Wild Africa Trek vs. Savor the Savanna

[cjlong88]

We are debating between these two experiences for our December 2022 trip. We would prefer to have an experience with fewer guests. Does anyone have information as to how many people they allow in each group for the Wild Africa Trek and Savor the Savanna experiences? If you have done one or both, I would love to hear about your experiences.

Any other information you might think is important to know outside what’s mentioned on the Disney website would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I’ve done savor the Savannah several times and seen the wild Africa trek groups many times. They utilize the same vehicle for both. In my opinion, because of that, the size is about even. Seems they go off how many the truck holds

 

[Minnie1222]

They used the same vehicle on both tours, and each vehicle probably could not hold more than 15 people. We had 8 to 10 people per tour, with more children on STS.
They also used the same boma for dining and animals viewing.

 

[Minnie1222]

Any other information you might think is important to know outside what’s mentioned on the Disney website would be greatly appreciated!

They will weigh you for Trek. I know it's probably not important, but some people were taken aback.

 

[cjlong88]

They will weigh you for Trek. I know it's probably not important, but some people were taken aback.

Interesting. Is that because the bridges on the trek have a weight limit?

 

[cjlong88]

I’ve done savor the Savannah several times and seen the wild Africa trek groups many times. They utilize the same vehicle for both. In my opinion, because of that, the size is about even. Seems they go off how many the truck holds

Thank you for that information! We will be a party of 5 and are totally fine with there being other parties so long as it’s not a huge amount of people.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We've only done Savor the Savanna and really enjoyed it. We drove out to the savanna with maybe 10 other people. Did a short Q and A with a keeper while parked in the middle of the savanna. Then we headed to the platform that houses the food. It's a great space that overlooks the whole savanna. We had several giraffe hanging out pretty close. There is also a viewing area in the back that gave us a great view of several rhinos. The food was really good...lots of small bites...but substantial enough that you won't leave hungry. They had several nice wines and beers (including one of my favorites Tusker). My partner made the joke that the experience was kinda like being in a skybox of the savanna....as in the best seats with all the food/drinks thrown in

We had Wild Animal Trek booked for our 2020 trip...but Covid took care of that. I think either way you won't be disappointed.

 

[Minnie1222]

Interesting. Is that because the bridges on the trek have a weight limit?

I think so.

Or maybe if you slip on the bridge, the tether could only hold up to certain weight?

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Interesting. Is that because the bridges on the trek have a weight limit?

I think it’s the harness limit. Or determines which harness you need

 

[Boopuff]

We did the Trek a few years ago, loved it. I'm "fluffy" and had no problem doing the trek. The harness is silly IMO, but you do get some really great backstage look at the animals.(and the guides take a ton of photos for you) The lunch was great. We had 8 people on our Trek, it was a lot of fun.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I see on the website that Wild Africa Trek lasts about 3 hours. What's the duration of Savor the Savanna? Unless I missed it, I don't see that information on the website. How much time is spent on the truck and how much is eating at the overlook?

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I see on the website that Wild Africa Trek lasts about 3 hours. What's the duration of Savor the Savanna? Unless I missed it, I don't see that information on the website. How much time is spent on the truck and how much is eating at the overlook?

Bump. Anyone done this meal recently who can answer about how long is spent on the savanna truck and how much time eating? Thanks!

 

[Dug720]

Interesting. Is that because the bridges on the trek have a weight limit?

From the website: Participants must be between 45 and 300 lbs. with the harness gear on. The safety harnesses used for this experience may prohibit Guests of certain body shapes or sizes from participating.

 

[T.G.I.Friday]

We did the Wild Africa Trek at the end of March. There were 12 of us on the Trek - our party of 3, and then 3 other parties of various sizes. I struggled with whether or not to give my opinion, but, for us, while it was nice, it really wasn’t worth the expense. I was very excited to do it, and I really thought it was going to be a highlight of the trip.

I know a lot of it depends on the animals, but not having animals that were present and/or engaging didn’t help.

It seems like you spend so much time on getting in the safety equipment and hearing all of the rules…but very little time actually doing anything.

To summarize our Trek - We walked and saw some hippos from a cool spot. They tried to feed them, but it wasn’t super successful. Then we went to the rope bridges and walked across them. Very cool, no doubt. But I would say maybe 10 minutes max of being on the bridge. (And the crocodile area was drained and the animals weren’t there, so that was also a disappointment. Seeing the empty structure below wasn’t really thrilling at all. Picture a drained water ride in the winter.).

After the bridge, we took off all of the safety gear and loaded into the safari type truck and rode around the giraffes to the boma. The meal was nice and it was interesting to be in the boma, but it wasn’t really anything? Like you could kind of see the flamingos and giraffes and such in the distance, but, I don’t know, it seemed like being at a pavilion in a park.

Then back on the truck and back to the exit.

So for $200/person, it was a slightly enhanced Safari ride, a walk over the rope bridge and a nice picnic lunch. I can find value in just about all of the Disney extras (Club Level, VIP tours, etc.), but this was a one and done for us.

 

[izzylovesmickey]

We've done the Wild Africa Trek twice. I was told max number was 12 but that may have changed. First time was 6, the next time was just our family of 4. We were able to feed the hippos both times and all the different areas were occupied. Had a really great experience the first time as the giraffes came almost right up to us while we had lunch. We were lucky enough the 2nd time to have the rhinos hanging out on the back side of the structure while we had lunch so we had a great viewing of them that time. Both times the guides were very informative and asked which animals we wanted to see the most and they tried to give us time around those animals. It's been several years since we last did it and are going to try to add it to our trip in October.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Bump. Anyone done this meal recently who can answer about how long is spent on the savanna truck and how much time eating? Thanks!

On Savor the Savannah?

Best I can recall, about half and half. Or close to it anyway.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

On Savor the Savannah?

Best I can recall, about half and half. Or close to it anyway.

Would you say it was around 30-45 minutes spent for each? More?

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Would you say it was around 30-45 minutes spent for each? More?

Goodness I wish I could remember exactly. I can't remember the exact length of it.
Maybe 45 min on the truck and then 60 or so on the Boma dining?

 

[Mollygirl21]

We did the Wild Africa Trek at the end of March. There were 12 of us on the Trek - our party of 3, and then 3 other parties of various sizes. I struggled with whether or not to give my opinion, but, for us, while it was nice, it really wasn’t worth the expense. I was very excited to do it, and I really thought it was going to be a highlight of the trip.

I know a lot of it depends on the animals, but not having animals that were present and/or engaging didn’t help.

It seems like you spend so much time on getting in the safety equipment and hearing all of the rules…but very little time actually doing anything.

To summarize our Trek - We walked and saw some hippos from a cool spot. They tried to feed them, but it wasn’t super successful. Then we went to the rope bridges and walked across them. Very cool, no doubt. But I would say maybe 10 minutes max of being on the bridge. (And the crocodile area was drained and the animals weren’t there, so that was also a disappointment. Seeing the empty structure below wasn’t really thrilling at all. Picture a drained water ride in the winter.).

After the bridge, we took off all of the safety gear and loaded into the safari type truck and rode around the giraffes to the boma. The meal was nice and it was interesting to be in the boma, but it wasn’t really anything? Like you could kind of see the flamingos and giraffes and such in the distance, but, I don’t know, it seemed like being at a pavilion in a park.

Then back on the truck and back to the exit.

So for $200/person, it was a slightly enhanced Safari ride, a walk over the rope bridge and a nice picnic lunch. I can find value in just about all of the Disney extras (Club Level, VIP tours, etc.), but this was a one and done for us.

What time was your tour? I wonder if the later ones have less animal activity...

 

[cjlong88]

I think we are leaning towards Wild Africa Trek. Hopefully we will be able to get a reservation, as we will be there during the busiest week of the year.