Just a little after we exited the highway and headed for 1001 Fairgrounds Drive, (Vallejo, CA) my eyes couldn’t help but catch sight of huge topsy-turvy yellow and red structures jutting out into the skyline; just looking at them gave me an adrenaline rush. Roller coaster highways they were and I just could not contain my excitement.
Now if that made you think Six Flags is just an amusement park, you just haven’t heard it all. In this Kingdom there is more. It is a world of rides; both mechanical rides and elephant rides. It is where you see a whale and dolphins, elephants and even a tiger turn performers par excellence. It’s a haven for countless winged beauties, the finned fraternity, elegant predators and many meek and massive creatures too. Read on and I’ll walk you through this wonderland called Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
A clear Sunday it was. Even before we set foot on our destination, we knew how interesting Six Flags Discovery Kingdom was going to be. A sea of parked cars and a crowded sidewalk that led to the entrance of the park was testimony to that. There were thousands of people who wanted to play here while the sun shone.
Out with or without sunscreens, sunglasses and sun caps, everybody seemed to be in his or her best mood. Even Shouka. Shouka is Discovery Kingdom’s own big and beautiful queen — a 4500 pound Killer Whale. A little after we arrived there we learnt that it was almost time for her to come out and meet her guests. So we rushed to see her. Having got to the stadium a little ahead of time we found ourselves a good place in the gallery seating there and waited for the regal entry. The clock struck one and we looked down at the pool and there she was. From the minute she entered her watery dais till the time she returned backstage 30 minutes later, she wowed the crowds with her majestic gliding, springing out of the water, mischievously splashing water on the audiences in front rows and even throwing her humongous self in the air to touch the big red balloon suspended high up. Her grand finale is one to be seen, not described.
After the show we walked down the hill and got to watch another mammoth creature at play. It was an elephant having a shower and anybody who has seen a bathing elephant knows how much these pachyderms enjoy water. Visitors young and old seemed to have their share of fun watching the big fellow. For those who want to see more of the animal, there are elephant rides they could go on.
Later, we walked further down by the side of this135 acre park and reached the Cougar Rock. From then on it was a treat for me as I’ve always been in awe of the cat family. There was the Cougar, the Bengal Tiger and the King of Jungle himself with his royal consorts. What grandeur they put up!
Then there were the tall, long-necked graceful giraffes and the Ships of the Desert showing off their humps but it was some small pretty creatures that captivated me next. As we walked down that pathway by the lake beside the park, we found ourselves taking a detour into a glass house and in it was one of the most charming sights: black and white butterflies, red ones, brown ones, ones of orange and yellow were flitting about, not the least bothered by the many two-legged aliens who were watching them in their natural habitat.
It was my first time in a butterfly park and I must say I was so enchanted by the colour and exquisiteness of these winged beauties. To complete the look of their little jungle within the walls of glass was a small man-made stream that housed several multi-coloured fishes.
By the time we were out of the glass structure, the heat in the air had gotten the better of us. We couldn’t have been more grateful for the benches beneath some trees that lined the path outside the butterfly park; we were so thankful for the breeze the blew over the lake beside the park. That reminds me, of some other things that we were blessed with on that hot day; the refreshing stations that spewed ice-cold spray and the soda refilling stations that Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is dotted with.
After some rest by the lake, we made our way to more aquatic creatures: dolphins, Jacko the children-loving Walrus, the big Ray and the monstrous sharks. Watching these beings gracefully move in blue waters sure made the rest of the day cooler. After a few more stops here and there, we realised we had walked around the 100 odd acres of land and had not yet seen several things in the few acres in the middle of the park. Alas! the day was beginning to end and the map in my hand just seemed to say: You will have to come again if you want to see it all.
