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Disneyland Resort Paris - Attraction Pirates of the Caribbean
by karalouk
The Pirates Of The Caribbean ride can be found at Disneyland California, Magic Kingdom Florida and Disneyland Tokyo. This review is based on the Disneyland Paris version which was the last to open (in 1992). The Pirates Of The Caribbean ride is a rather iconic Disney attraction which inspired the hugely popular Pirates Of The Caribbean ... films.
It can be found in Adventureland in the Disneyland park. It is situated nearby Skull Rock (which is hard to miss) and has a large sign outside made of a ship sail.
There is a fairly small queueing area outside, before you are taken indoors through the 'fortress'. Inside is very dim (too dim perhaps) and it takes your eyes a while to adjust. There is quite a walk until you reach the ride and the 'Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life)' theme song plays the whole time. You pass such delights as skeletons in dungeons before reaching the 'Blue Lagoon' area which looks as though you are outdoors at night time - strangely beautiful! My young daughter was quite nervous the first time (to be expected) but was fine after that. The queue then splits in two and you soon board your boat.
Every one of our visits to Disneyland Paris has NOT been in school holidays and the longest we have had to queue for this ride is about 10 minutes. However I can imagine that it gets very packed during peak times and unfortunately there isn't a Fastpass service available for this ride.
The ride takes place inside small boats. Each boat has 6 rows and each row seats 3 or 4 people. The boats move at a slow and steady pace. You start by floating through a tropical jungle. It seems quiet, calm and relaxing. You also sail past the Blue Lagoon restaurant where visitors dine among trees and lanterns! I have never dined here as they specialise in seafood and I don't eat seafood. It seems like a nice atmosphere though.
You then see a shipwreck and start to climb a hill. The ride starts to get more exciting as you glide down a small slope and get your first glimpse of the pirates. You are surrounded by sails and rigging as the pirates fight with the soldiers. One of the most memorable scenes is where a bunch of pirates behind bars are trying to get a dog to bring them the cell key - this was actually put in to the first Pirates Of The Caribbean film. You then hit a bigger slope and find yourself in the midst of the battle between pirates and soldiers. Cannon balls explode in the water around the boat. After the conflict you sail through the pirates town where the pirates are drunk on rum, chasing women and having sword fights - general pirate shenanigans. The town goes up in flames as you plunge down another drop (the ride takes your photo at this point - say cheese!). You are then brought out in a dark grotto where there is a shipwreck and the pirates have turned in to skeletons. The mood is lightened as 'Yo Ho' begins to play and you pass the captain (as a skeleton) in bed and a skeleton surrounded by treasure and another one guzzling rum!
This is where you exit the ride and can visit the gift shop. Photos can also be viewed/purchased here.
Pirates Of The Caribbean is one of my all time favourite Disney rides, I love it, as does my whole family. It is a ride that can be enjoyed by everybody. There is something to see everywhere you look. Most of the talking is in French but there is some English too. The characters are animatronic, most of them move - they look like waxworks and are rather scarily realistic! The ride lasts about 10 minutes in total, which I think is pretty good going. There are no characters from the films in the ride. The other versions of this ride have been updated to include characters from the films, but the Disneyland Paris version hasn't - I actually think this is a good thing because the ride originally inspired the films, not the other way round. If you catch the Disneyland Railroad past Adventureland you are taken through the last part of the ride and can have a peek inside the grotto.
I totally recommend this ride to everybody visiting Disneyland Paris.
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Elephant Camp Jungle Safari (Thekkady, India)
by koshkha
~Nelly Love~
I love elephants - I suspect most people do, if not the physical reality of one charging towards them, then at least the idea of elephants is very appealing. There's something so compelling about their slow, plodding nature, their fascinating prehensile trunks and their leathery skin. And when you look into the ... eye of an elephant you can't help but think you're looking into the eyes of an equal - though admittedly one that outweighs you many times over and might well outlive you too. Elephants are the state animal of Kerala, which may surprise those people who've always assumed that Kerala was about beaches and backwaters.
Our trip in November 2011 took us up into the mountains of Kerala and offered us a couple of opportunities to get up close and personal with elephants. On our first day in Kerala our driver wouldn't let us ride the elephants at the Dreamlands Spice Park. It wasn't on our official itinerary, he told us, we had to wait until a couple of days later in Thekkady when we could ride elephants at the elephant park. If you find yourself in a similar situation my advice is to seize the day - ride every elephant that fate puts in your path. I don't think you'll ever regret it.
~Elephants aren't crazy about rain either~
I had assumed that we'd have a pretty hot and sweaty time since Kerala is quite a long way south in India but we soon discovered that there was a good reason why it's such a green and lush state - quite simply, it rains a lot. When we arrived at the Elephant Camp, the weather was awful. Half a dozen soggy nellies were plodding through the mud with eager Indian families perched on their backs carrying golf umbrellas.
There should be a variety of elephant experiences on offer at the Elephant Camp - rides short and long, giving the elephants a bath, watching them move logs around and feeding them - and even a residential elephant safari. We wanted to have a longer ride and to feed the elephants but were told that they were very busy and because of the awful weather, only the short elephant ride was available. Perhaps the elephants had called in their shop steward and were objecting to working in a downpour. The ticket office tried to sell us places at a display of the local martial art - a kicking and swinging swords around affair called Kalaripayattu which we really didn't fancy - and for Kathikali dancing. We'd been dragged to a Kathikali dance display the previous time we'd been in Kerala and both vowed that life really was too short. One Kathikali display is quite possibly one more than the average human needs to see. Remember that old quote that says "Try anything once except incest and morris dancing?" - well watching Kathikali dancing makes both the alternatives sound attractive. We held firm - elephants or nothing and handed over our money. I believe we paid around 200 rupees each - or just under three pounds.
We rarely understood our driver during the 4 days we were together but we're pretty sure he told us to just go and wait with the other customers and we'd be called forward to mount the elephant when it was our turn. Unfortunately it seemed we were the only people who'd been told this and it never did seem to be our turn. We weren't too bothered because we thought that if we waited the rain might stop but after 20 minutes or so our driver strode up and had 'words' with the elephant handler about why it was taking so long. The combination of our English tendency to let everyone else go first - especially when it's 'their country' - and our desire to avoid the rain since clearly we English aren't familiar with getting wet, meant we weren't actually at all bothered about waiting.
Elephant riding isn't new to me. I've done it several times in India, in Sri Lanka and in Thailand and in Sri Lanka I recall we were even allowed to sit on their heads and tuck our feet behind their ears like extras from a Tarzan film and then walk the elephants through a river - really quite exciting stuff. I've done what might be considered rather more 'hard core' elephant activities than plodding round the garden but I don't care - if there's an elephant ride to be had, I'll be in the line. Getting onto an elephant doesn't faze me in the slightest. My husband is not quite so relaxed about such things and I'd noticed that he was looking rather nervous as we stepped forwards to get onto the elephant.
~Do you ride Western, English or Side Saddle?
The Kerala elephant saddle is a nice design, ideal for people of medium height or above. I'm just over five foot seven and it was perfect for me. Hubby is taller but with similar length legs. You sit on these saddles much like you would on a horse - one leg on either side - and instead of stirrups, there's a rail to rest your feet on. Children and little people can't reach the rail and we'd noticed they tended to look pretty nervous or to get themselves wedged in between taller people so that they couldn't slide. I sat at the front, Tony perched behind to ensure that if he started to slip he could grab me and take me with him. The rain had pretty much stopped so we were spared the indignity of having to ask for an umbrella which no doubt I would have had to hold as Tony was too intent on hanging on.
Before we could set off we had to wait whilst a group who'd just finished riding our girl - a 30 year old by the name of Lakshmi - came back to ask for more photos with her. This was probably not a bad thing as it gave my husband time to get used to sitting on the elephant before it actually started moving. We admired the pink edges of her ears and her freckles and I pondered that as a freckly person myself, the shared skin characteristic might be part of why I love these beasts. Fortunately I hope that freckles are the only thing I have in common with an elephant.
With the photos finished we plodded off. Elephants are very measured in their gait - you never feel like they might suddenly 'bolt' or miss their footing. The walk slowly and very deliberately. This short tour walks through the spice garden at Elephant Camp along a muddy path that was seriously churned up by the rain. Lakshmi chose her steps carefully, trying to avoid getting her feet too wet. From her back we could look into the trees and see various fruits growing as well as look over the fence into the gardens of the camp's neighbours - most of whom smiled and waved back when we smiled and waved at them.
Despite this being a big local tourist attraction, we were the only westerners there that day and so seemed to get quite a bit of attention. After the first five minutes or so, our elephant handler asked for my camera and took some photographs. He explained that Lakshmi was one of his favourite elephants, that she was very dependable and not at all flighty. She knew her way round whether he was there or not. He pointed out the various plants and spices and told us about the different elephants at the camp, how they were fed, how they were looked after and how important they were to the business. I have ridden elephants that didn't seem terribly happy about the experience but he reassured us that the elephants had a good life and were well cared for.
~Windy Nellies~
Elephants eat a lot - and their diet is very high in fibre. This means that even on a short walk, the rider will inevitably become educated about the bodily functions of their mount. When an elephant stops and won't move for a few seconds, you can pretty much guarantee it's pooping. What I'd not realised before - because this was the first time I'd sat on such a saddle where your body is separated from the beast by only a few inches of padding - was that when an elephant breaks wind its entire body vibrates. As Lakshmi let rip with long juddering gassy emanations, we got fits of giggles as the vibrations moved through her body and then through our bodies on top.
Our ride was only about 30 or 40 minutes in duration and I was so comfortable I'd have stayed on for hours without needing any encouragement. I hopped off and hubby, pleased at what a brave boy he'd been, fell off the elephant and onto the platform, feeling really stupid. We popped down the steps and went round for photos and blessings from the elephant. I'm not sure what the religious value of an unconsecrated elephant blessing is, but it's a very good way to tip the handlers - you put some money in the elephant's trunk, she passes the money to her mahout and then bops you on the head with her trunk. You cannot watch or receive an elephant blessing without getting the giggles.
Tips handed out, elephants and riders photographed, we headed back to the car, feeling the afterglow of elephant therapy. Everybody should ride an elephant - even if only for a short time and especially if they think they are scared. I've never turned down the chance and I hope I never will.
~Details~
http://elephantcamp.in/
Anavachal Road,Thekkady,Kerala,India
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Disney World Orlando Florida - Magic Kingdom
by Sallerina84
I always wanted to go to Disney World as a child, but my parents could never afford to take me.
So, as an adult, I saved up and went with a friend at the age of 23! I still managed to have an amazing time and it made me feel like a big kid!
Magic Kingdom was the Disney Park I was most looking forward to visiting, as ... it is the classic park that people imagine when they think of Disney.
Upon entering the park I was faced with Pluto and the Chipmunks having photos with kids (and me!) and then I saw it, Cinderella's Castle! :)
The park has rides suitable for children and adults. I would definitely say the park is aimed far more at children than it is at adults, but that is not to say that the big kids amongst us will not enjoy it just as much!
The parades and shows that happen daily in the park are great fun, and we stayed late in the park to see one of the world famous firework displays, that was well worth it! Some of the fireworks were amazing, and even Tinkerbell flew across the sky (I still don't know how they did that!!).
There are a couple of rollercoaster type rides (Space Mountain being the main one), and then there are more "experience" rides, such as the Lilo and Stitch ride.
Personally I would be more inclined not to take children to Disney Land until they were at least 6. That way they can go on all of the rides and their tollerance for walking around a big park in the Florida sun is a little higher. We saw plenty of small children screaming the place down because they were hot, tired and fed up.
If you only have time to visit one Disney Park in Orlando, it has to be this one, for the true Disney experience.
However, if you visit more than one, I recommend Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios is probably the best park for adults to enjoy.
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