Mardi Gras World Tour

SKYDECK CHICAGO At 1,353 feet and 110 stories above the streets of downtown Chicago, The Ledge at the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower) Skydeck will transform any visitor's--or local's for that matter--experience with the Windy City. In January 2009, Willis Tower owners began a major renovation of the beloved Skydeck, which originally opened in 1974, and served as a premier tourist attraction throughout the skyscraper's tenure as the Sears Tower. When ownership changed hands, the fresh blood added a fresh look--and adrenaline rush--to the 103rd floor in the form of retractable glass balconies extending about 4 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River below. Still the 8th tallest building in the world, and the absolute tallest in the Western Hemisphere, Willis Tower's Skydeck draws 1.5 million people a year who are eager to ascend the 110-story, 1,454 foot (443 meter) building for awesome panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside. Your journey to the top of the Willis Tower starts with a walk through an airport-style metal detector, followed by a slow elevator ride down to the waiting area where visitors queue for tickets. A sign will tell you how long you'll have to wait to get up high; this is a good time to confirm the visibility. Even days that seem sunny can have upper-level haze that limits the view. On good days, however, you can see for 40 to 50 miles (64 to 80 kilometers), as far as the states of Indiana, Michigan. Iowa, and Wisconsin. While you wait, you can watch a film about Willis Tower factoids. Then you'll wait a little longer before the ear-popping, 70 second elevator ride up to the 103rd floor deck. From here, the entire city stretches below, and you can see exactly how Chicago is laid out. Willis Tower, Skydeck, and The Ledge Fast Facts The hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind each week on Skydeck windows served as this inspiration for The Ledge. The Ledge boxes can each bear about 4-1/2 metric tons of weight, and adventurers who trust that statistic enough to prove it can often be found jumping and bounding around the entirely translucent enclosures as Chicago's heavy traffic and infrastructure bustle below. The Ledge’s glass panels weight 1,500 pounds apiece, and each box is comprised of three layers of half-inch thick glass laminated into one seamless unit. In addition to serving 1.3 million tourists per year in its 4.5+ million square feet of space, Willis Tower is home to more than 100 companies, including prominent law, insurance, transportation, and financial services. The Ledge's glass boxes retract into the Skydeck main floor for easy maintenance, probably mostly cleaning off the 974 dead birds that must fly into them every month. The Moonwalk is the most popular dance performed on The Ledge, followed closely by the Running Man. Riverdance clocks in at a distant third. Bringing people who are afraid of heights to The Ledge is not recommended, unless you are mean-spirited or really don't like them. In which case, you should probably just take them here. Willis Tower was known as Sears Tower for decades, until the 30th anniversary of Diff'rent Strokes, at which point it was rightfully renamed   SHEDD AQUARIUM EXHIBITS AMPHIBIANS! Get ready for a toadally ribbiting experience! Shedd’s new special exhibit, Amphibians, hops into the aquarium May 16 and is included with admission. ​In Amphibians, you’ll meet 40 species of frogs, salamanders and rarely seen caecilians. Learn how amphibians’ lives are full of change, from their life cycles to their adaptations to live in nearly every environment on Earth. Find out how too much change can spell trouble for amphibians — and how you can help them cope with big changes in our world today! Waters of the World Travel the world in 80 habitats. Dive into Oceans, from coastal kelp forests to the seafloor. Explore the self-contained ecosystems of Islands and Lakes. Visit Rivers—big and small—and learn more about our local waters in the new At Home on the Great Lakes exhibit. Meet hundreds of amazing animals, from tiny mantella frogsto a a giant octopus, from a Grand Cayman blue iguana to Nile knifefish, and from moon jellies to sea stars. We even have map turtles, in case you get lost. Caribbean Reef Take a 360-degree tour of an underwater reef community. Follow a green sea turtle. Peek at a moray eel in a rocky crevice. Watch regal rays glide by. Get eye-to-eye with parrot fish and sharks. Visit Caribbean Reef, Shedd’s award-winning 90,000-gallon circular habitat in the grand rotunda. Amazon Rising Take an exotic journey in the Amazon, home to one-third of all living things. Watch out for anacondas and piranhas, spiders, rays and a camouflaged caiman. In churning river channels, still lakes and even flooded treetops look for tetras, turtles and fruit-eating fish called tambaqui. See how the region’s animals, plants and people adapt to the water’s dramatic annual rise and fall. Abbott Oceanarium The Abbott Oceanarium immerses you in the vibrant coastal ecosystem of beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, sea otters and sea lions. You’ll also find a host of fishes and invertebrates that make their homes where freshwater flows into the ocean or where tides turn seascapes to landscapes and back again each day. Use our self-guided map to discover how animals are linked to each other, their homes and you. Polar Play Zone Kids have a place at Shedd that they can call their own—Polar Play Zone. It’s cool as ice and twice as nice! The penguins think so, too. Play! Splash! Pretend! What would you like to be? A sleek sliding penguin? A deep-sea explorer? How about both? In Polar Play Zone, you can slip into a penguin suit and try being a bird in the Icy South play area. From there, head to the Icy North to explore the belugas’ Arctic waters in a kid-sized submarine. Don’t forget to shake hands—or is it arms?—with colorful sea stars in the touch pools. In Polar Play Zone, you’ll learn about polar opposites—big and small, fast and slow, shallow and deep, even north and south—while you play. The Oceanarium Aquatic Presentation​ is included however based on available seating and remaining show times at the time of guest arrival. (2018 Aquatic Presentation Schedule) Stingray Touch (seasonal experience) is included. Open late May through October. 4D Experience is not included however the 4D experience tickets may be purchased at the theatre for $3.00 per -person

Madam Tussauds Amsterdam Enjoy the glitter and glamour of Madame Tussauds Amsterdam. With 10 interactive zones and an amazing television studio, you will have the opportunity to meet and greet your heroes. From the Dutch Royal Family, world famous DJ’s Martin Garrix and Armin van Buuren, artists like Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt van Rijn and of course your real Marvel superheroes. Dive into the studio and sing a duet with Adele, take a picture with your favourite actors such as Michiel Huisman and Ryan Gosling or project your face on Zayn Malik’s chest. Step in front of the camera in the brand new television studio and create your own talk show. The autocue is ready for you. Time for action! Time for superstars! Time for Madame Tussauds Amsterdam! The Amsterdam Dungeon Do you have a great sense of humour and nerves of steel? Then you are at the right place in the Amsterdam Dungeon. Come face to face with over 500 years of Amsterdam’s darkest history. The chillingly amusing characters of the ‘bad old days’ come to life before you in all their glory. You will be able to see and sense them during the thrilling attraction The Gallows Fields The place where the bodies would be put on display for the people; a reminder of your fate if you were ever to commit a crime. The dangling corpses were the hallmark for an “effectively functioning” legal system. You would think this place would be avoided by everyone, however, the contrary was true, it was an attraction. Murder on the Zeedijk Immerse yourself into this ghost story and meet the ravishing Dina and her less refined sister Helena, in the oldest streets of Amsterdam with it's haunting history Hell on the Batavia Feel the fear creep up on you aboard the 17th century VOC ship, the Batavia

MARDI GRAS WORLD: WHERE MARDI GRAS IS MADE! There are plenty of tours in New Orleans, but only one offers a real, behind-the-scenes look at New Orleans Mardi Gras, and that’s the Mardi Gras World tour. Mardi Gras World gives you an authentic Mardi Gras experience all year round, whether you visit while sightseeing in New Orleans, enjoying a New Orleans family vacation or taking a break from your business trip. Take our day tour to see what it takes to bring Mardi Gras to life year after year. Our tour allows you to see firsthand the hard work and extensive planning that goes into this grand event. Since 1947, Blaine Kern Studios has built the breathtaking parade floats for major parades not only for Mardi Gras, but for parades all over the world. Mardi Gras parades would be nothing without the fantastical floats that line the parade route year after year. The hard work that goes into making these spectacles is what makes Mardi Gras in New Orleans the greatest show on Earth! Our knowledgeable guides take the mask off Mardi Gras with an all-access Mardi Gras tour, winding through the massive studio where these magnificent floats are built from the ground up. You’ll learn about the history of this unique and festive tradition and go beyond its reputation to get a deeper understanding of the real Mardi Gras. The whole family will love the experience of touring the space where our artisans create spectacular floats for over 40 parades each year. There are plenty of opportunities for photos in front of floats, with props, or wearing a traditional Mardi Gras costume on this New Orleans tour. This is an experience you will want to document, so don’t forget to bring your camera! A FREE shuttle is provided with ticket purchase, and has pick-ups at 20 convenient downtown locations. Just call 504-361-7821 to see where our designated pick up locations are. Call when you are at one of our many locations and we will quickly pick you and your party up.  If you do not wish to use our complimentary shuttle, the closest parking is available in Lot J across from the Mardi Gras World entrance. ($15.00/vehicle, owned by the New Orleans Convention Center, subject to change) Wandering through the magical float den is an exciting experience for kids and adults alike, so come join us for the best Mardi Gras tour around.

The trained guides will help you to spot the incredible variety of sea mammals inhabiting the waters around Tenerife. Common bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales are just two of the 28 species that make these waters their natural habitat. Make sure you have your camera ready to capture the beautiful mammals as they play in the waters around your boat. Then after spending time in the company of these amazing animals we'll continue sailing along the south coast and depending on the excursion, we'll head for the breathtaking cliffs at Los Gigantes."  Relax on the spacious sun decks or opt for a swim and a snorkel in the pristine waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The return trip will give you the chance to enjoy a different view of this spectacular coast with its sophisticated resorts, volcanic beaches and secluded coves, as we sail back down to Puerto Colon, where the voyage will come to an end. An unforgettable day out for all the family. What´s included: - Meal - Transport from some locations - Assistance or guided tour Meal: The morning cruises includes a sandwich and a fruit. The afternoon cruises includes paella and a fruit. Beer, wine and soft drinks also included. Languages: Spanish, English, German and French.