Disney just keeps making Animal Kingdom more and more amazing, this time they’ve added a new experience called The Sense of Africa Tour. This seems to be what replaced the Safari which was only available to Club Level guests at Animal Kingdom lodge and I gotta say, I’m glad of it. I felt like limiting that experience to Club Level guests was not fair, nor was it good business practice. So, here are some details on what you can expect from this new experience.

What will I experience?
You start with breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants, Boma. They have amazing and very diverse food offerings. Everything from traditional African Pap, to Mickey Waffles to, my favorite, french toast bread pudding!

After breakfast you will be given a tour of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and immersed in the culture and history of Africa. You will also get a backstage tour of the animal facilities and learn about their care and feeding.

When is it?
The tour will take place Tuesday and Saturday mornings starting on April 9th.

Will I get to touch/feed the animals?
Yes! This is the best part. You will get to be up close with the animals of the Animal Kingdom Lodge Savannah. Everything from Giraffe’s to Okapi’s to Zebras. The experience of seeing these animals up close and getting to interact with them is an amazing opportunity!

How much will it cost?
The cost for this tour is $249 per person and includes breakfast at Boma. Annual Passholders and DVC members receive a 15% discount off these prices.

Do I have to be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge?
No, thankfully, any guest can experience this amazing tour! Of course, one thing to keep in mind is that if you’re staying somewhere other than Animal Kingdom Lodge you will need to allow for at least 90 minutes to get to the lodge, I’d say for the early morning time either a car or a cab are your best options.

This sounds awesome, how do I sign up?
Starting April 5th you may call 407-WDW-TOUR (939-8687) to book your experience. Or, you can let your travel agent know and they will get you all set up.

This is awesome, what other tours are available at Animal Kingdom?
There are two other fantastic tours available at Animal Kingdom/Animal Kingdom Lodge, Night Safari and Wild Africa Trek. These tours come together to create a fantastic trio of experiences for nature/animal lovers.

Overall, the experiences available to guests at Animal Kingdom and Animal Kingdom Lodge are growing and I am incredible excited by all this change. For the longest time this area of the resort has been a favorite of mine and it’s good to see it get so much attention from Disney as well as guests. For more exciting things going on at Animal Kingdom, see my recent blog post on it’s new nighttime offerings. If you want to read the original announcement from Disney you will find that here.