On arrival in Florida, still jet lagged, we decided to take a trip down International Drive. We approached from the Southern end and parked near Wonderworks.
When My kids saw the building which looks like it landed upside down on top of another building, they decided this strange place was a must for a visit. We paid up and entered and went straight onto an inversion tunnel. I challenge anybody! you will Not be able to walk through the tunnel without holding on if you keep your Eyes open, It really is an odd sensation.
We then entered the hurricane zone which was very informative; with tests and quizzes for all age groups and a simulated hurricane. I had a full head of hair until I came out of there!
The Natural Disaster Zone was next, it was captivating, for example; which one of the 5 senses are you most likely to lose if struck by lightning? Don’t know? Well visit and find out...... Just kidding, its your hearing!
The virtual reality was one item that Dad didn’t like, it was a chance for the youngsters to prove that I haven’t got IT any more. I couldn’t hit a thing. Real frustrating. Of course the children delighted in showing me how easy it really was.
The illusions section was excellent. We all loved it. A warning though when you go on the ‘Bridge of Fire’ – its puts 250,000 volts of ‘SAFE’ electricity through you, but my mistake was to touch it slowly, when I did this a huge blue bolt of lightning arced across and struck my thumb. The family thought it was great to see me leaping about .As you can imagine I didn`t find it quite so funny!
If you are going to touch it don’t hang about be quick and you wont feel a thing. Then if you’ve got hair it will rise into the air. (didn’t work with me).
Next was the bed of nails –You are lowered onto one thousand five hundred- 4 inch nails ,but because of the body’s surface area your weight is distributed over the nails and they don’t puncture your skin, but I certainly wouldn’t say it was comfortable .Especially if you weigh as much as me!
Another great area was memory and reflexes which allowed my children`s competitive edge to come out and they took great delight in watching me dancing on a giant piano which made me look rather silly. Ho hum!
The computer ageing was interesting for the kids. It took your current face and aged it up to 25 years, but as the oldest date it could age was 47 (my age) I didn’t bother trying!
Elastic surgery was our real favourite. We all sat down, had our photos taken then manipulated the face into some really funny shapes.
The wonder coaster is a great finale. You can design your own roller coaster ride in a simulator – loops corkscrews, flips, drops, spirals and many more, once again my mental age of 13 got the better of me and my daughter and I had to be almost dragged out of the simulator.
Great fun and worth the 15 – 20 minute wait.
We spent a very entertaining 2 hours in WonderWorks and I would recommend it to anyone who is a kid at heart.