I Can’t Believe They Let People Do This in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Now

Bluey’s Wild World at Animal Kingdom has been open for a couple of weeks, but there is still one more thing to open at the new area.

The new land features tons of Bluey-themed fun, including character meet-and-greets with Bluey and Bingo, games, and more. The other thing that we have been excited to see at the land is Jumping Junction. While it’s not open yet, Cast Members are testing it, and we got to get a first look at it!

 

Jumping Junction is a petting zoo with animals from Bluey’s home, Australia. You’ll see kangaroos and wallabies who are still getting acclimatized to their new home. We were so excited to see the animals!

Cast Members are slowly working their way up to make this the full experience it’s meant to be. It’s all about getting the animals comfortable, right now. They started by bringing single groups through the enclosure one at a time.

When it was time for us to see the animals, we were split up into groups of about 10-15 people. The groups moved with a keeper, and they told us we had to keep moving because if we stopped, the kangaroos could perceive that as predators sizing up their next move, and it could make them nervous.

The Cast Members’ end goal is to have it be a free-flowing experience where guests can walk unguided at their own pace. It will have a limited capacity of about 85 guests, and they will have Cast Members counting people in and out to keep it moving. But that will happen when the animals are comfortable, so it’s on their timeline.

Right now, they are acclimating the animals to having people in their enclosure. So they have keepers all around, and a behavioral scientist, and all are watching to make sure the animals stay happy and relaxed. If at any point one of them shows any signs of worry or stress, they would stop the groups.

There are currently 15 animals in the enclosure, including 5 wallabies and 10 kangaroos. Of the 15, 5 of them have joeys in their pouches! So babies are en route, and it’s the cutest thing ever. Kangaroos are pregnant for just two weeks, and then the baby is born and crawls into the mother’s pouch. Some of the babies are pretty developed, so you may even see some pouches bouncing around.

They have one adult male red kangaroo, and he’s the only of his species because these are the ones you see getting really territorial, but since he’s solo with his ladies, he can be really relaxed. They do have two males of another species who are juveniles, so they are little guys.

Jumping Junction is a much more unique and special experience than what we had before with the petting zoo. Where else do you get to walk INSIDE an enclosure with kangaroos?! We thought it was awesome, and we can’t wait to see the final iteration.

The keepers do a great job of explaining the rules in a way that kids understand and take seriously, so it’s a great spot for kids. They explained the importance of the path as “floor is lava” and told them that they can’t touch the kangaroos, but “I hear they do take compliments well.” They also called the joeys and said it’s really important to stay near your big. We’ve been out here a while and haven’t seen a single kid get too far away from his “mob.”

Overall, this is a more unique experience than will be offered later, as you get all the info through the guided walks. In the future, it will be self-guided, where guests can ask questions to stationed Cast Members. Make sure to follow us at AllEars to find out more once the experience is open.

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Are you excited for this experience? Let us know in the comments!

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