Virtual Safari is a special DVD feature that has been included on three DVDs: The Lion King, The Lion King 1½, and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
Virtual Safari[]
In Virtual Safari, Timon and Pumbaa take the viewer on a virtual adventure through the Pride Lands. There are two different choices that viewers can choose from: A boat cruise (inspired by the Jungle Cruise) and a jeep excursion (loosely inspired by Kilimanjaro Safaris).
On the boat cruise, Timon and Pumbaa take the viewer on a cruise down a river, where they encounter hippos, a giant snake, a view of Pride Rock, monkeys with a special appearance by Rafiki, and even a group of hungry crocodiles who attack the boat. And they end up either get sucked into a whirlpool or go down a water fall.
On the jeep ride, Timon and Pumbaa guide the viewer on an expedition across the African savanna that leads to encounters with an angry rhino that rams the jeep, a stop at a drive-thru section called Restaurant Road, a run-in with a herd of stampeding Wildebeests, a close encounter with some bats, and a thrilling conclusion where the jeep drives through a cavern full of lava geysers while narrowly avoiding a pack of hungry hyenas.
During each experience, there are points on the ride where the viewer can choose which path the vehicle takes by clicking on one of two directional arrows, and each choice will result in a different experience. For example, at Restaurant Road, the viewer can choose between either a drive-thru serving some of Timon and Pumbaa's favorite bug-themed foods or a drive-thru run by hyenas who are looking to eat Timon and Pumbaa.
And at the end of each experience, Timon and Pumbaa will show the viewer a brief montage of pictures showing them reacting to everything that occurred on the ride. This montage will vary depending on the choices made by the viewer.
On the selection menu, there is also a choice that points to a poster promoting Timon and Pumbaa's "all-new virtual safaris" pinned to a refurbishment wall. When this is selected, Timon, Pumbaa, and an offscreen narrator will tell the viewers about the upcoming virtual safaris that will be featured on the DVDs for The Lion King 1 1/2 and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
Virtual Safari 2.0[]
Virtual Safari 2.0 is similar to the original Virtual Safari, except that instead of being able to choose either a boat or a jeep, Timon and Pumbaa take the viewer on an excursion riding atop Gertie the Elephant. Over the course of this journey, Timon, Pumbaa and the viewer encounter many surprises, including a rickety wooden bridge, a wildfire, and even end up getting launched into space, where they encounter Stitch in his spaceship or a Hidden Mickey satellite before they reenter the atmosphere, move through the Pride Lands at super speed, and meet Gertie at the water hole. As with the previous version, Timon and Pumbaa conclude the experience with a montage of pictures showing their reactions to different scenes during the experience.
Virtual Safari 1.5[]
In Virtual Safari 1.5, Timon and Pumbaa have built a ride called the Lion King Pride Lands Adventure and are taking Ma and Uncle Max for a ride. On the ride, the group rides on wildebeest-based ride vehicles. Despite initial difficulties caused by Timon sitting on the On Button, the group actually goes through parodies of various Disneyland and Walt Disney World attractions including "It's a Small World", "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", "Matterhorn Bobsleds", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Jungle Cruise", "The Haunted Mansion", and "Splash Mountain". Things go really wrong, however, when the ride gets stuck in the "It's a Small World" parody and as a result of Pumbaa being unable to determine (at the time) which of the buttons on the ride vehicle is the emergency stop button, the vehicle is then launched out of the show building at an incredibly fast speed (including a really cheap ripoff of the "E.T. moon shot"), and is then sent on a whirlwind thrill ride through the Pride Lands that includes a madcap dash through the savanna, the elephant graveyard, the meerkat colony's tunnel network, an actual train, and even to the peak of Pride Rock. The group stops there to choose either go forwards or backwards down the tunnel used to defeat the Hyenas in the movie and through an icy cavern where they encounter the Yeti from Matterhorn Bobsleds (much to Ma's confusion).
No matter which good choice is selected, however, Uncle Max will still refer to this ride as the worst he has ever rode on, and Timon will admit that his ride has a few bugs in it and needs a little extra tinkering while Pumbaa wants to go on it again.
As with the other versions, this experience is concluded with a montage of photos from the ride that shows Timon, Pumbaa, Ma, and Uncle Max reacting to different scenes.
