Disney Wanyama Safari Review





Medium shot of a smiling man and woman posed next to a beige utility truck with a logo that says " Disney's ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE" with giraffe and zebra imagery. The man, in the foreground on the left, wears a blue polo shirt, khaki pants, and sunglasses, and has a lanyard with credentials. The woman, to his right, wears a patterned black and off-white dress, also with a lanyard. The truck is light beige with a dark animal pattern along the window line. Soft, diffused daylight. The Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge building slightly out of focus in the background.

Note: This was originally posted May 21, 2013. Wanyama Safari is no longer offered at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, but there are several other new & special animal related experiences at the resort and at the Park. Animal Kingdom Lodge is my favorite resort to this day, and if you have an animal lover in your life who is interested in more behind-the-scenes keeper/veterinarian experiences, I'd love to help you plan a trip!

 Thanks to Disney's Armed Forces Salute, Francis and I were able to spend a full week at  Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, a deluxe resort with an African theme, for our honeymoon. Animal Kingdom Lodge has two buildings, Kidani Village and Jambo House, surrounded by savanna. We stayed at Jambo House, and thanks to a very nice cast member, we were upgraded to a savanna view room. It is super cool that the animals of the savanna have pretty set routines, and we saw giraffes outside our balcony around 4pm every day.

A giraffe stands in a grassy area, extending its long neck to eat leaves from a leafy structure attached to a tall grey tree trunk. The giraffe has a light brown coat patterned with irregular white shapes. Buildings and other trees can be seen in the background.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is a fantastic hotel with some of the best restaurants on Disney property. Two of the most popular are Jiko: The Cooking Place and Boma: Flavors of Africa. We at breakfast at Boma one day and it was a nice mix of American breakfast foods, as well as a carving station and several African specialties, as well as American favorites. Breakfast pick of Boma: goat cheese and chive scrambled eggs. The chocolates are a "celebration" gift.

A white plate featuring three chocolates and a brown design with the text "BOMA Flavors of Africa" is displayed on a table with a red, orange, and black patterned table. The chocolates consist of a dark chocolate triangle, a white chocolate square with thin dark stripes, and a brown chocolate sphere. The word "Vier!" is written in dark brown below the plate. A glass and a menu peek in from the sides.

Sanaa is another restaurant on the property that does not get a lot of attention, but is kind of a hidden gem. You can usually get in without a reservation far in advance, and there are many windows that look out over the savanna. (Note: In 2025, Sanna is pretty well known and reservations are recommended.) Sanaa's menu is African with Indian flavors, and there are many tandoori, masala, and curry dishes (and a glossary on the menu). Pick of dinner at Sanna: the spicy steak with tomato chutney, and this banana kulfi sundae:

Image displaying a steak entree alongside a white chocolate dessert. The entree, garnished with tomato salsa, is atop a bed of mixed vegetables. The dessert consists of a white chocolate square filled with dark chocolate sauce and is served on a square plate with strawberry sauce, a dollop of whipped cream, a thin cookie and walnuts.

While we did receive a room upgrade, there are plenty of opportunities to view the animals all over the property. There are floor to ceiling windows at regular intervals along the hotel corridors that look out on the savannas, plenty of seating areas with binoculars, and a central viewing area at both Kidani Village and Jambo House staffed by savanna guides who are actually from Africa and can tell you all about living with these animals. That's one of my favorite things about Disney - they employ people who can truly represent their country and culture.

A sunny, outdoor scene of a savanna at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, with several deer and a donkey grazing. The deer are various shades of brown, some standing and eating, while others are lying down. A gray donkey grazes near the middle of the field, close to a lightly colored path. In the background, there is a building with wooden paneling and large windows, partially obscured by tall trees including palm trees and bare-branched trees.

A blesbok, a type of antelope native to South Africa, stands in a field of short, green grass. The blesbok has a dark brown coat, a white face, and white socks on its legs. It faces the viewer with both ears perked. Its horns point slightly back from its heads. The background consists of more green grass and a partially visible dark tree trunk on the left side of the image.

Since we got such a good deal on the room, our one major splurge of our honeymoon was the Wayama Safari. This is a private tour only available to guests staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. You get to go out on the savannas with two of the animal specialists for 2-3 hours, take a bunch of pictures and learn about the animals, and then have a 4-course dinner with wine at Jiko: The Cooking Place. Our safari included 4 other couples, and the safari is never more than 12 people.

Two sable antelopes are resting in a grassy field near a bamboo thicket, presumably at a zoo or wildlife park. The antelope on the left is lying down, facing towards the viewer's left with its distinctively curved horns pointing upwards and backwards. The antelope on the right is also lying down, with its head turned away from the viewer. A fence is visible in the background.

Two ostriches stand in a grassy area possibly at a zoo or wildlife park. The ostrich on the left has dark grey feathers, while ostrich on the right has light striped grey feathers and has an orange band on its leg. The ground is covered with green grass and there is a metal wire fence and trees in the background.

Here's something fun we learned: All the ostriches on the property are female, so that means no baby ostriches. However, they do lay eggs, and they are saved for education and craft projects. My Googling turns up many projects over the years, including Christmas ornaments, Easter Egg decorating, and staff contests, all to raise money for Disney's Worldwide Conservation Fund. A portion of the proceeds from the Wanyama Safari also go toward the Conservation Fund.

A woman with dark hair in a ponytail and large sunglasses is holding a large, smooth, white ostrich egg. She stands under a yellow awning, seemingly on a guided tour. Her black and white patterned dress and lanyard indicate she may be part of a group, while another person in the background takes pictures with a camera. She appears to be examining the large egg with interest.

Disney borrows and loans out animals just like any other zoo, and has staff who are in charge of the "studbook" for certain breeds. This is kind of like a family tree that lets zoos keep track of breeding. One of these giraffes is about to go to another zoo, and the other is keeping her company.

At an outdoor zoo enclosure, two giraffes peer curiously over the top of a wooden fence. The giraffe on the left is taller, with its head and neck visible above the enclosure, looking directly towards the viewer. Just to the right, another giraffe's head is visible, peering downward. The enclosure consists of horizontal wooden planks supported by gray metal posts. A chain-link fence is visible in the foreground.

Gratuitous zebra. Animal Kingdom Lodge has mountain zebras and common zebras. I am 98% certain this is a common zebra. Mountain zebras are more grey.

A zebra stands in a grassy field, its head lowered to graze. The zebra features a distinctive pattern of brown and white stripes that curves around its body. It stands on short legs with hooves, surrounded by bright green grass. There are a few bare patches of dirt amongst the grass. A palm tree trunk is visible in background.

So let's talk about dinner at Jiko! It would have been really gauche to take pictures of every course when we were dining family style with 8 strangers, but here is the menu. Family style means you get to have a little of everything on the menu.

A menu from Jiko - The Cooking Place, a restaurant at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. The menu lists a variety of African-inspired dishes, including appetizers like Crispy Beef "Bobotie" Roll and Inguday Tibs in Brik, entrees like Oak-grilled Filet Mignon and Tagine Chicken, and desserts such as Kenyan Coffee and Amarula Crème Brûlée and Cheesecake with White Chocolate. Wine pairings are also listed.

 A fun note about the wines: a couple of our dining companions mention that they had participated in the Wednesday wine tasting at Jiko, and the sommelier was telling them about how big a presence Disney is in the South African wine market. When you figure that Jiko and Sanaa have dozens of South African wines on their menu, plus Jambo House has the Victoria Falls Lounge and both gift shops sell wine, you can just imagine how much Disney must import! I must say, I am wishing I brought home a bottle of The Den Chenin Blanc.

A split image. The left side shows a dessert plate with three separate desserts, a wine glass containing a light liquid, a white napkin, and sheets with writing on a dining table. The right side shows a sheet of paper with instructions, a jar with spices, a long tube of Jiko, a bag labelled Animal Kingdom Lodge, and a wrapped gift on a red background.

Everyone got their own plate of tiny desserts. Plus you get a gift bag at the end with the menu, cookies, seasoning and a recipe for Jiko scented rice, and a Wayama Safari pin! If you know anything about Disney pin trading, you know this is a Big Deal. 

Comments

  1. I didn't know they had real animals. I seriously thought they were all animatronic.

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  2. Thats what Animal Kingdom is all about! The Animals....its like a Glorified Zoo....Disney Style!

    ReplyDelete

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