Don’t miss Rafiki’s Planet Watch at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
A Mom and The Mouse, Kristin Ford — By Kristin Ford on November 23, 2009 at 6:03 am
Calm sheep and goats allow children to pet and brush them in the Affection Section of Rafiki's Planet Watch at Disney's Animal Kingdom. (Photo by Kristin Ford/Orlando Sentinel)
On a recent trip to Animal Kingdom, we rediscovered Rafiki’s Planet Watch, an area at the back of the park that we don’t always take time to visit but is great for kids.
To get there, board the Wildlife Express Train in Africa for a 5-minute ride to the outpost. Seats all face outward, so passengers get a “backstage” look at how animals are cared for at Walt Disney World.
Visitors disembark onto Habitat Habit!, an outdoor discovery trail that leads to the main building. The path offers plenty to see, including cotton-top tamarins, and activities for children, such as an animal scavenger hunt.
In the Conservation Station, visitors can interact with animals and see veterinary and training exhibits. Plus, Pocohontas, Rafiki and Jiminy Crickit pose for photos and sign autographs. The one thing we didn’t check out in the building was Sounds of the Rainforest, a program seen in darkened booths that seat 6.
Perhaps the best part for my children was Affection Section, which is a petting yard, where kids can touch and brush goats, sheep and donkeys. (A lama was present, too, but I’ve always kept my distance after being bitten as a child.) My daughter loved the novelty of brushing a goat who stood patiently for longs periods of time.
We ended our visit with a short outdoor show that featured an owl and a parrot doing tricks. The birds were entertaining, but the kids were making noises of their own about lunch, so we headed back to the train.
Tags: Animal Kingdom, animals at Disney, Disney World, Rafiki's Planet Watch
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3 Comments
We went to Rakifi’s Planet Watch once, and probably won’t be back. The train ride was nice, but we didn’t get too much out of the activities there, and the train ride back is a pain—having to wait on a line just to get to other rides is a bit frustrating.
We love Rafiki’s Planet Watch. In the morning they ofter do procedures on the animals so you can see the animals a bit closer. i.e. a tiger having a procedure done on it’s paw! We like the train ride there and back.
This attraction is a classic example of how subtle cut backs can happen.We were at the AK the day it opened and besides the train ride you arrived to a compound full of hands on activities.They would brin out smaller animals and discuss themThe petting zoo was full of different animals.The various work areas were all staffed with cast members that answered questions about their jobs.My sons loved trying the snack items they fed to the smaller animals.They offered them for tasting as part of an interactive display about building proper diets for various critters.It was always funny to hear the kiddies squeal. Today, you dare not visit on a weekend.hardly anything is there beyond videos of staff that worked mid week.The petting zoo is almost vacant.Virtually no one does the mini lectures about specific animals. When you ask the staff why it is so quiet they never have an answer.Most of them were never there that many years ago so they haven’t gt a clue about earlier years. What a lost opportunity to educate.