Kilimanjaro Safaris

I think the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride at the Animal Kingdom has been one of our favorites each time we’ve visited Disney World. In the past, it’s been a fun ride because we get to see an assortment of animals and their environments, have a fun ride, and enjoy a scripted show where we chase down some poachers to save an elephant. The ride was paced slowly with enough time to see each animal and take plenty of photos, but the driver would also step on the gas to bounce the passengers around. I have enjoyed this ride every time we’ve done it!

On our most recent visit, however, the ride changed. The script to chase down the poachers has been completely eliminated and the ride has been sped up considerably. Gone are the stops at each animal — I literally did not have enough time get the camera to my eye to take photos. Those I did get were simply lucky shots.

Yes, the above is a lucky shot: flamingos in the foreground and an elephant and baobab tree in the background. I didn’t even realize the elephant was back there until after I got home to look at photos.