Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina
Life is short. Live it well.
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2008
December 20th, continued....
Arriving at the IDrive360 complex, we easily found a spot on the 2nd level of the garage, and once again found ourselves marvelling at the fact that it was really very quiet for the weekend before Christmas. We had been expecting massive crowds but were finding quite the opposite
. As I think I mentioned in our May trip report, (and is worth reiterating here) we are BIG fans of the parking garage which sits immediately adjacent to the Eye/Sea Life/Tussauds building. Large, clean, easy to access and free, free, FREE! 
Parking should be this painless everywhere. It really is quite marvellous and convenient.
On the grassy area outside of the Orlando Eye, as part of their “Frostival” promotion (which featured a variety of upgrades and special events for the holiday season), they had a large “ice” rink where you could go skating while Christmas tunes were piped throughout the courtyard.
I use the word “ice” in quotes as it was not comprised of frozen water at all…..the rink was a synthetic, plastic-type rectangle that was put together like a jigsaw puzzle (the joints of the rink didn’t all lay perfectly flat either, so I wondered how people would get their skate blades caught on the uneven surface and fall flat on their bottoms). The cost to partake was $12 per person (I believe there may have been a max time limit….30 minutes maybe?) and included your skate rental (figure skates with toe picks only, even for the guys….girls skates were white, men’s were brown or black). We didn’t see anyone utilizing the rink on this visit, though we did see a couple of guests trying it out when we were there later in the week for our flight on the Eye.
When we visited in May on their opening week, the fountains had been turned off due to some sort of malfunction that was resulting in impromptu spraying of unsuspecting guests. This time, however, the waterworks were all running perfectly and it gave a nice effect to the very well landscaped grounds. One recommendation, though…..on a windy-ish day, be careful where you choose to stand….because functioning properly or not, a good soaking could still be possible! (I speak from experience, having a gust of fountain water blow squarely onto the lens of my camera ... d'oh!
)
We took a tour around the grounds before heading inside to the attractions, just to see what new stores and restaurants had cropped up since the May grand opening. There were quite a few new additions since the spring, and the whole area now feels very full and complete. We stopped by the gift shop at Skeletons: Animals Unveiled to show Jake some of the interesting items inside (since he was quite taken by our photos from that attraction in May), and this new guy holding the door outside made me giggle. I thought it was the perfect touch to this unique little store!
The elephant skull also still sits proudly displayed on the exterior walkway, drawing in lots of curious visitors.
With our mini tour of the complex out of the way, we headed into the main concourse to begin our adventures of the day. They had a large Christmas tree just outside the entrance, and while it looked marvellous and festive by day, it was even lovelier all lit up at night (pics of that will have to wait until later in my report).
We had decided to visit both Madame Tussaud’s and Sea Life on this particular afternoon, so I left it to the guys to decide which one they wanted to do first. They surveyed the lines outside both attractions, and since Tussaud’s looked the quietest (though there were no “crowds”, per se, at either) we opted to start to our left. We had already pre-purchased tickets our tickets in advance, so we were able to skip the regular line and go straight to the dedicated pre-purchase ticket agent who scanned our barcoded printouts and sent us merrily on our way.
Just inside the attraction, we were stopped for a posed picture by a very energetic team of Tussaud’s photography staff in a room designed to replicate a Florida swamp.
They gave the “Captain” (which turned out to be me, apparently) a barcoded wristband on which all the photos from the day would be stored, then proceeded to take a couple of different pictures of us posed on an airboat. These pictures were available for viewing and sale (both digital and hard copy) as you exited the attraction before you proceeded into the obligatory gift shop (more on that later).
Once past the photo crew, the attraction began with a notable figure from Florida history books: Juan Ponce de Leon:
Before I go much further, I will note…..one thing we really, REALLY liked about this particular Tussaud’s is that all the exhibits were designed to be interactive. Much different than the style of the older and more outdated Madame Tussaud’s in Niagara Falls, Ontario. You were encouraged to sit, stand, pose, and even use props (provided) with the various wax statues here at the Orlando Tussaud’s….and it made the experience quite entertaining
.
We continued through the section that focused on notable people in American history. I sat down and had a nice chat with Abraham Lincoln in his study:
Steve walked on the moon with Neil Armstrong, and lo and behold, he even made it on TV! (I think my grandparents had a console television that looked almost exactly like that one)
Steve graciously waved to the crowd with an excellent representation of Martin Luther King Jr….
…..and the whole family chilled for a bit in the Oval Office with President Obama himself :
(this was another of the attraction photo stations, and available for purchase as you exited)
Uncle Sam made an appearance, and Steve did his best to muster an authentic “I WANT YOU!” face
:
Once past the American history section, there was a very fitting tribute to Walt Disney. He looked right at home, as he should…..let’s face it, no one has had a bigger impact on Orlando than the man who created an entire empire with a cartoon mouse.
The next section featured notable folks throughout the ages whose inventions had changed the world. People like Albert Einstein:
There was Thomas Edison, Andy Warhol, and Steve Jobs (to whom Jake owes so much appreciation…cue the iPhone picture
):
There was even a wax figure of Madame Tussaud herself, toiling diligently on one of her amazing creations: and as part of her dedicated exhibit, you could purchase your own wax hands as a souvenir.
We were off to a great start, but the really cool exhibits were yet to come. Stay tuned!
Arriving at the IDrive360 complex, we easily found a spot on the 2nd level of the garage, and once again found ourselves marvelling at the fact that it was really very quiet for the weekend before Christmas. We had been expecting massive crowds but were finding quite the opposite
. As I think I mentioned in our May trip report, (and is worth reiterating here) we are BIG fans of the parking garage which sits immediately adjacent to the Eye/Sea Life/Tussauds building. Large, clean, easy to access and free, free, FREE! Parking should be this painless everywhere. It really is quite marvellous and convenient.On the grassy area outside of the Orlando Eye, as part of their “Frostival” promotion (which featured a variety of upgrades and special events for the holiday season), they had a large “ice” rink where you could go skating while Christmas tunes were piped throughout the courtyard.
I use the word “ice” in quotes as it was not comprised of frozen water at all…..the rink was a synthetic, plastic-type rectangle that was put together like a jigsaw puzzle (the joints of the rink didn’t all lay perfectly flat either, so I wondered how people would get their skate blades caught on the uneven surface and fall flat on their bottoms). The cost to partake was $12 per person (I believe there may have been a max time limit….30 minutes maybe?) and included your skate rental (figure skates with toe picks only, even for the guys….girls skates were white, men’s were brown or black). We didn’t see anyone utilizing the rink on this visit, though we did see a couple of guests trying it out when we were there later in the week for our flight on the Eye.
When we visited in May on their opening week, the fountains had been turned off due to some sort of malfunction that was resulting in impromptu spraying of unsuspecting guests. This time, however, the waterworks were all running perfectly and it gave a nice effect to the very well landscaped grounds. One recommendation, though…..on a windy-ish day, be careful where you choose to stand….because functioning properly or not, a good soaking could still be possible! (I speak from experience, having a gust of fountain water blow squarely onto the lens of my camera ... d'oh!
)
We took a tour around the grounds before heading inside to the attractions, just to see what new stores and restaurants had cropped up since the May grand opening. There were quite a few new additions since the spring, and the whole area now feels very full and complete. We stopped by the gift shop at Skeletons: Animals Unveiled to show Jake some of the interesting items inside (since he was quite taken by our photos from that attraction in May), and this new guy holding the door outside made me giggle. I thought it was the perfect touch to this unique little store!
The elephant skull also still sits proudly displayed on the exterior walkway, drawing in lots of curious visitors.
With our mini tour of the complex out of the way, we headed into the main concourse to begin our adventures of the day. They had a large Christmas tree just outside the entrance, and while it looked marvellous and festive by day, it was even lovelier all lit up at night (pics of that will have to wait until later in my report).
We had decided to visit both Madame Tussaud’s and Sea Life on this particular afternoon, so I left it to the guys to decide which one they wanted to do first. They surveyed the lines outside both attractions, and since Tussaud’s looked the quietest (though there were no “crowds”, per se, at either) we opted to start to our left. We had already pre-purchased tickets our tickets in advance, so we were able to skip the regular line and go straight to the dedicated pre-purchase ticket agent who scanned our barcoded printouts and sent us merrily on our way.
Just inside the attraction, we were stopped for a posed picture by a very energetic team of Tussaud’s photography staff in a room designed to replicate a Florida swamp.
They gave the “Captain” (which turned out to be me, apparently) a barcoded wristband on which all the photos from the day would be stored, then proceeded to take a couple of different pictures of us posed on an airboat. These pictures were available for viewing and sale (both digital and hard copy) as you exited the attraction before you proceeded into the obligatory gift shop (more on that later).
Once past the photo crew, the attraction began with a notable figure from Florida history books: Juan Ponce de Leon:
Before I go much further, I will note…..one thing we really, REALLY liked about this particular Tussaud’s is that all the exhibits were designed to be interactive. Much different than the style of the older and more outdated Madame Tussaud’s in Niagara Falls, Ontario. You were encouraged to sit, stand, pose, and even use props (provided) with the various wax statues here at the Orlando Tussaud’s….and it made the experience quite entertaining
.We continued through the section that focused on notable people in American history. I sat down and had a nice chat with Abraham Lincoln in his study:
Steve walked on the moon with Neil Armstrong, and lo and behold, he even made it on TV! (I think my grandparents had a console television that looked almost exactly like that one)
Steve graciously waved to the crowd with an excellent representation of Martin Luther King Jr….
…..and the whole family chilled for a bit in the Oval Office with President Obama himself :
(this was another of the attraction photo stations, and available for purchase as you exited)
Uncle Sam made an appearance, and Steve did his best to muster an authentic “I WANT YOU!” face
:
Once past the American history section, there was a very fitting tribute to Walt Disney. He looked right at home, as he should…..let’s face it, no one has had a bigger impact on Orlando than the man who created an entire empire with a cartoon mouse.
The next section featured notable folks throughout the ages whose inventions had changed the world. People like Albert Einstein:
There was Thomas Edison, Andy Warhol, and Steve Jobs (to whom Jake owes so much appreciation…cue the iPhone picture
):
There was even a wax figure of Madame Tussaud herself, toiling diligently on one of her amazing creations: and as part of her dedicated exhibit, you could purchase your own wax hands as a souvenir.
We were off to a great start, but the really cool exhibits were yet to come. Stay tuned!
). I can't wait to hear about your adventures at Universal!! 
. I dare say my big guy could have used a nap after that meal 
.
.
.
:
….wink wink, nudge nudge 
Nor did we visit TGI Fridays. We did mini golf though, but that's later int he trip. Next up will be Sea Life, and the following day.....the character breakfast at Ohana, followed by Downtown Disney.
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. Here it is, you can laugh with me....it just turned out odd looking.
