Maybe this was something I should have held off on until we got closer to Halloween, but It was just too interesting not to review.  At the I-Drive 360 site I had left the main building and headed out back to a courtyard with various store fronts for your usual chains like Walgreen’s, and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.  I had barely walked a few feet outside when one of the signs caught my eye.

Skeletons Museum of Osteology.  With a strange morbid curiosity I walked inside and found myself in a gift shop.  Just inside one of the doors I found a penny machine.

This style of machine I find more often than not, rolls most designs short, but these actually came out pretty nicely.

The images on these coins were as strange as this place.  They included as you can probably guess skeletons of a Giraffe, a Wallaby, a Sea Otter, and a Piranha.  I will admit the gift shop was interesting with some models, puzzles and t-shirts all with various skeletons on them but I wanted to know what was inside the museum.  Curiosity just got the best of me so I paid for a ticket and headed in the back.

When I was a kid we had a history museum in our city that we would visit quite a few times during a year.  Mostly because I was obsessed with Dinosaurs, and that was the closest place that I could spend hours looking at Dino Fossils.  The Skeleton Museum had that same type of feel to it just with skeletons of any animal you could imagine.

As you can see in the above picture there were exhibits with Cheetah’s, Horses and people.

All different types of large cats of every different shape and size.  I’m not a snake fan, but there were some really cool skeletons of a King Cobra and a Boa Constrictors.  They were interesting but creeped me out at the same time and I had to quickly skip past before it came to life.

All the way in the back was some very large animals including a Giraffe, Elephant and Hippo.  The museum would around these different exhibits with similar groupings of creatures.  Eventually I made my way back towards the exit and just near the restrooms was a second penny machine.

I didn’t ask at the front desk as the employee was pretty busy with customers, but my guess is that you can only access this machine with a paid ticket.  But the one out from in the gift shop can be accessed during operating hours free of charge.

This second set of pennies had skeleton designs of a Pelican, a Cheetah, a Killer Whale and a Sea Horse.

I forgot to mention that all of the coins from both machines had a backstamp on them with the Skeleton Museum’s logo.

After I had my fill of flesh-eating beetles and skeletons I headed out of the museum.  It was definitely a unique place to visit, but if skeleton’s are not your thing this is probably something to skip.  There wasn’t anything stomach turning inside, but sometimes skeletons are just creepy.  The museum had a huge selection of skeletons and lots of information about them and how they are collected, and displayed.  If you are looking for something different while your on I-Drive make sure to check this place out.

Continuing my day at the I-Drive 360 area I had just finished up with Madame Tussauds and had a few other places I could check out.  There was a small kiosk that would let me experience a 7-D attraction.  I have no real idea what that means, but the people seemed on the ride as I went by seemed to be screaming pretty loudly so I decided to keep moving.  All the way on the other side of the lobby was something more my speed.

The Sea Life Aquarium was tucked into the back corner of the building but don’t let the little store front deceive you this place was pretty big inside and had a lot of exhibits.

A nice little feature they had was tank just outside by the ticket window.  This way the kids had something to look at while you wait in line to buy the tickets.  The entrance fee was very reasonable and I always like to think most of it is going to help feed and take care of the sea creatures.

The exhibits throughout range from Amazon fish, to local creatures found just off the Florida shores.

The tanks appeared to be all well-kept and clean, plus the fish were of all shades of colors which are just beautiful to look at.  There is something mesmerizing about watching fish swim lazily around a tank.

There were also some larger tanks for bigger sea creatures include sharks, rays and sea turtles.

Another unique part of this aquarium is a large tunnel you walk through with the fish swimming all around you.  This can be found in many other aquariums but this one is different in that the floor below your feet is also clear, making is appear like you are actually in the tank surrounded by marine life.

Another cool thing was a touch tank with some star fish, and other small sea animals that you can gently touch.  There is a staff member always nearby to help ensure the animals aren’t harmed, and I must say that is a constant battle as some of the children do get kind of rough with the poor creatures.

After finishing up all the areas of the aquarium I found myself back in another gift shop with the usual plush animals, t-shirts and things I just really don’t have room for anymore.  But in the area over near the cooler filled with soda and bottles of water was something I always have time and space for.

This four design hand crank machine has a nice cabinet decorated with sharks and a pretty blue color of the ocean.  You can kind of see it to the left of the machine but there is a change maker right beside it should you not come prepared with coins to press.

The set of pennies included The Touch Tank, Jelly Fish, an Electric Eel, and a Shark.  These designs are similar to other aquariums but I guess that’s to be expected with the most popular creatures always being available.  To make these a little more unique all the coins do include the Sea Life Aquarium logo.

I’ve definitely been in larger aquariums but this is kind of a greatest hits place.  It’s not too large but not tiny either.  It took about an hour or so to go through the entire thing and really spend some time at each exhibit.  With my pennies pressed I was off to check out another museum of sorts that I had never experienced before.

A year and a half ago I visited my very first Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York and was both intrigued by it and creeped out at the same time.  You can read out it here.  After moving down to the Orlando area my family has spent most weekend over at the Disney parks as we just feel like we are on vacation.  But as I truly hate to say this, after a while we wanted to do something else (gasp!).

One weekend I had dropped my mother in law off at the Florida Mall so she could get out of the house and do some shopping.  I had already exhausted that mall and wasn’t interesting in spending more time in there.  Instead I headed over towards International Drive and hit the jackpot.  From a distance I could see this huge ferris wheel type attraction and that just drew me towards it.  It’s known as the Coca-Cola Orlando Eye but more on that in another post as that was the finally to this little side adventure.  This road side attraction area was called the I Drive 360.

After parking in the lot (free parking by the way) I entered the building and came into a huge lobby type area with quite the assortment of things to do.  I first came across Madame Tussauds near the entrance so that’s what I headed into first.

Of course there is an entrance fee but they do have a free wax celebrity outside that you can pose with for free.  I couldn’t resist the draw of this place so I paid for a ticket and headed in.  There are the standard figures of Presidents and historical figures, but this location had a few I didn’t find in New York which I guess is due to their Florida connection.

The lady of honor herself, Madame Tussaud in the process of creating a wax figure.

Stephen Spielberg, I’m guess due to his relationship with Universal Studios?!?!  Sure sounds good to me.

Steve Jobs.  Now this could be due to his popularity with many Apple fans, but I liked to think it was due to his contribution with starting Pixar Animation.

Of course how could they not include Walt Disney.  This was a very busy figure with lots of people crowding around to get a selfie.  It was very cool to see a lot of different celebrities from the one I visited in New York.  As with the other location once I was done with the exhibits I found myself in the gift shop.  I figured I had spent enough money on the entrance ticket that I didn’t need any souvenirs but did spot one that was inexpensive and right up my alley.

Thankfully I always come with a pocket full of change for just these types of situations.  There were four designs available in this hand crank machine.

The pennies pressed nicely and had images of Madame Tussauds Orlando, an Astronaut, Orlando U.S.A., and a Movie Clapperboard.  All the designs did have the Madame Tussauds logo and I always like when these attraction chains have the city on the coins.  It helps make each set of coins a little unique, and fun to collect each location.

Now I will let you know that this machine is available just outside the gift shop so you do not need to pay the admission cost to use the machine.  But if you have the time I would recommend it as it’s a unique experience and a fun way to make your friends jealous of the celebrity sightings you had on your vacation.