I introduce my theory about how humans could exist in The Lion King's universe. In other words, in which year or decade.
Actually, The Lion King can happen in any time of history, EXCEPT after the years that I introduce. I'm only trying to to fit humans on The Lion King's universe or at least prove that it is not a impossible thing to happen.
This map shows the european colonies in 1898. According to the Disney's wiki, the Pridelands is situaded on Tanzania, and we see that German Empire had Tanzania as your colonie at the time.
However, we don't see any trail of humans in all the franchise, which means that The Lion King can not happen after the 1870's, decade that the european neocolonialism has started.
"But what about the Maasai people?"
If this map is correct, we see that the Maasai people do not live in or near the Pridelands
"But where would the Pridelands be, anyway?"
Considering the episode of The Lion Guard, "The Lost Gorillas", the Pridelands could not be out of this circle, because the snowlands that appear in this episode are situaded on the Congo mountains, right below the hypothetical Pridelands's place, because it's seems that the trip to the mountain lands does not take much time. Otherwise, the Guard would take many days to arrive to the place, which does not seem to happen in the episode.
In addition, the jungle that simba arrives after fleeing of the Pridelands it could be the forest of Congo, West of the hypothetical Pridelands place..
So to make things more interesting, The Lion King and Simba's Pride could be happen, in my suggestion, in 1870 to 1875, just before the germans and british colonizers arrive to the Pridelands... eventually.
"And what would happen with humans in the Pridelands?"
It depends of your imagination.
War between Great Powers (like United Kingdom VS North Germany Confederation)?
Just an easter egg in a possible sequel?