Best Time to Safari

You may have heard stories of angry guests complaining to CMs at Kilimanjaro Safari that there weren’t many animals to see on their late afternoon, mid-summer journey through this Animal Kingdom signature attraction. Real animals with real notions about what they will and won’t do make it very difficult to provide a consistent show, especially in 100-degree weather. Animal Kingdom has come up with a bunch of tricks over the years, such as chilled rocks and hidden feeding stations to modify animal behavior in ways which make the attraction more satisfying for guests. For the most part, these techniques mean better summertime safaris. But nothing prepared us for a recent January trip where we saw chilly weather bring with it more animal activity than we’ve ever seen before.

Our guide spoke excitedly about how rare it is to see hippos out of the water and ambulatory. A guy in front of us said, “I bet he says that to everybody.” Come back in August, friend, and see for yourself!

Giraffes were out everywhere. This juvenile was running up and down the hillside before he literally began running circles around our vehicle.

Here he is photo bombing my attempt at wildebeest photography.

A greater kudu having a munch on some tasty winter grass.

Don’t be fooled by these cool heads. Because just behind them brewed a clash of titans.

Kids were pointing and yelling, “Elephant fight!” And while it looked pretty crazy, we’re pretty sure it was play time. Surely a bull isn’t threatened by such a whippersnapper, right? At least I think that’s a bull. I am, admittedly, no expert at the analysis of elephant bulges. Nor do I really desire to be.

I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve passed the lion rock and seen much of the latter but none of the former.

His Highness seemed downright annoyed when we passed. Next time, I’ll be sure and wear my Eau de Tuna toilet water. I’m sure he will love it.

As the day flies away our tour ends at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

If you’ve never had a chance to come down to Walt Disney World in the colder months, definitely give it a try sometime. Sure, there are more refurb closures, chilly water parks and you may even need gloves and a scarf from time to time. But there are also rare opportunities like our unusually active animal safari.

Thanks to MiceChat for including this post in their Orlando Parkhopper Column!

Correction: A friendly MiceChat user notes what I list as a greater kudu is in reality a waterbuck. Thank you!