This week I was lucky to take part in a Wanyama Safari tour at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. This was my first “behind the scenes” tour that I have taken and I was absolutely blown away! It was amazing to get so close to the animals that guests staying at DAK Lodge see from their balconies. While you you do not feed or touch any of the animals, just being close to them was enough.

When we arrived, we checked in at Jiko- The Cooking Place. Jiko is one of Disney’s signature restaurants that offers African Cuisine.

At check in, we received a quick little snack before we head out on our Safari Adventure. There was bread, trail mix, hummus, and little desserts. We then spent 30 minutes with a cultural representative from South Africa learning about her country and socialized with the other guests who were joining us on our Safari. We had 8 guests, the tour maxes out at 12, however we were told sometimes you can be lucky and get the whole tour to yourself! We then met with the Animal Care team who would be with us on the back of the Safari truck. We were led out front of Jambo House to board our luxurious off road vehicle.

There are benches on the side of the vehicle and once we entered the behind the scenes area you are allowed to stand up and move around to get those amazing pictures.

As we made our way towards our first drive through savanna, we rode around the perimeter of the hotel surrounded by smaller animal habitats. This gave us a great view of some of the harder to see species on Pembe savanna!

And now it’s time to enter the first savanna! Watch out for the attack Ostriches 🤣

Here we are on Sunset Savanna. We were immediately greeted by my favorite animals, the Giraffe.

Unfortunately there were construction crews removing some temporary fencing, however the good news is they are all removed now and if you take this tour you will have an unrestricted view of the resort.

The animal care guides did a great job at getting us up close and personal with all the animals.

Can you tell I love the giraffes?

I was told there was a giraffe hiding somewhere..

Found him!

We are now in Arusha Savanna. This is the savanna you see outside the main lobby of Jambo House. By this time in the tour the sun is starting to set, which allows some beautiful opportunities for great photographs.

It’s feeding time for the impalas!

A lovely view of Jambo house with some pink backed pelicans.

The savanna tour is about an hour and a half and takes you through 4 savannas. You have an animal keeper in the vehicle with you giving you interesting information about the species, telling you fun stories about their day-to-day, and enthusiastically answer any question you may have. Now that the Safari part of our adventure is over, it’s time for dinner at Jiko!

For the Wanyama Tour your dining at Jiko is “family style.” You all will be sitting at the same big table, sharing food and stories as you get to know one another. All food and drink is included in the tour price. As soon as we sat down we were served our first drink of the evening which was a rum and banana liquor mixed drink with fruit juices. Those guests under 21 or non-alcoholic drinkers had their choice of beverage taken by the waiter. We also enjoyed a variety of appetizers to start us off. The plate included two types of bread, hummus, ground wild boar patê, honey goat cheese, and a few other hors d’oeuvres.

We were then served some starters of mixed greens, cauliflower/tomato soup, and a fried mushroom and vegetable samosa.

Dinner included a variety of flavors – meats, vegetables, sides – and it was amazing! There was short rib, chicken, and grouper along with sides. The Mac and cheese is made with 4 different cheeses and quickly became my favorite. Wine is served with each course; a white, a red, and a dessert wine – it depends on the day what blend you get, but each vineyard we had came from South Africa.

For dessert everyone got their own plate. It included a dark chocolate cake, a milk tart, and an Amarula soaked sponge cake.

As you left, you were given one final treat! A dark chocolate bar with dried fruit and seeds for the road! It was time to head on out, but not before one final pit stop.

We stopped by Victoria Falls for a quick drink and to enjoy the atmosphere of the resort. The Lodge has to be my favorite resort on property – the staff, cultural representatives, and animals at every turn made us feel like we were actually in Africa at a Safari lodge. Since it was a breezy evening we sat up by the fire in the lobby as the representatives led kids around in a parade playing drums. It was a great evening!

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures and info! If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments below! Happy Holidays everyone!