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Kilimanjaro Safaris

Kilimanjaro Safaris

An Attraction in Animal Kingdom

Last updated: December 24, 2024

At a Glance

Animal Kingdom’s premier zoological attraction, Kilimanjaro Safaris offers an exceptionally realistic, albeit brief, imitation of an actual African photo safari. Thirty-two guests at a time board tall, open vehicles and are dispatched into a simulated African veldt habitat. Animals such as zebras, wildebeests, impalas, Thomson’s gazelles, giraffes, and even rhinos roam apparently free, while predators such as lions, as well as potentially dangerous large animals like hippos, are separated from both prey and guests by all-but-invisible, natural-appearing barriers. Although the animals have more than 100 acres of savanna, woodland, streams, and rocky hills to call home, careful placement of water holes, forage, and salt licks ensures that the critters are hanging out by the road when safari vehicles roll by.

Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World author, Bob Sehlinger, says: "Having traveled in Kenya and Tanzania, I (Bob) can tell you that Disney has done an amazing job of replicating the sub-Saharan east-African landscape. As on a real African safari, what animals you see, and how many, is pretty much a matter of luck. We’ve experienced Kilimanjaro Safaris more than 100 times and had a different experience on each trip."

Animal Kingdom may offer a nighttime version of Kilimanjaro Safaris. Before the first safari truck rolled into the setting sun, Disney spent more than a year acclimating the existing animals, as well as nocturnal species such as hyenas, to life in a theme park. For the nighttime version, Disney also installed a baseball stadium–size wall of graphics displays at the far end of the attraction’s savanna grasslands.

Turned on late in the day, the displays are programmed to simulate a gradually setting sun for hours on end—providing enough light for guests to see the animals that are still roaming around. It’s hard to predict which ones you’re likely to see, however: On one nighttime tour, we found that the rhinos were noticeably more active at night, while other animals, such as hippos, crocodiles, and elephants, became virtual recluses. A Wilmington, Delaware, man had a different experience, though:

Animal Kingdom at night was the hit of our trip, and Kilimanjaro Safaris was great. We saw more animals in action than we had ever seen in the daytime, and the nighttime added just a hint of danger to the entire proceeding that made it fun.
Current Standby Wait Time
Lightning Lane
Soonest Return Time:
1:10pm
As of 8:33am EST
Guest Overall Rating
Our Overall Rating
Preschool
Grade School
Teens
Young Adults
Over 30
Seniors
Location
Africa in Animal Kingdom
Duration
20 min
Rider Switch?
No
Minimum Height
None
Queues
Accessibility
  • Physical Considerations
  • Handheld Captioning
  • Video Captioning
  • Assistive Listening
  • Audio Description
  • Must Transfer to Standard Wheelchair

Touring Tips

When To Go
As soon as the park opens or in the 2 hours before closing.
Loading Speed
Fast
Early Theme Park Entry?
No
Wait per 100 People Ahead
4 min
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours?
No

Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of Animal Kingdom’s busiest attractions, along with Expedition Everest and the two Pandora attractions. From a touring standpoint, this is a good thing: By distributing guests evenly throughout the park, those other attractions make it unnecessary to run to Kilimanjaro Safaris first thing in the morning.

Waits for Kilimanjaro Safaris diminish around midafternoon, sometimes as early as 3 p.m. but more commonly somewhat later. We recommend taking the nighttime safari after you’ve experienced the daytime version.

If you want to take photos, note that the vehicle isn’t guaranteed to stop at a given location. Drivers try their best to accommodate guests and stop when big animals come into view, but be prepared to snap at any time. As for the ride, it’s not that rough.

Other attractions you might like

Users who like Kilimanjaro Safaris, generally also like:

EPCOT

Soarin' Around the World

EPCOT

Mission: SPACE Orange

EPCOT

Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

Animal Kingdom

Avatar Flight of Passage
Wait Times

Here's roughly how many minutes you'll wait for Kilimanjaro Safaris at each Animal Kingdom Crowd Level.

1
9 to 34
2
10 to 44
3
13 to 46
4
16 to 52
5
19 to 62
6
27 to 72
7
31 to 77
8
44 to 87
9
53 to 106
10
65 to 128
Hourly View and Lightning Lane Return Times
Monday,
Sep 4, 2023
View another date
Wait Times for
Kilimanjaro Safaris
 
Monday,
September 4, 2023

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Lightning Lane via Genie+ Availability For
Kilimanjaro Safaris
 
Monday,
September 4, 2023

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Observed:
Gone by 5:57 PM
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Submitted Wait Times
10 min Actual FP at 11:14am
4 min Actual Standby at 3:19pm
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