Day 15 - Let's go on a Safari
Today we took a chance to see the last of the theme parks in Disney World being the Animal Kingdom. The main attraction is a safari tour through a wildlife park. This is not dissimilar to Werribee Park where you make your way through varying animal enclosures with a chance to get up and close to some of the animals being Hippo’s, Giraffe’s, Elephants, Lions, Cheaters, Crocodiles and other varying antelopes and deer.
We had a chance to see a Lion King show which is based on the Broadway musical and a Bug’s life show which was in 4D. Both were very good shows however the Bugs Life show was great as the phobia of bugs was further exacerbated when they simulated them either spraying you with venom or even stabbing you in the back with their stingers (it actually felt like someone jabbed you in the back with their finger). At the end they asked all to stay seated until the cockroaches and other bugs left the building. Then you felt you seat move up and down as the bugs scuttled under your seat on their way out – it was very funny.
Apart from the safari there was a dinosaur roller coaster that was reasonably scary however the 2 main attractions were a ride down some rapids and a train trip through the Himalayas. On the rapids ride, we were heading towards a water spout that started to subside when we came closer however there was still enough water to wet the people opposite us, Jacqui and I thought that was funny until we got to the other side of the spout and it started up again and wet us. We were not badly soaked so we will still happy. That was until we went down a waterfall. As Jacqui and I had our backs to the waterfall we could not see the bottom however we certainly felt it as the splash landed straight on us. We were saturated. The rest of the ride was reasonably harmless however we had to spend the next couple of hours attempting to dry off.
After taking the rides we decided to dine caveman style. I think it must be a Southern American thing however across all the parks you can purchase smoked turkey legs. These things are huge. Basically you purchase a whole cooked turkey leg and then cave man style just start gnawing away at it. It was very tasty however there is only so much turkey one person can eat in one sitting. Zac thought it was fantastic (even though his turkey leg weighed half as much as him) and stated that it was the best thing that he had eaten all trip.
After checking out the safari, the Lion King show and meeting up with Donald Duck again (did I mention he was my favourite), we headed back to the Himalayas train ride as it was fantastic. Again, not taking into account that we are in a tropical location in the wet season, as soon as we boarded the train, the heavens opened and we received another drenching. As we were absolutely soaked and could not possibly get any wetter, we then decided to keep going back on the ride. After the fifth time, we decided that we had had enough, were certainly wet enough and called it a day.
After we went for dinner at the House of Blues last Friday night, we discovered a place where you can build and customise your own remote controlled car. For those of you who know a show on Foxtel called Overhaulin’ and the owner Chip Foose then this is the remote control car version of that. We promised the kids that we would go back and check it out so tonight we went back to Downtown Disney, grabbed dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s and made our way to Remote Control Car heaven.
This place is incredible. Basically, you choose your body type (anything from a Mini to a Mustang GT to a Corvette or a Monster Truck), the funky sound you want it to make, then select your wheels and rims and decided whether you want it as a push car (for small kids) or a remote control car. Once you have grabbed all your goodies, you then head to an assembly bench and put the car together. Then the fun begins as you then choose the bling and decals that you want for your car. Zac and Talia had a ball designing and building their new remote control cars and they were not that expensive either. Even though logistically they will be a nightmare taking them around the world, they are art in themselves and will be well worth the effort.
Tomorrow is our last full day so we will be hitting the last water park being Typhoon Lagoon before making our way back to the EPCOT centre where hopefully we can finalise our meet and greets with the characters we have missed to date.
We had a chance to see a Lion King show which is based on the Broadway musical and a Bug’s life show which was in 4D. Both were very good shows however the Bugs Life show was great as the phobia of bugs was further exacerbated when they simulated them either spraying you with venom or even stabbing you in the back with their stingers (it actually felt like someone jabbed you in the back with their finger). At the end they asked all to stay seated until the cockroaches and other bugs left the building. Then you felt you seat move up and down as the bugs scuttled under your seat on their way out – it was very funny.
Apart from the safari there was a dinosaur roller coaster that was reasonably scary however the 2 main attractions were a ride down some rapids and a train trip through the Himalayas. On the rapids ride, we were heading towards a water spout that started to subside when we came closer however there was still enough water to wet the people opposite us, Jacqui and I thought that was funny until we got to the other side of the spout and it started up again and wet us. We were not badly soaked so we will still happy. That was until we went down a waterfall. As Jacqui and I had our backs to the waterfall we could not see the bottom however we certainly felt it as the splash landed straight on us. We were saturated. The rest of the ride was reasonably harmless however we had to spend the next couple of hours attempting to dry off.
After taking the rides we decided to dine caveman style. I think it must be a Southern American thing however across all the parks you can purchase smoked turkey legs. These things are huge. Basically you purchase a whole cooked turkey leg and then cave man style just start gnawing away at it. It was very tasty however there is only so much turkey one person can eat in one sitting. Zac thought it was fantastic (even though his turkey leg weighed half as much as him) and stated that it was the best thing that he had eaten all trip.
After checking out the safari, the Lion King show and meeting up with Donald Duck again (did I mention he was my favourite), we headed back to the Himalayas train ride as it was fantastic. Again, not taking into account that we are in a tropical location in the wet season, as soon as we boarded the train, the heavens opened and we received another drenching. As we were absolutely soaked and could not possibly get any wetter, we then decided to keep going back on the ride. After the fifth time, we decided that we had had enough, were certainly wet enough and called it a day.
After we went for dinner at the House of Blues last Friday night, we discovered a place where you can build and customise your own remote controlled car. For those of you who know a show on Foxtel called Overhaulin’ and the owner Chip Foose then this is the remote control car version of that. We promised the kids that we would go back and check it out so tonight we went back to Downtown Disney, grabbed dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s and made our way to Remote Control Car heaven.
This place is incredible. Basically, you choose your body type (anything from a Mini to a Mustang GT to a Corvette or a Monster Truck), the funky sound you want it to make, then select your wheels and rims and decided whether you want it as a push car (for small kids) or a remote control car. Once you have grabbed all your goodies, you then head to an assembly bench and put the car together. Then the fun begins as you then choose the bling and decals that you want for your car. Zac and Talia had a ball designing and building their new remote control cars and they were not that expensive either. Even though logistically they will be a nightmare taking them around the world, they are art in themselves and will be well worth the effort.
Tomorrow is our last full day so we will be hitting the last water park being Typhoon Lagoon before making our way back to the EPCOT centre where hopefully we can finalise our meet and greets with the characters we have missed to date.
