The Great Experiment

Update from the following day

On the final day of my great experiment, there was but one unexplored frontier left: Wonderworks!

A hole punched through the wall so paying customers can get in

Unfortunately, Wonderworks was much more fun on the outside than it was on the inside. Sure, they did up all the scenery nicely enough...

Downside-up

But inside, it was basically a science museum, like the Exploratorium in San Fransisco or the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, except that it was laid out much more poorly and the exhibits were lame and poorly maintained. The lighting was dim, there were exhibits like 'use this giant metal hoop and this soap solution to make a great big soap bubble' and 'answer seven questions in this computer program to find out what your personality is like.' It felt like it couldn't decide whether to be entertaining or educational, so the result was a badly-organized mess -- but for $15 per ticket, they seemed to be making out well.

Fortunately, we had plenty of time after this to get to the six o'clock Cirque du Soleil show.

The Cirque du Soleil theater at Downtown Disney

And, as expected, the show was absolutely wonderful. In yet another wonderful coincidence of luck, Kristy and I got center-section seats with a perfect view, right down close to the stage, even though we entered a minute or two late and had to have an usher with a flashlight guide us through the otherwise-packed theater.

I didn't bother taking pictures of the show, because photographs can't capture the essence of it. At something over $60 per ticket, it's an expensive way to spend an hour and a half, but it's a lot of fun to watch!

Dark clouds were gathering as we left the theater after the show, and we were drenched by the time we got back to Kristy's car.

Now the only choice which remained was... where to have dinner?

And the perfect answer: Ohana, in the Polynesian resort.

One of the Polynesian huts

Ohana is a great restaurant where you can eat all you want; they keep bringing bits of meat out to your plate as long as you keep taking it from them. The appetizers include a salad with honey-lime dressing and pork dumplings; the main course includes stir-fried vegetables and skewered steak, turkey, shrimp, and Hawaiian sausage, with dipping sauces including a sweet honey mustard, for about twenty dollars a plate. I'm now hooked on it! It's a must-visit even if you're not staying at the Polynesian resort.

The natives here are friendly

... if a bit odd-looking

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