Sometimes this blogging gig really pays off. When I got an email from Porter Novelli asking if I’d like to join them to celebrate the release of The Lion King on 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD, (available in shops from 12 October) by camping overnight at the Melbourne Zoo, I knew I’d hit pay dirt!
Taking my girls to see one of their favourite movies, in a fancy cinema, in 3D, and they were allowed to get their faces painted AND drink lemonade… I was “the best mum ever” before we even got close to the zoo, but the best was yet to come.
Combining seven Melbourne bloggers (Yay For Home, Touska Lee, Planning With Kids, Diary of a Mad Cow, The Diary of Joni and Anya, Stuff With Thing and me!) and their families, good food, tents and a crisp night at the zoo made for lots of great conversation, fun and we learned stuff too. My girls both currently aspire to be zoo keepers so they were in heaven.
During our night walk around the zoo…
- We were mildly freaked out by the tigers (my girls swear that the roar we heard was real).
- We thanked Bong Su the elephant for letting us sleep in his old house.
- We checked out the smaller wild cats and listened to the creepy cry of the Murder Bird.
- We went behind the scenes and met the cutest animal in the whole wide world.
- We patted a snake, or two and even saw what they ate.
- We met a Tapir who is never on display during the day because the UV light in Australia is too bright for her and caused her to loose an eye.
- We discovered that Peccaries are a lot scarier than they look – google ‘peccary verses jaguar’ and find out.
After a chilly night in the tent listening to the penguins and various other nocturnal animal, and several trips to the toilet (curse those huge cups of free lemonade) we were up early, fed and ready for another special zoo tour.
We trotted off to feed some carrots to the giraffes, then we headed off for a special behind the scenes visit to a Tree Kangaroo called Timmy.
We learnt about where Timmy comes from, why he is endangered and what was being done to save him. My girls learnt that not only do zoo keepers look after animals, they can also take a leading role in helping save them in the wild, and helping the people who live in and around the animal’s habitat.
Then there was just time to see the penguins being fed before we headed back to pick up our Lion King show bags and head on out of the zoo… only to go back in by the regular entrance to check it all out again in the day time!
My girls were glowing with excitement after our night at the zoo, and I must confess, so was I! There is something very strange and magical about being in the zoo when it is empty…. of people that is!
Roar n Snore at Melbourne zoo is incredibly well organised. Our guides, Michelle and Jackie were fabulous. Their commentary was clever and interesting and they knew what they were talking about. They handled even the most curly questions we crazy bloggers could throw at them. They handled both excited kids and silly adults with good humour and patience. It was obvious that they both loved their jobs and of course my girls are now more determined than ever to become zoo keepers.
If you would like to attend a Roar N Snore at Melbourne Zoo you can find out more here.
My girls and I would like to say a public thank you to Mandy from Porter Novelli for organising such a fun, family friendly and unique bloggers PR event. She even remembered that there were some of us with kids at home who weren’t old enough to attend Roar N Snore and made sure their were goodie bags for them too…. that thoughtfulness made my big boy missing out just a little easier for him to swallow.
Thanks to Porter Novelli I also have a Lion King goodie bag to share with one of Picklebum’s readers.
This competition is now closed. The winner, Amanda from Creativity Every Day, has been notified.
The bag contains lots of Lion King loot including a puzzle, books, the soundtrack and the Lion King Diamond Edition on blu-ray and DVD.
To win just leave a comment on this post before next Thursday October 13, it’s as easy as that. A random winner will be drawn and notified by email. Winners must be Australian residents and must contact me within 14 days of being notified.
{Disclosure : My girls and I were guests of Porter Novelli Melbourne and attended the screening of the Lion King in 3D and Roar N Snore at Melbourne Zoo free of charge. We were also given Lion King Show bags, similar to the one I am giving away. No other compensation was sought or offered. I was not obligated to write this post and the opinions expressed are purely my own… and those of my girls!}
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{ 41 comments }
I loved following the tweetstream, such an awesome experience!! Bet the girls loved having you to themselves for a night too :)
How did Noey fare?
xox
jeepers, what an amazing overnight adventure you all had, and i’m sure it will become a treasured memory your girls will never forget! what lucky duckies. thanks for sharing and the chance to win a lion king pack!
Seriously that looks fabulous. No wonder they were calling you the best mum ever.
Wow! What an awesome experience. I bet your girls will remember it for a long long time. :)
That experience sounds fantastic – something I will be looking into when my boys are older.
Sounds so fun, would love to do that kind of zoo trip. Would love prize pack for my boy, I loved the lion king when I was little and would love to share it with him..
Sounds like a fantastic night/time :)
What a wonderful experience for all. Lucky you!
What an amazing sounding experience! I can’t think of anything better than a sleepover at the zoo! I so want to do that with the kids now :-)
What an awesome experience. Looks like you and your girls had a fabulous evening!! Having just finished a unit on the zoo in my classroom, I will be sharing this post with my year 1 chooks before we get stuck into our next unit of work.
Sarah
Hello!
we’d love a lion bag!
thanks kate. the camping bit sounded awesome.
What an awesome experience for you all :)
OOh, add me for this comp please! I don’t know who is more obsessed with The Lion King in my house, me or the girls!
what a great story! I’m a member at the Adelaide Zoo, so we try to go every few months to see what’s different. I also loved the lion king & want to get my boys into it. would love a shot at the goodie bag!
It’s a dream of my little girl’s to go to a Roar and Snore! Living in FNQ means that will have to wait a while longer. Although, she did love The Lion King, and it was great to sing along with the songs in a movie I adored when I was younger!
Wow, that sounds so exciting. Not sure if it would be a little too exciting for my girls thoug.
The Roar and snore sound so exiting! My kids are so keen to see The Lion King, They would definitely love to win this!
I can imagine that you and your girls had los of fun there. thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us.Lovely photographs describe the wonderful experience.
My boys would have loved this experience. How exciting !
We love the Lion King , enough there to share for two little roarers.
Like I said with your previous post – great giraffe shots!! Love them! That pack would be awesome to win!
Simply amazing. I remember being amazed by Melbourne zoo as a 9 year old and that was simply in the day time!
Can’t wait to show it to my little girl one day too (we’re from QLD).
Wow, is about all I can say.
It sounds like such a fantastic experience. So glad you all had a great time.
So jealous! The Roar and Snore is something I have always wanted to do! We got to feed the lions at Werribee Zoo a couple of years ago, was an awesome experience.
It sounds like the most fabulous time! Bliss LOVES the Lion King at the moment, what a great treat for your girls!
It looks like you all had a fantastic time. I’m sure your kids will remember it for a long time to come. :)
I don’t really ‘do’ camping, but camping at the zoo sounds too good to pass up! What an amazing experience that I’ll bet the girls will never forget.
I like the picture with the giraffe – the girls look like they can hardly believe they are getting to feed and touch the animals!
Wow, looks like fun!
It’s a great idea! I’d love to go at Taronga one day. Kids haven’t seen Lion King yet, must show them!
Murder Bird! HOW creepy! I love the Lion King… such a favourite. And how nice was the goodie bag idea for those that couldn’t go!
Sure looks like you had a fun time. Would you consider this a glamping thing, or is the camping still pretty much camping? I am not much of a camper. But I love the lion king and actually would keep this one all to myself, in the grown ups drawer so toddler fingers wouldnt be touching it!!!
We’d love, love, love the Lion King goodie bag – looks wonderful!! Roar n Snore sounds amazing!!!
So jealous, I look an awesome shade of green. It looks like you and the girls had so much fun.
What an awesome giveaway. I remember seeing The Lion King at the cinema the first time round and I LOVED it!
What a wonderful experience!! Two of my favourite things!
I just LOVE visiting the Zoo -both here in Perth and wherever we go travelling. The “Lion King” is one of my all time favourite movies – I’m a big kid at heart. The musical was amazing too!
I still remember vividly going to the cinema with my friends in Year 9 to watch The Lion King, and I can’t wait to watch it for the first time with my little boy (who I’ve nicknamed the Little Lion on my blog!)
What an amazing time your kids had at the zoo. Such special memories for them to look back on xx
Hi Kate
Found your blog a few weeks ago and love it! Roar n Snore sounds great. We are all singing Lion King songs at our house as our new baby is fascinated with the Lion King toys we purchased when we saw the musical
Kyla
Woo! the Lion King is a favorite around here, mostly with my husband.
Sounds like amazing fun, I love the Lion King. The Third Lion King (the prequel) is also rather funny.
This type of thing is on my husband’s wish list – must save up and do the Taronga version one time! Not sure how I’d fare sleeping out overnight in a zoo though just quietly!
Seriously, this is the coolest thing I could have ever imagined as a kid, just awesome, so glad you guys had fun!
I am so jealous of your zoo! QLD really misses out. Sounds like you have a great time
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