Orlando recap and other items.
Somehow I caught some nasty cold bug while in FL. Some nights there I slept fitfully and felt clammy, and one morning there (I think it was the second morning) I woke up with an extremely stuffy nose. That progressed to a runny nose, which progressed to a sore throat, and my nose plagued me the rest of the trip (one day I blew my nose so much all the sunscreen wore off. That was a funny sight!). I felt better on Monday, but now I am ever sicker than before. My chest and throat hurt from coughing every couple minutes. To make it worse nothing seems to be helping and we have to leave for New Hampshire on Saturday morning. So anyway, I'm updating to take my mind off of how bad I feel.
Last week (on Wednesday) I left with Ryan's family for a 6am flight to Orlando. It was my first plane ride, and while take-off scared me everything else went fine. Being up above the clouds was really neat! Landing sucked because I got really sharp pains in my ears. The rest of the day was spent checking into the hotel, getting luggage in order, and then we went to Downtonwn Disney. Shopping and eating galore! We went to Rainforest Cafe, took some pictures, and Ryan and I rode on this really pretty carousel. It was a pretty long day 'cause we'd been awake since 4am!
Thursday was my favorite day - We went to Magic Kingdom. Despite the fact that I am 20 years old, and that I kept reminding myself that everything in Disney is "fake", I absolutely LOVED it! I squealed at everything in Magic Kingdom. (Especially when I saw the castle for the first time!)
At MK I remember we rode Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Star Command, Mad Hatter's Teacups, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Maybe more; I know we also rode the monorail tour and Ryan and I went to the Monster's Inc Laughfloor show. We show a really cute show at the castle stage almost right after we came in. It all the Disney prince and princesses and lots of major characters like Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck. Thursday evening Ryan and I changed and went back to MK. We really wanted to eat at Tony's Town Square Resturant but it was fully booked. :( So we ended up getting same salads at the "Pinochio Haus" and eating outside. It was fun anyway because I kept telling Ryan we could make the best out of anything :) (which we did the entire trip <3). After "dinner" we rode the huge Cinderella carousel and watched the "Wishes" fireworks show. It was beautiful!!
Friday was spent at MGM studios until a huge thunderstorm came late that afternoon. Starting that day it rained every night we were there. I liked MGM because I saw things from so many movies that I like. We were going to see an Indiana Jones stunt show, but to my extreme disapointment all but one act of the show was canceled due to lightning. The best thing about MGM for me was how retro and yet real the streets and decorations were. We saw some great shows including the Muppet's 3D Show and rode "The Great Movie Ride".
Saturday felt really busy and tiring. We had to cram two parks in because we had three-day park-hopper passes, and for me it was especially frustrating because I had never been to Disney. First we went to Animal Kindom, which is really marvelous. The best part about there was riding the Mt. Everest roller coaster. It's the only really "big" ride I rode that weeked. I was scared to death to get on but I ended up loving it!
Ryan and I went on a little walking tour of jungle animals while the rest of the family headed to Epcot. We liked seeing the African fish, gorillas, and birds. After lunch we went over to Epcot, which wayyy more than I dreamed. I loved the World Lagoon, which he and I covered in about two hours. We took pictures in England, France, and Italy, and rode a Donald Duck boat in Mexico.
If I could I would go back to Epcot and spend an entire day just looking at all the different country's shops and eating different things. There's also so many things I wished I could buy. Shopping was hard the whole trip. I was really careful not to spend on the first thing I saw, but it was hard to eventually decide on what I wanted (plus finding things for my family). Everywhere I went I saw things I wanted for my brother! I also got really overheated in Epcot from trying so hard to see everything :-X. Ryan was also sick for some of trip, so we took turns just resting and taking care of each other. In Epcot we didn't ride a lot, but we did do "Soarin'". So cool!!! You sit in this ski lift thing and get taken about 6 ft off the floor and watch a screen. You watch these pictures that take you on a miny journey over California, and it's so real! You swoop over waterfalls, drop into canyons, and smell pines and oranges. I even ducked when a golf ball "flew" towards me! You end up in Disneyland, CA and sail right up into fireworks. It was amazing. :) It was crazy how real a lot of the shows and effects I saw that week were.
That night it rained again but Ryan and I rushed back over to Epcot to see "Illuminations", the fireworks show. We got so wet and were unsure about whether we should even go. But Ryan was really patient and said we should try anyway, and with minutes to spare we made it to Epcot and ran to where the fireworks were. Also amazing, but for me not as good as "Wishes".
Sunday we all relaxed by the pool, had an early dinner at Planet Hollywood, and finished shopping in Downtown Disney. Over the week I ended up buying- Legos and a bunch of other stuff for my brother, a necklace for my mom, a game for my dad, and a photo album, mug, and dress for myself. The dress wasn't even Disney-related, it was this awesome black dress I found in the Billabong shop in Downtown Disney. Ryan bought me a Mickey necklace and bracelet, so I didn't feel like I needed to buy much else for myself.
Monday was packing up, hanging by the pool, and flying home. We ended up getting first class because our seats had to be switched around! I didn't really care for it because the chair was so big I couldn't get comfortable, plus being right behind the cockpit made me even more nervous than I already was. When we landed it took a few hours for my ears to pop. It was really nice to get home. :)
For lots more pictures visit my facebook album (it's public).
In other news, I am getting really excited to see Aunt Patti and spend all of next week with her! I'm sure NH is going to beautiful. Another random note; August seems to be the month of death for household appliances. In a matter of two weeks our refrigerator, ceiling fan, and TV have all broken!
I know I should be glad for all this fun and traveling, but I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to normal. I know projects are waiting for me at work, I need to starting planning the church Christmas play, and my extra credits are still not done. September is my final shove!
Talk to you next month! <3 (And for Pete's sake, leave a comment. My journal is feeling unappreciated! )
Last week (on Wednesday) I left with Ryan's family for a 6am flight to Orlando. It was my first plane ride, and while take-off scared me everything else went fine. Being up above the clouds was really neat! Landing sucked because I got really sharp pains in my ears. The rest of the day was spent checking into the hotel, getting luggage in order, and then we went to Downtonwn Disney. Shopping and eating galore! We went to Rainforest Cafe, took some pictures, and Ryan and I rode on this really pretty carousel. It was a pretty long day 'cause we'd been awake since 4am!
Thursday was my favorite day - We went to Magic Kingdom. Despite the fact that I am 20 years old, and that I kept reminding myself that everything in Disney is "fake", I absolutely LOVED it! I squealed at everything in Magic Kingdom. (Especially when I saw the castle for the first time!)
At MK I remember we rode Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Star Command, Mad Hatter's Teacups, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Maybe more; I know we also rode the monorail tour and Ryan and I went to the Monster's Inc Laughfloor show. We show a really cute show at the castle stage almost right after we came in. It all the Disney prince and princesses and lots of major characters like Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck. Thursday evening Ryan and I changed and went back to MK. We really wanted to eat at Tony's Town Square Resturant but it was fully booked. :( So we ended up getting same salads at the "Pinochio Haus" and eating outside. It was fun anyway because I kept telling Ryan we could make the best out of anything :) (which we did the entire trip <3). After "dinner" we rode the huge Cinderella carousel and watched the "Wishes" fireworks show. It was beautiful!!
Friday was spent at MGM studios until a huge thunderstorm came late that afternoon. Starting that day it rained every night we were there. I liked MGM because I saw things from so many movies that I like. We were going to see an Indiana Jones stunt show, but to my extreme disapointment all but one act of the show was canceled due to lightning. The best thing about MGM for me was how retro and yet real the streets and decorations were. We saw some great shows including the Muppet's 3D Show and rode "The Great Movie Ride".
Saturday felt really busy and tiring. We had to cram two parks in because we had three-day park-hopper passes, and for me it was especially frustrating because I had never been to Disney. First we went to Animal Kindom, which is really marvelous. The best part about there was riding the Mt. Everest roller coaster. It's the only really "big" ride I rode that weeked. I was scared to death to get on but I ended up loving it!
Ryan and I went on a little walking tour of jungle animals while the rest of the family headed to Epcot. We liked seeing the African fish, gorillas, and birds. After lunch we went over to Epcot, which wayyy more than I dreamed. I loved the World Lagoon, which he and I covered in about two hours. We took pictures in England, France, and Italy, and rode a Donald Duck boat in Mexico.
If I could I would go back to Epcot and spend an entire day just looking at all the different country's shops and eating different things. There's also so many things I wished I could buy. Shopping was hard the whole trip. I was really careful not to spend on the first thing I saw, but it was hard to eventually decide on what I wanted (plus finding things for my family). Everywhere I went I saw things I wanted for my brother! I also got really overheated in Epcot from trying so hard to see everything :-X. Ryan was also sick for some of trip, so we took turns just resting and taking care of each other. In Epcot we didn't ride a lot, but we did do "Soarin'". So cool!!! You sit in this ski lift thing and get taken about 6 ft off the floor and watch a screen. You watch these pictures that take you on a miny journey over California, and it's so real! You swoop over waterfalls, drop into canyons, and smell pines and oranges. I even ducked when a golf ball "flew" towards me! You end up in Disneyland, CA and sail right up into fireworks. It was amazing. :) It was crazy how real a lot of the shows and effects I saw that week were.
That night it rained again but Ryan and I rushed back over to Epcot to see "Illuminations", the fireworks show. We got so wet and were unsure about whether we should even go. But Ryan was really patient and said we should try anyway, and with minutes to spare we made it to Epcot and ran to where the fireworks were. Also amazing, but for me not as good as "Wishes".
Sunday we all relaxed by the pool, had an early dinner at Planet Hollywood, and finished shopping in Downtown Disney. Over the week I ended up buying- Legos and a bunch of other stuff for my brother, a necklace for my mom, a game for my dad, and a photo album, mug, and dress for myself. The dress wasn't even Disney-related, it was this awesome black dress I found in the Billabong shop in Downtown Disney. Ryan bought me a Mickey necklace and bracelet, so I didn't feel like I needed to buy much else for myself.
Monday was packing up, hanging by the pool, and flying home. We ended up getting first class because our seats had to be switched around! I didn't really care for it because the chair was so big I couldn't get comfortable, plus being right behind the cockpit made me even more nervous than I already was. When we landed it took a few hours for my ears to pop. It was really nice to get home. :)
For lots more pictures visit my facebook album (it's public).
In other news, I am getting really excited to see Aunt Patti and spend all of next week with her! I'm sure NH is going to beautiful. Another random note; August seems to be the month of death for household appliances. In a matter of two weeks our refrigerator, ceiling fan, and TV have all broken!
I know I should be glad for all this fun and traveling, but I'm kind of looking forward to getting back to normal. I know projects are waiting for me at work, I need to starting planning the church Christmas play, and my extra credits are still not done. September is my final shove!
Talk to you next month! <3 (And for Pete's sake, leave a comment. My journal is feeling unappreciated! )