Up Close with Rhinos-New Experience at AK

[jameyh]

Great review, trying to decide between rhino and elephants for our trip. Touching a rhino vs photos with the elephants

 

[captaindavidhook]

I think both tour sound really nice and cute but the fact that you can't take photos near the rhinos I think is kind of weird. I don't really get that you can touch them but you can't take photos. I think at this point I think it'll be easily to just take a soft pass on both these tours. To me the animal track was war probably the best experience of any tour I had at Disney so sounds nice and thanks for reviews but I'll pass.

 

[Kellina]

Very cool!! We've done a rhino experience at a local zoo and got to feed them! It was so awesome! The price is pretty decent for this too!

 

[gharter]

It would be nice for Disney to have one of their photographers there to get photos of people with the Rhinos. And they could control what is shown in the photos as well, as that seems to be the worry of backstage photos being taken.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Absolutely I’d pay more for sure




QUOTE="gharter, post: 60005895, member: 66152"]It would be nice for Disney to have one of their photographers there to get photos of people with the Rhinos. And they could control what is shown in the photos as well, as that seems to be the worry of backstage photos being taken.[/QUOTE]

 

[paoil]

Spouse and I did the tour in November and will be taking the (adult) children next week. The fun started before we saw the Rhino's. A guide walks you backstage; our guide (Meg) was like a Jungle Cruise skipper and she had us laughing ten seconds in. No pictures are allowed because you are definitely backstage and some of it is pretty rough looking with crates and empty water bottles stacked high. But it's interesting to see what goes into making the magic backstage. You then board a bus which drives about a mile on a backstage road to the Rhino barn. There you meet the two cast members who work with the Rhinos. You pass through a gate and spend about a 1/2 hour with the Rhinos. Everyone gets to pat the side of the Rhino; the hide texture was surprising. We have done the elephant tour (caring for giants) and we preferred the Rhino tour because you get up close and personal with the Rhinos as opposed to simply viewing the elephants from quite a distance away. In addition to patting the Rhinos the cast members showed us some of the training techniques. There was plenty of time for questions and then we were back on the bus. This is one of the few times at Disney that I'd say the ticket charge was a good value.

 

[rteetz]

Great review, trying to decide between rhino and elephants for our trip. Touching a rhino vs photos with the elephants

I will say you don't get photos with the elephants but you can take photos of the elephants on that tour.

 

[rteetz]

It would be nice for Disney to have one of their photographers there to get photos of people with the Rhinos. And they could control what is shown in the photos as well, as that seems to be the worry of backstage photos being taken.

True however they would have to put some sort of back drop up or something. We are in the animal care facility for the Rhinos. This isn't a highly trafficked guest area. So I don't expect the picture taking aspect to change. I did put in my post tour survey that it would be nice to be able to take pictures but not something I need.

 

[Apopper74]

I tried booking this tour for my January trip but with only 1 tour day it was already booked. I ended up booking Caring for Giants. The Rhino reviews sound amazing and I definitely will be calling every day (almost) for availability. I hope they add more, this experience sounds amazing.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Here is my full review!

Getting Up Close with Rhinos!

Thanks for posting this @rteetz! Seems like a neat experience!

 

[chelynnah]

Sounds cool. I won't be at AK at 11:00 any day of my December trip. May look into the Caring for Giants tour though which is offered several times a day. Now if they ever offer a giraffe tour I will change my plans completely around to book that!

We did the giraffe tour at Busch a few years ago. It was incredible. We got to feed and touch the giraffes. I highly recommend it.

This experience sounds awesome. Hopefully it sticks around as we’ve no time to fit it in on our Feb trip

 

[MommyTaraLee]

We (including our 12 year old daughter and 6 year old son) did the tour last week and it was amazing! Unfortunately, they were doing a procedure on an animal in the white rhino compound, so we went to the black rhinos. They did tell us upfront that the black rhinos are not as socialized as the white, so there was a chance we would not be able to pet him, but he was on his best behavior, and we all got the chance to get up close. (Side Note: they offered to refund our $ if we were unhappy with the change.)

The animal keepers were very informative and engaging, and the tour guides were great.

Both kids said it was their favorite part of the trip, and they both were very excited to tell their friends and teachers when they got home.

I would definitely recommend the tour to anyone!

 

[xlsm]

Thanks for the review @rteetz ! Add me to the list of those disappointed with lack of photo opportunities - I really thought they'd at least have someone snapping while guests get to pet the rhino, like they do with Wild Africa Trek. Still excited about our tour on 1/3, though!

 

[lila]

I would love to take my parents on this between Jan 19-22, but the Rhinos are fully booked If anyone winds up canceling for 3 people on any of those dates, please let me know here or via PM! I'd love to coordinate picking up the tour. I booked the elephants but would love to do both!

 

[Dug720]

Do they do the same thing as with Caring For Giants where the fee goes to rhino conservation (obvs Giants it goes to elephant conservation)?

 

[SaintsManiac]

Do they do the same thing as with Caring For Giants where the fee goes to rhino conservation (obvs Giants it goes to elephant conservation)?

Yes

 

[Dug720]

Yes

Fantastic!! Thanks!!

 

[Tall Todd]

I would love to take my parents on this between Jan 19-22, but the Rhinos are fully booked If anyone winds up canceling for 3 people on any of those dates, please let me know here or via PM! I'd love to coordinate picking up the tour. I booked the elephants but would love to do both!

I'm in the same boat. Looking for 3 or 4 January 5-14

 

[TNickell27]

i booked this on Valentines Day! I'm so excited!

 

[Chami]

It looks like this is pretty popular. I couldn’t get the day I wanted, but was able to snag 2 reservations for our departure day in March.