Last week I had the opportunity to preview the new Wild Africa Trek at Disney’s Animal Kingdom along with some of my bloggy friends. We were all excited and a little bit nervous about what was in store for us because our invitation included word like-safety harness and rope bridge! When we checked in at the tour podium , tucked behind the Dawa Bar, we were greeted by a friendly cast member who asked us to sign a release form and she warned us the next bathroom was 2 hours away so we better use the facilities before getting outfitted for the tour! Next we walked past the beach and up to the outfitters pavilion where we stowed our purses and extra gear in lockers, got weighed…there is a weight range of 45-310lbs for this tour, and then fitted with our vest and safety harness. The gear felt a little cumbersome at first as it is pulled tightly across your chest and thighs but after a few minutes you were accustomed to it’s feel. We were also given metal water jugs to carry with us in our vest pocket as well as an ear piece and receiver.

Once we were ready we headed to the practice bridge where we could get the feel for walking on the rope bridge with our gear on. Once everyone had practiced our herd gathered around our guides Laura and John as they gave us instructions. Since this was a media tour, in addition to the 8 bloggers/podcasters our group included an Imagineer, the Area Manager and a PR man. First we walked through the Harambe Village as our guides shared stories of African history and folklore. Next we walked part of the Pangani Forest Trail until we came to the trail that led us on our bush walk.

The bush walk is the longest part of the tour, approximately two hours of walking through the African forest through dense fern, bamboo and vine forests. While you are walking quietly, single file-we could still hear everything Laura was saying because of the listening devices we had. It was very comfortable to hike and listen to the stories without having to strain to hear what was being said. Next we approached the Safi River, which is home to hippos. We linked our safety cords up to a tether so we could hang over the cliff for a great view of the hippos below. After observing the hippos at two different locations…and listening for their distinctive “wheeze-honk” sound, we ventured further into the forest. As we hiked we came across a crocodile skull. John informed us that a crocodile is usually 7 times longer than its skull-and this skull was about 2 feet long!

Now we are on the lookout for crocs, not something you want to come across while hiking near the river bed. Soon we came upon 2 very long rope bridges; one that took us over some hippos and one over the crocodiles! These bridges are 30 feet in the air and there are planks missing! One by one we attached our safety harness to the guide wire and gingerly crossed first one bridge and then the other (watch my video to see what crossing the bridges was really like).

Once we had all safely crossed both bridges we headed to our ride for the rest of our journey. Before boarding the truck we got to take off all of our safety gear and hand it over to our guides. The truck portion of our tour was broken into two sections. During the first part we entered the savanna and saw the giraffe and gazelles. Then we came upon the Savanna Station or Boma, where we disembarked the truck and were greeted by Michael Colglazier, V.P. of Animal Kingdom! Once we were all greeted and had used the restroom to wash our hands, Mr Colglazier welcomed us and he and Aaron described the meal that was part of the tour (the full description is on the video below). As always if you have special dietary needs let Disney know when you book your tour and they will make sure you get what you need.

After a leisurely half hour at the Boma we loaded back up into the truck, Mr Colglazier joined us too, and we headed back out to see more animals. The truck portion of the tour is in the same area of the savanna as the regular Kilimanjaro Safari ride but this truck stops along the way for extended viewing and photo taking. The truck is also equipped with binoculars so everyone can have a great view of the animals. We had pulled off the road to view some antelope and when we were ready to move on there were 2 ostrich in front of our truck and they would not move. It was literally like one ostrich was in a staring contest with the truck driver…and we blinked first! We ended up putting the truck in reverse and going our a different way!

Once we made it back near Harambe Village we left the truck behind and walked through the village to the outfitters so that we could retrieve the items we left in the lockers and pick up our photopass. Each trekker receives a photopass and a coupon for a free CD of all of the pictures taken on your trek-ours has over 300 photos on it!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Wild Africa Trek and I hope to someday be able to take my entire family on it. There is an age limit of 8 years old and 48 inches tall and there is a lot of hiking so if you are taking children in the 8-10 year old range make sure they are really ready for that kind of activity and that they could handle the height of the rope bridge. The cost of the tour varies seasonally, now through February 26, 2011 there is an introductory price of $129 + park admission. To book your trek call 407/WDW-TOUR (939-8687).

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