diswedwish
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2002
- Messages
- 812
Dh and I did this tour last Jan. and liked it so much we decided to try it again this past Monday. Last time our tour guide was Paul and he was wonderful. This time we had Rachael who was good, not quite as good or funny as Paul, but still quite good.
The tour was fairly similar to what we had done in Jan. with a few differences. We did not go to the giraffe barn, we didn't get the animal guide books, on the other hand we did go into the elephant and rhino barns, and got to touch a bearded dragon rather than a snake.
The tour begins near the Rainforest Cafe. On our Jan. tour there were 5 of us, on Monday there were nearly 15, so obviously the smaller the tour, the more questions you can ask and the more fun it is (at least for us). We went backstage and were driven in 2 vans to the back of the park near the elephant barn. We got to see one of the bull elephants and ask questions of one of the trainers (she was great and very informative). Then we walked to the rhino barn and got to pet Sammy again. Last time we were outside the rhino barn, this time we went inside. Then it was back to the elephant barn, only this time we went upstairs and inside. We learned a lot of info here that we didn't on our first tour.
After this we walked to the Conservation Station, got to see the inside of the vet facilities and ask more questions. Then it was onto the food prep. barn and more questions. After this we got our snack and soda break and got to meet one of the reptile handlers and the bearded dragon. One of the hmmm 'difficult' women on the tour really got to us here. Okay, granted they don't tell you you're going to get to touch animals, but why would you go on this tour if you don't like animals?! She had been grossed out several times so far, and this time actually asked the handler to move away from her (she had a front row seat), because the dragon made her nervous (mind you, the dragon didn't move at all, just sat on the handler's hand about 2 feet from this lady) and made a very loud yuck noise when asked if we wanted to touch it. The tour would have been a lot better without her, although she did provide us with comic relief later when we remembered her
After this came our favorite part - a ride on the safari without the spiel finding out how and why they do certain things. Very interesting and informative. Then we walked to the Tusker House where we received our special pins and filled out a survey.
We were on the Platinum Plan for this portion of our trip, so the tour was included. Otherwise, I think it's $65/person.
Any questions? I'd be happy to answer
The tour was fairly similar to what we had done in Jan. with a few differences. We did not go to the giraffe barn, we didn't get the animal guide books, on the other hand we did go into the elephant and rhino barns, and got to touch a bearded dragon rather than a snake.
The tour begins near the Rainforest Cafe. On our Jan. tour there were 5 of us, on Monday there were nearly 15, so obviously the smaller the tour, the more questions you can ask and the more fun it is (at least for us). We went backstage and were driven in 2 vans to the back of the park near the elephant barn. We got to see one of the bull elephants and ask questions of one of the trainers (she was great and very informative). Then we walked to the rhino barn and got to pet Sammy again. Last time we were outside the rhino barn, this time we went inside. Then it was back to the elephant barn, only this time we went upstairs and inside. We learned a lot of info here that we didn't on our first tour.
After this we walked to the Conservation Station, got to see the inside of the vet facilities and ask more questions. Then it was onto the food prep. barn and more questions. After this we got our snack and soda break and got to meet one of the reptile handlers and the bearded dragon. One of the hmmm 'difficult' women on the tour really got to us here. Okay, granted they don't tell you you're going to get to touch animals, but why would you go on this tour if you don't like animals?! She had been grossed out several times so far, and this time actually asked the handler to move away from her (she had a front row seat), because the dragon made her nervous (mind you, the dragon didn't move at all, just sat on the handler's hand about 2 feet from this lady) and made a very loud yuck noise when asked if we wanted to touch it. The tour would have been a lot better without her, although she did provide us with comic relief later when we remembered her
After this came our favorite part - a ride on the safari without the spiel finding out how and why they do certain things. Very interesting and informative. Then we walked to the Tusker House where we received our special pins and filled out a survey.
We were on the Platinum Plan for this portion of our trip, so the tour was included. Otherwise, I think it's $65/person.
Any questions? I'd be happy to answer
.
