You would think Rafiki’s Planet watch is just for kids (or the lovers of goats), right? If you haven’t been in a while I think you should take a second visit.  I never used to go to Rafiki’s Planet because I thought it was mostly just a petting zoo, but the Animal Encounters are not to be missed!

They bring out an animal every hour on the hour. They have a variety of animals they rotate through. My favorite animal I have seen was Magoo the owl.  He is a rescue owl that was hit by a car and is blind. Magoo was very interactive and would hoot when his handler would talk. He seemed to like the attention, flapping his wings and posing. Once the presentation was over you could line up to get a photo or selfie with Magoo.

They also have a Python and we got to pet it! We missed the presentation on this one because I didn’t know what time they did these encounters then; it isn’t on the map. There were no other tourists there, we walked right up and petted him. I have also seen a tarantula and little hedgehog that could fit in the palm of your hand.

If nothing else you get a nice break on The Wildlife Express Train; sometimes you can even get a train car to yourself! The train goes to a backstage area where you can possibly see animals that are on their “days off” from the Safari. We saw two baby Rhinos in March and they were so cute. Don’t think I had ever seen a baby rhino before. They had a bunch of cast members around them giving them all the attention.

So if you haven’t been to Rafiki’s Planet Watch in a while make sure go check it out!

Melissa P.