What happens when there’s a significant problem to a safari vehicle at Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Guests found out this week when a tire appeared to break off and become wedged under the safari truck, causing a massive shutdown of the popular attraction.
We witnessed the incident from a safari vehicle that was just ahead in the savanna section of Kilimanjaro Safaris. We heard a bunch of chatter on our driver’s radio, and when we looked over we saw the disabled truck. It looks like the tire’s ball joint broke, but that’s an educated guess. We’re not mechanics.
Excuse the poor photography – we were in a moving, bouncing truck!
Unfortunately, the truck broke down right at the entrance to the savanna. This blocked all the trucks behind it, resulting in a massive delay and – obviously – a significant closure. Cast members said they’d be towing the impacted truck away and do everything they could to get everyone off the ride as quickly as possible. We saw a team of Guest Relations cast members (AKA Plaids) waiting at the ride’s exit to help impacted guests.
Ride evacuations at Kilimanjaro Safaris, while relatively rare, are always complicated. These things can happen considering the ride vehicle is a real truck traveling over bumpy terrain. Depending on where the breakdown occurs, Disney may have to move dozens of animals to their backstage homes. Guests can’t walk on foot through an area inhabited with wildebeest, giraffe, rhinos, and more.
Kilimanjaro Safaris reopened 126 minutes after it closed, which we think is a pretty impressive turnaround. Remember at Kilimanjaro Safaris when it comes to safaris, they go WILD!
