I have often heard the story about Walt Disney wanting to use real animals for the Jungle Cruise until someone told him the animals would not be where he wanted them. He quickly switched to Audio-Animatronic animals and the rest, as they say, is history.
Still, I think Walt would have approved of the Kilimanjaro Safari adventure in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It can be true the animals are sometimes hard to see or photograph, but each ride is unique. Last time I rode, this cheetah was in perfect position with the light at the time and nice foreground and background elements to frame it nicely. Something I have rarely seen in all the times on the ride.
Cheetah photographed during a Disney’s Kilimanjaro Safari ride.
Nikon D700/80-400VR, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO 560, EV +0.3, 400mm focal length.
Lisa will be here on Thursday to share her Disney Pic of the Week from Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Last time I went I rode the safari four time, as I had just purchased a new camera body and a few new lenses and wanted to try them out. I got a number of fantastic photos, though the cheetah was never positioned quite this well.
What killed me though was on my first ride through the white rhino wasn’t hanging out where he normally was. Instead when we started going down the road that leads away from the rhino paddock, he wandered out into the road and we had to stop suddenly. Then he turned and just ambled down the path by the truck, close enough we could touch him. I pulled out my camera to get some amazing close-up photos of one of my two favorite wild animals (the other being the elusive bongo) and my battery died! Agony!
The white rhino never showed his horned face again during my other three rides on the safari. I was crushed.
Scott replies: I feel your pain! Remember, it pays to carry extra batteries. I always have one spare on me for just such emergencies. BTW, cool story!