Animal Kingdom - New Backstage Tour

I think this sounds great! I would love to do it -- assuming I'm not on the tour with a million other people. I think it could be really special.

What do you think Jeff? Are you guys considering it?

Hi,

That looks very cool and a bit strenuous.

Jim

$250 for two people seems a bit steep.

It doesn't necessarily seem expensive for what you get, but it does seem expensive. Does that make sense? I mean I hate to spend $250 on one day's entertainment. We could stay for a whole extra day for that amount.

Just as a comparism...

Discovery Cove is (iirc) about $150 for the day which includes park entrance, dolphin swim, food, drink and everything else apart from photos. OK it's a much smaller park but you get a weeks pass for another Seaworld park included which helps balance it that out.

I wonder if this is their way of competing a little bit with Discovery Cove while they're waiting to decide if they're doing a "Night Kingdom" or whatever it's called?

I believe the tour groups are limited to about 12 at a time. No small children, and you have to be able to deal with a harness-line thingy at one point. I've heard good things so far; people on the preview tours have been tweeting their experiences.

Harness line thingy? Like....heights!? ::gulp::

Oh.....don't you think it's probably just Disney being 1) uber careful; and 2) ratcheting up the excitement by making you think you need a harness? We'll have to find out from someone who's gone though...the pricetag is a little steep for me.

I'm going tomorrow. I'll try to post something if I don't get eaten by a hippo.

LOL good luck!

but..did you see the cool snack?? Because to me that was almost worth it!!

Hopefully you didn't get eaten by the hippo! How was your trek?

JeffC -- The last time I did a tour at WDW it cost about $70. The only one that's over $100 that I know of is the all-day Backstage Magic tour. I wonder if the Trek is worth the extra cost...

Bella and I think the snack is worth the cost.

I just saw the harness thingy part..is there a way to just avoid the tour part and just eat the snack?

OR maybe to justify the cost..skip the tour and just eat $200 worth of snacks??

So...basically, you'd just like the "Wild Africa Trek Picnic tour." Hey, you may be onto something.

Yes..OHHHH..I've got it. Eat around Africa..I could be eating in a little hut type place and all the animals could just wander by. That way I wouldn't have to do anything...but eat.

I like this idea!

The tour was great. This was my first formal tour, so I was not sure what all to expect. I tried to avoid reading to many detailed reviews, I wanted to have a few surprises. I think one of the big questions that keeps popping up is whether or not it is worth the price. I think it was, while I don't know how good the other tours are, I was happy with my experience. The snack was really good. I didn't get to see a hippo up close, they were under water, but I did come close to several other animals and saw some animals that normally hid out during the regular safari trip (cheetahs).

...And run from the animals who think you and your snack would make a tasty snack

Kenny - thanks for the update! So, how were the swingy bridge? And the harness-y things?

I like the idea of avoiding spoilers and going in without knowing what to expect.

Isnt the $129 a preview price? I thought I had read it goes up after a little while.

Yes that is the impression that I am under as well. Now I could be wrong but I believe the price is going to go up to 179 or 189 dollars very soon, actually Feb. 26.

Thank you so much Kenny!! What a helpful review. Any stand-out parts of the trip? Did you get the breakfast snack or the lunch snack?

Good point!

That is true..it raises after a few months. They usually give discounts to APers or Disney Visa cardholders though...

The harness wasn't bad. They give you a pretty nice vest/harness, some of the parts seemed like higher end climbing gear (the carabiners). The bridge was really cool too. Several safari vehicles went by, some of the people offered up some encouragement. Despite the close proximity to the crocs, you feel pretty safe the whole time.

Haha - "pretty safe..." Hmmmm... Thanks so much for answering though! It's unlikely that I'll get to do this anytime soon, so it's fun to hear about your experience.

Um...........crocodiles?

Hanging out in the snack tent is sounding better and better!