barely saw animals

[mbblong01]

I am so sorry if this was already answered in this thread, but the best times to go on the safari to see the lion is about when the last safari takes off..... at least it almost always works for me

That always works for me also. Hit the safari ride either as soon as the park opens or last thing when it's closing. Those are the two times i have the best luck seeing all the wonderful animals! :-)

[HawaiiFiveBro]

I really wish they could figure out a way to make the lions more visible to guests. Maybe less trees/rocks around them?

[nickalew]

Great lion photo. We've been able to see the lions on a number of trips, but we have never been able to get such a great picture.

Yeah, I was lucky that the tour guide was really nice in stopping. most guides i had just sped through it

[djv777]

If you want to see animals you have to go as soon as the park opens and run back to the safari. The animals are most awake and active at that point

[2old4toys]

The safari is the only reason to go to this park. Limited animal sightings is a bummer.

[nickalew]

The safari is the only reason to go to this park. Limited animal sightings is a bummer.

I agree, it's the reason why AK is my favorite park in all of WDW. It comes close to trumping my beloved DLR, too. I really think that the safari experience is at the hands of the driver. Like I said earlier, some drivers will actually stop (for a good amount of time) so that you can see animals and take pictures. Those are the good drivers/guides. Alternatively, I've been on safaris where the driver was speeding through everything. The animals were there, it was the guide who mentioned something briefly about them and then on to the next. I later found out that the driver was about to get off of his shift and that I was on his last safari... so go figure

[drkutz]

Sorry to hear that you didn't see many animals. The safari is a great attraction. Just after the driver stopped and told us how lucky we were to see the monkeys, since they are normally back further in their area and more difficult to see, a male mounts a female right at the front of the exibit. My 11 year old son asked "Why would he do that? Why wouldn't they go somewhere private at least?" We all just about died laughing at the question. It was great.

[Lolo]

I love this attraction. The second time I went on it the weather wasn't that great... it was raining but we did get to see quite a few animals. When we pasted by the lions the male was roaring it was amazing!

[flash49]

I know this is an older thread, but we just came back from WDW and the safari was my favorite ride. Of course, I couldn't ride any of the big boy rides because I had a 2 year old w/ me. No regrets though. We went first thing in the morning and saw almost all the animals. I almost could have touched an ostrich and the rhino. My son also loved this ride especially when the bridge moved. Great ride and wish we can go back soon.

[jeffztt]

We've been on the Safari a number of times in the morning but finally went late last visit. The animals may be more active in the morning, but in the evening there are fewer trucks running so they can stop for longer periods. Also, both lions (the male and female) were out and one was pacing, I think they were waiting to be let into their habitat.

[NateTheGreat!]

Went on this ride first thing when I went to AK. The weather was great that day and animals were everywhere. Got some amazing photos! It can't be too hot or too cold (ie dawn & dusk on nice days)

[LeoADion]

When I went I saw a lot if birds and some tigers. That's it for me

[adik.na.chinoy]

we got exceptional views when it was in the hottest weather as well...around 100 degress and sunny when we went....most of the animals were out, even the lions and bear cubs

[photographymom517]

I agree that it depends on the driver! Some of them are willing to take more time than others. Although I think it also depends upon the crowd levels. We went last summer when it was REALLY crowded! It seemed like our driver wanted to stop & wait a few times, but the driver behind us was speeding through. So our driver was going quicker to get far enough in front of him.

But, even though we went through fairly quickly, we still saw a lot of the animals!! I love the safari & I feel horrible for those who have posted that they didn't see many animals! We saw a TON of animals including giraffes, lions, hippos, alligators, birds, and tons of others!!! :-) This year, we have a breakfast scheduled first thing in the morning so I'm still hoping to get a Fast Pass at a decent time for Kilimanjaro Safari! Last year I believe we saw it around 10:30am and the previous years, it was before that.

[KACG BOSS]

The driver that we had on the safari was awesome. He was energetic and was really into his job. WE saw plenty of animals and had an ostrich walk about a foot away from the bus... And also a little baby ape was spinning in circles and banging on the walls on the nature trail

[20thingamabobs]

I bet the weather did affect it! When we went in December, it was soo cold and we barely saw anything either, it was our worst experience. And we went at around 4:00pm right before they closed...

[garyb3529]

The safari is best really early or really late in the day.

[flyosu]

when we went last week, we were there at about 10:30 am... it started to rain halfway thru our tour.... we saw more animals than I have ever seen!

[timmay9162]

I always go early in the morning or early evening and always see lots of animals. Last time a giraffe was only a few feet from the vehicle.

[buzzcoleman14]

We usually go around noon and see most of the animals. I never get a good look at the Lions though...

[SorcererAdam]

Last trip we witnessed elephants wrestling with each other and taking a bath. We also heard a lion "roaring." It's more of a low, bassy grunt. By far the best safari we'd been on. I can't wait for the zebras!!!

[Carol]

We usually go around noon and see most of the animals. I never get a good look at the Lions though...

The Lions are very hit and miss - given they sleep for about 20 hours per day, the likelihood of seeing them awake is not great.

When we were at WDW in April/May for 6 weeks we went to Animal Kingdom quite a few times. We went on the Safari at least twice each day as it is our daughters favourite ride and on our second to last ride saw the Lions walking around and roaring - very cool.

[Boggerbret]

Snapped this pic We got lucky this year

DSCF1544 by Boggerbret, on Flickr

[SorcererAdam]

Great pic!!

[DisneyMike&Kelly]

The safari is the best ride. We usually get a fast pass for it and get in line first thing. By the time we are done the first time it is time for our fast pass. We have had great luck early in morning seeing the animals. We never have been there close to closing time but if we are we will try to go on it then too.