Walkabout The World - A Disney Podcast - Wildlife Express Train Journey At Disney's Animal Kingdom

Episode Date: August 4, 2021

Hello Travelers! This week's bonus episode is all about the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Who doesn't love a train ride, and this one is incredibly themed, from the station to the locomotives themselves. We walk briefly through Harambe, climb aboard the Eastern Star Railway, and take a journey out to Rafiki's Planet Watch (where there is surprisingly little to do, and even less to hear), and then take a ride back to Harambe station.   References:   https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/animal-kingdom/wildlife-express-train/   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_Express_Train   Look us up at @WalkaboutWDW on Instagram and drop us a note to say hi! Find our producer Josh on Instagram at @TheSteele.

Well hello travelers welcome back to Walk About the World your weekly audio expedition through one of the parks or resorts of Walt Disney World here in Orlando Florida and today we are back in Disney's Animal Kingdom. If you're just joining our merry band each week we record in the parks. We take you with us and we walk about. Sometimes we do a ride, sometimes we don't. Oftentimes we just stroll and enjoy the atmosphere of the parks because that's kind of what we're about here. And so today we are beginning our journey on the outskirts of Harambee, next to the Harambe market. And one of the things that we were trying to do last time that we didn't get to do was take a train ride out to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Two times now,

they've been down. And I like trains. I'm not even sure if I have anything I'm going to be super interested in out there at Rafiki's Planet Watch, But I like trains, and I want to try it out. So we're hopefully going to work our way up that way here in just a second. And as long as the train is running, we will join the ride. Let's do this. All right. Let's head on up to the entrance to Rafiki's Planet Watch, the train. We'll see what happens from there. Harambe Majini Primary Academy, it says.

Education is treasure. Indeed it is. Also, we're passing Wanjohi Refreshment. Best choice for thirst. Yes. That's next to the Fikwa Fellow. The train is indeed running.

Brambe Railway Station to Conservation Station. Your conservation begins here. Alright, let's see if we can board a train. All right. Express with service to repeat each path wise. Before boarding the train, a few reminders. Please do not sit, line, or open those gates in front of you. They will come before you once in a safe to board

the train. Guests needing additional time or assistance will be boarding the train first, with jet boarding afterwards. Guests using personal strollers should pull up now, as open, golden strollers are allowed on the train. Once again friends, this is a wild life express bound for a conservation station at our biggest land launch. Welcome aboard! train is arriving but it says notice it is the right of railway travelers to receive the highest level of facilitation at this station. No tips or prerequisites should be tendered or accepted for inducing the performance of any service.

Corruption is prohibited by town ordinance and punishable by law in Harambee. Harambee Town Ministry. And a train just arrived. Let's see if we can board ours. Oh All right, we've boarded our train at all times welcome aboard the wildlife express we service to rafiki's planet launch here you'll discover a wide range of animal and creatures from the affection section where you can get up close and personal with domesticated animals like goats, sheep, and more. To sneak peeks at animal care in action at our veterinary, nutrition, and science centers.

Also, be sure to check out the animation experience at conservation stations where you will learn to draw your favorite Disney character. Inspired by live animals, from one of our animators. The tradition of animals and animation reaches all the way back to Walt Disney himself, and his long-standing passion for conservation, deeply re-executes the needs of animal and animal science, and preserve our natural world. The Some of the buildings we're passing here are the backstage areas for the animals and we just passed Warthog building number 12 now. Does that mean that's building number 12 where the Warthogs live or they have 12 Warthog buildings? I'm pretty sure it's former. You might see our population and our baby rhino back in the rhino garden. We're now passing the Tempo House, dedicated to elephant care and conservation.

Big old trailer of hay bales. The The The The The We are outside at the conservation station next to the affection section. There's not much to see with your ears over here, but they do have some goats. Quite a number of goats. What is the name for a large group of goats? A gathering of goats? A crunching of goats? I have to look that up. But what we are going to do is obtain a cold beverage

and step inside the building here to see what is going on inside. Let's go. So I went inside the building there at the conservation station, and they have a nutritionist on site that you can ask all the cool questions about what the animals eat, which I did, because I do. That's the type of thing I do. I ask questions. So I asked what the elephants ate, and one of the cool things I learned is that the same food vendor that delivers food to the

restaurants here at Walt Disney World delivers sweet potatoes and and what else did she say I can't remember carrots and all kinds of other stuff every single day to the animal kingdom for the elephants the elephants eat hay and then what she called natural browse, which she said they had 90 acres of fields that they grew natural browse for the elephants here and other animals too. And then, of course, the delivered restaurant goodness, which I had no idea. They actually buy restaurant veg for the elephants, which is kind of cool. They also have different displays in there of insects and amphibians,

and then they have a really cool area where it is part of their animal hospital, and you can see, now, when I was walking by, there wasn't currently an animal being taken care of in there, which I suppose is a good thing, but that's where they bring animals that are in need of care and also that's where they bring animals for you know testing their blood for various issues checkups and you can see that happening if it's happening and then at the very end they have an animation experience where i would guess they have a couple of hundred seats it's a small theater and then up at the front they have a couple of hundred seats. It's a small theater. And then up at the front, they have a Disney artist, and they will teach you how to draw a Disney character. So I paused for a moment to see.

And that was something that I hadn't seen before. I've been here quite a long time ago. I don't remember that being a part of it, but I could have just forgotten. Right now, we are enjoying a cold beverage at a little picnic table, and I have to say that though there isn't a ton to do here, if you have little ones, they would love the affection section. Seeing the little goats and whatnot, being able to pet them. They have a hand sanitizer station there when you come in, when you come out. But even more than that, this area when you come down the trail come out but even more than that this area when you come

down the trail from the train it opens up into a little courtyard here that is the exit to the building that you go into with all of the displays and the little animal hospital and all that but this courtyard has a pollination garden beautiful plants surrounding you it It's shaded, and so you can grab a picnic table, and if you are the sort that would bring your own packed lunch, or even just, you know, a place to stop and grab a drink and a snack bar or whatever, this is a great place to do it.

And in the same way, strangely, as some of the, quote, immersive lands, you feel like you're in a different place out here. It obviously has the vibe of Animal Kingdom, but it doesn't seem like you're still in the park. Seems like you took a trip somewhere else. I dig it. I want to come out here more often just to chill.

And so for now, we're going to relax a minute, find some shade, and then board the train back to Harambe and see what we can see after. Terima kasih telah menonton. The I'm going to go right over here. Greetings friends and welcome aboard the Wildlife Express. We hope you enjoyed your visit to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We are now beginning our return trip to the African town of Harambe. For your safety, please remain seated and keep your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the train.

Sit all the way back against the bench and please be sure to watch the train. Welcome aboard the Wild Life Express. A few reminders before we continue. Please remain seated the entire trip. That includes keeping your hands, arms, legs and feet inside the train at all times. Once we get to our destination, which is the village of Harami, everyone will be exiting the train and our campers will open those doors for you. Welcome aboard! Welcome aboard the Vilehunt Express, with service from Raviki's Planet March to the village of Harambe.

As you head back out into Disney's Animal Kingdom, we hope you take with you a grand appreciation for the very journey that led us here. You see, it was Walt Disney's passion for animals and conservation that led him to send film groups across the globe to capture dramatic footage of wildlife in remote locations. Walt Disney's True Life Adventure series touched the hearts of millions of viewers, inspiring the spirit of conservation and paving the road for the nature documentaries we see today. That same power eventually inspired the creation of Disney Nature,

the latest continuation of its wildlife storytelling tradition. With the release of powerful films like African Cats, Born in China, and Game of Thrones, Disney nature creates a unique opportunity to connect with wildlife on an emotional level, inspiring us to preserve nature through care and understanding. And did you know that each film provides an opportunity for filmers to become conservationists just by seeing the films? A portion of the first week's ticket sales for each Disney Nature release is directed through the Disney Conservation Fund to support specific conservation initiatives

with non-profit organizations around the globe it was this rich legacy of animal storytelling that inspired the idea of disney's animal a place that celebrates our deep connection with animals, the magic of nature, and wonder of exploration that comes from preserving and protecting our natural world. As you venture out into the park today, or make your way back, wherever you call, remember that legacy lives in you. but please sit all the way back and avoid leaning out toward the mountain. Remain seated until the train comes to a complete stop,

and please be sure to watch your children as you exit. Go well, and remember, preserving the magic of nature begins with you. Asante. The Terima kasih telah menonton The Well, we've now journeyed to and back from Rafiki's Planet Watch, and we are now across from Zewani Traders in the back entrance to Harambe next to the Kilimanjaro Safari. Thank you for tagging along today for a little bit of a walk through Harambe and then riding a train, which is something we haven't done and I can't wait until we can do that in the Magic Kingdom but that's going to be a while because I think we're depending on the Tron roller coaster being completed before we can do that but as usual look us up on Instagram at walkaboutwdw it is our one and only place where we interact with you guys the listeners the travelers drop us a note say hi

if there's an area of the park that you particularly love you would like us to seek out and explore. We'd be glad to do that for you. Look up our producer Josh also on Instagram at TheSteel with an E. I know he'd love to hear from you. Wherever you are, we hope you are well and as always, remember that there is a great, big, beautiful tomorrow out there. We will see you in another one of those on the next episode of walk about the world