Africa

The Africa section of Animal Kingdom [1] has a little bit of Kenya, a little bit of Zanzibar, a little bit of South Africa, and a little bit of Tanzania. Despite the broad sweep of the pan-African theming, there’s a sensitivity and attention to detail in the central “village” of Harambe that’s surprisingly effective.

The heart of Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro Safaris ride, which puts visitors on a truck that goes out onto the savannas and jungles of the park’s expansive animal habitats. There’s a story about poachers told by every driver, and a few moments of melodramatic peril, but these bits of acting are entirely superfluous, as the stars of this ride are the dozens of animals one can see on the safari.

On busy days the safari ups the number of trucks that run the safari track, so some of the magic can be sapped away while waiting for the vehicles in front of yours to make their way through, but having the chance to get extremely close to giraffes, gazelles, lions, rhinos, and elephants who are just going about their business makes the traffic jams more than manageable.

After disembarking from the safari truck, make your way through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, a walking trail through a five-acre habitat area filled with meerkats, antelopes, hippopotamuses, and silverback gorillas.