Rafiki's Planet Watch is Now OPEN - See Post #296

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This has always been a favorite of ours. A great place to cool off, learn something, pet the animals, ride the peaceful train ride. So sad. Our kids have learned so much at Disney & now they seem to be eliminating learning experiences.
 
Maybe I am being an optimist, or have Disney rose-colored glasses on, but I think they did try to save this area. It has never been busy, but this summer they did have all the free tours of the areas at RPW. I don’t know how much of a success they were though, but I don’t think they boosted attendance there enough. I think it is a shame to see it go, but I can see them cutting this considering how busy it was.
If you are talking "disney busy" then no it was not that busy, but everytime (30+ trips) we took the train back to RPW, the train was almost always full. Whenever they would bring out an animal to show and talk about there was always a crowd around them, as with the character greets. Yes, not the 30+ minute wait like other places, but that is what made this place special. It was nice to get away from the giant crowds, yet still be utilizing your time and exploring. Heck, I still remember the talking trash can:) RPW will be missed by our family:sad1: Let's hope WDW does something educational, but somehow I doubt it.
 
I am sad we did not get this on the last trip. The kids really liked in on a previous trip.
 


It wouldn’t surprise me if they did, and I admit that I would be first in line to book it!
There was a tour temporarily that went behind the scenes in the vet areas. They offered it as part of their birthday celebration. It also included feeding prep and their purple Martin habitats. It was a great tour. Our guide for the special Safari for our Lion King meal did indicate that they had more stuff on the works but didn't elaborate.
 
There was a tour temporarily that went behind the scenes in the vet areas. They offered it as part of their birthday celebration. It also included feeding prep and their purple Martin habitats. It was a great tour. Our guide for the special Safari for our Lion King meal did indicate that they had more stuff on the works but didn't elaborate.

That sounds really fun!
 


Attracting new and repeat customers by offering unique and entertaining products and services will ultimately help the bottom line more than trimming things that people enjoy.
They don't care about "ultimately". Only short-term profits are the corporate focus, as that's what their jobs depend on.
It strikes me that families ... and actually we are a couple with no kids so I am not saying this just because I have children ... are not the market any more. The money is to be made with dining and alcohol and the market seems to be teens and adults.
Well, let's face it. Families with young kids aren't a demographic that typically has overflowing pockets, compared to people at other stages of life. Disney is well aware of that.
 
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If you are talking "disney busy" then no it was not that busy, but everytime (30+ trips) we took the train back to RPW, the train was almost always full. Whenever they would bring out an animal to show and talk about there was always a crowd around them, as with the character greets. Yes, not the 30+ minute wait like other places, but that is what made this place special. It was nice to get away from the giant crowds, yet still be utilizing your time and exploring. Heck, I still remember the talking trash can:) RPW will be missed by our family:sad1: Let's hope WDW does something educational, but somehow I doubt it.
The talking trash can! I forgot about that! It got me before I read about it on the DISboards! I threw my trash away & it said thanks....nobody else was really around so I was so confused, then it asked me what was wrong LOL....I thought I was going crazy from the heat. Good memories.
 
i'm so sad to see this go....
we have always enjoyed conservation station/rafiki's planet watch...
first with our kids, and last summer with our toddler grandkids...
so another of our favorite educational areas is biting the dust....
like at innoventions in epcot, we would spend a long time in RPW listening to the talks, watching the videos, in the petting area, watching the vet demonstrations, and of course, in that booth, whatever it's called, where you put earphones on that sound like you're really in a rain forest...
some of our best memories are from RPW and innoventions...
and wonders of life, now that i'm thinking about it...and the upstairs area of imagination, whatever that area was called... (years and years ago)..
so sad...
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This is a genuine question, as I have not been nor do I have kids: do you believe these plus the safari are enough to justify taking toddlers to AK? I will certainly go earlier in my trip, but when my young nieces are there, I’m not sure if it is worth the hassle, price, heat and crowds.



The Festival of the Lion King was definitely not on the list, though it was a “Top 5”, so not a definitive list. I would have thought that the show would not appeal to toddlers, so that’s really good to know.



As I say, it was a Top 5 video, but that’s interesting about the shows - it sounds like they would have been a good addition to the list.

These comments are all really helpful, as it does sound like there is still more to do there for the little ones than I’m imagining. I’m baulking at the idea of using a park entry day for a Dumbo knock-off and a playground, but it does sound like there may be plenty for toddlers to do besides that.


we were at WDW for 3 weeks in august 2017...
it was 8 of us, including 2 toddlers (ages 22 months and 3.5 years)..
the 2 toddlers LOVED both Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the musical.

we saw both shows 4 times and the kids would have been happy to see them again....

they also both very much enjoyed RPW and it's sad that disney is closing it.

I sure hope both Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the musical are still at AK the next time we all visit (in 2022)..

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Last year we went and DD fell in love with Okapi and was thrilled we could buy a little Okapi stuffed animal. She and I took the train to RPW and one of the vets was around and said to my daughter "I like your okapi!" and that was the point where the rest of my plans went out the window. The vet then sat down with my DD and talked about the okapi and taught her so much for 30 minutes and then about DD's dreams of being a vet. Ask her what she did on her Disney trip and she will start with telling you all about the vet. She will be so upset when we go back.
 
We were there four weeks ago and forgot on our AK day. They will do something out there. It has it's own train.
 
so my DD (who's "friends" with a lot of characters) was told the place might be re-imagined into a Zootopia thing. just to throw another wishful thinking thing out there....
 
Wilderness Explorers was my kids' favorite thing about AK on our last trip. They were 3 and 6 at the time. They were obsessed with getting those stickers.
The Wilderness Explorers stations will still be at the rest of the park.
 
After reading about the closure, we stopped by there yesterday on our last park day before heading home. I’m so glad we did! The vet area is fascinating and we enjoyed looking at all the different amphibians. I confess we even enjoyed the rainforest sound booth — so relaxing! One thing that struck me was how great a place it seemed to be for little ones to escape the overstimulation that can sometime occur in the parks. Kids seemed to be in awe and having a ball with the exhibits an petting zoo.

I asked a CM about the closure and she was understandably sad. She said most of the CMs are moving over to Fesitval of the Lion King, although she was headed to Asia.
 
I fear AK will slowly devolve into being more about rides and less about animals.
 
Ironically, we have our AK day planned for 10/20, the day before RPW closes. Would anyone expect AK to be busier than predicted because of this closing? I assume more people than usual will visit RPW that day.
 
Ironically, we have our AK day planned for 10/20, the day before RPW closes. Would anyone expect AK to be busier than predicted because of this closing? I assume more people than usual will visit RPW that day.
The character performers last day is Saturday, Sept 29th, so there’ll be more entertainment CMs visiting that day.

It’s usually the “last day” of anything that creates more of a crowd.
 
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