The Wildlife Express Train is a heritage railroad at Disney's Animal Kingdom that takes guests from Africa to Rafiki's Planet Watch and back. On the ride, guests get the chance to see some of Animal Kingdom's backstage facilities, including animal holding buildings for rhinos and elephants, among other animals.
It takes about seven minutes to travel from the Harambe railway station in Africa to Rafiki's Planet Watch and an additional five to return. The full journey is a 1.2-mile round-trip.
The railway is part of the fictional Eastern Star Railway, running from Lusaka to Nairobi and Kisangani.
Trivia[]
- Disney is unusually strict about people standing up while the train is moving. They monitor it closely and will stop the train if they see anyone standing.
- The fictitious, "Eastern Star Railway" which serves backdrop for the attraction is mentioned in the Main Street Station of the Walt Disney World Railroad on a board.
- The builder's plates of the locomotives state that the locomotives were built in 1926 by Beyer Peacock of Gorton Foundry in Manchester. In reality, they were actually built in 1997 by Severn Lamb of Straford-up-Avon in England before the park's opening the following year.
- There are three locomotives that operate; their numbers are 02594 (Red), 04982 (Black), and 00174 (Green). The 02594 has been named the R. Baba Harpoor in honor of Imagineer Bob Harpur.
- While built to appear as steam locomotives, they are actually powered by a diesel-hydraulic mechanism.
- The three locomotives that operate on the Wildlife Express are 2-4-2T "tank engines", designated as class F1.
- The five passenger cars that the locomotive pulls can seat up to 250 passengers while riding the express contoured benches facing sideways per train.
- The locomotives wear the water buffalo skulls above the smokebox in front of the smokestack. But as of today the ones on Nos 04982 (Black), and 02594 (Red) were removed, most likely because they were damaged while the one on No. 00174 (Green) is in fine condition. However, as of January 2024, No. 04982 (Black) has had its buffalo skull reinstalled.
- The coaches have red and green bins they can be found. These are meant to represent the luggage that passengers have brought aboard the train. The color of the bins is a good way to tell the trains apart.
- Imagineer George McGinnis came out of retirement to design the locomotives for the attraction.
- While the engines are designated as class F1s, they were based on the L&YR Class 5 and Class 6 locomotives.
- The Roundhouse for the trains to be stored and maintained is not open to the public, and it's located a mile next to Africa. At the Roundhouse they also have a Skidsteer for ballast work, and a Rail Speeder for mow/track work.
Gallery[]
Wildlife Express at the Harambe train station
Wildlife Express in "Flik's Musical Adventure"
The staff members of the wildlife express
The cabview in one of the locomotives
A Handcar sits on display near the Harambe station
The wildlife express's Roundhouse
Wildlife Express with Mickey Mouse
Merchandise[]
