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You can't get off the beaten path at Disney's Animal Kingdom much more than you can at Rafiki's Planet Watch and spending some time outside the entrance, it's not hard to see why. Guest after guest will stop and pause and possibly even inquire as to what they'll find down the path marked by the large sign. Many are unaware it even exists, many see it as nothing more than a train ride. Only a few understand all the secrets and treasures it holds. This guide is intended to serve as a map of many of the adventures and friends you may encounter walking down that path.
The entrance to Rafiki's Planet Watch can be found in the African village of Harambe. Here the path leads you to the run-down Harambe train depot of the Wildlife Express, reminiscent of the structures built by the British in East Africa in the early 1900s - it can definitely stand a fresh coat of paint. In just a few moments, the train arrives to take carry you to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
The engine has obviously seen better days and you may doubt that it will take only 5-7 minutes to arrive at your destination, but looks can be deceiving. The three engines and two sets of cars (of 5 carriages each) were built in 1997 by Severn Lamb of England, a company that specializes in building novel forms of transport, quite often for amusmenet parks around the world. But while the engines may be relatively new, the technology used is not. The engines are modeled after actual engines employed by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway as designed by Horwich Locomotive Works way back in 1898 and feature an Aspinwall side-tank 2-4-2 design.
The Wildlife Express' circular route is all of 1.2 miles but you'll only need to travel about half that for now. Your trip will be short but there will be plenty to see as you bear witness to some of the mysteries of behind the scenes at Disney's Animal Kingdom. You'll pass by the barns of several different animals, so keep an eye out. A keen eye is likely to spot a white rhino (so named for it's wide mouth, not its color) and more likely elephants outside of their barn at the end of the compound. You'll also be passing parts of the Kilimanjaro Safari including the back of Pride Rock so you never know who you might catch a glimpse of.
Soon you arrive at the Rafiki's Planet Watch train depot, far more modern and colorful than the depot back in Africa, a hint of what's to come.
Hot Tip! Looking to maximize your time when moving between depots? The Rafiki's Planet Watch train depot's only exit is in the middle of the terminal, so try to sit in the middle of the train when boarding at Harambe.
Exiting through the depot, a cast member greets you and announces some of the experiences you'll find here at Rafiki's Planet Watch. Fortunately for you, you've read this guide so with a polite smile and wave you can take a left to completely exit the terminal and begin down the path. As you make your trek through the lush foliage that surrounds you, you'll find all sorts of tips and information about what you can do at home to help nature. You'll also come across a couple of pavilions. These include an exhibit featuring cotton-top tamarin monkeys and the Rafiki's Planet Watch Kids' Discovery Club station. For more on the Kids' Discovery Club at Animal Kingdom, see our definitive guide.
Finally you'll enter the clearing and come face to face with a colorful building with an imposing facade featuring many animals - you may have even spotted a glimpse of it on your train ride over. This is Conservation Station, the jewel of Rafiki's Planet Watch. More on Conservation Station later.
By now, you're probably wondering how you could have gone 10 minutes walking in Walt Disney World without encountering a gift shop. This is because of one the many secrets of Rafiki's Planet Watch is that it's actually gift shop-free. Okay, that's a lie. Walk to the left around Conservation Station and there you go, problem solved.
To your left, you'll find the Affection Section. To many adults, it's just another petting zoo while to many children, it's a place you may never want to leave. Grab a brush and find a free-roaming goat to shower some affection on (remembering it is a family park afterall). All sorts of other domestic animals are also on display here. You may notice that there's one thing you can't do here at the Affection Section that you can do at most other petting zoos. Figure it out yet? That's right, you can't feed the goats here. You know the feeling of being ambushed by 50 goats only to immediately be shunned when they realize you have an empty hand? It just won't happen here since the goats aren't conditioned to be fed by guests. Here the unconditioned goats just simply shun you immediately.
Nestled between the Affection Section and Conservation Station is a stage where cast members offer an animal presentation several times a day.
And now we enter the jewel of Rafiki's Planet Watch, Conservation Station.
If we enter through the main doors that we first approached when coming from the train, we are greeted with a huge mural of all different animals surrounding us, not to mention our fair share of Hidden Mickeys.
Once inside the building, a keen eye can easily quickly become overwhelmed at all of the offerings inside. Let's look at just a few of them:
As you face the back of the building, the first exhibit you may encounter is Song of the Rainforest with Pocahontas' Grandmother Willow. This is a binaural (3D audio) show where you can rest in a darkened sound booth, don headphones and listen to the plight of the rainforest.
Completely on the opposite side of the building is an alcove featuring video monitors, titled A Self-Guided Tour Backstage At Disney's Animal Kingdom. Each kiosk grants you access to some of the many video cameras station around the park (and even backstage) so you can monitor the animals just as Disney's Animal Kingdom staff needs to. In fact, these are the same cameras they use and if they need to, they can even override the cameras from their position. Otherwise, feel free to pan, zoom and take control and fulfill your role as an honorary keeper.
To the left of the video monitors is the Conservation Station lab. Here you'll find cast members actually at work as they involve themselves in several ongoing research projects taking place at Disney's Animal Kingdom, including animal tracking, species repopulation and even learning how to speak elephant. Cast members are always on hand inside the building's atrium to assist you with any questions you may have.
Immediately to the left of the lab are the two operating rooms at Disney's Animal Kingdom. These state of the art facilities are equipped well enough to make your own doctor jealous. The primary operating room is fully visible behind glass while the second room which houses the x-ray machine is harder to keep an eye on save for the video monitors that broadcast what's going on inside. These rooms represent some of the real magic at Disney's Animal Kingdom - on stage veterinary procedures. Basically every animal needs an annual physical (in some rare cases, bi-annual) and literally every animal that can fit through the door gets theirs right here. Right in front of your very own eyes. While you won't ever have an elephant in the room to ignore, gorillas, tigers, lions and even the tiniest of frogs have all shared the very same operating table. And of course, any medical emergencies or other procedures beyond physicals are performed here too. And it doesn't stop at Disney's Animal Kingdom's residents - other patients include wild animals found on property as well as occupants of the Seas pavilion at Epcot.
You never know what you may see here as procedures are always subject to change due to emergencies and willingness of the animals to participate, but procedures are generally performed daily between 9:30 am and 12 pm. The tentative schedule for the day will be posted on a video monitor inside the room.
Conservation Station is also a great place for character meet & greets (it is Disney after all). Currently, this is a great spot to find Rafiki, Jiminy Cricket and Pocahontas throughout the day. You also may run into a roving and highly talkative recycle bin by the name of Pipa (pronounced PEE-pah, which is roughly Swahili for trashcan). Pipa can also sometimes be found outside Conservation Station.
There's also a fair number of animals on display inside Conservation Station as well as frequent visits by birds, snakes and whatever else at the hands of a cast member who presents the animals and is there to answer any questions you may have.
And while there is a full size nutrition center elsewhere on property, a small representative for nutrition can be found right here where food is also prepared for some of the animals.
Hot Tip! Looking to maximize your time when moving between depots? Harambe's exits are on the extreme left and right sides of the depot as you face the rest of the park, so try to board near either end of the train.
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