The Dark Original Storyline of Kilimanjaro Safaris

[@CaptainCretaceous91]

If they ever make a Kilimanjaro Safaris movie, I would love it if they incorporated the original dark storyline parts.

[@cammcecil]

They need to hire you asap. Sometimes I wish instead of them injecting IP from cartoons and stuff into parks like Epcot and AK, that they’d make new films inspired by the lore and details in the parks that we love so much

[@pinkpeppers5580]

​@@cammcecilYeah! Like the explorers guild storyline throughout all the parks around the world! Bring back the nautilus and capitan Nemo!!!

[@VixenLovelove]

Bro I remember the poaching storyline. I must have been like 4 cause when it got removed I couldn’t tell if my memory was real or not. The elephant animatronic did feel very real to me

[@cplova333]

i feel like i remember it too from when i was 8

[@gadiesandlentlemen]

yeah, i remember it, too, but i don't think i ever went to animal kingdom as a small child...

[@AlienDude51]

I love the original story for this ride, but it *does* sound more like something you'd see in a movie than a park ride.

[@BrianSmith-jx7td]

They seriously should have kept the poacher and the little red story line, I get that they want this ride to be educational but I think it is extremely important to expose today's generation to the horrors of poaching and the effects that it really has on the environment and the ecosystem

[@je11yst4r12]

They could’ve made it 14+ or 10+ bc mostly the kids would get traumatized

[@AntiFaGoat]

If they had made 2 paths for the trucks to follow, they could have done it. Guests who want a slow adventure through the whole zoo could take one tour. Guests who want a few live animals but augmented with a story and a faster ride path could take a different tour. The gimmick of "a different ride everytime" would have still worked.

[@JadisAmalthea]

I remember the poaching storyline very well, I went to Animal Kingdom many times in the early to mid-2000s. I was a teenager and it never seemed that dark to me; I do however remember the poacher's jeep and the cast member with the rifle. Tbh, I never cared about the story, and was just interested in seeing the cheetahs (my favorite amimal lol) and crossing the tilting bridge. I have not been to Disney since late 2007 and had no idea they had even removed those story elements till this video! Wow!

[@virginiad.1911]

Yeah, this OG storyline is deep in my mind. I just remember Little Red. And I remember a happy ending??

[@AlienDude51]

The baby lived, happy enough end right?

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

​@Benjamin Crescent Sure, if you remember that it's now an orphan and will have to rely on humans (not sure what elephant herd mentality is like if they raise calfs that aren't their own - I would imagine they might, because I've heard that elephant herds will mourn their dead by stroking the body with their trunks like how humans will sometimes stroke the head, hands, face, or feet of their dead) to care for and raise it, with the ever looming threat that it could happen again as the poachers broke into the sanctuary in the storyline.. then I guess it's a "happy" ending.

[@cammcecil]

They had a change in storyline before getting rid of Little Red and Big Red where they both lived and the warden says “we will return her to her mother”

[@madhatt3r93]

​@@cannibalisticrequiemI know that this comment is really old, but there have been many cases of elephant orphans that were raised by humans being sucessfully reintroduced into the wild and having calves of their own! I recommend looking up sheldrick wildlife trust to see how the process looks like! 🐘

[@SpellboundWolf]

I recall on the Jungle Cruise (I visited in 1995) the tour guide used to have a pistol with blanks to scare hippos away from the boat. I recently was talking to my uncle about it & I guess he never knew about or forgot that part of the ride. I do miss those animatronic hippos. I hope the staff are taking good care of them.

[@cammcecil]

Pre Covid i remember the gun on jungle cruise!

[@jackdubs25]

They still have it at Disneyland

[@dominiqueisunique41]

I remember the original plot! I was 2 and 3 when I rode for the first times. I don’t remember Big Red, but I remember Little Red! I loved that baby elephant so much

[@TotallyNot_Jakewastaken]

They should have kept the poachers, and make the poachers be caught poaching, and arrested, maybe not at gunpoint though, probably just blockaded by many wardens and their vehicles and the Warden’s plane

[@gadiesandlentlemen]

YESSS!

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

I mean, guns would have to be included because that's a part of reality. There is no poacher that doesn't own military grade firearms. You're not going to intimidate them by putting up a blockade without weapons of your own. They'll see it, and be willing to just barrel through it with their vehicles, taking out whoever stands in their way because poachers do not give a fuck. They willingly capture, mutilate, and outright murder animals for a living - you really think an unarmed blockade and a plea to "talk things out" in an attempt to reason with them is going to stop them? Don't be daft.

[@DigitalAndInnovation]

The retrospective looks at this ride are somewhat cathartic. I had memories of this ride being so traumatizing and each time I re rode it it was 'not as bad' as the last time. Then to hear it wasn't just me misremembering things, they kept reworking the disturbing elements is reassuring. I remember in the queue they had shots of dead poached animals in the video and then they were no more.

[@landerryan1485]

I noticed that they changed the prop airplane used in the final scene. The original airplane looks to be a pre-war aeronca chief and the more recent aircraft is a Cessna 150. The Aeronca chief was covered in aircraft fabric and would quickly deteriorate if continuously left outside. The Cessna 150 is all aluminum.

[@kevinfraser7815]

Should’ve kept it. 20 years later and poaching has killed of far too many. Shock the little ones into caring about the world outside of their bubble

[@nurselex2487]

I guess reality isn't too important for the Disney team

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

​@@nurselex2487 It's less that and more the desire to stick with Walt Disney's original mission statement of the company maintaining a family-friendly image for the brand. And because some of the old heads that were around when Walt was still alive were around when this storyline would've been introduced, they poo-poo'd it because "That's not what Walt would've wanted"-- which was a mindset that nearly did the company in twice after Walt died, and before the surprise success of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and later "The Little Mermaid" catapulted the company into "The Disney Renaissance" of the early 90s and then later "The Disney Decade" beginning in 2000 before eventually peetering out early around 2008 when Eisner was ousted from the company.

[@christopherwall2121]

@@cannibalisticrequiem What Walt would have wanted was a company that wasn't constrained by some nostalgic idea of what he might have wanted.

[@Fleetwoodfella]

@@cannibalisticrequiemAfter Walt’s death, the Walt Disney Company was completely in denial. When Eisner stepped in and asked Card Walker “why are there only two hotels- Polynesian and Contemporary?” Card Walker responded, “Thats just how it is. We are not in the hotel business.” Disney animators, instead of working on a film at a steady pace to keep pushing out new media, would have soft ball games. By noon is when most people were done for the day. Michael Eisner was confused as hell.

[@IvyGrass]

I went to Disney for the first time in 2004 and I was a little disappointed that they removed the storyline and shaking bridge when I finally went back. Really glad they took the elephant dying out though, that would have traumatized me!

[@Expialidocious46545]

I visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom 2 months after it opened. I saw the original storyline with everything except the dead elephant carcass. I’m glad I didn’t see that.

[@breeannwatkins6314]

I'm glad they removed the little Red part it was too sad seeing that little baby elephant and those nasty poachers who killed his mommy

[@bloodysparkles5372]

i don't really remember the fuller version of the og storyline bc i was young, only the overhead warning about poaching, but i was still disappointed when i realized how tame the ride got. i distinctly remember the moment where the bridge rattles and the driver says we barely drove off before it collapsed under us. the sound effects on that bridge are still there, though, which provides great ammo to freak younger party members out lmao

[@jwiese100]

You want a fun fact on poaching? Hows this? In Tanzania (the home of Lion King) poachers are shot dead on sight

[@americanlibertas3726]

I remember the poaching thing. I went when I was way younger and I remember the speedy chase part for the little elephant.

[@bryanwhitecs]

When I worked on KSR, if people asked why there weren't live animals on JC, I would answer that they quickly discovered that water was a horrible way to keep crocodiles separated from anything.

[@baconplayz5673]

So…does that mean there’s just a dead elephant animatronic carcus somewhere?

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

Probably in the "animatronic graveyard" or behind a storage building, if it wasn't left out in the open to deteriorate and let nature claim it.

[@AntiFaGoat]

Jim Hill Media claimed that for a while it was just left out to rot, but there were calls from private plane pilots about seeing "a dead elephant" and reporting it and it had to go.

[@baconplayz5673]

@@AntiFaGoat Oh ok lmao

[@frankcisde2338]

I did that ride in septembre 1998 and the chase was funny. Now, I only regret the tilting bridge.

[@HumorNWaffles]

Anytime we hear the word "Harambe" 🥺💔 Good night, sweet prince 🦍😂

[@_mothmaam_]

SIMBA ONE? COME IN, SIMBA ONE!

[@emilysprankel7608]

I remember this version!!!!! It always made me upset

[@anothermereapostleofjimpickens]

What was Eisners deal?😂😂

[@juanescobedo8372]

Do I had a very dark story with this too… I was 10 when this happened

[@adamethridge7824]

The warden looks like dr shakalu from grandmas boy

[@jwiese100]

NAHTAZU!

[@gadiesandlentlemen]

i have this vague memory of this storyline, but i don't think i ever saw it. maybe i saw a video of it or something a long time ago?? anyways, i wish they'd bring back this storyline. it's educational and really cool. too bad they felt the need to shelter kids from a dark reality that's still relevant today.

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

I know the cool thing to do is hate on parents because you hate children, but if you had bothered watching the video, it states that it wasn't solely a "dumb parents sheltering their dumb kids" thing. It was pass holders, other cast members, and likely other Disney execs deciding it was "too dark for Disney" because they were still holding strong to Walt's original vision of Disney being a family-oriented corporation. And let's not forget that this was something Walt actively chose to do with the company. He wasn't forced, no one ever held a gun to his head, he chose to go after the family experience of his own attrition. Acting as though he didn't is to willingly be obtuse.

[@gadiesandlentlemen]

@@cannibalisticrequiem you're correct that a lot of things (including Walt's vision), not just parents, had a hand in the disposal of the poacher storyline, but that's besides the point of my comment. i think that the poaching storyline is important, and there's definitely a way they could do it tastefully and still educationally. for instance, maybe some of the darker elements, like the elephant carcass and the ranger holding the poachers at gunpoint, could be done without. poaching is still a big issue, and if no one's going to talk about it, if no one wants to step up and be the first to say something to a big audience, then how many species will have to die out before something happens, you know? also, a bit back-handed to assume i hate children 😅 i have a lot of issues with helicopter parents, mostly because my parents were and i wasn't the better for it, so i suppose my frustration got in the way of my message.

[@Quert_Zuiopue]

The weapon is not a AK47. It also seems like there were actually 2 weapons: A AKM (AK47 successor) and a RPK machine gun with a cut down barrel.