Rafiki's Planet Watch

[maverik85]

Long time listener, first time caller...
It seems strange that AK would close RPW permanently when they have the live action movie coming out next summer.
As much as the entire resort is skewing towards heavy IP tie-ins, maybe a major update would be in order but not a closure. Only thing that makes sense is a sudden need for budget adjustments. We’ll find that out soon enough if we see other guest experience adjustments.

The only thing though is that aside from Rafiki's name and some characters at times there really is no connection to the movie. It's not really themed to the Lion King franchise. Overall, it really has no theme at all. FoLK is the Lion King offering at the park really.

To have an entire park supposedly devoted to animal life and not have a petting area or an encounter with the vets in action seems like a miscue to me. If you go here loving animals--as we do-- and longing for something different from non-stop rides and shows, RPW seems like a natural thing to do. Let's hope they simply move the encounter aspects to a another location for the guests to enjoy, rather than eliminating them completely.

Overall I wouldn't be sad to see it go but I do think it would be nice to have this get relocated or incorporated into a new area. To me the biggest issue with this was how detached it was from the rest of the park. It is a unique experience but something that many didn't care about as it was geared for young kids and there really wasn't much to do there. And with the only way to get to and from the line being via train it was not easy to get to and could eat up a lot of time for what amounted to not much. Remember even as a kid I was a bit disappointed when we got to it the first time. Enjoyed it still but hated having to wait in line for the train and then ride it around to get there only to find what amounted to a small petting zoo, then having to get in line to get back. I'm sure there are probably lots of people that didn't even know it was there since it was connected as well. Where as if it was located just off a path that you could walk to easily it would be more accessible and more people would probably go to it.

 

[Phicinfan]

Got some clarity ...
Martin at WDWMagic.com - stated this is strictly for budgetary reasons for now. There is potentially some future changes in the long term, one version being a revamped Rafiki but nothing locked and nothing short term. Other than as stated some of it may be used for private events once in a while.

 

[ck2d]

That place was so cool! We saw a tiger having dental surgery, which was fascinating.

 

[iloverags2]

I believe they mean that the 21st is the last day. Usually they announce the closing date, not the first day it will be closed. But if you plan on going for the last day, I would call them to confirm. Especially because Disney has not yet officially said anything, the date is from what cast members were told.

Thank you!

 

[Lady Hiss]

Sigh. Another quiet, calm area gone. It's not just for kids - as adults we enjoyed the tour of the vet area and the respite from the crowds.

 

[Thom72]

Not sure if I'm buying the reasoning of closing it for budget cutting. They will still need to staff the location for the care of animals. Think this is the start of Disney using this area for a new themed area. With GE opening next year and space limited with expansion in MK, DHS & Epcot. The only park with a viable space to expand is AK. I don't see a 5th gate opening in my life and really no reason to have one when you can expand and bring new life to existing parks. Dinoland USA needs to be re-themed also. Rafiki was a one time seen it and I'm done. It needs to go. Just not buying the budget cuts when they keep adding those horrible dance party's in the other parks. I'm just waiting for D23 next August to find out what's really going on here. You don't take away space when you're expecting record crowds with GE and WDW 50th anniversary coming up in the next few years.

 

[Isbjørn]

Mavrik85,
I was thinking about FoTLK as well. Now this is just my wishful thinking but couldn’t they reopen the trails and a new RPW on land near the FoTLK theater? Revamped with more LK IP and without the train.
Then the train could stay and take you to new lands with the outback or Uluru? Rumors of Oceania have been swirling for a while now. Would make for a great D23 surprise announcement. My only fear is a low budget project with off the shelf attractions i.e. Dinoland.
One can dream though...

 

[jkh36619]

I don't mean to sound ugly, and to those that truly loved this attraction I am very sorry for your loss but... as a lover of AK (its my families favorite park) This area can be used for so much more. Petting zoos are great for kids but Disney should be giving us more than this. Every local zoo has a petting zoo. Conservation parks that are mini zoos always have petting zoos and animal care areas. Disney should be giving us something more.

This part of the park doesn't fit into the hub and spoke model of the rest of the park.
The fact that this area could only be accessed by train also made it cumbersome for guest flow and a logistical nightmare. It was at least an hour commitment of time because you were trapped there... I think many guests who got on were expecting more of a MK train experience, but got a stranded on an island experience instead. (I know the first time I went to Planet watch I felt the same way.

I always viewed this area like the old camp Minnie-Mickey: a placeholder for an eventual themed area. If it turns into anything half as good as Pandora I will be happy. If it turns into another themed animal walkthru exhibit like the Maharajah Jungle Trek, I will be happy.

If it sits vacant for the next Decade, SHAME ON YOU DISNEY for cannibalizing the offerings at your parks to put a few extra cents in your shareholders pockets... this will come back to bite you in the long term if you do not replace the attractions you remove. Even though SWGE will be a gold mine for a few years, you can bet that during the next economic downturn people will struggle to justify the reduced offerings with the ever-increasing cost to visit.

Tiered multi day pricing? Lets just visit for 1-2 days instead of 4-5.

No night time parade? Lets give Universal a try.

$200 a night for a "value hotel" plus parking?" Lets try out Surfside and Dockside down the Highway for half the price.

$20+ a night for parking or a glorified 5 minute Lyft? Maybe a road trip out west is a better use of time and money.

Disney is taking advantage of the best economic situation in 2-3 decades, but I think they have quietly crossed a breaking point: They are no longer recession-proof.

I'm not going to completely disagree with you but taking the train was a cool part of it to me.

 

[mshanson3121]

I'm skipping comments so maybe this has already been addressed, but are they going to release all new Wilderness Explorer cards? At least 3-4 of the badges were earned in this area.

 

[rteetz]

I'm skipping comments so maybe this has already been addressed, but are they going to release all new Wilderness Explorer cards? At least 3-4 of the badges were earned in this area.

Nothing has been said about that yet.

 

[maverik85]

Mavrik85,
I was thinking about FoTLK as well. Now this is just my wishful thinking but couldn’t they reopen the trails and a new RPW on land near the FoTLK theater? Revamped with more LK IP and without the train.
Then the train could stay and take you to new lands with the outback or Uluru? Rumors of Oceania have been swirling for a while now. Would make for a great D23 surprise announcement. My only fear is a low budget project with off the shelf attractions i.e. Dinoland.
One can dream though...

A small addition off of Harambe near FoLK could work well and still give similar experience. And would love to see the train stay but hope whatever land it takes you to is accessible via a foot path as well. Ideally I' love to see an Australia section added between Asia and the current RPW area. could add some sort of footpath from Harambe over the road to connect to it, and then have the train drop you off at the back section of the land as well.

This area could add in animals from that area like more marsupials, koalas, dingoes, maybe lizard and insects, then a Great Barrier Reef exhibit to show aquatic animals which would be new for the park too. Could add a couple rides and move the Finding Nemo musical to here in a new theatre. This would then open up the space of the current theatre for a revamp/retheme of teh current Dinoland area (maybe into a South America/Amazon section)

 

[PetePanMan]

the train to nowhere...

 

[rpw2014]

Wouldn't you know it? Like many others, my family ignored Conservation Station and Rafiki's Planet Watch every time we visited - until 2016. Not worth the time it takes / boring was the word on the street. Well, these two senior citizens enjoyed it when we finally gave it a try in 2016 - especially my wife. I began planning our May 2019 trip a month ago and will now have to remove this gem of an attraction from our touring plans. The location in this photo at the train station turned out to be one of my wife's favorites for photo opportunities.

 

[tlmadden73]

It always felt like an underused area. A train . .that went to nowhere really. It felt like it was meant for something more, but just wasn't. Like it could have been used for more of a backstage tour/education of the animal areas (besides just driving by the buildings on the train). Or a much bigger petting zoo area (I mean .. I've been to bigger ones at local zoos) .. or something. If there was a bigger attraction at the end of the train ride .. it probably would have been more popular.

I don't get cutting an attraction at the park with the fewest attractions for "budget" reasons .. especially when they announced all these NEW attractions/events coming to DHS.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Bottom line, It sucks for some and some don't care. I fall into the "it sucks" crowd. My kids actually loved this part of the park and we enjoy seeing them have a good time. But with everything Disney, things have to change and we just have to roll with it. I just hope they keep the Animal part of Animal Kingdom alive.

 

[OhThePain]

We always loved going to RPW as a chance to change the pace of the day a bit and just slow things down. I guess some of the same reasons why we enjoyed it so much are the same reasons why they are closing it. It was always a treat to get there and find out some random procedure is being done on an obscure animal. We will miss it.

Let's not forget to mention that it was one of the very few places, that isn't a restaurant, you could go to get some quality AC time on a hot day and not feel rushed or be limited in time.

 

[Gary Iscoe]

Here is my idea. Zootopia section replaces Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station at Animal Kingdom. The train that takes you there becomes the monorail, and they do something like Hogwarts express at Universal where through screens in train you see the city of Zootopia as you approach it. There, a permanent meet and greet with Nick, Judy, and other characters. As for the ride, I am thinking something like the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey where its a rollercoaster with on screen characters (4D) And you are solving a case, and it’s different every time (possibility of 5 cases). The script would be different each time, 5 different films and plots.



Food — Big Donut, Jerry Jumbeaux’s Cafe, Judy’s Salad Bowl (for the vegetarians) and Nick’s WildeTimes (for the meat eaters).

 

[rteetz]

Here is my idea. Zootopia section replaces Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station at Animal Kingdom. The train that takes you there becomes the monorail, and they do something like Hogwarts express at Universal where through screens in train you see the city of Zootopia as you approach it. There, a permanent meet and greet with Nick, Judy, and other characters. As for the ride, I am thinking something like the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey where its a rollercoaster with on screen characters (4D) And you are solving a case, and it’s different every time (possibility of 5 cases). The script would be different each time, 5 different films and plots.

Food — Big Donut, Jerry Jumbeaux’s Cafe, Judy’s Salad Bowl (for the vegetarians) and Nick’s WildeTimes (for the meat eaters).

If it replaced it they would have to build a new animal hospital somewhere. That building/area also holds several other facilities such as food prep.

If expansion came to that area they would put it where the train takes you to the facility. There is a large plot of land before the Planet Watch building.

That said Zootopia does not fit in AK.

 

[tlmadden73]

Here is my idea. Zootopia section replaces Rafiki’s Planet Watch and Conservation Station at Animal Kingdom. The train that takes you there becomes the monorail, and they do something like Hogwarts express at Universal where through screens in train you see the city of Zootopia as you approach it. There, a permanent meet and greet with Nick, Judy, and other characters. As for the ride, I am thinking something like the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey where its a rollercoaster with on screen characters (4D) And you are solving a case, and it’s different every time (possibility of 5 cases). The script would be different each time, 5 different films and plots.



Food — Big Donut, Jerry Jumbeaux’s Cafe, Judy’s Salad Bowl (for the vegetarians) and Nick’s WildeTimes (for the meat eaters).

Great ideas. But great ideas cost money, which seems like Disney is avoiding by making cuts. Maybe they do have a new area planned, but more than likely it is just an across the board cut - they just find the least popular attraction in each park where they can cut the most staff and just do it.
Stitch was closed with no replacement in sight, it just feels similar to that.

Just how big companies across the country are forced to make staffing cuts (even though they need the employees) and just end up having each department cut 1 person.
It makes the bean counters happy for the short term even though realistically the staff is needed (or ends up getting rehired anyway after a year or two).

You'd more likely see them just open another restaurant (since it makes money) and just have the train take you there.

You'd also think that they would need to keep the vet center, just close it to the public.

 

[Helvetica]

Bottom line, It sucks for some and some don't care. I fall into the "it sucks" crowd. My kids actually loved this part of the park and we enjoy seeing them have a good time. But with everything Disney, things have to change and we just have to roll with it. I just hope they keep the Animal part of Animal Kingdom alive.

It definitely sucks for the people who loved it, but the animals may be better off if they just use that area as a working hospital with the occasional school tour. It can also be used as a place where the animals can get away from the crowds when they're not on exhibit.

Maybe I'm the only one, but I didn't think that a petting zoo really fit in with their conservation efforts. I'm also not sure how many major theme parks even have petting zoos anymore. I know that my local Six Flags had one, but they got rid of it in the 80's.