Not just parrots. Tigers as well. Baby ones.
Written: Jan 20 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful park. Exotic birds and animals. Amazing scenery.
Cons: None. However, I would have liked to purchase postcards of the park.
The Bottom Line: Lovely clean park. Beautifully designed. Easy to get around. Great food. Why wouldn't you go.
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| Susie-34668's Full Review: Parrot Jungle Island |
Well this 'cat lady' has had the biggest grin on her face, since Wednesday. So let me tell you the story. My great friend Barbara ifif1938 and her charming husband Irving came to our neck of the woods awhile back. I had always said that we would visit with them. What does Barbara do? She writes about Parrot Jungle and tells me about the Jungle Show. We correspond and the next thing I am doing, is arranging a hotel, for a couple of nights at South Miami Beach.
We arrive and telephone Barbara. Arrange to meet the next day at Parrot Jungle. I was so excited to see her again, but couldn't wait to see the tigers too.
We headed south on A1A and turned onto 5th Street. This went into the I 395 or MacArthur causeway. The cruise ships were located on the south side (left) and Parrot Jungle on the north (right) side. We headed down the road which brought us into the parking lot. From here we walked into the beautiful plaza to wait for Barbara. We always arrive early. There were tables and chairs for us to wait, but I headed to the parrots, and talked to them.
When I saw Barbara, I walked, or was it ran, to greet her. She was in pain from her back, and I couldn't believe that she would be our guide for the day. Irving came up and greeted us, and we all walked into the park together. We walked and talked, stopping to get juice and a diet soda on the way. We had a map of the park, but Irving said to see the 'Wild Encounter' at the Jungle Theater at 12.30pm and then the 'Winged Wonders' at the Parrot Bowl at 1.15pm. He was working but hoped to join us from time to time throughout the day.
Our first stop was to view the beautiful parrots. Their plumage was amazing and the colors wild. Barbara was talking to them, kind of like me talking to the animals at Busch Gardens, my second home. They were breathtakingly beautiful. We walked to the Manu Encounter and saw that behind the netting, parrots and macaws were flying around. This is an open air exhibit themed on the clay cliffs in Manu, Peru. Lots of the birds were up against the netting and we had a great view of them.
I am not sure of the order of things, but I have to tell you about the show at the Jungle theater.
We were seated 3 rows from the front and had an excellent view. I am going to call him the guy with the mike, because on opening his mouth, I knew he was Australian, told us the do's and don't in the theater with the animals. He was cute and funny too. We got to see a great assortment of animals. Len loved the white Arctic wolf. I loved the tigers. There was a baby cougar/Florida panther, 2 baby tigers, and the cutest baby chimpanzee. We were allowed to take photos but no video. I was happily snapping away. At the end of the show the announcer said that we could have photos taken with either one of the tigers or the chimp. I just had to do this. Barbara, Irving, Len and myself had photos taken. One of Barbara and myself with the chimp in the middle is just superb. The one I love is the chimp hugging Barbara, the baby tiger on my lap. I am holding him with one hand and feeding him from a bottle in the other hand. I told Barbara this is the best day of my life. Well, apart from my wedding day!
We walked through the rare plant nursery, where plants are being nurtured. They will eventually end up in the grounds of Parrot Jungle.
The Everglades Habitat is really beautiful. A mini version of the real thing. A lot of work has gone into this area.
Winged Wonders, at the Parrot Bowl, is a show for everyone. The birds are not only on the stage, but they fly just above you. We got to see small birds, a large bird that frightened a man from the audience. He actually ran back to his seat. There was a fantastic bird that sang. Yes, it really did sing and laughed too. Just too many to know their names.
We walked pass the Sausage Tree, Monkey Bars, Tortoise Exhibit, and the Petting Barn. All these are neat places for you to take your children.
Now there is another show called 'Reptile Giants' in Serpentarium. When our tour guide, Barbara, mentioned the snake, I passed on this one. Sorry I don't do snakes.
Parrot Jungle is on Watson Island and is man-made, with land fill. It is absolutely beautiful. There are so many vantage spots here at Parrot Jungle to take in the spectacular views. I understand that a beach will be built to add even more to this theme park.
Finally I must mention eating. The Lakeside Cafe is a must. Spotlessly clean and spacious. I checked out all the wonderful food. This is no ordinary theme park food. The fruit platter I had could have been served in any 5 star restaurant. Taste, color, and presentation were all in abundance. Len had the meatloaf, vegetable, and mashed potato. All reasonably priced and very good value. At the Cafe there is plenty of indoor seating, but as it was a perfect day, we sat outside. We looked across the water at the Flamingos. Enchanting.
As with all theme parks the obvious are there. Restrooms, ATM machine, guest services, stroller and wheelchair rental, etc. There was also a gift shop, which we visited last. The only thing I couldn't buy were postcards of Parrot Jungle. However, I did come out with key chains as a reminder.
The park is open from 10am to 6pm every day.
Prices are $23.95 for adults.
$18.95 for children 3 - 10 years old.
Under 3 free.
Seniors $21.95.
The address:
1111 Parrot Jungle Trail,
Miami,
Florida, 33132.
Telephone 305-2-jungle.
check them out at parrotjungle.com.
There is a lot more to this theme park than I have written, but I am not going to bore you with more. If you haven't done so already, check out Barbara's review of Parrot Jungle
When it was time for us to leave, and say our 'Goodbyes', I felt as if I was leaving a sister. Thank you Barbara and Irving. Without you guys I wouldn't have visited here, and had such a sensational day.
Susie.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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