New Disney World tour brings guests up-close with rhinos

Animal Kingdom visitors now have the chance to encounter the park’s rhinoceroses during Walt Disney World’s newest tour.

“The opportunity to get close to both the keepers and the rhinos — and potentially even put your hands on a rhino — is a pretty magical experience,” said Dr. Scott Terrell, director of Animal and Science Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

This one-hour encounter, which opens Nov. 1, takes guests backstage as they see how Disney cares for its rhinos and gives them the opportunity to learn interesting facts from keepers about the animals — including that the park’s rhinos’ favorite scents are Italian seasonings and oranges.

Animal Kingdom keepers Robyn Hallas and Caitlin Miller led my tour group. It began with a peek at the rhino barn, which has 10 stalls and smells like the inside of a horse stable.

The park has six white rhinos and three black ones — two of the five rhino species that also include Javan, Sumatran and Indian. Since white rhinos are the only social species, those are the ones that interact with guests.

Outside an enrichment area behind the barn, we saw Miller in the midst of a training session with Jao, a female white rhino who Hallas said is her personal favorite due to Jao’s huge personality.

Hallas explained that Disney trains its animals to participate in medical exams, such as blood draws, ultrasounds and enemas. Through participation in the tour, guests get the chance to help with this training by petting a rhino.

Hallas described the rhino’s skin texture as a hairy basketball.

While we were lucky to touch Jao’s back — physical interaction with these animals is dependent