Looking for something off the beaten path at Disney World? One of my favorite things to do is take one of Disney’s behind the scenes tours, and the Wild Africa Trek is one amazing option. I took the trek at 8 am one morning last September. It was one of the best experiences I have had, by far, at Disney!
The trek begins by everyone getting “outfitted” in their vests and harnesses; it is very easy and moves pretty quickly. You also receive your souvenir water bottle filled with cold water at this point. There are also various spots along the trail with cool water to refill your bottle. The space is quite limited for each trek, so the group stays small and fun! Then, you move on to the “practice bridge” where you practice walking on a bridge suspended about 4 ft. off the ground. They have some delicious Jungle Juice available at the practice bridge. Keep in mind though that it will be about 2 hrs before you get to a bathroom, so drink at your own risk! Once everyone has crossed the practice bridge, they go over some safety information and off you go!
The group walks through some of the public areas and part of the Kilimanjaro Trail before taking off down a hidden path. It is fairly easy walking, but there are roots and uneven spots in the trail, making it a bit more realistic. Our first stop were the Hippos – in a word –AMAZING! A cast member was there feeding them, so the hippos were coming up to the edge of the water. Hans was the hippo that was there that day and he was so much fun. It was great to be able to see him up close and to be able to ask the cast members whatever questions we wanted. After some time with the Hippos, we moved on to our first of two bridges.
If you are afraid of heights, like I am, these bridges can seem a little intimidating, but theyreally are a lot of fun once you get out there. I just let my guides know about my nerves and they were great! It is fun to walk right out over the crocodiles and park guests on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. It was already too hot out for the crocodiles so we moved on to the Kilimanjaro Ride right after the bridges.
You take the same road as the regular ride vehicles for the Safari, but our driver pulled over and stopped several times and we were able to get some GREAT photos of the animals! Our guides were exceptionally knowledgeable and we learned some great stuff from them while on this portion of the tour.
After some time on the safari we pulled over to a building overlooking the savannah for a bathroom break, and a delicious snack! There was plenty of time to eat, socialize and get more great photos as well as use the restroom.
Once we were finished we all loaded back into the truck, and continued on with the rest of the safari ride. Then it was a short walk back to where we had started to collect any belongings we had stored in the lockers at the “outfitters. We also had time for one last group photo and some last minute info. While we were heading back we got a great surprise, a hawk had landed on the practice bridge and was kind enough to sit there while we all snapped dozens of photos! 
The Wild Africa Trek is a fantastic behind the scenes tour at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park. A portion of the proceeds from the tour goes to further help Animal Kingdoms’ efforts in conservation and you are given a chance to choose where YOU want the funds to go. If you are looking for something just a little different, I highly recommend the Wild Africa Trek!
Noelle has been a Disney Travel Specialist with Wishing Well Travel since 2012, you can contact her at Noelle at wishingwelltravel.com, find her on facebook or Request a Quote from her online.
