Affection Section at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (An Attraction Guide)

This interactive petting zoo area temporarily closed with the rest of Rafiki’s Planet Watch on February 23, 2026. It is expected to reopen with unique animals later this summer.

The Affection Section is an attraction at Rafiki’s Planet Watch at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It is the only petting zoo at the Walt Disney World Resort. Guests can expect to find animals like goats, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. This attraction used to have llamas and KuneKune pigs. However, we haven’t seen those specific animals on our last couple of visits.

Below, we’ll discuss the specifics for visiting the Affection Section during your visit to the park, including how to locate this park area and what to expect. Make no mistake: The area is an excellent place to let your kids be kids. Learning about animals and having these kinds of experiences might impact them more than you could ever know.

Here are the quick reference details for the Affection Section.

Affection Section	Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park
Location:	Rafiki’s Planet Watch
Height Requirement:	None
Experience Type:	Petting Zoo
Rider Switch:	N/A
Lightning Lane:	No
Early Theme Park Entry:	No
Extended Evening Hours:	No
Good For:	Children
Scary Factor:	None
Must-Do List:	Low Priority
Perfect For:	Animal Lovers
Special Mention:	This entire area closes earlier than the rest of the park.

Other: Guests must transfer to a wheelchair to experience this attraction. Service animals are not permitted in this area.

Affection Section is a large petting zoo with gentle animals. To reach it, guests must take the Wildlife Express Train from Harambe to Conservation Station.

Affection Section often opens later and closes earlier than the rest of the park. Therefore, the closing time for this area depends on the day or how late it is getting dark. So, make sure to check the hours of operation for this particular area. For example, you wouldn’t want to hop on the train at 4:15 p.m. only for Affection Section to close at 5:00 p.m. Typically, the earlier you visit this area, the better. (As of this update, Affection Section is open daily between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.)

Is Affection Section a must-do experience? That depends on your party. If you have young children who love animals, it’s not to be missed. But a group of adults or teenagers might not be as interested. It really depends on whether or not you enjoy interacting with animals. We enjoy touring this area, but it’s not something we do on every visit.

Hand-washing stations are available for guests to sanitize before entering the enclosures. They also ask that guests wash their hands again before exiting. Several bins with brushes are placed throughout that you can use to brush the animals.

Care Story at Affection Section

Affection Section has a small outdoor theater with benches. During the day, cast members bring a few animals onto the stage and share some fun facts.

Showtimes are typically on the hour.

Here are a few more photos of the animals:

The Resorts Gal Spin on Affection Section

If you or someone in your group loves animals, you’ve got to give this the green light. It’s kind of what a park like Disney’s Animal Kingdom is all about. But if you don’t like to get up close and personal with the livestock, you can give this one the red light!

For similar attractions within this park, try this guide: List of Animal Kingdom Attractions and Entertainment. Check back with Resorts Gal again soon!