Wild by Design Tour

The 3-hour Wild By Design Tour tells the story of how the creative wizards at Walt Disney Imagineering meticulously transformed Florida wetlands into the untamed landscapes of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park.

Hear about the amazing efforts that went into creating and sustaining painstaking representations of diverse environments that span the globe—including the African savannah and the dense jungles of Asia. Discover how Disney Imagineers combined native art, authentic architecture, indigenous flora, actual historical artifacts and a sprinkle of Disney storytelling magic to transport you to exotic lands of reality and fantasy—all inhabited by magnificent live animals.

The Wild By Design Tour focuses on the beautiful and lush onstage areas of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park. If you’re interested in seeing some of the fascinating backstage facilities that keep the animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park both happy and healthy, check out the Backstage Safari tour.

Time & Location : 8:30am M,W,Th,F outside AK Guest Relations on the far left of the turnstiles.

Ending Location: Tour guides turn you loose in the Pangani Forest Exploration Tour near the back of the park.

Duration: 3 hours

Cost: $60 + tax (Discounts Available: AAA Diamond, AP, DVC, Disney VISA)

Theme Park Admission: Required

Park Visited: AK

Includes: Breakfast snack break (i.e., fruit & pastries), Commemorative Pin

Sample Tour Content*:

• Walking tour discussing various design elements throughout Animal Kingdom
• Meeting with Primate Animal Keeper
• Walk through of Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Breakfast snack break
• Meeting with Aviary Animal Keeper
• Walk through of Pangani Forest Expedition Trail

*Disney’s tour schedules and content can change at any time due to a variety of factors. Rest assured, if for some reason the tour can’t or doesn’t go to one of the stops you’ve read about here or on other websites, your Tour Guide still has plenty of magic up their sleeves to make sure you have a wonderful tour experience.

Maximum Group Size: 12

Listening Devices Available: Yes

Hearing Disabilities: Yes

Wheelchair Accessible: Yes

Requirements: Guests must be 14+

Photography Restrictions: This tour is completely onstage, so photography is permitted throughout the tour.  If you are interested in seeing backstage at Animal Kingdom, check out the Backstage Safari.

Bag Storage: Guests carry their baggage with them.  If you don’t want to hold your bag throughout a 3-hour walking tour, consider getting a locker on the right side of the Oasis at the front of the park.  Remember, your tour ends at the back of the park.

Additional Notes: This is an outdoor walking tour – dress appropriately, wear suncreen & good shoes.  Disney will not cancel or provide refunds for this tour (or most others) in the event of inclement weather (Disney will cancel for hurricanes, but not average rain).

Book: Call (407) WDW-TOUR (407-939-8687)

Check out our full DTR Review of the Wild by Design tour here.

Find other DTR posts about the Wild by Design tour here.

• AllEars.net Reader Reviews 10 reviews, latest from January 2010.

• MousePlanet.com Reader Reviews 1 short review from April 2008.

• PassPorter.com Review by Cheryl Pendry from March 2008.  Includes spoilers and facts learned on the tour.

• WDWMagic.com Reader Reviews 2 reviews, latest from February 2008.

• TheDIBB.co.uk Review by Jay66UK from June 2006.  Jay goes into a lot of detail on this review, so watch out for spoilers.  My tour in March 2011 was a bit different in content, but I heard much of the information mentioned in this review.

• Trip Report Tour Review by Crystal from December 2004.  This trip report excerpt contains a lot of captioned photos from the Wild by Design tour.  Great if you like spoilers, but if you plan on going on the tour anyways – you might want to wait until you can view this with post-tour nostalgia.

• AllEars.net Review by Deb Wills from February 2002.  While this review is from a few years back, it is pretty close to my tour experience in March 2011.  Tour content varied, but the general type of information provided was the same.

• None yet.  Know of any podcasts that discuss the Wild by Design tour?  Let us know at DisneyTourReviews@gmail.com