unusual experience, chance to interact with animals
Disadvantages:
is it cruel??
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I went to the phuket fantasea show when i stayed in Phuket last year. Before i start i will just note i didn't eat here as we went with work so as we were a bit later we only manged to see the show and go around the 'park' area for a little while before going in to the show. However it is worth noting if you are taking the advantage of the meal package it is served as a buffet meal. The buffet is served from 6pm-8.30pm. Normally when you book aswell you can be picked up from your hotel or local pick up point so you can book the entire thing through your hotel. The actual park itself is open from 7.30pm - 11.30pm.
upon arriving at the park we noticed the way it was decorated immediately as it's done up with very gaudy lights and is very eye catching.
we got through the entrance gates quite quickly and were soon in the mian area. Upon entering agian you notice how much is going on and the way everywhere is decorated. There are lots of stall selling gifts etc and games to win goodies like being at an amusement park. To the left hand side of you there is a stage where there were some singers and if i remember rightly were dressed as cavemen and were singing in a comic way and in the way they were dancing. quite entertaining if you like that kind of thing!
To the right was an arcade area with game machines and small kiddies rides etc. As you start walking past this area you can see elephants in the distance which i found very exciting as this was a highlight for me! To the right of the elephant area there is a huge 'palace' like building which is where the main show is later on. The building is styled in the shape of a temple but on a much larger scale and decorated like an older historical type temple.
When you reach the area where the elephants are you notice that it is possible to have a ride on them which cost us just over 350 baht's (which is about £5). You can also buy food to give to them which cost about 150 which is about £2. They have 4 fully grown elephants and a few baby elephants in this area. Once all of the 4 bigger ones have riders they send you up the steps to get on, of which they have a seat that can fit two people on. The elephants have their ''mahoot'' sat on the front which is basically their keeper who has trained them since birth - the relationship between mahoot and elephant one is pretty special as they literally have the same one and if a mahoot is to die the elephants are known not to co-operate with anyone else. Anyway, the elephants have a big circular area that walk round which includes going through a bit of the area where some of the other guests are so all your friends and family can see you which is nice as you can get them to take pictures or video it if you have a camcorder.
After we had done this we made our way into the huge palace like building. The show is at 9pm and there is one a night. The show is just over an hour long and when we were there they made an announcement about 30 mins before to tell people to start making their way in as it takes a while to get everyone seated etc. When you first enter you have to queue up to give in any cameras, phones etc as you are not allowed to take these in to the main theatre. You get a ticket which you have toi hand in at the end to get any such items back. You can't really sneak any in either if you don't really like the idea as there is a metal detector to walk through. If you don't like the idea then i would suggest you don't take any with you into the park at all. There are phot opportunitie anyways with the animals that you can buy so it's not like you can't get any photo's of your time there!
When you first get through the gates there is seperate areas to take you to the different seatings sections and there is also an area where there are tiger cubs which you have the chance to get a picture with whilst bottle feeding them. I had mine taken and bought the photo which cost me about £5 so not realy that much and it's surreal holding onto such a powerful and dangerous animal that is so tiny at the moment!
After that it's into the show which is a mix of animal acts( lot of elephants and a few other select animals!) and a few bits of thai dancing and comedy. The elephants are the main act of the show obviously and they are very well trained especially as some of the ones in it are only baby ones. I can't really put the actaul show into words as you'd have to see it to kinda see that it is good.
No price wise for the whole package it does depend on wether you book through you r hotel or through one of the shops etc. Prices don't really differ that much and i think on average it's about £25-30 per adult for the whole package - not sure how much children are though but it may be possible to get free childrens places for certain ages i guess!
Overall it is definately a different experience but some people find that it may be cruel as obviously lots of animal acts invlolved and we don't see what goes on behind the scenes to get these animals to perform - however the elephants do tend to do whatever their mahoots ask them to so some would say it's not cruel as they will do it willingly and have grown up doing acts so know no different. I'll leave the debate up to you!!
