DAK Rafiki's Planet Watch

[FettFan]

Rafiki's Planet Watch is easily the most overlooked part of Animal Kingdom, as it's located far out of the way, inaccessible by footpath.
In fact, if you wish to visit RPW, you have to board the Wildlife Express train at the Gorilla Falls trail....if you don't visit the trail, you'll never see the train station. Additionally, the train stops running at 4:30 PM each day.

So what are your thoughts on this area/land... have you actually been to it? If so, did you like it? Do you think it worth visiting again?

And if you didn't like it, what would you do to improve it? Add more pathways so that the train isn't necessary? Bulldoze it altogether and build something else?

 

[JIMINYCR]

We love the train ride. And guests who don't go to Rafikis are missing out of some great experiences at the Conservation Station. We've had some great interactions with CM's and lucky to watch Veterinarian procedures.

 

[UNCgolf]

And if you didn't like it, what would you do to improve it? Add more pathways so that the train isn't necessary? Bulldoze it altogether and build something else?

They really can't bulldoze it since it has the park's veterinary facilities (at least not without rebuilding them elsewhere). It's also too far a walk to just throw up pathways; you'd have to at least add some bathrooms etc. along the way.

I'm not sure there's much they could do to it right now. You don't want to induce a ton of demand because the train doesn't have enough capacity to move people there and back efficiently, so you can't really add anything that would turn it into a major draw.

I assume that it'll eventually be connected to the rest of the park via an expansion so that it's not all a dead zone between the park and RPW like it is now, and at that point they might want to do some kind of overhaul up there, but I think it's fine the way it is for now.

 

[Disvillain63]

As with many things Disney, activities have changed or been eliminated from the original ideas. There used to be more hands-on, inside and out. More interactive activities (feeding stations...animals could be rotated in and out, so they don't get overfed) and/or some additional animal friends, inside and out. Meet and Greets along the pathway...Pocahontas (Pocahontas, Meeko) & Lion King, Brother Bear, Jungle Book characters, Fox & Hound, etc... Grandmother Willow as an interactive tree or storyteller could be fun.

 

[danlb_2000]

They really can't bulldoze it since it has the park's veterinary facilities (at least not without rebuilding them elsewhere). It's also too far a walk to just throw up pathways; you'd have to at least add some bathrooms etc. along the way.

I'm not sure there's much they could do to it right now. You don't want to induce a ton of demand because the train doesn't have enough capacity to move people there and back efficiently, so you can't really add anything that would turn it into a major draw.

I assume that it'll eventually be connected to the rest of the park via an expansion so that it's not all a dead zone between the park and RPW like it is now, and at that point they might want to do some kind of overhaul up there, but I think it's fine the way it is for now.

There is little reason to get rid of the building the houses the care center. There is so much land between it and the main part of the part for expansion there would be little need to get rid of it. It's also on the opposite side of a canal which sort of cuts it off from the rest of the land.

 

[Phonedave]

When my kids were younger, we lived at RPW. We watched dozen of veterinary procedures. My one daughter camped out in front of the window for so long one time that the CM approached us as said if we hung around until "closing time" that they would let us take a tour of the vet rooms. That was a pretty cool tour, the custom made intubation devices were crazy. They just said, "You cant go out a buy a intubation tube for an elephant off the shelf, so we make them in house".

I also enjoyed the displays that they have there.

As my kids got older and the one no longer wanted to be a DAK vet (and live in Jambo house) we stopped going as much, but it is still enjoyable for the occasional visit.

 

[FutureCEO]

I assume that it'll eventually be connected to the rest of the park via an expansion

Year 2100 it will be built