One of my favorite attractions at Animal Kingdom is Kilimanjaro Safaris.  It allows guests to get up close but not too close to the animals.  It provides some shade while sitting down (my family always seems to go to Animal Kingdom on our vacation’s hottest day).  Lastly, it provides lots of great photo opportunities.

When to do on Kilimanjaro Safaris?

I’ve been told that the animals are the most active in the morning.  So, we make it a point to go on Kilimanjaro Safaris as our first attraction when we get to Animal Kingdom.  We usually get Fastpass+ for this attraction which, most of the time, allows us to go on the attraction twice with minimal wait as most people are at Expedition Everest or Kali River Rapids.  We will go once in the standby line and then once with our Fastpasses.  These two trips give us plenty of chances to get lots of great pictures of the animals.

Are some seats better than others for pictures?

The end seats (either side) are the best seats for pictures.  You don’t have to worry about the heads of other guests getting in the way of your photos.  My family has also found that sitting in the last row is better than sitting in the front.  Why?  You have two windows to get pictures: from the side AND from the back of the safari vehicle.  Twice the opportunity for great pictures.

So the other guests can enjoy the ride and not worry about pictures?

Yes and no.  The way that my family handles this attraction is my wife takes all the pictures.  I let my daughter sit back and enjoy the animals.  My job is arguably the hardest.  I work as the spotter for both my wife and daughter.  I let them know where the animals are and then they look and/or take the picture.  By the end of the attraction, I’m spent.  It’s hard to spot some of the animals and it’s a long attraction without much of a break.

Are all your pictures this good?

NO!  When we are finished with the attraction, we have around 500 pictures on the camera.  My wife uses the burst setting on her camera a lot on this attraction.  It takes a lot of pictures in a very short time.  When we return from vacation, I end up deleting, at least, half of the photos because they are either out of focus or a picture of nothing.  The ones seen in this post are the best of the best.

What is the schedule for the rest of your day at Animal Kingdom?

After Kilimanjaro Safaris, we try to have breakfast at Tusker House so we can dine with character.  The afternoon is filled with some combination of Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo: The Musical and Dinoland USA.  If we are spending a lot of time in Animal Kingdom, we will try to stop in for a meal at Flame Tree BBQ but that is usually dependent on the rest of our schedule for the day.

Thanks for reading!