I will start right off by saying that I know very little about Bluey. I know that she and her sister Bingo are all the rage with the preschool crowd, and that’s about it. I’ve never seen an episode and I’ve never watched a clip. So I’m approaching this not as a Bluey fan, but more as an observer.
Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station has taken over the space that used to house Rafiki’s Planet Watch. You’ll board the Wildlife Express Train to get there, and the train ride is pretty much the same. Robert Irwin is now the voice that you’ll hear on the way to Conservation Station. He was kind of hard to hear when I rode, but I was also seated near the front of the train and the engine drowned out a lot of the dialogue.
Once you arrive at Conservation Station, there’s the long walk to the main building. There are facts on signs along the way, and a few places to stop and take a picture of your little ones standing next to a picture of Bluey and/or Bingo. That could be the only picture opportunity with the sisters that you’ll get.
Once you enter Conservation Station, it’s an organized mess. I don’t mean to be negative, but the way that things are arranged right now just doesn’t work. You’ll wait in a holding area while the show is going on and hear it all. You’ll then move to a second holding area and hear the show again. If you’re lucky, the third time will be a charm, and you’ll be able to actually see the show.
The reason why this doesn’t work is that it’s unfair for the kids. They can see Bluey and Bingo in the distance, and also get glimpses of other kids who are playing and dancing. Preschoolers have short attention spans, and I saw several families leave when they realized how long it would be until the kids could see the show up close.
Speaking of the show, it lasts about 14 minutes, and there isn’t a large gap between performances. That part was good. The cast was energetic, which is important for a show for preschoolers. The kids will play games with Bluey and Bingo. Once we were finally to this point, the kids all seemed to love it.
Some of the adults, on the other hand, were obviously bored. There were several sitting on the floor, away from the party, playing on their cell phones. Bluey’s Wild World isn’t like Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! or Jessie’s Roundup, where the adults were easily letting their inner child out. To be fair, some adults still had a blast, but preschoolers are the focus of Bluey’s show.
One other problem I noticed with Bluey’s Wild World. It is not a meet and greet, even after the show is over. Many of the children ran up to either Bluey or Bingo when it wrapped up, hoping to say hello. They got a quick group hug and that was it.
When you exit the Conservation Station building, you’ll have a chance to see kangaroos and wallabies in Jumping Junction. This area is not yet fully open. When asked when it will be fully open, the standard vague answer from Cast Members was “hopefully soon”. You can see the animals in the distance, and the CMs on hand will point them out to you. Jumping Junction has potential. It’s not a petting zoo, but I noticed that there is still a hand washing station there. Just an observation.
There is merch available outside as well. If you don’t buy it there, I saw plenty of Bluey merch in Island Mercantile, and that’s air conditioned.
Unless you have Bluey obsessed kids with you, don’t make Bluey’s Wild World at Conservation Station a top priority. It’s cute, but not well planned out. It’s one and done for me. Then again, I’m not the target audience. I hope that Disney addresses some of the problems. Disney’s Animal Kingdom doesn’t have much for preschoolers.