i wonder how this tour will impact the backstage tales tour? looks like this free one is probably 20- 25% of it judging by the tour we took last year.
Thanks for sharing this. I have my fingers crossed that it will continue (and continue to be all ages) through May because it is right up my son's alley.
I'll keep mine crossed too for May-I'd LOVE to do this tour. My concern is is this tour accessible to those of us in/on ECVs? I can walk short distances and go up and down stairs with my cane. I really want to do this tour. Headed out on the first train to Rafiki's Planet Watch during our trip in May!
Post #3 has all the info.I'm sorry I'm jumping into this thread and wanted to know how do you sign up for this and when are the tours offered? We're going in May and this would be a nice change to our usual routine!
Well folks, I did it this Monday! It was great. Our guide was an expert biologist with many years of experience at AK and at the New England Aquarium (my hometown aquarium!) and Sea World who was very knowledgeable and answered all questions thoroughly. We went to the nutrition center and vet center. It's kind of hard to find where you sign up- it's next to the Wilderness Explorers area. They have a little 8.5x11'' sign and that's it. The sign said they only allow 14 people, not 16 for some reason. Our tour was not full- maybe 10 people, all adults. If you are under 18 you must have someone 18+ accompanying you (I believe it has to be a parent/guardian but I can't remember). The tour lasted a little longer than advertised- around 35 minutes. The guide explained that they were doing this because management was thinking that the original 3.5 hour Backstage Tails tour was too long for most guests, so they are trying out this pilot program. You can fill out an optional paper survey at the end.
Highly recommended!
They probably wouldn't it put it on the train recording because there's a limit of 14 people and they would easily exceed that if they did.So glad you enjoyed and reported on it. I’m hoping word will spread so that this tour is still operating when we’re back in October and January - I want to do it again!
When we were there we talked with one of the supervisors and recommended that the “intro to Rafiki’s Planet Watch” spiel on the train include a mention of these tours. He wrote it down but I guess our suggestion hasn’t been implemented. I hope it continues to be well-attended as yours was.
I hope this is still going on in August when we visit!