[Leslie427]

Now.. for Part 2...

But first, Shockwave is at the America Gardens Theatre. The day we were there, it only played in the afternoon - I think the first show was at 3:45.

Day 2 - AK

We love AK. We arrived at 8:30 for a scheduled 9 am opening. The park actually opened at 8:45 - news to us! So off we went to the Safari. This is by far my favorite thing at AK. We waited around 15 min and saw all kinds of animals - we had to wait a couple of minutes for 2 giraffes to get out of the way, and they were close enough to actually reach out and touch. Lots of animal activity except for the lions, who were passed out on a ridge. We have only ridden this ride in the morning, because everything we've always read says that morning is peak activity time for the animals. Highly recommended!

Next we went to Kali River Rapids. I declined to ride (due to the rain, I didn't feel like any optional wetness) - so DH and DS took the plunge. It was DS's first time on a water ride. They had NO wait, in fact the CM offered to let them ride again without leaving the boat. If you're like me and don't want to ride, make sure you find the bridge that the boats go under to press the shower button. Beware: it's addictive!

Onward to the Chester & Hester area. DH and I really think this is a nice addition. The only problem is that Primeval Whirl is 48" and up. Poor DS (42") cried and screamed. None of us rode it due to this, so I can't report on it. We did ride the Triceratops Spin - we usually don't spend time on midway-style rides, but we had to appease DS. Fortunately, a lot of people ride at a time (64?) so the wait wasn't very long. The Dig Site is also very cool. DS LOVED it. Due to the heat, there were huge fans blowing, and so the heat wasn't overpowering. They did a great job in keeping things bearable.

Next: Dinosaur. About a 20 minute wait - it went faster due to a really entertaining dinosaur CM. He posed for photos, and hid around corners just to jump out and scare the heck out of people. Really hilarious. DS was a trooper and rode, and really liked it!

We saw three shows while we were there. First: Pocahontas and her Forest Friends. Cute, especially if you have kids. DS has proclaimed his undying love for Pocahontas ever since we got back! Her "Forest Friends" are a raccoon, turkey (!), snake, and some mice, among others.

Next we saw Festival of the Lion King. We saw this one last year, and it continues to be on my Must See list. This year, we saw Tarzan Rocks! It is just as good as the Lion King show. If you haven't seen it, it is like a rock concert, with roller blading stunts and (tan & physically perfect) Tarzan flying in on his vine. It's wonderful. Don't miss it.

Well, then the rain started, & that was pretty much that for AK.....

to be continued!