Sense of Africa Tour

[eeyore81]

Looking for details on anyone who has done this tour. One person in our group uses a mobility scooter. When I called today, the lady on the phone told me that she could use the scooter on the tour. The next person I talked to said she could use the scooter on all parts of the tour except for the part on the Safari truck but that once you are on the truck you are just seated and driven around on the savanna. My concern is when do you do the part with the animal interaction. Do you have to climb on and off the truck? The CMs I spoke to didn’t seem very knowledgable.

 

[wagner1225]

Haven't heard of sense of africa tour, but the wife went on Wild Africa Tour (walking) and also rode in truck, they had to walk across a Rope Bridge with a harness attached, so some of the people you talk to might get it mixed up, they are not necessarily at Disney World, and might be somewhere over seas, although I have talked to some who actually lived there

 

[karmacats]

My concern is when do you do the part with the animal interaction. Do you have to climb on and off the truck? The CMs I spoke to didn’t seem very knowledgable.

I'm doing this tour april 17 so I'm happy to find out for you if you don't need to know until after that. I'm notoriously bad at remembering to post follow ups, though, so if you think of it, tag me in this thread after then or drop me a pm and I'll let you know.

 

[littlebearfan]

We did this tour in September 2017. I would think the biggest problem would be the ladder on the truck, and I don't think there would be room on the Safari Truck to bring the scooter with you. So when you get off the truck, that person would most likely be without the scooter. There is some driving around the Savannah, but a majority of the tour is standing in the barns.

You have to climb up and down aluminum ladders to get in and out of the Safari Truck. These are attached and removed by the Cast Members throughout the tour.
They requested we only go one at a time - so you wouldn't be able to go up together to support someone. I don't remember exactly how many, but probably about 4-5 narrow stairs.

Yes you would need to climb off the truck to go inside the 'barns' to see and interact with the animals (Okapi, Giraffes, Ostrich, and Red River Hogs).

 

[plutofan0902]

Yes you would need to climb off the truck to go inside the 'barns' to see and interact with the animals (Okapi, Giraffes, Ostrich, and Red River Hogs).

@littlebearfan can you give some more info on the animal interaction? I'm planning a trip and am trying to decide between two different tours. Thanks!

 

[kaytieeldr]

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/animal-kingdom-lodge/sense-of-africa/ then select the Accessibility link.

 

[littlebearfan]

@littlebearfan can you give some more info on the animal interaction? I'm planning a trip and am trying to decide between two different tours. Thanks!

So sorry for taking so long, I wasn't watching this thread! You start off with Breakfast at Boma. They make some specialty items just for the tour, but you get to eat off the entire buffet too! And they gave each of us a Water Bottle with the logo of the tour on it - already filled with ice cold water.

They drive you (by Safari Truck) around to different housing for the animals. You have to get off the truck and enter each enclosure. You are given different types of food to feed the animals and they take pictures of everyone, but only with the Okapi and Giraffes. You are only allowed to take your own pictures while you are out on the savanna. Which is kind of hard to do while bouncing around. You may get a chance at some good pictures when they stop the truck.

The first one is the Okapi. We got to see 2 different ones - but only touch one of them (she was born and raised at Disney), and only around her neck as instructed. They take pictures of your interaction with her. The second one was extremely shy - so we only saw her sticking her head out of her enclosure. They use these tours to get the animals used to people dressed in different clothes, different smells, etc. This helps when the different vets come to see the animals.

Then came the Giraffes. They give you a lot of information while standing outside the barn - which was interesting, but hard to take in as we really wanted to see the Giraffes! They had a mother and daughter pair inside. You lined up and fed them through a fence at first - with leafy branches. Then they move the mother over to an area where she can reach her head over and take things like lettuce directly from your hands. They don't allow you to touch the giraffe. One by one, you offer her something and they take your picture while doing it. I asked if the tours are always the same Giraffes (I am not sure they completely heard\understood my question), and was told the Daughter wasn't tall enough yet to reach over and take from peoples hands. So I don't know if it will always be the same two giraffes.

Then we fed some Ostriches. They are a little aggressive in their eating, but still fun. They put some feed into a cup with a long handle and you walk up to the fence a couple of people at a time. They certainly know where the food is located! They go right for it.

Then we went to visit the Red River Hogs. They talk about them and show you some of the things they are training them to do - mostly to cooperate with their own vet care. They had some 'toys' that we filled with different foods, then we went out into their outside area and left the toys. We came back in, and they let the hogs outside. It was amazing how fast they found the items!

At the end, they gave each of us a Sense of Africa pin.

You also get the card with a code so you can download the pictures. You get all the pictures they took throughout the day - even the ones of the other tourists. We already had Memory Maker, but I think you can download these pictures without it. I am not really sure about that part.

 

[mousehockey37]

On the Disney site there is this bullet point:

• Guests using a wheelchair or ECV must leave their mobility devices behind at the Resort destination where they will retrieve them upon conclusion of the tour. Please note that Guests must be able to walk by themselves or be assisted by a member or members of their party to experience this tour.

 

[plutofan0902]

@littlebearfan thanks so much! I'm going to do this tour for sure. Giraffe are my favorite and I think the Okapi are pretty cool too!

 

[GoGoBeans]

So sorry for taking so long, I wasn't watching this thread! You start off with Breakfast at Boma. They make some specialty items just for the tour, but you get to eat off the entire buffet too! And they gave each of us a Water Bottle with the logo of the tour on it - already filled with ice cold water.

They drive you (by Safari Truck) around to different housing for the animals. You have to get off the truck and enter each enclosure. You are given different types of food to feed the animals and they take pictures of everyone, but only with the Okapi and Giraffes. You are only allowed to take your own pictures while you are out on the savanna. Which is kind of hard to do while bouncing around. You may get a chance at some good pictures when they stop the truck.

The first one is the Okapi. We got to see 2 different ones - but only touch one of them (she was born and raised at Disney), and only around her neck as instructed. They take pictures of your interaction with her. The second one was extremely shy - so we only saw her sticking her head out of her enclosure. They use these tours to get the animals used to people dressed in different clothes, different smells, etc. This helps when the different vets come to see the animals.

Then came the Giraffes. They give you a lot of information while standing outside the barn - which was interesting, but hard to take in as we really wanted to see the Giraffes! They had a mother and daughter pair inside. You lined up and fed them through a fence at first - with leafy branches. Then they move the mother over to an area where she can reach her head over and take things like lettuce directly from your hands. They don't allow you to touch the giraffe. One by one, you offer her something and they take your picture while doing it. I asked if the tours are always the same Giraffes (I am not sure they completely heard\understood my question), and was told the Daughter wasn't tall enough yet to reach over and take from peoples hands. So I don't know if it will always be the same two giraffes.

Then we fed some Ostriches. They are a little aggressive in their eating, but still fun. They put some feed into a cup with a long handle and you walk up to the fence a couple of people at a time. They certainly know where the food is located! They go right for it.

Then we went to visit the Red River Hogs. They talk about them and show you some of the things they are training them to do - mostly to cooperate with their own vet care. They had some 'toys' that we filled with different foods, then we went out into their outside area and left the toys. We came back in, and they let the hogs outside. It was amazing how fast they found the items!

At the end, they gave each of us a Sense of Africa pin.

You also get the card with a code so you can download the pictures. You get all the pictures they took throughout the day - even the ones of the other tourists. We already had Memory Maker, but I think you can download these pictures without it. I am not really sure about that part.

Thank you for this! This is the best post I’ve seen on this tour. It sounds like a lot of fun. The giraffe interaction would be worth it just to feed them.

Would definitely need to be a next time we stay at AKL activity. A 7am start would be rough for my sleepers.

We did Wild Africa Trek at AK last year. The crossing the bridge in a harness was fun. Riding in the truck just soaking in the savanna watching the animals roam was amazing. Highly recommend.

 

[littlebearfan]

Thank you for this! This is the best post I’ve seen on this tour. It sounds like a lot of fun. The giraffe interaction would be worth it just to feed them.

Would definitely need to be a next time we stay at AKL activity. A 7am start would be rough for my sleepers.

We did Wild Africa Trek at AK last year. The crossing the bridge in a harness was fun. Riding in the truck just soaking in the savanna watching the animals roam was amazing. Highly recommend.

We were staying at AKL - which worked out great for this tour.

 

[h&D3]

I can't wait until our trip in August to do this. We are staying at AKL again this trip. We are actually giving this tour to our daughter for a birthday present next Monday (she turns 11 on 4/16). I made this big scroll and wrapped it in a huge container that she will have to open. I'm sure she's going to flip when she sees it, and I hope she will be as excited for the actual tour as DH and I are. She wants to be a vet when she grows up and wants to work at AK or AKL. I've been planning on doing this for her since I found out about this tour last September so I can't wait until next Monday when she actually finds out about it. The interaction with the Giraffes sounds amazing as those are her favorite animals (well, besides horses )

~D