Xplor Review

rob_v · 05-12-2011

I know there are a few others on here that have reviewed this, but I figured I'd chime in as well and give a not so quick report on our trip there.

My wife and I have done zip lining in several other places and have always had a blast. Kids really wanted to go so we went there in the morning telling them that if there was a height issue, we would go back and figure out something else to do. They agreed. The kids are 7,8 & 10 and love to have fun. For the most part are pretty fearless.

Took a cab there - 150 pesos from PlayaCar Phase 1 - seemed a bit high, but there were 5 of us, no biggie - we are about a mile from the Colectivo station and didnt feel like walking there.
We get there, and spoke w/ one of the greeters there, they measure them up, and it was no problem. I think the height requirement, even know it says inches is in CM.

We got to the ticket counter about 9am, Guy working the counter spoke great English, all 3 kids were 1/2 price which was an added bonus!!! So 5 of us for $350.00 Yea, a little over our budget but we figured we are on vaca!
They give you a helmet that has an RF chip in it and you are on your way. More on the helmet later.

Kids wanted to do the zip lines first. Headed up there, after a quick intro, they strapped us into the harness. Just a quick word about the gear.
The harness is pretty much a standard harness that use for rappelling. The different being attached to your front loop are 2 trolly's. These are what clip you onto the line and allow you to "zip".
The trollys are all stainless steel and good quality. I forget the maker right now, but their fail strength was rated at over 20,000 lbs (I checked them out when I got back to the house) so even if one were to break, you are not going anywhere.
Also - there no way to slip out of the thing at all. You step into 2 leg loops and a waist loop, cinch everything up and you are good to go.
You are checked by at least 2 operators then a final inspection before you head up to the first tower.
Note to those that have never done this, wear shorts, this is especially true for the women. For the guys, face the fact that for the next hour you are going to be wearing what I nick named a Mexican nut hugger

The Staff/zip line operators IMO were top notch. You were NEVER un-cliped from them while being hooked in.
The basic set up is that you walk to the gate that separates you from clip in area. All the operators are clipped into the structure.
Before you enter the clip in area, they clip to you, you then walk onto the platform, where they clip you onto the line. They radio for an all clear at the other end. When its clear, they un clip from you from them and let you go. You get a great ride. At the other end, once you stop, that operator clips to you, then hey un-hooks you, walk you to the exit gate, then they unclip from you and you go to the next station. If you were to slip and some how managed to fall off the structure, you would just dangle for a bit. I was very impressed them, they checked our harnesses at almost every stop, were very friendly and all spoke English very well. (not that that mattered, it was just an added bonus).

There are 2 courses you can do, we opted for the Deer course first. So you get your harness, gets it checked out and then walk up a freaking HUGE tower. Like everyone else said - eat your Wheaties that morning. While you do have a little bit of climbing to do going from station to station, its honestly not too bad. But it is tiring after the 6th run!
There were 5 of us, several of the lines we were allowed to go tandum. My wife and my little one and the other 2 girls or Me and my little one and the other 2 girls. It seemed kind of random but after talking w/ them, it had to do w/ the wind. If it was blowing in your face, they wanted to make sure there was enough weight to make it to the end point. There were 2 times where it didnt happen. First was w/ my wife and little one on one of the long lines, they were about 25 yards short of the landing tower. The operator hooked up from the landing area and shuffled his way out and pulled them in. No biggie. My daughter thought that was the coolest thing.
Then later that day it happened to my middle daughter, she was about 100 yds short. Same thing, no biggie, they got her. Saw it happen a few other times as well, the winds were pretty good in the afternoon and they said that if dont pull your knees up, it will slow you down. So if you listen to them you will be fine.
Back on track.....so we did the first course and kids wanted to try the 2nd course. You walk back thru were you got your harness, and have to go thru inspection again before you get back on. Hiked up the tower and did the 2nd course. It was a blast. Just a tip - to get some major speed on these things, once you start going bring your knees to your chest as high as possible, almost to the point where your feet are at the top of the trolly holders, you will fly and it makes landing a blast!

Went thru the 2nd course and kids wanted to do the amphibian vehicle next.
It was fun. They are basically tricked out atvs but govered to death. Top speed is prolly 15mph, but thats kind of to be expected. Went thru about 4km of trails and caves. Kids liked it, dad wanted it to go faster

Decided to check out the river rafting next. Pretty cool idea, you get on a raft, put paddles on your hand and you paddle thru a cave water trail.
It was alot of fun, and not a bad work out. The only complaint I have about this, is that for some reason people dont understand how these things work and get stuck on the curves which in turn binds up traffic. My oldest got a little impatient w/ this woman in front of her, and eventually passed her on one of the wider sections. Water was chilly but very refreshing. There were 2 rivers we decided on doing only one and hit the other one after lunch.

Off to lunch. This is where this place got very mixed reviews. Here is my take on it. Lunch was a buffet, with a decent variety of food. Now realize you are not in America, don't expect american food. They did have Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, but everything else was very non american. Tons of fruits, some local dishes, salads, etc. It was great to see a very healthy buffet. I think people that though the food was blah is b/c they are comparing it to golden corral. The place was very clean and presented very well. Some of sea food was to die for.
All in all - I thought it was great.

After lunch kids wanted to zip line again, so back again for another round of the mexican nut huggers

I actually took in more of the view this time. Its beautiful, you can see the city of Playa-del-carmen as well as Cozumel across the water.
Got done w/ that and headed to the Juice bar they have there. Added bonus they have milkshakes! Grabbed a "zip line" which was vanilla, peanut cream and a few other things mixed it. Hit the spot perfectly! Kids had some water and split a milkshake. Next to it is the Hammock zip, where you sit in one of those chair hammocks you see everywhere and zip line down into the water. It goes out then you take another one back, so we gave that a whirl. It was ok - kids thought it was the coolest thing ever and did it a few more times, the wife and I watched from above.
They wanted to do the 4x4s again this time b/c it was our 2nd time we were put on a different track. This one was much cooler than the first, a bit tighter and more tunnels. We ended up getting stuck after coming out of one of the wet tunnels, our tires were just spinning. Must have been happening alot b/c an operator was right there, we put it in low gear and it climbed right out. Got done w/ that and it was about 4:30. Kids wanted to go back to the hammock zip so we ended our day there. They rode it about 5 time until closing.
It ended up being a great day!

A few overall observations.

Value. We are a family of 5 - the total of this day was $350.00 - it included all rides, all drinks and all food. If you compare this to a theme park in the US - its pretty close. Entrance fee will run you 60 per adult and 40 per child.
Thats 240, food for 5 will run at least 50 bux and drinks thru out the day about the same - so its pretty close.
I thought the value was right on par.

Technology. You have to love technology and this place takes advantage of it. In each helmet is an RF chip. There are cameras all over the park on the rides, so pics get snapped of you all day. There is an RF reader that reads you, then takes your picture. You can go to many Kiosks thru the park stand on a specific spot your RF card is read automatically and your pic appear in front of you. Pretty slick system.

Pictures. This is one major pet peeve of mine. Digital images cost nothing, to buy a picture package, the low end is 79 bux. If you want all the images of your family (5 of us) it would be $149.00 USD. I mean come on - I just dont understand this business model at all. Make that price 39.00 I would bet almost every family would buy one. Kind of pisses me off. You shell out some good size coin - then get raped for pictures. Very annoying. Pretty much the one downer I have about this place.

Layout. This was actually pretty cool. There is literally a Huge heart right in the center of the park (with a loud beat). Each attraction is off a path from this point. Makes for a great meeting point if anyone gets lost, as well as just something cool.

Overall - we very much enjoyed this place. And would probably do it again.
Our kids want to go again tomorrow

I will say that you WILL do a fair amount of walking and some climbing. If you are out of shape, you will probably hate this place if you do the zip lines.

Babaloo · 05-12-2011

Great review.

Thanks for taking the time!

TMel · 05-13-2011

Thanks for your review!! We just bought tickets for our group of 9, so to hear some positive things (in detail) makes us that more excited =)

I do incline/resistance exercises daily so I'm looking forward to the built in workout

maestranba · 05-13-2011

Thanks for all the details! I really want to go there but dread the thought of climbing in the August heat. How do you think it would be at say...90 degrees with 100% humidity? Would it still be worth the $$?

rob_v · 05-15-2011

Honestly - if you do the ziplines first - then I would say yes. Both courses have a few water landings, which will keep you cool - plus you are flying thru the air which will keep you cool.
The rest of the park (w/ the exception of the atvs) is underground in a cave. Its cool, and the water is very refreshing.
I think it would be fine.

actran · 05-15-2011

Great review. Thanks. Makes me realize this would be way too much work on a vacation for me, (plus there is that whole fear of heights thing), but it sounds like you all had a great time.

Jacko · 05-16-2011

Thanks for the great, thorough review!

05-12-2011	#1 (permalink)
rob_v lost on fifth Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 12	Xplor Review I know there are a few others on here that have reviewed this, but I figured I'd chime in as well and give a not so quick report on our trip there. My wife and I have done zip lining in several other places and have always had a blast. Kids really wanted to go so we went there in the morning telling them that if there was a height issue, we would go back and figure out something else to do. They agreed. The kids are 7,8 & 10 and love to have fun. For the most part are pretty fearless. Took a cab there - 150 pesos from PlayaCar Phase 1 - seemed a bit high, but there were 5 of us, no biggie - we are about a mile from the Colectivo station and didnt feel like walking there. We get there, and spoke w/ one of the greeters there, they measure them up, and it was no problem. I think the height requirement, even know it says inches is in CM. We got to the ticket counter about 9am, Guy working the counter spoke great English, all 3 kids were 1/2 price which was an added bonus!!! So 5 of us for $350.00 Yea, a little over our budget but we figured we are on vaca! They give you a helmet that has an RF chip in it and you are on your way. More on the helmet later. Kids wanted to do the zip lines first. Headed up there, after a quick intro, they strapped us into the harness. Just a quick word about the gear. The harness is pretty much a standard harness that use for rappelling. The different being attached to your front loop are 2 trolly's. These are what clip you onto the line and allow you to "zip". The trollys are all stainless steel and good quality. I forget the maker right now, but their fail strength was rated at over 20,000 lbs (I checked them out when I got back to the house) so even if one were to break, you are not going anywhere. Also - there no way to slip out of the thing at all. You step into 2 leg loops and a waist loop, cinch everything up and you are good to go. You are checked by at least 2 operators then a final inspection before you head up to the first tower. Note to those that have never done this, wear shorts, this is especially true for the women. For the guys, face the fact that for the next hour you are going to be wearing what I nick named a Mexican nut hugger The Staff/zip line operators IMO were top notch. You were NEVER un-cliped from them while being hooked in. The basic set up is that you walk to the gate that separates you from clip in area. All the operators are clipped into the structure. Before you enter the clip in area, they clip to you, you then walk onto the platform, where they clip you onto the line. They radio for an all clear at the other end. When its clear, they un clip from you from them and let you go. You get a great ride. At the other end, once you stop, that operator clips to you, then hey un-hooks you, walk you to the exit gate, then they unclip from you and you go to the next station. If you were to slip and some how managed to fall off the structure, you would just dangle for a bit. I was very impressed them, they checked our harnesses at almost every stop, were very friendly and all spoke English very well. (not that that mattered, it was just an added bonus). There are 2 courses you can do, we opted for the Deer course first. So you get your harness, gets it checked out and then walk up a freaking HUGE tower. Like everyone else said - eat your Wheaties that morning. While you do have a little bit of climbing to do going from station to station, its honestly not too bad. But it is tiring after the 6th run! There were 5 of us, several of the lines we were allowed to go tandum. My wife and my little one and the other 2 girls or Me and my little one and the other 2 girls. It seemed kind of random but after talking w/ them, it had to do w/ the wind. If it was blowing in your face, they wanted to make sure there was enough weight to make it to the end point. There were 2 times where it didnt happen. First was w/ my wife and little one on one of the long lines, they were about 25 yards short of the landing tower. The operator hooked up from the landing area and shuffled his way out and pulled them in. No biggie. My daughter thought that was the coolest thing. Then later that day it happened to my middle daughter, she was about 100 yds short. Same thing, no biggie, they got her. Saw it happen a few other times as well, the winds were pretty good in the afternoon and they said that if dont pull your knees up, it will slow you down. So if you listen to them you will be fine. Back on track.....so we did the first course and kids wanted to try the 2nd course. You walk back thru were you got your harness, and have to go thru inspection again before you get back on. Hiked up the tower and did the 2nd course. It was a blast. Just a tip - to get some major speed on these things, once you start going bring your knees to your chest as high as possible, almost to the point where your feet are at the top of the trolly holders, you will fly and it makes landing a blast! Went thru the 2nd course and kids wanted to do the amphibian vehicle next. It was fun. They are basically tricked out atvs but govered to death. Top speed is prolly 15mph, but thats kind of to be expected. Went thru about 4km of trails and caves. Kids liked it, dad wanted it to go faster Decided to check out the river rafting next. Pretty cool idea, you get on a raft, put paddles on your hand and you paddle thru a cave water trail. It was alot of fun, and not a bad work out. The only complaint I have about this, is that for some reason people dont understand how these things work and get stuck on the curves which in turn binds up traffic. My oldest got a little impatient w/ this woman in front of her, and eventually passed her on one of the wider sections. Water was chilly but very refreshing. There were 2 rivers we decided on doing only one and hit the other one after lunch. Off to lunch. This is where this place got very mixed reviews. Here is my take on it. Lunch was a buffet, with a decent variety of food. Now realize you are not in America, don't expect american food. They did have Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, but everything else was very non american. Tons of fruits, some local dishes, salads, etc. It was great to see a very healthy buffet. I think people that though the food was blah is b/c they are comparing it to golden corral. The place was very clean and presented very well. Some of sea food was to die for. All in all - I thought it was great. After lunch kids wanted to zip line again, so back again for another round of the mexican nut huggers I actually took in more of the view this time. Its beautiful, you can see the city of Playa-del-carmen as well as Cozumel across the water. Got done w/ that and headed to the Juice bar they have there. Added bonus they have milkshakes! Grabbed a "zip line" which was vanilla, peanut cream and a few other things mixed it. Hit the spot perfectly! Kids had some water and split a milkshake. Next to it is the Hammock zip, where you sit in one of those chair hammocks you see everywhere and zip line down into the water. It goes out then you take another one back, so we gave that a whirl. It was ok - kids thought it was the coolest thing ever and did it a few more times, the wife and I watched from above. They wanted to do the 4x4s again this time b/c it was our 2nd time we were put on a different track. This one was much cooler than the first, a bit tighter and more tunnels. We ended up getting stuck after coming out of one of the wet tunnels, our tires were just spinning. Must have been happening alot b/c an operator was right there, we put it in low gear and it climbed right out. Got done w/ that and it was about 4:30. Kids wanted to go back to the hammock zip so we ended our day there. They rode it about 5 time until closing. It ended up being a great day! A few overall observations. Value. We are a family of 5 - the total of this day was $350.00 - it included all rides, all drinks and all food. If you compare this to a theme park in the US - its pretty close. Entrance fee will run you 60 per adult and 40 per child. Thats 240, food for 5 will run at least 50 bux and drinks thru out the day about the same - so its pretty close. I thought the value was right on par. Technology. You have to love technology and this place takes advantage of it. In each helmet is an RF chip. There are cameras all over the park on the rides, so pics get snapped of you all day. There is an RF reader that reads you, then takes your picture. You can go to many Kiosks thru the park stand on a specific spot your RF card is read automatically and your pic appear in front of you. Pretty slick system. Pictures. This is one major pet peeve of mine. Digital images cost nothing, to buy a picture package, the low end is 79 bux. If you want all the images of your family (5 of us) it would be $149.00 USD. I mean come on - I just dont understand this business model at all. Make that price 39.00 I would bet almost every family would buy one. Kind of pisses me off. You shell out some good size coin - then get raped for pictures. Very annoying. Pretty much the one downer I have about this place. Layout. This was actually pretty cool. There is literally a Huge heart right in the center of the park (with a loud beat). Each attraction is off a path from this point. Makes for a great meeting point if anyone gets lost, as well as just something cool. Overall - we very much enjoyed this place. And would probably do it again. Our kids want to go again tomorrow I will say that you WILL do a fair amount of walking and some climbing. If you are out of shape, you will probably hate this place if you do the zip lines.

05-12-2011	#2 (permalink)
Babaloo añejo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 22,452	Great review. Thanks for taking the time!

05-13-2011	#3 (permalink)
TMel life=playa Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: York, Maine Posts: 774	Thanks for your review!! We just bought tickets for our group of 9, so to hear some positive things (in detail) makes us that more excited =) I do incline/resistance exercises daily so I'm looking forward to the built in workout

05-13-2011	#4 (permalink)
maestranba añejo Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Connecticut Posts: 4,102	Thanks for all the details! I really want to go there but dread the thought of climbing in the August heat. How do you think it would be at say...90 degrees with 100% humidity? Would it still be worth the $$?

05-15-2011	#5 (permalink)
rob_v lost on fifth Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 12	Honestly - if you do the ziplines first - then I would say yes. Both courses have a few water landings, which will keep you cool - plus you are flying thru the air which will keep you cool. The rest of the park (w/ the exception of the atvs) is underground in a cave. Its cool, and the water is very refreshing. I think it would be fine.

05-15-2011	#6 (permalink)
actran reposado Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,492	Great review. Thanks. Makes me realize this would be way too much work on a vacation for me, (plus there is that whole fear of heights thing), but it sounds like you all had a great time.

05-16-2011	#7 (permalink)
Jacko añejo Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 30,889	Thanks for the great, thorough review!

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