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A Walt Disney World Resort guest recently shared a photo of Disney cast members using a defensive shield to protect themselves from some of the resident animals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. In response, Disney Parks fans and employees shared some other measures cast members take to protect themselves from the wildlife residing at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park and beyond.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park is home to more than 2,000 animals, including tigers, gorillas, giraffes, lions, and more. Guests can visit wildlife throughout the Central Florida Disney park, particularly on the Kilimanjaro Safaris and Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail in Africa and Maharajah Jungle Trek in Asia.
Credit: Disney
Deluxe Disney Resort hotel guests can also view select African animals from their balconies and observation areas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Redditor u/Kiliana117 was visiting the Disney Resort hotel when they spotted Disney cast members doing maintenance in an animal area. One of the Walt Disney World Resort employees carried a shield to protect them from the antelopes that roamed the enclosure.
The guest shared this photo of the Disney cast members at work, noting that they “missed the shot, but before I took this he was fending off the business end of an eland”:
Thought this was funny…
Commenters shared their experiences with Walt Disney World Resort’s animals.
“We saw them the other day protecting a maintenance worker from the Zebras with Tupperware lids,” said u/spanky088. “The babies were building up speed and trying to charge the poor guy. They all eventually gave up because the zebras were relentless.”
Credit: Disney
“I saw a group of ostriches tearing at the chain link fence at Kidani Village construction site,” u/dj_norvo wrote. “The construction guys were taking pictures, made me smile.”
u/SeriousStrokes69 explained that Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park cast members have rarely used radio codes for dangerous animal incidents:
“Those who in DAK have a radio code for when a keeper gets in trouble with the animals, and they have a variety of ways to intervene when an animal gets too aggressive. You don’t ever want to hear it come over the radio, but when it does it’s amazing to see how many different ways they can get in there and redirect the animals’ behavior. Some things work better than others. lol.”
Credit: Disney
If you’re curious about animal care at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, you can ask Disney cast members on the Kilimanjaro Safaris, Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, or Maharajah Jungle Trek. Behind-the-scenes tours of backstage animal areas are also available for an additional fee, including Caring for Giants, Up Close with Rhinos, Wild Africa Trek, and Savor the Savanna.
What’s your favorite obscure fact about Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share it with us in the comments.
