Trains, Boats and Other Rides

Once your zoo gets big, guests start getting tired walking from one end to the other. Transport rides fix that, and if you build them well they become an attraction in their own right. Planet Zoo 2 has steam trains (including safari-themed cars), boat rides and gondolas.

ScreenshotTransport rides menu

Why bother with transport?

• Guests get around faster and use less energy, so they stay happier for longer.
• It spreads the crowds out, because people can hop off in quieter areas instead of all walking the same path.
• It's a new way to see the animals. A train passing a habitat, or a boat drifting past at water level, gives guests a view they can't get on foot.
• It looks great. A steam train crossing a bridge above a busy path makes the whole area feel alive.

Plan your route early

The single best piece of advice: plan the railway early, before the zoo fills up. Squeezing a track through a finished zoo means knocking things down. A few things to decide up front:

1. Where are the stations? Put them at natural stopping points: near the entrance, at a food court, at the far end of a big themed area.
2. What will people see? Run the line past habitats, over bridges and through planted areas. Avoid running it past backstage yards.
3. Where will it cross paths? Bridges over guest paths are memorable, but make sure there's enough headroom so it doesn't look like people will hit their heads.

Building a railway

Track

• Elevated wooden track sections and rustic details give a safari or old-timey feel.
• Lay it in sections so you can adjust the curve and height as you go.
• You have to finish a complete loop before you can test the train. That's a bit annoying if you like testing as you build. A good workaround is to close the loop quickly with temporary track, test it, then reshape the route properly.

Stations

• Stations only connect to the ride queue path, not normal paths. It's a separate path type in the path menu, next to the path tunnel button. If your path won't attach to the station, this is almost always why.
• Build a covered queue so guests waiting in the sun or rain stay comfortable.
• Put toilets and a snack stall near the busiest station.

ScreenshotSafari train and station

Blending the track into the scenery

A bare track cutting through the zoo looks out of place. To make it feel like part of the landscape:

1. Use the nature brush to paint grass and small plants along the embankments. A grassland seed-head grass plus some taller grass works well.
2. Add a few small rocks sunk into the ground beside the track.
3. Drop the odd small tree, such as a little umbrella tree, along the line.
4. Finish with sand and forest floor paint along the edges. It's the step that really makes the foliage pop.
5. Delete any plants that end up sitting on the rails.

ScreenshotNature brush

Boat rides

A river boat ride is perfect for a themed area built around water, like an African river or a rainforest:

• Check the map's water level first. It's different on every map. Dig a small test hole and see where the water settles.
• Use the flatten brush to carve the river channel to that level.
• Plan the river so it loops past habitats at a height where boat passengers can see in, while guests on raised paths can look down into the same habitats.
• Add a rope bridge over the river for extra character.

Gondolas

Gondolas carry guests above everything, which is great for crossing a valley or a big mixed savanna habitat. Use them where a path would be too long or too steep.

Common problems