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jsdt
10-17-2007, 10:58 PM
We have been to Animal Kingdom about 5 times, but have never taken the train to the back of the park to see Conservation Station or the other items around there.

For those of you that have been there, is it worth it and what would you recommend and why?

My son likes trains so we were considering riding there because of that, but then again he could always just ride the train at the Magic Kingdom.

Imagineer1981
10-17-2007, 11:26 PM
As far as a train ride goes, its not that great, in fact you sit sideways and only look out one way (so you can't see all the backstage roads, lol). Its definitely worth going to though, if you have a young child who wants to pet animals and see a real vet in action, its cool

SAHDad
10-17-2007, 11:33 PM
It was okay. We only went once, and our son (then about 9 months old) fell asleep after we had been there for less than 20 minutes. We walked around for a while, to see if he would wake up, but eventually left when it became rather obvious he was going to be out for several hours.

If you are just wanting the train ride, don't bother. If your son likes animals, yeah, it could be worthwhile.

ThanxForNoticin
10-18-2007, 06:57 AM
If it was your first trip to AK, I would usually tell people to put Conservation Station lower on the list. However, since you've seen many of the bigger attractions (probably more than once), then yes, it's worth a trip to CS. My kids enjoy the train ride. They also enjoyed the petting zoo and the animal nursery. They have some interesting educational presentations where kids can learn about animals, and sometimes touch them. We have found it's worth an hour or so of your day to experience CS.

MickeyMousse
10-18-2007, 09:31 AM
We have gone there twice and I think that's enough for us! The goats that the kids get to pet are cute, but reminds me of the local animal farm here at home. The 2 visits we made to see the vet in action-nobody was there! Just empty rooms to look at. Once there was a handler walking around with a snake to pet......I went in the opposite direction. I think it's real low on our list of things to do at AK with a "been there, done that" next to it!

Jasper
10-18-2007, 09:40 AM
While it is not my most favorite thing to do at AK we do normally take a little time out for it on each visit. Even though you can only see out on the one side, I do enjoy the glimpses of the animal barns and the few other things you do see on the ride.

I do have one negative comment about the Conservation Station which is the whole reason for the train ride and that complaint is that it is often a long time between veterinarian sessions that you get to watch. I wish they would post the times back at the main park so you can time your visit better.

Since you have never done it I would suggest trying it at least once to see what you think of it.

Hayden's Dad
10-18-2007, 09:52 AM
We go there for the characters. Jimminy Cricket, Pocahontas, and Rafiki all make appearences there.

cal5755
10-18-2007, 09:59 AM
I think it is worth it at least once. We went our first visit to AK and my two older ones loved petting and brushing the animals. They loved Rafiki and Jimminy as well as some of the educational things. We are going to go again next year... my youngest will be 5 then and she loves trains and was only 6 months the first time so we want her to have an experience with it too.

gtpooh
10-18-2007, 10:13 AM
I think it's just okay. IMO, there are many better attractions at the AK, and the train ride (as others have said) isn't that great either. We are going with DS who is 15 months in a few weeks, and we'll probably try it again to see if he gets anything out of it, but it's very low on my list overall.

martinfamily5
10-18-2007, 10:23 AM
We did it once and were not thrilled with it. It isn't even a glorified petting zoo, mostly just goats. We live in more of a rural area I guess and lots of people we know have animals. My father in law has several goats. We probably won't visit again.

amorillo
10-18-2007, 11:06 AM
Both of my children are VERY big on animals & insects... so we've always made it a point to check it out. They always got some really neat displays to check out. We've seen one on frogs & one on butterflies! Very cool. And then there's the characters! :D

Goofyjrzgrl
10-18-2007, 11:10 AM
I agree the train ride really isn't that fun... you don't even really see anything fun the ride there. But for young children, the conservation center is a great experience. they have cast members come out and talk sometimes about a specific animal to answer children's questions and let them touch the animals. Also, its very educational for children to learn about the environment- and there is a petting zoo for the kids to interact with some animals like goats and stuff. If you have young kids, I would check it out- but it isn't something to get upset about if you miss it.

McGoofy
10-18-2007, 11:17 AM
It's certainly not my favorite thing, nor a "must do" for us at Animal Kingdom. In fact, in all of the many trips that we have been there, we have only been to CS twice. I did learn some interesting facts about the care of the animals on the train ride. What I liked most was the surprise of finding characters back there. We walked right up to Jimminy Cricket and took photos because nobody knew he was back there. I would recommend to check it out as it is nice to do at least once.

jpH/keD
10-18-2007, 03:43 PM
We didnt go the last visit but we are going in November! We have heard that there is a place, a store there called Creature Comforts at Conservation Station that has characters who do autographs there! Our dd6 is crazy for Pocahontas so we will try for her! Also I have heard Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki are there too! Our ds4 loves trains so he wants to ride that! If you go have a great trip!:cool:

tinksmom02
10-18-2007, 09:30 PM
Believe it or not, CS was on Jenna's must-do list this past trip! She wanted to see the talking, walking garbage can (is his name PUSH?) she loved him. She actually hugged a garbage can.

She liked the exibit of the foods that different animals eat, and looking at the various bugs and stuff.

We saaw Pocohantas again, last trip we saw Jiminy Cricket and she was scared of him. Now she's decided she likes him, so of course he was no where to be found this time LOL

We got to see a vet surgery in action, too--they were amputating a toe off of a bird. Pretty cool. Jenna was thoroughly grossed out.

We skipped the petting zoo this time around. All in all, I think we only spent about an hour there. It's nice, but it's certainly not the big draw of the park.

If you have the time, it's worth a visit, at least once.

Oh, plus the Conservation Station is air-conditioned, which is nice!

kim1st
10-18-2007, 09:43 PM
If my children were older (they are currently 3 & 5) or if it were our 6th time, I'd probably go again.

I found it to be a BIG time-sucker (notice I didn't say "waster" - but it ***** a lot of time out of your day). Especially because once the girls got into the goat petting area, it was really hard to get them out, and all I could think was WE SPENT SO MUCH MONEY on this vacation, and we could be on Kali River Rapids but instead we're petting goats, just like we do at our local zoo and our local apple orchards!

Anyway - if the kids were older - and they really understood it better, I would make more of an effort.

pjbs35a
10-18-2007, 09:47 PM
You may get "lucky" like me the last time I rode the train. It broke down and they had to send a tram to pick us up. We traveled behind the scenes, saw some really cool stuff, like where the animals are cared for and all the other things never seen by the average eye.

#1donaldfan
10-19-2007, 08:49 AM
Did it once 'bout 5 yrs ago. I guess you could do it to say "I did it". Actually, I forgot about that ride until I read this post. That might be an indication of how we "rate" this ride.

kakn7294
10-19-2007, 08:55 AM
For the past 2 trips, we haven't gone. There's really nothing that captures our interest enough to go and miss the other things we like to do more. However, if you've never been, I do recommend it at least once. Just know that the train ride isn't exciting and there's no grand adventure waiting at the other end but it is very educational, the petting zoo is cute, and sometimes there are characters for the little ones - last time we were there in 2005, we saw Rafiki, Pocahontas, and Stanley (I don't even think that show's on anymore).

princessM0m
10-19-2007, 09:35 AM
If you do go there is a Kids Discovery stop along the right side of the path walking from the train to building. This particular KD stop is a scavenger hunt that highlights wildlife that is found in a typical backyard.

TIGGER17179
10-19-2007, 04:04 PM
No don't bother... We only did it because we had done everything else in the park on previous visits and thought that it would be nice to try. I will not do it again but at least I can say that I've been.

Red Randal
10-19-2007, 04:47 PM
We go there for the characters. Jimminy Cricket, Pocahontas, and Rafiki all make appearences there.

I just commented that I've never seen Jiminy Cricket. Is this the only place to find the guy? He must hang out SOMEWHERE in the MK, right?

thrillme
10-19-2007, 05:16 PM
Been there done that not really impressed by it. I "think" we visited it to get our "Friend of Animals" sticker for the area then we went back. Last time we went we skipped it. More fun on the Kali River Rapids, Everest etc. I even liked the Jungle Treks with the naked mole rats. Those things amazed me for some reason.

Hayden's Dad
10-19-2007, 05:28 PM
just commented that I've never seen Jiminy Cricket. Is this the only place to find the guy? He must hang out SOMEWHERE in the MK, right?

My understanding is yes this is the only place Jimminy is. I know seems a little out of place, but hey you go where the characters are. I have heard of him appearing randomly at MK, but if you definately want to meet him you have to go to Rafiki's. :mickey:

Samtastic
10-20-2007, 09:37 AM
If you had the time, I'd say go. It's a good place for character meets, we walked right up to Pocahontas and Rafiki. (And also as we walked into the building last time we got dream fast passes!)

It's interesting and the train ride isn't *that* long, under 5 minutes if I remember, so if most you lose like 15 minutes of your time.

I recommend trying it out for yourself at least once.

garymacd
10-20-2007, 12:39 PM
As I am writing this, by beloved youngest daughter and beloved wife are "fighting" about going back to WDW. She is in college right now, and residence fees are incredible. Daughter wants to go, but, time and money make it difficult for her. ***** to be her.:thumbsup:

As for Conservation Station, I don't go all the time, but I feel that everyone should experience it and learn more about living with nature. This may even open new avenues of thought for children's futures. You may have a budding Vet or Reg. Vet. Tech. in your family and don't know it. Use it as a fun learning experience.

PrincessASquared
10-20-2007, 03:34 PM
My family and I went last March and we were not impressed with it . :train: We felt we could do the same things at our local zoo.:monkey::elephant::penguin::lizard::dolphin: We probably would not do it again.