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A Guest who was onboard a ride vehicle at the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom leapt from the vehicle just after passing by a crash (that means group) of rhinos as other Guests watched in fear, according to a post in the Disney World Junkies Facebook group.
Guest Keri Hill took to Facebook to share her experience of watching another Guest jump out of a safari truck along the driving trail in the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction in the Africa section of the park. According to her account of the incident, the male Guest jumped out to retrieve his cell phone after dropping it from the ride vehicle.
Her post reads as follows:
“I was on the Kilimanjaro Safari yesterday and a man in the vehicle in front of us dropped his cell phone and JUMPED OUT TO GET IT. He grabbed his phone and climbed back in. I’m not sure what possessed him to do that after we just drove past a bunch of rhinos but security was waiting for him at the end of the Safari to escort him out of the park (and the rest of his family). I’ve seen a lot of things, but that was a first.”
During any ride or attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort, Guests are asked to refrain from doing certain things, in an effort to keep them from injuring themselves or causing injury to someone else. It’s not uncommon for items to be dropped out of ride vehicles and even dropped into the water below, like at the Jungle Cruise attraction. In fact, divers are employed by Disney to help retrieve items from the water (and to perform underwater maintenance work.)
But Cast Members ask that Guests remain seated and never attempt to stand during a seated ride in a vehicle. They also ask that if a Guest drops something or if something blows away out of the vehicle, that the Guest waits until returning to the loading station, then notify a Cast Member so that he or she can assist with retrieval.
Disney World’s Cast Members are apparently serious about these requests. Per Ms. Hill’s post on Facebook, the male Guest who retrieved his cell phone boarded the ride vehicle after getting his phone, and when the truck returned to the loading platform, security was waiting to escort him and his family out of the park.
In an interview with Inside the Magic, Ms. Hill said that the driver of the truck shared some insight about the dangers of the male Guest’s actions, and about the consequences for Guests who carry out such unsafe behaviors in the parks:
“Our driver told us that he’s very lucky he didn’t do it while we were directly in front of the rhinos and that even the game wardens don’t get out of their trucks near the rhinos. She said it was a very valuable lesson for everyone who witnessed it because he basically put everyone’s lives in danger. She told us that security will be waiting for him at the end – and they were! She said it was an automatic exit from the Park and if he was staying at a Disney World Resort he’d be asked to leave there as well.”
Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort is home to many other Guest-favorite attractions in addition to the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction, like Expedition Everest, Navi River Journey, Avatar: Flight of Passage at Pandora: The World of Avatar, as well as other experiences like viewing animals at the Harambe Wildlife Preserve. Do you have a favorite zoo animal? Chances are, you can see that animal (and many others like it) at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
We’re glad no one was hurt during the incident at Animal Kingdom aboard the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction, but how sad it must have been for the Guest’s family, who was removed from the park with the man!
Have you ever seen another Guest do something unsafe while enjoying an attraction? Share your stories with us in the comments!
