Disney's Animal Kingdom® Park Kilimanjaro Safaris Layout Diagram

geomorph

geomorph

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
THE FOLLOWING LAYOUT DIAGRAM IS NOT AN OFFICIAL DISNEY ILLUSTRATION.

I have made a simplified layout diagram of the route and animal exhibit enclosures for Kilimanjaro Safaris based on my observations on the ride and a satellite image of the property. I have traced the diagram over the satellite image so that the spatial relationships are relatively accurate, although features in the more heavily forested areas are nearly impossible to delineate clearly. As such, this diagram is a 'guesstimate' in many ways but I have been careful in showing sizes of enclosures and adjacencies.

Kilimanjaro Safaris is an expertly crafted zoo exhibit complex where enclosure boundaries are delightfully confusing, leading to a greater sense of immersion in the simulated African landscape. For people who are interested in zoo design, this attraction's layout is very intriguing. However, I have not been able to find any accurate maps; Disney keeps its map of the park very general in this area to reinforce the sense of discovery intended for guests. I am also not privvy to the construction documents, so this is my attempt at getting a clearer picture of this great facility. Feel free to post corrections or additional knowledge you have about this layout!

 
Very nice. Appears pretty accurate from the information I have. Although I wouldn't necessarily call the west elephant yard the "bull yard" as I have seen family groups in there on my visits. Also the small yard to the northwest of the elephant yard, is also an elephant yard and the "giraffe barn" attached to it, is more of the elephant barn.
 
Ituri, thanks for the info, it makes sense that the yard next to the elephant barn is a third elephant yard. The Wildlife Express train ride goes past the barn, which is clearly marked, and then the Northernmost part of it is labeled for giraffe, so I was not sure if that third yard might be for giraffe that are off exhibit. That would seem strange since it does not adjoin the main savanna where the giraffes are on exhibit. Do you have any knowledge of whether the giraffe barn is actually used for them? I know that the giraffes on exhibit in the main savanna have a barn alongside the other hoofstock which I labeled as Hoofstock Barn. Also, do you know if the Nile crocodiles have a barn or covered area that they go to at night? I saw a video that claimed that the only animals in the safaris area that do not go in at night are the flamingos, but it seems like the crocs would not too.
 
Looking at this confirms that it is an elephant exhibit. (see the elephant?)

Disney Animal Kingdom Kilimanjaro Safaris (Bing Maps) - Virtual Globetrotting

Looking at both the above link and google maps, I don't see a barn immediately north of the elephant barn, just an elephant yard. I don't recall seeing anything labeled Giraffe Barn when I was last on the Wildlife Express Train, but then again that was three years ago.

I don't know if the crocs "go in at night". I would personally doubt it. Maybe whatever source you heard that from didn't consider the crocs. There is a strange structure to the east of the croc exhibit, but I doubt that is anything for the crocodiles.
 
Ituri, thank you for that link, it provides a better view in many cases than the satellite image I used.
 
Ituri said:
Looking at this confirms that it is an elephant exhibit. (see the elephant?)

Disney Animal Kingdom Kilimanjaro Safaris (Bing Maps) - Virtual Globetrotting

Looking at both the above link and google maps, I don't see a barn immediately north of the elephant barn, just an elephant yard. I don't recall seeing anything labeled Giraffe Barn when I was last on the Wildlife Express Train, but then again that was three years ago.

I don't know if the crocs "go in at night". I would personally doubt it. Maybe whatever source you heard that from didn't consider the crocs. There is a strange structure to the east of the croc exhibit, but I doubt that is anything for the crocodiles.
Click to expand...

The giraffe barn is located on the west side of the site, and there are some off-exhibit pools for crocodiles to the west (left) of the croc exhibit. Disney pioneered the use of target training with crocodiles to encourage them to shift on command. Not sure if it's done everyday, but if need be they can.

One other fun detail: every Disney park has a "hidden Mickey" (a silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head only visible from a non-public perspective). At DAK, the HM is the flamingo beach in the pool next to the elephant exhibit. The Google Earth view reveals this...
 
Ituri, it looks like the behind-the-scenes structure near the crocs is a massive water filtration plant for the croc and hippo exhibits.

reduakari, there is certainly a giraffe barn on the West side of the site for the giraffes on exhibit in the Serengeti Savanna (main savanna). Looking at my pictures more carefully, the barn labeled as 'giraffe barn' seen from the Wildlife Express train on the East side of the site is the barn for the elongated mostly off-exhibit savannas on the North side of the site...the one I labeled as a presumed hoofstock barn that serves the savanna that I saw zebra in the distance.
 
Has anyone been on the backstage tour? I am wondering if it views any of the Kilimanjaro Safaris holding areas, their website description is vague.
 
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