Rafiki's Planet Watch
Hey folks! Told you I would get it in, and just in the nick of time
. As promised, here is the Rafiki’s Planet Watch update. Planet Watch was a poorly conceived idea with noble aspirations. It mixed in a lot of great concepts and with some additional things to do and better access to the area it could be a successful, educational land of the area.
To solve the ‘access issue’ the first thing that needs to be discussed is the Wilderness Railroad as it is the only current entrance to the land. The first thing that would change is the Planet watch station would be moved to the peak of the curve further up track, closer to the Elephant house. It will be very similar to its current design, but this would allow for the rail expansion and cut down majorly on the walk to get to the building itself. Trees would be placed as a backdrop from PW all the way across to the road to help with the view and create a better atmosphere. Each leg of the new railroad would have area specific viewing prior to getting to each station to help with the transition into that particular land. The railroad will now have 4 stops on its loop, Africa, South America, Australia, and Planet Watch and will essentially encircle the cleared development area (I will release a map tomorrow). The first scene from Africa to PW will be fairly similar to what it is currently with a behind the scenes / general conservation vibe. From PW to South America, we will see lush rainforest and the nearby river will be put to use to increase the atmosphere also. The leg of South America to Australia will make a rapid change from forest to the rocky, dusty outback. Here it will be a little bit trickier as the station has to be on the opposite side of the tracks from the land and hide some backstage components. The backstage parts will be hidden by a large blocking structure made to look like a cliff face and a themed pedestrian bridge will allow people to cross to the other side of the other side of the tracks. Finally, the last section will be fairly similar to what it is now, bringing you back to the lush rainforest of Pangani. After the railroad issues are solved, walking paths will also be added from Australia to add a second way to enter the land. It will go under a bridge for the railroad and create better flow through the area.
Habitat habit will remain in a form very similar to what it is now however the size will be reconfigured to fit the new pathways into the land, and some more endangered species exhibits will be there to educate people as they are funneled towards the entrance. It will be a lot shorter of a walk to conservation station, therefore encouraging more people to get into the land however Habitat habit will extend past the train station almost up to the road now making it an optional walking trail for guests while they wait for the next train. Also Affection section will remain fairly unchanged except for more special programs where exotic animals are brought out for guests to physically interact with This however is where things will start to get different as Conservation station will now become almost triple its current size.
The first thing after the collage when you enter the building is see the similar circular foyer but now seemingly less empty. All of the interactive games and displays of Disney conservation efforts would remain in open spaces throughout the building with a few minor updates in tech and mking them look more permanent. Periodically in the space in the middle of the room and to the back of the collage, to utilise it a bit more efficiently, there will be little moments of magic where there could be a character meet and greet, a mini concert, or a kids activity that will happen spontaneously throughout the day. Not only does this make people, especially with little ones, want to come even more but it also adds a little good old fashioned Disney magic and it’s never a bad thing to have in the parks. Next you can still observe animal operations through the window, however directly to the side of that will be an exhibit tastefully done along the wall about Disney’s relationship with animals throughout his life as well as historical artefacts from when he was growing up pertaining to the subject. It will help educate people on the roots of the park and help tie it back to the man behind everything. Going clockwise around the room after this there will be some more of the exhibits and behind the scenes windows that then lead you to two doorways.
The first one will be a small theatre area, similar to the size of turtle talk. This will be the location of Pocahontas’s return to the park in a new show called Mother Willow’s Conservation Conversation. It will follow the same kind of principles as turtle talk and laugh floor however instead of an animated figure, an AA Mother Willow will interact with guests along with Pocahontas to convey a message about saving the earth. Mother Willow will be the most complex AA in WDW and will be a showpiece for future advancements in technology as it will be able to match facial movements with that of the CM’s words to be as realistic as possible. There will also be elements of multimedia mixed in via sounds and video to hopefully engage kids and make them want to do more for the environment.
Through the second entrance a little bit further down is the new attraction in the land, Timon and Pumba, Planet Savers! Hop in your Pumba powered ride and help T & P shut down a logging company that’s attacking a rainforest. This new mild thrill attraction will be similar to the new snow white coaster but with more dark ride and shorter more intense coaster sections. You start out going through the queue which is the Planet Saver’s HQ you see pictures of T & P after successfully taking down a bunch of different environmental criminals, schematics and strategies all over the walls. You are then taken into your pre-show ‘briefing room’ where you see a video made by T & P instructing you about the plan to take down the logging operation and you then hop onto your ‘hog’ to begin your journey. Pumba will be the ride vehicle with timon riding shotgun on his head (but low enough to not affect the front seat’s visibility. Each vehicle will have two rows of 3 seats similar to test track and will help instil the feeling of riding on Pumba. T & P narrate the entire adventure as the plan, as per usual fails in a series of zany events and they must improvise their way through things until they finally succeed. There will be some great twists and turns for excitement, great dark ride elements for the story and a climactic sort of wild mouse spinning end that results in you saving the day. This ride would be the new showpiece of the land and would help to draw people away from the big attraction heavy bottom right / middle right part of the park.
Finally, there will be a set of stairs near the Disney history exhibit that will take you to the new second floor of Conservation Station. The floor will hold a gift shop called Earthly Charm selling Bambi Organics snacks, earth conscious products and custom mineral charms, an exhibit area with rotating exhibits based on the newest Disney wildlife initiatives, and a brand new full service, the Garden Green restaurant. Garden Green will be the official headquarters for the new Bambi Organics line that Disney will be instituting for healthy organic snacks throughout the parks. Things like carrots and dip, apple slices, salads etc will all be under the Bambi Organics brand and will be a big hit with the many health conscious guests that visit the park and don’t have many options to choose. The restaurant itself will be a 5 star top of the line organic dining offering a wide range of free range meats, vegetarian dishes, and overall healthy choices. It will be made to be the number one restaurant in the park for quality and one of the finest dining options in all of WDW. The themeing will be made to look like everything in the restaurant was made from a plant. The tables will be tree stumps, the chairs will look like ivy, grass like carpeting etc. It will have large windows to give a sort of greenhouse feel and will have views over Habitat habit, and Australia’s Ayres rock (the roof of Planet Savers will be themed to a tropical rainforest to help the illusion). I know a lot of people don’t eat healthy on their vacation, but they do want to eat delicious food. After a few positive reviews the restaurant will be very popular, especially in a place with only four other full service restaurants and two of them being fairly small (Tusker House and Rainforest Cafe being the larger options).
I think these additions will really make people want to come out to Planet watch more, particularly the new ride and restaurant. There is not a lot of room available in the area, but with appropriate moving of backstage buildings I have maximised the space to its full capacity. Hopefully you enjoyed, next up Australia!!
Recap
Attractions:
Timon and Pumba: Planet Savers!
Mother Willow’s Conservation Conversation
Conservation Station
Affection Section
Habitat Habit
Wilderness Express train station
Dining:
The Garden Green Restaurant
Shopping:
Out of the wild
Earthly Charm
