IMAGINEERING KILIMANJARO SAFARIS A Tour of the Harambe Wildlife Reserve by Matthew Krul
At 110 acres , Kilimanjaro Safaris is roughly the same size as the entirety of Magic Kingdom , making it the largest attraction at Walt Disney World . As a former Kilimanjaro Safaris Cast Member , I gained a deep appreciation for this dynamic ride , one not only containing enough land to occupy an entire theme park but also populated by diverse African animals . Its design is an engineering marvel disguised as an African savanna , serving as both an exhilarating attraction and a call for conservation .
FORESTS , RIVERS , AND SAVANNAS When Imagineers designed Kilimanjaro Safaris , they created a fictional destination called the Harambe Wildlife Reserve , inspired by real national parks in East Africa and imagined to exist on the border of Kenya and Tanzania . The reserve is split into zones that represent a handful of ecosystems in this part of the African continent , each inhabited by animals native to those environments .
The safari begins in the Ituri Forest , where guests , aboard a Tembo truck , can witness okapi , yellow-backed duiker , and black rhinos . Guests soon move to the Safi River , where hippopotamuses and Nile crocodiles lurk within the murky water . Emerging from the forest , the truck continues to the first of two large savannas , West Savanna , home to giraffes , hyenas , wildebeest , and Ankole cattle . Making a detour to Monkey Point , guests encounter mandrills and male elephants before crossing a bridge to elephant country at the back of West Savanna . Rounding an island of flamingos , the tour of the reserve concludes in East Savanna , where white rhinos , cheetahs , lions , warthog , bontebok , and ostriches roam . The safari then travels past the warden ’ s post to return to the village of Harambe , concluding an expedition roughly the same acreage as the six themed lands of Magic Kingdom .
Kilimanjaro Safaris is easily Walt Disney World ’ s largest attraction . PHOTO BY CLIFF WANG