Great news for anyone who was disappointed to hear that Rafiki’s Planet Watch in Disney World’s Animal Kingdom would be closing in late October.
Rafiki’s Planet Watch sign
The spot will indeed begin a refurbishment after October 20th. However, Orlando Sentinel is reporting that a Disney spokesperson has confirmed that Rafiki’s Planet Watch will be reopening in the Spring of 2019 after all!
Train Service to Conservation Station sign
The Orlando Sentinel also shared that more details are to come, according to Disney. As the Sentinel also states, “It’s unusual for a confirmed-to-public closure to get a reprieve at Disney World.” But we are thankful that this is the story for Rafiki’s Planet Watch!
Source: Orlando Sentinel
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Are you excited to hear that Rafiki’s Planet Watch will be reopening? Please let us know with a comment!
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Personally I will miss the old Planet Watch, it’ll probably be quite busy after the refurbishment, but it was a great spot to get away from the crowds in Animal Kingdom. And an awesome spot to meet some characters, no lines! 😀
Character meets and a respite from AK park itself. It is one of the BEST learning experiences in Animal Kingdom….PERIOD!!!!!
This is a wonderful place great to hear. Thanks for sharing 😀
So happy to hear this. I could not understand why they would close such a great teaching experience. After all, this park is supposed to be about the animals!
YAY! This is great news! My children LOVE Rafiki’s Planet Watch and my husband loves to “rest” in the rainforest booth while listening to Dame Judy Dench on the headphones. We always look forward to the windy train ride and walking around the air conditioned building. I’m happy that Disney has decided to refurbish the space!
So wonderful ?. Just maybe someone read what had been written and listened!
After reading the initial closing news, I immediately wrote to Disney saying this was one area where the original mission statement of Animal Kingdom seemed to be holding true. Lately it seems there are more food, liquor and ride development throughout the parks . Rafiki’s Planet Watch was a place anyone could go to. This is not true of all of the rides (some of us have a variety of restrictions when it comes to some of the newer rides). I’m glad that there has been a change of heart and it will get some love.