Is The Wild Africa Trek at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Worth It?

Have you ever wanted to dine in the middle of the savanna at Disney's Animal Kingdom? That's just one of the things you get to experience on the Wild Africa Trek. On this VIP expedition, you get to immerse yourself in close encounters with exotic African wildlife, learn from expert tour guides, and try African-inspired foods.

I've been on several guided tours at Walt Disney World, but more recently had the pleasure of going on the Wild Africa Trek at Disney's Animal Kingdom. How does Wild Africa Trek stack up against other tours at Disney World?

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Wild Africa Trek – The Basics

Wild Africa Trek is a privately-guided, 3-hour VIP expedition that takes you backstage to see wild animals in their natural habitat.

Along the way, you'll discover just about every variety of animals living in the Safi River Valley. You'll get to walk along a grassland path, cross a rope bridge, and ride in a rugged safari vehicle – much smaller than the vehicle you ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris – over an open savanna. On this vehicle, you'll get the chance to view African animals up close – including giraffes, rhinos, hippos, and crocodiles!

Wild Africa Trek takes you up close and beyond what Kilimanjaro Safaris offers regular day guests.

Book your tour early. Disney World's guided tours tend to book quickly, and Wild Africa Trek is no exception. Like advanced dining reservations, you can start booking your tour 60 days in advance of your trip

Especially in the summer months, plan to book the earliest time possible to avoid the afternoon heat. In the winter months, don't be surprised if the morning weather is chilly. Plan to book a later time to stay warm, or plan to wear several layers if your tour is in the morning.

While you need the physical stamina to walk along single track trails, the trails on the tour are short and have very small hills and mildly uneven surfaces

How Much Does Wild Africa Trek Cost?

Wild Africa Trek costs between $219 and $229 per person (tax not included).

It's important to know that there are 15% discounts available for select guests including Disney World Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members. To receive the discount, you will need to be logged into the Walt Disney World website before reserving your tour.

Keep in mind that in order to attend the tour, you must also have a valid theme park admission and park reservation (if applicable) for the day of the tour. The full payment is due at the time of booking.

Is the Wild Africa Trek Worth It?

During our experience we were able to get close to hippos and crocodiles which made for an incredible experience. Being able to walk the rope bridges on the Kilimanjaro Safari provided a sense of adventure with just a touch (okay, maybe a lot) of thrill. The “light” lunch, which really felt like a full meal, was very tasty and only added to the feeling of dining along an African savanna. And the private safari ride made our tour feel much more intimate and personal.

Looking back, had I only been on the rope bridge part of the tour, I would have felt that I received my money's worth.

And finally, it should go without saying, but everyone knows how challenging it is to capture the moment of our loved ones having a magical time at Disney World. Having trained photographers with us at all times to document our journey made our tour so much less stressful. They made it easier to catch candid moments of our encounters with the animals and provided photographing tips to make sure our photos looked beautiful.

Considering what's included in the Wild Africa Trek tour, I walked away 100% confident that I would pay the same amount of money to do the tour again.

Is the price worth the experience? Let's go over what's included in your ticket and a detailed breakdown of our day experiencing this popular Animal Kingdom tour.

What's Included in Wild Africa Trek?

Wild Africa Trek gives you a new perspective on Disney's Animal Kingdom, taking you up close to the animals along the Safi River Valley.

To save you time and stress, your tour guides (who are also trained photographers) will capture all the action and excitement during your adventure. This includes photos of you walking along the trails and across the rope bridges as well as the animals.

About two-thirds of the way through the tour (after working up an appetite), you get a spread of African-inspired snacks – which is enough to be a meal on its own. Our meal included:

• Garlic and leek hummis and pita
• Prosciutto and mozzarella
• Olive mix
• Fresh fruit
• Chicken wrap
• Marinated tandoori shrimp
• Our choice of pineapple-orange-guava (POG) juice, tea, or water

Note that the menu items are subject to change without notice.

On the tour, you'll be handed a Wild Africa Trek name tag, a Wild Africa Trek water bottle, and a glasses strap if you wear glasses or sunglasses. All of these items make for great keepsakes after your tour.

You'll also be handed a safety harness with closable pockets that allow you to keep your phone with you, a phone strap to ensure that your phone won't fall out, and a wireless headset so you can hear your guide at all times.

Checking In for the Wild Africa Trek Tour

The check-in process starts 15 minutes prior to the start at Curiosity Animal Tours kiosk, across from Kilimanjaro Safaris.

This extra time is important to sign the necessary paperwork and ask any last-minute questions. Once your entire group is present, your guide will lead you to your complimentary lockers where you must store any loose items aside from your phone or glasses. Your guide then weighs you before fitting you with your safety vest and wireless headset.

While the tour itinerary, content, duration, and availability are subject to change without notice, the following is generally how the tour goes.

Sections of the Wild Africa Trek Tour

When I attended the tour, there were five sections. To get to our first viewing area, we walked through part of the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and into a backstage area. It was shortly after that point when we entered the first part of our tour.

Hippo Backstage Viewing

After a short hike along a single-track trail, we arrived at the hippo viewing area, where a knowledgeable Cast Member taught us all about how they take care of these gigantic creatures. For being the first tour of the day, the hippos were fairly active. It was fun seeing them in their habitat while asking Cast Members our questions!

This is also the first section where our safety vest came in handy. Several of the viewing areas (including this one) have you on a ledge overlooking the animals. Instead of a railing that obstructs your view, you're tethered via your safety vest and harness.

Rope Bridges with Views of Crocodiles

Have you ever ridden Kilimanjaro Safaris, saw the rickety-looking rope bridges, and wondered whether or not they're actually used?

Well, I can confirm that they are indeed used because our tour had us walk on both of them. The first bridge has you walking over the hippos while the second one has you walking over the crocodiles.

One by one, our tour guides tethered us to an overhead safety cable and let us walk each bridge. They let us take our time to snap photos and soak in the sights while also ensuring that the bridge wasn't crowded with too many people.

While on the bridge, our guides also took photos of us that we were able to download afterwards.

Crocodile Viewing

After crossing the second bridge that overlooked the crocodiles, we stopped at the crocodile viewing area. Like the hippo viewing area, we were able to stand on an overlook while tethered on a harness. While viewing the crocodiles, another Cast Member was present to educate us on how they take care of their crocodiles and to answer any of our questions.

Private Safari Ride

After viewing the crocodiles, our tour group shedded our safety vests and boarded a safari truck to go on a private ride through the savanna.

If you've ever been on the Starlight Safari tour at Animal Kingdom Lodge, the safari truck is identical. Not only is it smaller than the Kilimanjaro Safaris truck, it also gives you a clearer 360 degree view of the savanna, giving you more chances to take great photos. It's also able to go into areas of the savanna that the Kilimanjaro Safaris truck can't go to. On our tour, our tour guides took photos of us up close with the giraffes – a chance you'd rarely get when riding Kilimanjaro Safaris.

You also get to spend more time with any active animals on the savanna – a wonderful perk of the Wild Africa Trek tour.

Snack Time on the Savanna

Eventually, your safari truck makes its way to a private pavilion overlooking the savanna.

By this part in the tour, everyone's feeling their hunger, making it a perfect time to sit down and feast on the light lunch prepared by the Tusker House restaurant. And what better way to have lunch than along the savanna?

The pavilion provided the most unobstructed view of the entire savanna, making our lunch one of the most beautiful meals we've had at Disney World.

Important Details Before Booking Wild Africa Trek

There are a few important details to consider before you decide to book your Wild Africa Trek tour:

• Wild Africa Trek occurs rain or shine, with the exception of severe weather or lightning
• Recommended attire includes shorts or pants and a comfortable shirt. Closed-toe shoes with a back strap or hiking boots are required. Flip-flops are not allowed. Skirts or dresses are not recommended.
• Participating guests must be at least 8 years old. Guests 17 years old or younger must be accompanied by a participating adult 18 years or old
• Participating guests must be at least 48 in (122 cm)
• Participating guests must weight between 45 and 300 lbs (20.14 and 136 kg). Cast Members do weigh you before your tour
• Expectant mothers cannot participate
• Disney recommends that participants be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back, or neck problems, motion sickness, or any other conditions that could be aggravated by the tour
• Disney does offer a less physical journey or wheelchair-accessible trek. To participate in this, contact Wild Africa Trek operations at 407-938-1373 for an alternative offering
• There is a 24-hour cancellation policy. The full price will be charged/forfeited if you cancel within one day or fail to show up for the reservation

This was a great experience at Animal Kingdom!

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