of more than an hour.

Rhino at Kilimanjaro Safaris
Rhino at Kilimanjaro Safaris

That is, so that you can go to other attractions in the park – which are many! -, select a day that is not a public holiday and/or weekend as these are usually the busiest days.

In fact, Kilimanjaro Safaris is still one of the main attractions in the park, which is why so many people want to experience the adventure.

However, you can use the Genie+, the Disney line-cutter, in this attraction.

With it you guarantee shorter times in the queue.

Animals Found On Kilimanjaro Safari

The amount and variety of Animals seen in this Safari is really impressive.

Naturally, it is not possible to easily see all the animals at all times, after all they are living beings, so they eat and sleep at different times of the day.

That said, as soon as you get into the attraction vehicle, you can see all the animals that are part of the ride on a “strip” that runs from the top of your vehicle. In the photo below you can see it well:

Kilimanjaro_Safaris_vehicle
Kilimanjaro_Safaris_vehicle

But since everything here on the blog is made to help you, dear travelers, here's a brief list of some of the animals you can find there!

  • Lion
  • Okapi
  • Ostrich
  • Warthog
  • White rhino
  • Gnu
  • wild dogs
  • Zebra
  • Antelope
  • Baboon
  • Black rhino
  • Cheetah
  • Crocodile
  • Elephant
  • Flamingo
  • Gazelle
  • Giraffe
  • Hipoppotamus
  • Hyenas
Giraffe at Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney's Animal Kingdom
Giraffe at Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney's Animal Kingdom

The driver of your car is your guide and he will always talk about the animals that are in sight during your journey.

Of course, it is necessary to know how to speak English to understand the information given by the driver.

Is it worth doing the Kilimanjaro Safari?

Quite directly, yes!

It's one of the attractions we love to do at Animal Kingdom.

We know that many people have issues with animals in captivity as if it were a zoo, however, all Disney animals receive extreme care and many of them are rescue animals that cannot be released into the wild.

There's even a really cool series on Disney+ that shows how the vets and caregivers of these animals interact with them, her name is "Animal Kingdom Disney Magic“.

Elephant at Animal Kingdom Safari
Elephant at Animal Kingdom Safari

It is an incredible attraction especially for those who love animals and for children.

Every time we do Kilimanjaro Safaris we see super happy and excited children throughout the journey seeing some animals they had never seen in person.

Of course, it's not every day that you have the opportunity to see animals so close up, the Giraffes for example sometimes stop in the middle of the way and you'll have to wait for them to leave to be able to pass and the car passes very close to them!

Technical information

  • Location:  Animal Kingdom? Africa
  • Minimum Height:  There is not
  • Attraction duration:  18 minutes
  • Recommended for:  All ages
  • Do you accept Genie+?: Yes

We have already made a one-day itinerary at Animal Kingdom and we are sure it will help you when putting together your travel plan.

So, how about checking it out? Click on here to see our tips and have a more than fantastic experience.

Finally, be sure to enjoy the attraction and have fun in the park!

We hope again that this post has helped you in your research for your trip to Disney or Orlando.

As a way to help us keep the blog going, we just ask you to help us by sharing this publication and subscribing to our social networks as Facebook, Instagram or Youtube channel.

In addition to helping us, we are sure that there you will find hundreds of useful posts for your trip!

Guarantee the Best Trip to Disney

We know that the amount of information that goes into a trip to Disney and Orlando is simply enormous.

This makes planning tiring or sometimes seem impossible!

But what if I told you that you can trust professionals to assemble a script totally EXCLUSIVE and CUSTOMIZED for you and your group?

Unlike the assembled itineraries found out there, this itinerary will take into account all the factors of your group such as ages, tastes and any profile that may change your trip.

That way you won't miss doing absolutely anything that would be amazing for you and ensure that your time is as optimized and your trip as perfect as possible!

Does it look too good? And that's right, don't forget to contact us and ask for your quote for a Custom Travel Script and have the best trip of your life!

Get your Parks Tickets at a Discount

Many people leave to buy their tickets when they arrive in Orlando or even on park day.

We absolutely do not recommend that you do this for a number of reasons, such as:

If you buy tickets on the spot, you won't be able to book your park days in advance at the risk of not even being able to enter a park on a given day.

You will lose valuable park minutes in line to buy your tickets.

AND MOSTLY, you will pay more because tickets at the box office are more expensive than buying in advance!

Access our ticket website to buy your tickets or request a free consultation to find out exactly which tickets are the best to buy.

For free consultation, click here!

More Tips for your Orlando Trip

Don't forget to check out our Youtube channel where we give several travel tips for Orlando.

In addition, we show you many cool things to do there, do you want a better way to plan a trip than already living a little bit of what you will see there?

If you liked this post, help us by sharing it on your social media!

This way we can reach more readers and keep bringing you high quality content!

Leave a Comment