Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail at Animal Kingdom Under Partial Refurbishment
If you’re heading to Disney’s Animal Kingdom anytime soon you may want to avoid Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. This walking trail near Kilimanjaro Safaris now has multiple animal areas under renovation causing portions of the trail to be closed and foot traffic to be rerouted. And in some areas of the trail it is a challenging experience.
The old entrance is now the exit. The entrance is now to the left, so the entrance and exit share the same space. There are plenty of arrows to direct traffic, but our field team observed plenty of confusion among guests. There are some areas that physical distancing becomes a challenge.
About half of the animal areas are out of service until end of February to early March 2021, but the Gorilla area, the meerkat and zebra areas are still open. The closed areas include the hippo viewing area, the aviary, the research building, and the okapi.
The crowded walkways in some areas are a concern, but the greatest issue our team experienced today is the entrance and the exit being the same spot. Hopefully in the coming days this area can be reworked to make it less crowded and confusing. If you really want to visit Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail it may make sense to do so first thing in the morning or after 3:00 p.m. if you want to avoid any crowds.
Here’s a little map of the trail we put together indicating the closed areas.
Have you been on the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail? Would you visit during this refurbishment?
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Thank you for all of the information!! I really appreciate it!
I’d like to point out that Chrissy knows more about the lowland gorillas’ daily lives than I know about my extended family’s.
Hi Ashleigh! I was just there on Sunday and the updates were still ongoing. We will be back again this week and will ask for a new timeline.
The great news is, you can still see all of the Silverback Lowland Gorillas including Grace, who will turn 2 on May 1st. She and her mom, Kashata, are almost always out and visible. Now that Grace is a toddler she is very active and can often be seen running after rabbits or other wildlife that happens in the enclosure. If you get to the Trail first thing, you can see her enjoying snacks. It’s all gold in our book.
If you’re a Disney+ subscriber, we suggested binge watching Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom before you go. Season 1, Episode 8 goes into lots of detail about Grace. If you want to get super nerdy and educational (who doesn’t?!?), plan to spend a good deal of time at Sea Base after you’ve been on Nemo in Epcot. Season 1, Episode 7 goes into fantastic detail on Darby and her baby boy, Hilo. Be sure to ask a CM when you’re in view of the SeaBase tanks and they will point out the stars you’re in search of. Oh! Another episode features Lou! He’s one of the gorgeous manatee you’ll be able to see there too.
Please let us know what you think of all of your animal adventures. Have fun!
Has anyone been recently? We will be there in 2 weeks and wondering if the updates will be complete then? Thanks!