Kilimanjaro Safaris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Locations, openings and status
Disney's Animal Kingdom April 22, 1998
Open

One of the animals you will see on the ride

Kilimanjaro Safaris is a safari attraction at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park on the Walt Disney World Resort property in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It is an open-sided safari where you drive through the savannah of East Africa.

1 Story
2 History
3 Attraction facts
4 Gallery
5 External links

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The ride originally begins as a 2 week animal safari, aboard "Simba 1" through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve in Harambe East Africa. It is 800 square miles of natural East African terrain, including forest (Ituri Forest), wetlands (Safi River valley), and open bush country (the Serengeti Savanna). During most of the ride you view the common African animals including elephants, giraffe, antelope, gazelle, crocodiles, hippos, lions, cheetahs, rhinos, flamingos, and much more. Your tour guide points out all the animals along with providing entertainment. During the journey, your driver is in radio contact with Reserve Warden Wilson Matua and his guest Miss Catherine Jobson (his favorite wildlife researcher), who are flying around the reserve on their daily routine. It all takes a turn when poachers are spotted in the animal preserve. The poachers have shot Big Red and captured Little Red, the two most famous elephants on the reserve, and your tour is enlisted to help save Little Red. You have support from the air and other park rangers.

[edit] History

In 2004 much of the savanah was torn up due to having to replace the drainage. When the park was developed they used cheaper drainage which eventually failed. The ride stayed open with green tarps covering the construction and to keep animals out.

The ride originally included a cast member at the scene of capturing the poachers and saving Big Red and Little Red. This cast member acted as a reserve warden carrying a gun and pointed out that little Red was OK and presumably was responsible for taking care of the poachers. This role was eliminated several years ago.