Day 5

Having seen the film on our return to the UK we are able to make more sense of the show and now realise that the roller-blading monkeys represented the chase scene where Tarzan and Jane were sliding along the tree branches, whilst trying to escape from the baboons. This attraction is sold as a high energy stage show starring Tarzan, Jane, Terk and a cast of jungle gymnasts with the odd aerial performance thrown in and even without knowing the storyline we were not disappointed. It will be interesting to see if we enjoy the show even more next time, having now seen the film.

Since our entry to Animal Kingdom, Peter had been looking a bit wobbly, and was now really beginning to feel the effects of the previous day's sunburn. San was starting to get quite worried…she thought he may have sunstroke. Straight after the T Rocks show we visited a nearby water tap and doused a towel in water, and placed it over his head and down his back, kept on by his baseball cap. It looked like an unusual Arabian head-dress, but it did the trick. After drinking a few gallons of water to hydrate himself, he was soon bravely on his feet again, and ready to continue with the promise of a ride on Countdown to Extinction. A good tip is never go out of a daytime without your BIG bottle of soothing aloe vera! After that day, good old vera came everywhere with us! It became as valuable to us as our Factor 50 sunblock!

After T Rocks we got a Fastpass, (what a truly marvellous idea they are), for Countdown to Extinction and after filling up our water sprays/bottles, we headed for the Boneyard playground in Dinoland USA. Had I mentioned that it was another swelteringly hot day? Florida was in the middle of a heatwave, even the locals were keeling over.

Peter was still feeling the effects of his sunburn but bravely volunteered, (honest), to chase Beth around the various slides and gangplanks. San and I just sheltered underneath the runways, having to apply sun-cream every five minutes as it just kept running off with sweat, well that's how it felt.

Beth and Peter enjoyed the Boneyard, but I think it would be more comfortable if the whole playground was under cover. The one feature of the Boneyard that was covered was the dig site, where you get to dig up half a wooly Mammoth. After the kids had finished digging and scraping it took about ten minutes to empty the small stones from their shoes, which left us just enough time to cross the impressive Oldengate Bridge and return to Countdown to Extinction to use our Fastpass.

Or so we thought, because as we got to the Fastpass entrance, the cast member proudly announced that Beth was too small to ride. To tell the truth, she wasn't that keen on being chased by a dinosaur, so we took the child swap option which Peter enjoyed because he got to ride twice in the space of five minutes, first with San whilst Beth and I waited outside and then, after handing Beth over to San, Peter and I were ushered by a Cast Member through a back door which avoided the pre-show, straight to the front of the queue.

Beth definitely wouldn't have enjoyed Countdown, as it is very dark, very noisy and also very bumpy. Apart from being a bit far fetched, (you have to suspend your disbelief), the Fastpass and the child-swap, all in one go made it an enjoyable encounter. Beth was satisfied with watching the TV screens that showed the in-ride photographs and laughed at the funny faces that everybody made.

After seeing how well the Fastpass worked on Countdown, we decided to go straight to the Kali River Rapids and get a pass for them. The beauty of this scheme is that it gives you a whole hour to see other attractions before returning at your allocated time for just a five-minute wait. We used this hour to find some refreshment in the shape of a strawberry fruit lolly-ice for San and me, made with real strawberries - these were delicious, and Samba's Pawprint lolly ices for the three kids, which were half covered with chocolate. Beth immediately dropped her chocolate and was so upset that we had to buy her another one. I wasn't going to let my daughter cry in Disneyworld and at least they cooled her down.

We headed for the Tree of Life and marvelled at the carvings around the trunk in the queuing area for It's Tough to be a Bug. We had already warned Beth, who is quite squeamish, that she would see creepy crawlies in the film, but as she had already seen Bug's Life she wanted to see the show. After putting on the 3D Bug Eyeglasses she was a bit uneasy when the theatre darkened. None of us were prepared for the special effects though, and even I jumped when I was 'stung in the back' by a bee. Beth managed to avoid the 'best' effects though as by now she was sitting on San's knee. She did however feel the grubs crawling along the seat, which I think, is how she ended up on San's knee. She was relieved when the lights came back on, but she had been very brave. Rachel on the other hand was a big chicken and insisted on minding the pram outside, just in case somebody pinched it. (Oh aye, Yes!)

We just had enough time to wander through the shops in the Safari Village where Peter paid $15.00 for a pair of spooky skeleton eye sunglasses, the fate of which will be revealed in a future report. Let's just say his timing was impeccable because as we got to the Kali River Rapids to use our Fastpass, we experienced our first Floridian electrical storm, as the heavens opened and the sky erupted around us.

On a sour note, why do the idiots who choose not to use the Fastpass system insist on berating those of us who have the foresight of using it's advantage?

We waited over 45 minutes for the storm to pass and eventually got fed up hearing the message 'Due to inclement weather on the river, we are unable to continue with our expedition.' We asked a Cast Member what was the likelihood of the ride starting up again, but he said that because there was a lightning storm within two miles of the park, which was now actually heading back our way, it was unlikely to be opening again for quite a while, so we decided to go and get something to eat.

We thought that all the restaurants would be busy because of the rain but when we got to the Restaurantosaurus, we were the only ones in there. We ordered the usual burgers with McDonalds fries, but San was now fed up with fast food so she finished off the sandwiches we had brought with us. (These were a bit soggy but she seemed to enjoy them.)

When we came out of the Restaurantosaurus the rain had stopped, but everywhere was still wet and misty which gave the place a nice Rainforest look. We still had enough time to see the last Pocahontas and her Forest Friends show at 6.50. We nearly didn't bother as this show has received some bad press, but we were glad we did as we enjoyed it. The Cast Member who played Pocahontas performed the show all by herself, with only the unpredictable animals to support her. It was also nice to see that only young children were allowed to sit on the first four rows.

At the end of the show it was time for the park to close so we slowly made our way back around through the Oasis to the Entrance Plaza, stopping only to buy a Safari Tigger that Beth spotted on one of the hand-carts that are conveniently placed in the middle of the path. (Oh, and a Donald Duck badge for me).

We returned to the van, which was parked right at the back of the car park due to our late arrival, and returned to the hotel to dry out. Later on, as the hotel pool was also closed because of the weather, we went for a drive along International Drive and ended up stopping at Goodings again, for more Budweiser, (and some lovely Jack Daniel's punch drinks), and even some food. We returned to the Quality Inn with the intention of having an early night, but as soon as Beth and San were asleep, Peter and I went for a wander around Pointe Orlando to check out which movies were playing on the I-MAX cinema, and to check out what all the noise was coming from Hooters. (No, we didn't go in we just went for a look!) I think Austin Powers 2 and South Park - The Movie were on, and we did plan to go back later on in the week to see one of them, but never did.

Tomorrow:- SeaWorld