Originally Posted By pitapan16 FROM MOUSEPLANET.COM.... Safari changes coming soon Kilimanjaro Safaris will see some changes to the ride vehicles and the attraction itself in the next few months. The load area will be modified to create a queuing space for a ninth seating row. After that is completed, in the spring the safari trucks will be taken out of service one at a time to add an additional row on the back, which will allow the attraction to carry about 320 more passengers per hour. Tests were conducted late last year on a modified vehicle to see if the truck could handle it. The actual truck modifications should only take a few weeks to complete work on the entire 44-vehicle fleet. In the meantime, the attraction itself will see modifications to both the spiel and a show scene. The character of Miss Jobson will be eliminated from the radio conversation, and the "poacher scene" will be almost entirely removed. Safari drivers are undergoing training in the new spiel, and it should go live in late January or early February. The dates may slide in one direction or the other depending on various factors, but it looks like all of the changes are going forward at this time." -Woohoo Animal Kingdom! The minor changes sound great! I think the poacher thing was the weakest part of the Safari and actually took away from it's spectacularness of the whole experience really, but thats just me. Plus, I think occasional updates are critical to insure repeat interest and visits. Animal Kingdom is lookin good! On tops in WDW...
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I agree I think the changes will be good. I hated the poacher scene. To me it just left you with a big negative.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Yeah, the poacher scene was very preachy and beat you over the head with the message. I would rather focus on the REAL animals, thank you! I look forward to the changes.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn They be able to pay for the new vehicles by reducing the number of animals in the safari. Then they'll say "See? See what effect global warming has on the safari? The animal population is less!" ... or some other political yimmer-yammer I still think they should have special evening events: Unlatch the gates between the lions area and the gazelles area!
Originally Posted By beamerdog >>I still think they should have special evening events: Unlatch the gates between the lions area and the gazelles area!<< LOL - sick, sick, sick. I also hated the poacher scene. I'm glad to see some changes. We stopped going on this one a long time ago. It just didn't have the staying power for my family.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>I hated the poacher scene. To me it just left you with a big negative.<< Initially, I didn't mind the whole poachers scene because of the way it was originally portrayed with a real actor by the baby elephant and the runaway jeep alongside the trail, next to our truck. However, they cheapened the whole experience by not maintaining the runaway jeep effect (most guests do not see that runaway Jeep anymore) and eliminating the live actor off the show... just like they cheapened the Rock and Roller Coaster preshow by eliminating the live CM who always played "Chris" during the preshow portion of the attraction.. Kevin Yee said it best... "Declining by Degrees"...that's WDW to you.. while ticket prices continue to go up...
Originally Posted By Indigo Um, so how are they planning to cut the two week safari short? Or will that conceit be gone too?
Originally Posted By ChampDisney ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yeah, that is getting old & I am getting tired of it but guests find it funny in there own way. But I just laughed once & never again.
Originally Posted By jmuboy So what will happen to the end of the end of the ride? a scenic ride out of the safari past waterfalls?
Originally Posted By Daannzzz They can continue with the way they are handling many other things. The end section with the waterfalls can have a load of animatronics installed and voila we have the final scene from the Lion King.
Originally Posted By fundog58 Hey, maybe they'll eventually make it driverless too. That ought to cut a few more of those darn cast members.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I agree with TDLFAN, I originally liked the poacher scene because it added to the experience - and kept it for being a zoo like ride ( remember NOT A ZU ) - but as they cut it back it no longer did that... I like the idea of some story line on the ride though, even if loosely threaded
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>maybe they'll eventually make it driverless too.<< As long as there are LIVE animals in the preserve, there will always be drivers steering away or around them. Or else, they would have to compromise the look and feel of the safari by adding barriers that would keep animals away from a track if the trucks went driver-less.
Originally Posted By Indigo There has to be some way to shoe-horn a Pixar film into this attraction... maybe thousands of scurrying rats and a french cafe instead of poachers.
