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Credit: Video Screenshot, TikTok, @travellifewithlucyA ride on Kilimanjaro Safaris took a scary turn this week when two rhinos charged toward a truck full of Walt Disney World Resort guests. The multi-ton animals were playfully chasing an ostrich and narrowly missed running into the attraction vehicle. One Disney Park guest shared a video of the incident on social media.
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of the only Walt Disney World Resort attractions that is never the same, no matter how many times you ride it. Guests spend around 20 minutes journeying into the Harambe Wildlife Reserve, a 110-acre habitat simulating open plains, deep forests, and rocky wetlands.
Over 30 species of animals call this Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park attraction home, including lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, and zebras.
The safari trucks rarely stop during their journeys through the wildlife preserve. However, the animals at Walt Disney World Resort are still wild, so… Whether it’s a “giraffic jam” or a nosy rhino, the animals’ unpredictable behavior occasionally leads to temporary operational pauses.
Ride Stopped During Animal Chase
This week, TikTok user @travellifewithlucy shared a video of their rare animal encounter on Kilimanjaro Safaris. Guests were travelling normally through the Harambe Wildlife Reserve when an ostrich suddenly ran toward their ride vehicle, followed closely by two massive rhinos:
@travellifewithlucy Not the lady at the end saying to stay calm when we were in fact NOT calm and thought the rhino was gonna charge into the truck 🤣 #animalkingdom #kilimanjarosafari #wdw #waltdisneyworld @Disney Parks @Disney Parks UK @DisneyWorld
As soon as the driver spotted the animals, she stopped the truck and allowed them to pass. Guests screamed and exclaimed, “Oh my god!” as the rhinoceroses and ostrich ran toward the ride vehicle, but the driver encouraged them to “stay calm.” Thankfully, it appears that no person or animal was injured.
Fortunately, it was very unlikely that the guests (or the ostrich) were in any real danger. The habitats in Kilimanjaro Safaris are separated to prevent predator animals from attacking what they perceive as prey–rhinoceroses are primarily herbivores. As one TikTok user commented, the animals were likely just “playing chase.”
“This is crazy!!!!!” @momswithmagicplans replied. “But those ostriches can be so mean so I don’t blame the rhinos hahahaha.”
“I’m guessing the ostrich was being extremely annoying,” said @reallifechemist.
Despite the brief disruption earlier this week, Kilimanjaro Safaris is currently operating normally at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t issued a statement about this incident.
Other Safari Stories
In response to this video, many Disney Parks fans shared their own memorable experiences with animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris and in other habitats at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
“I was on this ride once when a group of small deer like animals ran right by the lions,” @mlb4925 wrote. “They perked right up and just intently watched them. I have been on this ride literally hundreds of times and never seen other animals that close to the lions. Our guide kept saying it was fine, the lions can’t get to them. But we were all very uncomfortable. I don’t want to be that close to nature.”
“Our tram broke down by the rhinos and they charged the tram we were in,” said @lulurothe6.
Have you been on Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share your favorite memory with Inside the Magic in the comments!