Originally Posted By Doobie This topic is for discussion of the February 15th "The Real Thing" column at: <a href="News-ID170000.asp" target="_blank">http://LaughingPlace.com/News-ID170000.asp</a>.
Originally Posted By riverted Marc, nice column... I enjoyed reading how much "The Real Thing" is alot alike to AK (& without the dangerous hazards) I myself really enjoy AK except for the fact that they scaled back the hours so much... They really do need to open at 7:00 a.m. like they used to... So you can really observe the animals on the Killamanjaro Safari before they go to sleep (like you mentioned)... But sometimes you can get lucky & see quite a few animals... Also the one good thing I can say about the Safari is that everytime you go experience it is unique & different from the last time... & Hopefully things will pick up in the next couple of months & they will resume with longer & earlier hrs in the park for the spring/summer... Ted...
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct I just got back from a four day trip to WDW. (Great time) I spent two of my four days at Animal Kingdom. It is my favorite park. Thanks for the article.
Originally Posted By jhammar007 Do the safari vehicles at AK have extra shocks in them . . . sort of a la Dinosaur or the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland? In other words, when the vehicles bounce up and down, is it completely the lay of the road or does the vehicle make the road seem more bumpy than it really is? I always try to look at the road to find this out, but there's always water on the portions of the road where the bumping up and down takes place. Justin
Originally Posted By brotherdave It looks like all of the "bumps" are "real", they appear to be formed into the road bed that's made to look like mud & dirt to help create the illusion. Beautifully done, I might add. I also enjoyed Marc's article comparing Kilamanjaro Safari to the "real thing". I think it might be safe to say that AK's safari (and hopefully someday Busch Garden's Rhino Rally) may be the closest I ever get to the "real thing". And it sounds that AK's is pretty close, at least in spirit, to what's truly available in Africa. After what Marc has stated about the troubles with telephones, disease, and other unwanted setbacks on his vacation to Africa, I'll stick with Disney!
Originally Posted By ArchtMig I agree that the rocking and rolling of the safari vehicles are cause by the actual contours of the road bed, and not from "enhanced" motion on board the vehicles. I love Disney's Animal Kingdom. And I thoroughly enjoyed the Kilamanjaro Safari. I saw plenty of animals, but yes, I did get to go on it early in the morning. I loved the little "Disney touches" such as the superb concrete roadbed made to look just like mud ruts. Absolutely perfect! I love how, every once in awhile, you hear the distant sound of the game warden's airplane as he "circles" over the preserve. I love how DAK did a thoroughly great job of immersing me into a recreation of distant and exotic environments that I had never experienced before. As mentioned in the first paragraph of the article, that is one important thing I want from Disney. Marc, thanks for this great article. It was a real fun read.
Originally Posted By Memory If there's no fake hydraulics or what have you imbedded in the vehicles, which may well be true, does anyone know how they do the bridge collapsing effect? Surely they don't tilt the actual bridge. -Tristan
Originally Posted By Marc Spig I’m glad you like the article. The roads in the African Animal reserves were very bumpy also. In some cases they were even worse then the Disney bumps – but not too often.
Originally Posted By ScroogeMcDuck Wow! Fab column! I think it's so cool that everything in the AK is so close to the real thing... Well except DinoRama that is.
Originally Posted By brotherdave Tristan, believe it or not, it IS the bridge that actually does the moving. It doesn't need to move much to give you that "uneasy" fealing. Universal Studios Hollywood uses this same technique on their famed tram tour, especially during the Earthquake & Kong scenes. Even Disney/MGM's tram tour utilizes this during the Catastrophe Canyon section. The driver's of the vehicles, I'm sure, are given training on how to cross these bridges safely, along with electronic monitoring of the vehicles to "activate" the bridge as the vehicles cross.
Originally Posted By aquamoptop what a wonderful article it is nice to see positive things about AK. I too feel that it is pretty close to the real thing. I have never experienced Africa but I have many friends who have and have told me similar stories.
Originally Posted By jhammar007 Have they started doing the "bridge rocking" effect again? I heard they had to stop it for awhile because something on the vehicles that triggered the effect was bad for the animals . . . ? Justin
Originally Posted By disneyshawn Great article about a great attraction. Thank you. Two other key differences: Kilimanjaro Safaris offers a greater variety of species than are likely to be seen on an actual safari. In Africa, you may see hundreds more animals, but those hundreds may be all wildebeest and little else. Also, the real Africa isn't nearly as green as DAK's version. It's very dusty and brown. As for the operating hours, don't think that 7 am is the only good time to tour the Harambe Reserve. Remember, it's the predators who sleep all day. Except for the hottest periods of the summer, you can usually catch a good number of animals any time, so go and enjoy!
Originally Posted By Memory They did the bridge rocking effect last time I rode it which was around Thanksgiving, but I always just assumed it was the car doing it. I thought somehow that would've been the simpler way or for safety reasons or whatever, though thinking about it, I guess it makes since to have it be the bridge. -Tristan
Originally Posted By halflingluck Hmmm... I can't comment very knowledgably on this since I haven't been to Animal Kingdom, Epcot was the only other park last time I was at WDW. But I have been to national parks in Zimbabwe. I don't know exactly why but this article really disturbed me. It seemed as odd as if someone had written an article comparing the experience of Frontierland and Texas and commenting that well Frontierland is more compact and has less boring elements. I have to think about this some more...
Originally Posted By dennis-in-ct The bridge was rocking in December and it didn't this past Feb trip
Originally Posted By Doobie <<<I don't know exactly why but this article really disturbed me. It seemed as odd as if someone had written an article comparing the experience of Frontierland and Texas and commenting that well Frontierland is more compact and has less boring elements.>>> I don't think the author was criticising Africa. He said he's glad he went. I think he's just letting people know the differences and letting them that, surprisingly, the AK version - at least as far as the safari goes - is a very good recreation. Pointing out a difference, ie. there are long waits between seeing animals in the real thing, isn't a criticism, I don't think. Just letting people (like me) who haven't been to Africa know how it differs. Doobie.
Originally Posted By irishfan A really enjoyable article, thanks! I had the fortune of going on a three week safari in Africa last October, and I have to agree with the authour, Disney nailed it with their Safari. I spent three days at the Moremi National park in Botswana, and on a couple of occasions, I had to tell myself I'm not at Animal Kingdom, I'm in Africa! Our vehicle was so similar to Disney's, we even went over this creaking old timber bridge, with signs up warning us of crocodiles! I was waiting for our driver at the end of one of the Safari's to say: "We hope you've enjoyed your trip here in Disney's Moremi National park, (in assocation with Coca Cola), please make sure you've taken all your belongings from the vehicle, and have a nice day!" Please dont get me wrong, my three weeks in Africa were absolutley amazing, and I'll be going back one day....what I'm saying, is Disney is due an awful lot of credit, and a big pat on the back for the realism they created in Killamanjaro Safaris.
Originally Posted By Marc Spig Disneyshawn, You are correct. Africa is not as green as Kilamenjaro Safari would have you believe. In fact I wonder how they got any African flora to grow there at all. The climate is completely different. Apparently they have one real Baobob tree. It is not very large or very prominent but it is in the African village area by the Tusker House. I’m sure you can get a cast member to point it out to you. But I did see a wide variety of animals while on safari in Africa. As for comparing the African safari to the Disney version, I see nothing wrong with that. The imagineers traveled to Africa with the goal of recreating the safari experience as best they could in a theme park environment. I have no problem with commenting on how well they did.
