The fog came
down really tick overnight and it was cold, nearly caught us out after last
year’s heat wave!! I had a bit of a
panic as I haven’t really brought many cold weather clothes!! Jumpers, trousers and coats were thankfully
enough to warm us up!!
We drove the
steep, very slow 20 minute drive through thick fog to Volcania. Chris was not happy about the drive and
neither was Flo!!
Volcania is
a science museum/theme park built in the hollow of an extinct volcano. It is predominately an indoor venue and so as
a result it was packed, thankfully we had decided to stay in the aire there
tonight so we missed all the queues! The
aire is pricy at 10E a night but is massive and there weren’t many people
there. 1st obstacle was that the pedestrian gate was locked so I was
shouting in French at a parking attendant who said he would come but never did….big queues at all the
booths and it was expensive entrance cost
of 82E for us all so we hoping to be impressed!
I hired 5
audio guides from reception and find out there is no English guide book. The ‘rides’ and ‘experiences’ are simulations
of eruptions; flying over super-volcanoes; travelling underground to a magma
chamber and retelling legends of dragons; as well as being very
informative. 
The favourite rides turned
out to be ‘Mission Toba’ where a full surround floor and screen image simulated
flying over the super volcano at Toba; we stood in pods which also moved and
gave an excellent impression of flying.
Another favourite was in a 5D cinema, the ride was called ‘The Dragon
ride’. We wore 3D glasses, the chairs
moved, water sprayed, heat flared, and the screen showed us travelling deep
down a mine shaft into a volcano where there were horrendous dragons living who
were chasing us!! All the ‘rides’ had health warnings and said they weren’t
suitable for under 5s however we took Morgan on all them and she loved them,
she’s feerless!!! Another 4D cinema was
‘The awakening of the giants of the Auvergne’, this simulated what could happen
if the major volcanoes of the Auvergne erupted today, it was another brilliant
show using 3D technology, water and wind were sprayed at us from the seats in
front and even straps underneath the chairs moved which felt like snakes biting
our legs!!!I loved this one!! Morgan’s favourite was one where they simulated
us going deep into a magma chamber (it was called ‘Magma Explorer 3); it said
we had to hold the rail and they weren’t joking, it shock so hard Morgan nearly
fell over and I had to put my hand on the rail so she didn’t repeatedly bang
her head on it!! She found it really
funny!! A more relaxing attraction was
a straightforward 20minute film about our relationship with volcanoes in a 430m
high cinema screen, one of the biggest in Europe!! Overall it was a really great attraction and the children loved it despite all the queuing, was also perfect for such a dank day!
The kids all got gifts at the shop and said it was one of the best days they’ve had.
