Disney World
As most of you know, I was in Disney World with my family from July 6th to the 13th. I have already been to Disney World once before, 5 years ago, but the first time I only went to MGM and Magic Kingdom and didn't do nearly everything there. I still haven't done everything (it would take years), but at least now I can truly say I've been to Disney. This is the first chance I get to write about it, so here it goes. (Disclaimer: This will be VERY long. I write this stuff for myself to read later, for fun or because I am going back and want to know what I liked/disliked, etc. So feel free to read it, but it will take a while.)
THURSDAY:
I had to wake up at 5AM. We were picked up in a limo van that brought us to Logan Airport. My friggin' mom doesn't know how to pack (ie. she packs like every female) so we had a shitload of bags. Anyways, our flight was at 8:20. We got through everything quickly and painlessly and had plenty of time to spare.
The flight lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes. It was a Delta Song plane (we flew Delta, but Song doesn't exist anymore, but Delta still uses their planes). There were TV's on the seat in front of us. It had television, movies (for $5), yahoo games (for $5), and free trivia. I played some trivia for a while. Most of the trip I played Texas Hold 'Em Poker (Limits) with my dad on the TV. It cost $5, but it was well worth it to rag on him the rest of the week that I took him for $700. Basically, the flight flew by and wasn't that bad until the landing. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE to fly. I would rather drive for 24 hours straight than fly. Well, the landing was terrible. My head was so sick and my ears popped like crazy. I wound up feeling sick and not being able to hear for the rest of the day. REAL sick.
After the flight, my dad went to go rent a car while we got the luggage. We rented a white Lincoln Towncar. We already had an SUV on reserve, but they fucked up, didn't have the car, made us wait over an hour, and then gave us this one instead. At 2PM, we made it to the hotel to check-in. We had a condo at the Horizon Marriot (#1036) near Sea World (right off International Dr.). There was a master bedroom (1 king bed--for my parents) and a guest bedroom (2 queen beds--for Derek and I), each with a full bathroom. Also, there was a fully stocked kitchen with all appliances, and a huge living room with a couch (pull-out--for Nicky) and a few chairs. Christopher was rotated, sleeping in a different bed every night. Also, there was a small screened-in patio with a table and chairs. Basically, the place was awesome and 10-15 people could fit there comfortably and not need to bring anything other than food and clothes. And we got it for just about nothing because we traded in our time-share for it. Awesome.
After unpacking, my father and I went to Publix to go food shopping. We bought a ton of snacks, cold cuts for lunch, drinks, breakfast stuff, and some alcohol (margaritas, Heineken, Absolute Raspberry, and mudslides). Everyone went to go to the pool and check out the area, but I still felt sick so I stayed in my room, laid down, and read the Da Vinci Code.
At around 4 or 5, we went to Epcot. We bought a 7 day pass to Disney for each of us ($65 for one day, $200 for 7), so we didn't mind going in there for just a few hours. The way Epcot is set-up is that there is Future World, which has all of the rides, and World Showcase, which has a bunch of countries. Every country has famous landscapes, monuments, or architecture from the country. Also, there are shops and restaurants with authentic food, drinks, alcohol, and gifts from that country. Finally, most countries have performances and/or rides or movies about the country. It was really cool (even though we didn't see it until later in the week). We went to the World Showcase, but we didn't do everything or even glance at most things except what I say below. I went into the Rose and Crown Pub in the U.K. with my dad and drank a Bass to get out of the rain. We watched the 8th Street Band, which was a cover-band of Billy Joel music in the "American Adventure."
After that we ate dinner in China. The building was this huge thing that looked like a Chinese palace. It was normal chinese food (minus the appetizers) and wasn't very good. I drank a Shanghai Surprise and a Tsing Tsao.
Next, we went to Mexico and went on their boat ride. It was similar to the "It's a Small World" ride where you just float along and there are dolls dancing and music playing, the only difference is that these were all Mexican. The last thing we did was that we watched their Light/Fireworks Show. It was about 15 minutes long, but it was awesome. It was choreographed to music. All of the buildings in the World Showcase had Christmas lights on them. Also, they had flames go up 200 ft. high on boats and we could feel the heat across the lake. It was a good show.
After the fireworks show, we left Epcot and went back to the hotel. At 10, we could see Sea World's fireworks show from our porch while I talked to Samantha. After that, we played Wist which is an AMAZING 4 player card game, similar to Hearts. While playing, we made margaritas, which everyone but Chris drank.
FRIDAY:
We woke up early and had breakfast of eggs and a bagel and then set off for MGM by 10. The first thing we did is we went on the Star Wars Flight Simulator. It was one of those things that make you feel like you are moving by shaking the chair and putting you in front of a large movie screen. It wasn't that great. The next thing we did was we watched the Lights, Motors, Action show. It was a car/motorcycle stunt show that showed you how they did the stunts and then afterwords it showed you the movie they just created. It was basically 30 minutes of jumps, fires, drifting, and driving backwards. It was awesome. The only problem was the heat was ridiculous, like 95 and incredibly humid. Next, we watched Muppet Vision 3D, mostly to get out of the heat. All of the 3D movies are amazing, by far the best things I did. They were hilarious and they added special effects (examples, a dog sneezes on you... you get squirted with water; a muppet flies at you... you turn around and there is one crashed through the wall behind you; etc.). This one was by far the funniest and my favorite 3D movie. I forgot to mention after every ride/show there is a shop with souvenirs specific to that ride/show. This muppet show was no different. I was going to buy Samantha a pink Beaker shirt (her favorite muppet), but there were only kid sizes. At this time it started to downpour, almost as bad as a monsoon. That's how the weather was all week, it either was pouring so bad that roads flooding in minutes or it was so hot and humid that your shirt flooded in minutes. Not a great time to go to central Florida. Anyways, to get out of the rain, we stopped in Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade and ate lunch. We each got an individual pizza. Like everywhere else in Disney the food was good but not great and was well overpriced and the portions were terrible. They need a Dettorre's down there (interesting side note: My father was offered to buy a spot in 3 different malls, including one in the cape. He said the time isn't right, since this one just opened, and they are too far away, but he is going to look into it for the future. Watch out for the large chain of Dettorre's 10-20 years in the future ;P). After eating, we went to watch the Beauty and the Beast show. It started with 4 people doing a nice singing/Matisyahu-like performance. When they were done, they called a girl up to the stage because it was her birthday. They asked her name, age, etc. and she never answered them. Then she started balling her eyes out. High comedy. Well, the show was surprisingly really good. They basically did the movie in a 35 minute performance of song and dance. All of the songs from the movie were in there and done great and the costumes were beautiful (esp. the girls corsets ;P). After the show, my brothers, mother, and I went to go on the rides. Chris and my dad don't like rides (ie. scared) and didn't go on any all week. First, we went on Tower of Terror. I had been on it before. It is good, and you lose your stomach (which I love), but it is way too short and you never quite drop far enough. We didn't buy a picture although we should have because my mother looked terrified. We didn't buy any of the pictures, although every "adult" ride offers one. My mother now ditched us to get out of the rain (Even though she spent $10 on one of those stupid clear garbage bags with Mickey on the back to stay dry. I would rather be wet.), so my brothers and I went to Aerosmith's Rock 'n Roller Coaster. Once again I had gone on it before. No big drops, it just goes really fast indoors and I think there was a flip once. It was one of the best coasters in Disney, but that's not saying much. You go to Disney for the shows and atmosphere not the food and coasters. I learned that the hard way.
We left MGM after this, there was a bunch more to do, but my family had been there 3 times (me twice) and had already done most of it. We never would wind up going back to MGM. Anyway, I drank a beer and a Mudslide while playing Wist and waiting until it was time to go to dinner at around 7:30. We went to Bermuda Breeze for dinner. The place was awesome, there was a great bar, an unreal alcohol menu, and live entertainment. We didn't even care that there was a 60 minute wait for a table, I could have stayed there all night. I accidentally got some Berry frozen chick drink that sucked (ie. chick drink=not strong) and a mojito, which was great. The food was really good, probably the best of the week. We got Habenero Wings and Calamari for an appetizer. They were awesome but the wings were INCREDIBLY hot. The hottest I have ever had. For dinner I got an Aruba Red beer, which was very good, and a Filet Mignon, which was awesome but too small-like all F.M. After dinner, I bought a Kahlua cigar which I smoked on the porch while talking to Samantha. Great day--best food of the trip and the best of the 4 Disney parks.
SATURDAY:
Today, we were off to Animal Kingdom at around 9AM. We got there extra early, right when the park opens, because we heard that is when the animals are out. When we first walked in, it was like going to a zoo. Every where you looked there were different animals behind a fence, but close enough that you could touch them. At first we went to the Africa Section. We went on the Pagani Forest Walking Trail. This is where you walk around on a trail and look at different birds and other animals, all native to Africa. Also, there were fact sheets, with pictures, telling you about the different species. Every once in a while there was a building with cages, showing smaller animals like snakes and insects. It was really cool. Next, was the best part of the park. It was the African safari. It was a 30 minute safari tour where you got ridiculously close to everything: hippos, giraffes (which walked right up to the jeep), lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, zebras, elepahants, and much much more. We got tons of pictures of this. Following the tour, we went to the Asia section of the park. The whole family went on a white water rafting ride. It was decently fun, but for the 95 degree weather, we didn't get nearly wet enough. Also, we went on a Jungle Trek, which was the Asian walking tour and was just as cool only with different animals/species. The last thing we wanted to do was go on the new roller coaster, Expedition Everest, but the wait was 2 hours. Derek had someone give him a single Fastpass (We used them all week. Basically, you can have one at a time and it allows you to go right into a ride--ie. 10 minute wait instead of an hour. The only problem is that you have to go to the ride to get one and then wait like 2-5 hours before you can use it), and they were out so we couldn't get more, so he got to go on. He said it was the best ride in Disney, and it was one of the many things I wished I had gotten to do. The next section of the park we went to was DinoLand. It was mostly carnival style with kiddy rides and carnival style games. The only decent looking ride there was the Primeval Whirl, which I went on with Nicky and it wasn't too bad. Then, we were going to go on the Dinosaur ride (real ride outside of the carnival section) but it was broken. The last section in the park was Discovery Island. This is where the Tree of Life is (If you have ever been to Disney you know that every park has a huge, awesome thing that you see right when you walk in: Epcot=ball, Magic Kingdom=Cinderella's castle, MGM=magic hat from Fantasia, Animal Kingdom=Tree of Life). The Tree of Life claims to have every animal carved into this huge (fake) tree. It was really cool. While here, we went to see A Bug's Life in 3D. This show was really good and almost as cool as the Muppet's one. This one had more of the smoke/water stuff that made you jump. At this time, it was around 1PM and we left the park having done about half of it. We could have used more time here, but there is only so much you can do. I would say that it is the smallest park, with the least to do, and my 3rd favorite (or second to worst), ahead of only Magic Kingdom, which is only there for the younger kids anyways, so for its purpose it is probably the best park. Basically, I am saying that Michael Eisner screwed up with his newest park... just go to Sea World instead.
From about 1PM to 5, I read The Da Vinci Code, which is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I won't give away anything that happens, but the code and action is incredible. Even the history is great, it is so well-researched that you think you are reading a history book. I never wanted to put it down and I wasn't disappointed with the ending. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.
Anyway, at about 5, we went to Downtown Disney. This is the place with all of the night clubs, restaurants, and shopping. It is actually a pretty cool place that you could spend a few days at. Instead, we only spent a few hours and didn't go back, which was kind of disappointing, but I had been there before and you can only do so much in one week. We went to the House of Blues for dinner. This place is in 3 sections: the restaurant, the shop, and the club, where there is a concert every night, including Disturbed, Pink, Dashboard Confessions, and many more just this month. I had a burger and fries, a Heineken, and a Howlin' Wolf (my new favorite drink--JD, Peach Schnapps, and cranberry juice served on the rocks). It was ok, but I had expected better. My mother's order was screwed up wicked bad. She likes her steak well-done and the waitress put it in as medium. It came out purple. Then, she had it recooked, but the waitress this time put it in as medium to medium-well, even though my mom said well-done to medium-well. It had to be cooked again. We were all done with our meals 10 minutes before she got hers. It wound up being free, but needless to say, she was pissed. Next, we went to see Cirque du Soleil, but the tickets were $600 for the family, so we didn't go. We walked through the string of night clubs and bars, called Pleasure Island. It looked like so much fun, but I never made it there, mostly because I had no one to go with. We went by the Lego store, which has huge lego constructions in the main walkway, including a hundred foot long sea monster in the lake. They had some really cool stuff. Lastly, we went to World of Disney, which was the giant Disney store, the largest one in Orlando. There was so much more to do, but it was about 10 and we headed back.
SUNDAY:
First, a little note. ITALY WON THE WORLD CUP!!! Woohoo! I had been rooting for them all tournament; yes, even over the US. They final score was 1-1, but they beat France 5-3 on penalty kicks. The highlight of the game though was the Zinedine Zidane (best player and captain of France) headbutt on Italian player, Marco Materazzi because he allegedly called him a "terrorist." Look it up if you haven't seen it, high quality comedy.
Anyways, we went to the Magic Kingdom at around 1PM. Today, like yesterday was very warm and dry all day. There is so much to do here, because this was the first park, but we tried to do everything we wanted to do in one day. First we went to Adventure land. The only thing we wanted to do here was go on the Pirate's of the Caribbean ride. It was just reopened this week. It is a boat ride, where you see scenes of pirates (much like the Mexican ride and "It's a Small World"), but now there is also Jack Sparrow in it. There was other stuff to do here, but we rushed along to Frontierland. Here, the 4 of us went on "big kid" rides, while my dad and Chris watched a parade of Disney characters. We went on Splash Mountain, which is a very cool water ride with a decent drop, but otherwise it is not very good. It does nothing other than the drop, which isn't even far enough (50 feet), and you don't get very wet, and we REALLY needed to cool off. After, we went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster, which has to be the worst roller coaster world-wide. I could walk faster than this thing and all it does is spiral around a mountain--no drops, no twists, nothing.
We all ate lunch at the Plaza Restaurant. Like everywhere else in Disney (except Epcot), the food wasn't great, the atmosphere was average, the prices were ridiculous, and the menu had 5 or less items. I got a burger and fries again, but only because there was nothing else to choose from. For dessert, everyone got (or split) banana splits except for me because I got a NY strawberry cheesecake.
After lunch, we went to Liberty Square, where once again there was a ton to do, but we did the only thing we wanted to do, which was the Haunted Mansion. You sit in a chair that glides around and gives you a tour of the mansion, while scary noises are blaring. It was actually kind of cool and definitely frightening for the little ones. We went back to the main section of the park, where all the restaurants (including where we ate) and shops are, to stand in front of the castle and watch Cinderellabration. It is a show with all of the Disney "princesses" to initiate Cinderella as a princess. Basically, the whole show was "If you believe, your dreams can come true and you can be a princess too." It was great for a 7 year old girl, but needless to say, no one in my family liked it. Based on the other shows in Disney I thought it could be decent, but it was wicked lame. Finally, we came to Fantasyland, which is the largest section of the park and was the original Disney World park (which expanded to a bigger Magic Kingdom, expanded to more parks, and expanded to other Disney parks world wide--Paris, California, Hong Kong, and Tokyo). While here only did two things: the A Small World Ride and Mickey's 3D movie. The movie was awesome just like the other ones and was told by Donald and chronicled all of the best songs from every Disney movie through Fantasia. During the movie Chris peed his pants. We had to go buy him new clothes, the big baby. The last section of the park we came to was Tomorrowland. Here we went on Space Mountain, one of the best roller coasters in Disney (still not saying much). It was ok. It had twists, went fast, a few drops (none very big), but the fact that it was unlit and inside (so you didn't know where you were going) was the best part. Then, we went on a Buzz Lightyear ride. You drive around in this self-moving vehicle and shoot targets. I couldn't figure out how to work the thing and then found out my gun was broken, so I came in last in the family. Nicky and Chris won, big surprise there.
Now for the nighttime shows. The first was was called SpectroMagic and it was at 9PM. It was a light show/parade. Basically there were a bunch of floats with all the Disney characters on them that were lit up and changed colors that slowly moved as a parade. It was pretty cool and was probably better that it was pretty short. At 10 we watched the Wishes Come True fireworks display. Once again, it was more show then fireworks. It was linked to music and the voice of Jimminy Cricket. It was pretty cool. To leave the park we had to take a ferry boat (we took the monorail to get here) to the tram to the parking lot. It took over an hour just to leave the park. Magic Kingdom was the least fun for someone my age and was the most poorly designed park.
MONDAY:
Today was the only day that we didn't do Disney. At around 10AM, we went to Sea World, which marks the first time I have even been there. Most of the park is exhibits of different animals. All exhibits have animals followed by a shop which is animal-specific and have fact sheets with pictures to tell the different species apart. Also, some have petting, feeding, underwater viewing, and informational videos. I will mention when they have these things.
The first animal exhibit was the Giant Turtles. The were HUGE, like multi-hundred pounds. Next we went to see the Stingrays. They were in a little pool in front of us where we could, and did, pet and feed them. All they did was swim around in a CCW circle in the pool, all in the same direction. It was a little strange. The next section was by far the best of the park and maybe the best of the trip. Dolphins! I had never really liked dolphins or cared or anything, but they have to be the coolest and smartest animals in the world. I could have watched them all day. We got to pet them and feed them. My dad got a nice video of Chris feeding the dolphins. Then, we went underwater and watched them play from below. It was REALLY awesome. Grudgingly, we all left and went to see the alligator and then the manatees. The manatees had an informational video (did you know they are mammals and their closest relative is the elephant) and underwater viewing, but they were boring. The next thing that we saw were Samantha's favorite, the penguins. They were pretty cool. The best part was trying to find the different species. The rockhopper was the best because of how cool it walked, but there was one that looked like a penguin murderer. It was scary. There were a bunch of penguin-related activities and videos that were cool too.
The 4 of us went on Journey to Atlantis, which was similar but better than Splash Mountain. There were two drops and you got soaked. After this, we went to the Dolphin Show called Blue Lagoon, or something like that. The dolphins were amazing. They swam around pushing the trainers, they splashed the crowd, did jumps, and they even did flips. After that they did a stupid bird show with acrobats and divers dressed like birds. Next, there was supposed to be a Killer Whale show, but the whale thought she was pregnant and wouldn't cooperate so they had to cancel the show halfway through.
Back to the fish. We went to the shark display where you went through the middle of their tank with just a glass arch over you (which they waited until after to tell you that it was a special make that could hold the weight of 700 elephants). There were tons of different species of shark and it was near impossible, even with the pictures, to locate them all. After, we took a family picture with a fake shark. Derek is trying to pull Chris out of the mouth, while I am trying to push my dad's head in and my mom and Nicky are riding on its back. It's a pretty funny picture. The next thing we did was go to see the Sea Lions, Sea Otter, and Seals. They were actually the closest thing (along with the Killer Whale) to being as cool as a Dolphin that we saw all day. We also got to feed these. They would jump right up and lean over the edge of barrier and bark at you and then you would throw the fish in its mouth. Also, they would wave and "play" like dolphins did. Very cool.
Now, we went to the "adult" section of the park and saw the Clydesdales. As you may, or may not know, Sea World and Busch Gardens, along with their partner Universal Studios are owned by Anheuser-Busch and work together against Disney. Basically, we went to a glorified beer-themed park, and you could see it everywhere. We we drinking 16oz, aluminum bottled, Bud, Bud Light, Michelob, and many of their other 20 brews all day. Anyways, back to the Clydesdales. There was a video playing on a continuous loop of all Anheuser-Busch commercials ever, there was the Budweiser donkey (from the commercial), and a bunch of Clydedales, which were huge. We even got to pet them and got a family picture taken with one. Next, we went to the Hospitality Center where there was beer tasting. All free beer! This was like heaven. I drank 3 or 4 ones I had never tried before and they were all pretty good, much better than that crappy Bud Light. The best one was the Irish-American. Also, they had Flavor Shots (Mango, Spicy Melon, Hot Chocolate, and Lime) which made your beer taste like a Smirnoff. It was half-decent. I could never drink them and ruin a beer ("It tastes like someone spilled something in my beer"), but the girls would LOVE them.
Anyway, after our little drink fest and I was sufficiently buzzed, Derek and I (everyone else was too scared) walked over to Kraken. It is the biggest, badest roller coaster in Orlando, the kind where your feet dangle off. You start off by climbing 200 feet and the drop down at about 70 degrees, followed by a 100 foot high loop. Then, it keeps going with 2 more 50 feet drops, 3 more loops, and 2 corkscrews. The best part was the drop (although I hate nothing more than the climb up), but especially the corkscrews. It was over quickly because it went so fast, but I had a HUGE smile on my face the whole time. I have never experienced anything like it and it was a ton of fun. But now due to the alcohol and the ride, I couldn't walk straight for a little while. Haha. Well, we went next to the Wild Arctic exhibit, which was an indoor (freezing-cold) exhibit of polar bears, walruses, and more. It started with a simulator ride, similar to Star Tours and ending with an area where you could see the animals through a glass case, both above and underwater. On the way to our last destination, we stopped by the Dolphin Nursery where there were all of the baby dolphins playing and doing jumps and a pool so close that you could reach out and touch them.
Now we watched the highlight of Sea World, the Shamu Show. It was really cool and it was incredible how strong these animals were. They would splash the water and soak everyone in a 10,000 person crowd, even the ones 300 feet back in the last row. They would do the same tricks as the dolphins, but not as acrobatically and with much more strength. They would push a trainer by putting its nose on their feet and then ride up to do a jump and throw them 50 feet in the air. It was incredible. After the show, we had reservations for Dinner with Shamu. The dinner was all-you-can-eat. There was chicken, turkey, seafood, all normal sides, and salads. Also, there was free beer. For dessert there were a bunch of pies and cookies. The food was average at best, easily the worst of the trip. The food wasn't the reason we were here though, our table, with 50 others, was right next to the killer whale pool. Our pool had 3 "Shamus" in it, two sisters and a 10 month old baby. The killer whales swam around, did a few tricks, and the trainers fed them and told us their life stories along with some facts about killer whales. By now it was about 9PM, and we left Sea World. The park beat the hell out of Animal Kingdom, but I still liked Epcot and MGM more... barely
When we got back everyone went down to the pool and the bar. I drank a Jack on the Rocks. My dad drank a couple of Long Island Iced Teas. We went back up the room. My dad shows up with a 32oz Big Gulp full of LIIT. He had said he wanted two for the road and that is what the guy gave him. Wow, he was trashed. Anyways, we drank margaritas, laughed our asses off to Anchorman, and played cards. Like every other night, it ended with me on the porch, after most everyone had gone to bed, talking to Samantha.
TUESDAY:
After a few nice days, now the weather really sucks again.
Anyway, at 1PM we decided to brave the rain and go to the ESPN club on Disney's boardwalk. There were TV's everywhere, at least a couple of hundred. They were even in the bathroom in front of every stall. Great idea. Also, there were autographs, pictures, memorabilia, and game-used materials all over the place. It was sport's heaven. We ate lunch. My father and I split a pitcher of Foster's and got free ESPN glasses. They are really cool. I just picked at appetizers, buffalo wings, BBQ chicken fingers, and fries. Everyone else got a meal. After eating, we went in the ESPN store for a while. There was tons of really cool stuff, but I didn't get anything.
Now, it was about 4, and we went to the World Showcase section of Epcot. The weather had cleared up, and although it wasn't sunny, it had stopped raining for good. When we walked in, I went into a shop and bought a Mickey Mouse shot glass for Samantha. Now, our family broke in two: Derek and Nicky went to go on some rides in the Future World and the 4 of us went to the World Showcase. Like I said before, every country has its own native shops and gifts, restaurants, alcohol, architectures, shows, and attractions. I will go through every country (because we did all of them) and tell what we did. First was Canada. Here I bought a nice display with international coins from every country at Epcot for Samantha because she collects international coins. We went through the shops and briefly watched the performance of the Canadian band Off Kilter. Secondly, we stopped at the U.K. At the Rose and Crown pub, I got my father to drink an Irish Car Bomb. I think he liked it, but was embarrassed to get it. We got a Harp for the road and then went through the shops. We took a (partial) family picture in front of all of the architectures, but my mother's camera broke and we lost a ton of film from today and all of it from Sea World. Anyway, we are now in France. We saw the Eiffel Tower and went through the shops filled with mostly wine and perfume. Following this, we shopped in Morocco, which was cool because of how different it was. We skipped Japan because we did it all the first time we went to Epcot. In the American Adventure, there was a film (most countries had a 30 minute film) but we skipped it to watch the concert of Billy Joel music again while I drank a Sam Adams ("always a good decision"). For obvious reasons, we spent the longest time in Italy. I bought some Italian candy and a shirt with an Italian flag on it from the shops. Also, my father and I drank a glass of Chiati. My mother and father both took a shot of Limonchello. I will have to try that stuff because they both like it and drink it a lot. The World Showcase Players were an Italian comedy troupe. After watching the street performance, we went off to Germany, which as you can guess was all beer and Oktoberfest. I drank my father's beer, Bock, which was very dark and heavy, because he didn't like it. While here, I bought Samantha a shot glass made to look like a beer stein and had it engraved for her. Next, came the "Outpost," which was a bunch of African shops, similar to what we saw in Morocco. While here, Chris painted his face like a Tiger. It looked awesome and was pretty funny. I definitely would have made Samantha do it if she was with me. We skipped right over China because we did everything while we were there for dinner last Thursday. We shopped in Norway. No one got anything because it was all heavy jackets and sweaters, and who wants that in the dead of summer. While here, we went on the Maelstrom, the Viking boat ride. It's closest comparison would have to be to the Pirate's of the Caribbean ride.
The last country in the park was Mexico. My brothers met us and we ate dinner here at about 8:30. We got Nachos for a free appetizer. I drank a Dos Equis, which is a pretty good beer and is similar to a Corona. For my meal, I ate steak and shrimp with potatoes and veggies. It was incredibly spicy, but very good. I love Mexican food. After our meal we shopped for a while. They had some really cool Mexican gadgets, gifts, and clothes. By now it was well past 10 and we headed back to the condo.
WEDNESDAY:
We spent the early part of morning in the sun because (thus far) today was much nicer than yesterday. I sat there for at least 3 hours reading, and finishing, the Da Vinci code while my dad and Nicky went out golfing. By almost 2PM, we went to Epcot to finish the park. This time we went to Future World, which was the section with all of the rides. We didn't NEARLY get to do everything though as we missed out on Mission Space and Test Track (2 of the better and newer rides in all of Disney--my brothers did it yesterday though) along with a few other exhibits and activities. This was due to the extreme rain (I will get to that later), the long waits for everything, and the fact that this part of the park closed at 7, all other parts of all Disney parks closed at either 9 or 10.
This wound up being one of the worst days of the trip, along with yesterday. Once we got to Epcot, it monsooned! I have never seen it rain so hard. If you were in the rain for a split second it was like having a bucket of water poured on your head; so much that your hair dripped and your shirt could be wrung out like a sponge. Shitty... Well, when we walked to our first building, the Living Seas, that is what happened to us. Now, keep in mind that all of the building are very cold (air conditioned) because of how excruciatingly hot it gets. My clothes were dripping and I was freezing. It was VERY uncomfortable to say the least.
First, we went to the Living Seas building. There was a Finding Nemo video, but we didn't watch it because the line was too long since everyone was trying to get out of the rain. In addition to that, there were Sea World-like live fish displays. Most of them were from the movie too, accompanied by the picture of the cartoon character. Next, we went to Imagination. First, we took a boat ride with Figment. He was a cartoon dragon that talked about our five senses. For example, when we reached the "smell" section, we got sprayed with skunk smell. Then, came the What If labs by Kodak. There were some really cool things in here, like a place where you could photo-shop pictures and email them home, an area where your movements made music, and a shop. The last thing we did in Imagination was we watched the Honey I Shrunk the Audience 3D movie. It was the worst one of all of the 3D movie, but still entertaining nonetheless..
Afterwords, we took a shuttle boat across the lake to the World Showcase because we had dinner reservations for 3:45 at Tappanyaki in Japan. The food was like any other Japanese restaurant, where the cook cooks the meal right in front of you on the stove in the middle of the table. I got steak, shrimp, vegetables, steamed, rice, bean sprouts, and seaweed salad. It was great like all Japanese food, but just not enough to fill you up completely. With the meal I had Kirin, a Japanese beer. It was ok, but I am not itching to get it again. My father got a Saki martini, but that stuff is disgusting. We went back to Italy now and shopped some more. Also, we watched Sergio, the mime juggler and street performer. After his show was over, we hopped back on the boat shuttle and went back to Future World.
We had Fastpasses from earlier, and now the 4 of us that go on rides went on Soarin' while my father and Chris went on the Living on the Land ride. Soarin' is the newest ride in any of the parks and the wait was 110 minutes. Yeah, it's that popular. Anyway, you get strapped in like you are about to go on a Kraken-type roller coaster; but, all the ride does is lift you up in front of a big movie screen. You stay there the whole time and watch Omni theater type videos while your chair moves with the video. Basically, it is a simulator of para-sailing. I thought it was wicked cool. You actually felt like you were moving. It was a very fun ride... but not worth a 110 minute wait... thank god for those Fastpasses. The last ride we got to do before the park closed was Ellen's Energy Adventure with Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy. It was a video, followed by a ride through a section with dinosaurs, followed by another video. It was 45 minutes and was very informational, but it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. Lastly, we went into Mouse Gears, the largest single shop inside a Disney park. It had all Mickey Mouse gifts, etc. While here, I bought Samantha t-shirt that said "Happily Ever After." I thought she would think it was cute.
At about 8PM, we got back. My father and I sat at the bar. I had 2 more of those Howlin' Wolves (the JD drink). Also, we ate some buffalo wings for a late dinner, if you call dinner at Japan a late lunch. I ended the night by playing some Wist and then smoking my last cigar on the patio while talking to Samantha.
THURSDAY:
Today, our trip ends. We had to pack and be checked-out by 10AM. The next 5 hours we spent by the pool area. I will use this opportunity to describe the Marriot Horizons community. There are multiple in-ground, outdoor pools everywhere. Each one is separately themed too. The one near us was had a pirate ship at one end that shot water out of its cannons and sails. Also, it had water slides on it. It was a like a mini-water park for kids. Also on the property was a mini-golf course, ping-pong tables, basketball courts, tennis courts, an arcade room, a gym, foosball tables, and a full bar that also served as an all-day pool-side restaurant. Very cool area. Anyways, the majority of the 5 hours I spent sitting in the sun, playing cards, or playing ping-pong while drinking Heineken's. I wound up with a VERY dark tan on my arms and only my left shoulder burned a little, but I didn't get much color anywhere else.
At 3PM, we went back to Bahama Breeze for a quick meal before the plane. I drank a Bahama Mama, which was similar in fruity taste and strength to a Sex on the Beach. Not too shabby, but not great. For lunch/dinner, I ate a steak kabob with island rice and vegetables. It was ok, but not very good, certainly not as good as my last meal there.
We were done with dinner by 5 and headed over to the airport. We got through security by 6:30 (for a 7:10) flight, but it wound up being delayed until 8:30. While waiting I went with my father and mother to the Outback bar and drank a Sam Adams draft. Then, I grabbed some Burger King fries at about 8 to hold me over. They weren't very good. I am a McDonald's man. In the meantime, I watched episodes of Family Guy with Christopher on his portable DVD player. We boarded the same plane we took down here by just after 8 and we off by 8:30. Now for the flight, which was both good and bad. The bad: it was a turbulence filled ride with a very bumpy landing; the trivia game didn't work, which was highly disappointing; I got my tickets later than everyone else (we were lucky on the flight down) so I was in a different row from my family (they were in 5, I was in 23--actually I was in 23 both there and back... and if you watch LOST you know how weird that was for me--Jack sat in row 23, it is one of the "numbers," and that is the last row in the front of the plane before the back broke off). The good: I watched the Sox game the whole way down (although they blew a lead and lost in extra innings); I didn't get sick like the last time. After we landed, we grabbed out luggage, went to the limo van that brought us home, and then unpacked. I was in bed just after midnight.
Thus concludes my trip to Disney. Notice, I have always called it a trip because it was a sight-seeing trip and not a vacation. Aruba was a vacation. This week was very hectic and I was exhausted by the time I got home. Frankly, I was ready to go home whereas in Aruba they had to drag me out kicking and screaming. That being said it was a lot of fun and only could have been better if I had gone with Samantha because she would have loved it there. To anyone who is going or wants to go to Disney I have a few tips: 1) Go in either Oct/Nov or in March/April/May because the weather is much better. 2) Get the 7-day pass because it is much cheaper and if you rush to see everything in one day you won't have as much fun. Every park needs at least 2 days and if you do that then you will enjoy it more and get to see more. Ok, thanks for bearing with me for this long entry that took 6 or so hours over 5 days. If you read it, please leave me comment. I want to see who else has no life ;P.
THURSDAY:
I had to wake up at 5AM. We were picked up in a limo van that brought us to Logan Airport. My friggin' mom doesn't know how to pack (ie. she packs like every female) so we had a shitload of bags. Anyways, our flight was at 8:20. We got through everything quickly and painlessly and had plenty of time to spare.
The flight lasted 2 hours and 30 minutes. It was a Delta Song plane (we flew Delta, but Song doesn't exist anymore, but Delta still uses their planes). There were TV's on the seat in front of us. It had television, movies (for $5), yahoo games (for $5), and free trivia. I played some trivia for a while. Most of the trip I played Texas Hold 'Em Poker (Limits) with my dad on the TV. It cost $5, but it was well worth it to rag on him the rest of the week that I took him for $700. Basically, the flight flew by and wasn't that bad until the landing. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE to fly. I would rather drive for 24 hours straight than fly. Well, the landing was terrible. My head was so sick and my ears popped like crazy. I wound up feeling sick and not being able to hear for the rest of the day. REAL sick.
After the flight, my dad went to go rent a car while we got the luggage. We rented a white Lincoln Towncar. We already had an SUV on reserve, but they fucked up, didn't have the car, made us wait over an hour, and then gave us this one instead. At 2PM, we made it to the hotel to check-in. We had a condo at the Horizon Marriot (#1036) near Sea World (right off International Dr.). There was a master bedroom (1 king bed--for my parents) and a guest bedroom (2 queen beds--for Derek and I), each with a full bathroom. Also, there was a fully stocked kitchen with all appliances, and a huge living room with a couch (pull-out--for Nicky) and a few chairs. Christopher was rotated, sleeping in a different bed every night. Also, there was a small screened-in patio with a table and chairs. Basically, the place was awesome and 10-15 people could fit there comfortably and not need to bring anything other than food and clothes. And we got it for just about nothing because we traded in our time-share for it. Awesome.
After unpacking, my father and I went to Publix to go food shopping. We bought a ton of snacks, cold cuts for lunch, drinks, breakfast stuff, and some alcohol (margaritas, Heineken, Absolute Raspberry, and mudslides). Everyone went to go to the pool and check out the area, but I still felt sick so I stayed in my room, laid down, and read the Da Vinci Code.
At around 4 or 5, we went to Epcot. We bought a 7 day pass to Disney for each of us ($65 for one day, $200 for 7), so we didn't mind going in there for just a few hours. The way Epcot is set-up is that there is Future World, which has all of the rides, and World Showcase, which has a bunch of countries. Every country has famous landscapes, monuments, or architecture from the country. Also, there are shops and restaurants with authentic food, drinks, alcohol, and gifts from that country. Finally, most countries have performances and/or rides or movies about the country. It was really cool (even though we didn't see it until later in the week). We went to the World Showcase, but we didn't do everything or even glance at most things except what I say below. I went into the Rose and Crown Pub in the U.K. with my dad and drank a Bass to get out of the rain. We watched the 8th Street Band, which was a cover-band of Billy Joel music in the "American Adventure."
After that we ate dinner in China. The building was this huge thing that looked like a Chinese palace. It was normal chinese food (minus the appetizers) and wasn't very good. I drank a Shanghai Surprise and a Tsing Tsao.
Next, we went to Mexico and went on their boat ride. It was similar to the "It's a Small World" ride where you just float along and there are dolls dancing and music playing, the only difference is that these were all Mexican. The last thing we did was that we watched their Light/Fireworks Show. It was about 15 minutes long, but it was awesome. It was choreographed to music. All of the buildings in the World Showcase had Christmas lights on them. Also, they had flames go up 200 ft. high on boats and we could feel the heat across the lake. It was a good show.
After the fireworks show, we left Epcot and went back to the hotel. At 10, we could see Sea World's fireworks show from our porch while I talked to Samantha. After that, we played Wist which is an AMAZING 4 player card game, similar to Hearts. While playing, we made margaritas, which everyone but Chris drank.
FRIDAY:
We woke up early and had breakfast of eggs and a bagel and then set off for MGM by 10. The first thing we did is we went on the Star Wars Flight Simulator. It was one of those things that make you feel like you are moving by shaking the chair and putting you in front of a large movie screen. It wasn't that great. The next thing we did was we watched the Lights, Motors, Action show. It was a car/motorcycle stunt show that showed you how they did the stunts and then afterwords it showed you the movie they just created. It was basically 30 minutes of jumps, fires, drifting, and driving backwards. It was awesome. The only problem was the heat was ridiculous, like 95 and incredibly humid. Next, we watched Muppet Vision 3D, mostly to get out of the heat. All of the 3D movies are amazing, by far the best things I did. They were hilarious and they added special effects (examples, a dog sneezes on you... you get squirted with water; a muppet flies at you... you turn around and there is one crashed through the wall behind you; etc.). This one was by far the funniest and my favorite 3D movie. I forgot to mention after every ride/show there is a shop with souvenirs specific to that ride/show. This muppet show was no different. I was going to buy Samantha a pink Beaker shirt (her favorite muppet), but there were only kid sizes. At this time it started to downpour, almost as bad as a monsoon. That's how the weather was all week, it either was pouring so bad that roads flooding in minutes or it was so hot and humid that your shirt flooded in minutes. Not a great time to go to central Florida. Anyways, to get out of the rain, we stopped in Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade and ate lunch. We each got an individual pizza. Like everywhere else in Disney the food was good but not great and was well overpriced and the portions were terrible. They need a Dettorre's down there (interesting side note: My father was offered to buy a spot in 3 different malls, including one in the cape. He said the time isn't right, since this one just opened, and they are too far away, but he is going to look into it for the future. Watch out for the large chain of Dettorre's 10-20 years in the future ;P). After eating, we went to watch the Beauty and the Beast show. It started with 4 people doing a nice singing/Matisyahu-like performance. When they were done, they called a girl up to the stage because it was her birthday. They asked her name, age, etc. and she never answered them. Then she started balling her eyes out. High comedy. Well, the show was surprisingly really good. They basically did the movie in a 35 minute performance of song and dance. All of the songs from the movie were in there and done great and the costumes were beautiful (esp. the girls corsets ;P). After the show, my brothers, mother, and I went to go on the rides. Chris and my dad don't like rides (ie. scared) and didn't go on any all week. First, we went on Tower of Terror. I had been on it before. It is good, and you lose your stomach (which I love), but it is way too short and you never quite drop far enough. We didn't buy a picture although we should have because my mother looked terrified. We didn't buy any of the pictures, although every "adult" ride offers one. My mother now ditched us to get out of the rain (Even though she spent $10 on one of those stupid clear garbage bags with Mickey on the back to stay dry. I would rather be wet.), so my brothers and I went to Aerosmith's Rock 'n Roller Coaster. Once again I had gone on it before. No big drops, it just goes really fast indoors and I think there was a flip once. It was one of the best coasters in Disney, but that's not saying much. You go to Disney for the shows and atmosphere not the food and coasters. I learned that the hard way.
We left MGM after this, there was a bunch more to do, but my family had been there 3 times (me twice) and had already done most of it. We never would wind up going back to MGM. Anyway, I drank a beer and a Mudslide while playing Wist and waiting until it was time to go to dinner at around 7:30. We went to Bermuda Breeze for dinner. The place was awesome, there was a great bar, an unreal alcohol menu, and live entertainment. We didn't even care that there was a 60 minute wait for a table, I could have stayed there all night. I accidentally got some Berry frozen chick drink that sucked (ie. chick drink=not strong) and a mojito, which was great. The food was really good, probably the best of the week. We got Habenero Wings and Calamari for an appetizer. They were awesome but the wings were INCREDIBLY hot. The hottest I have ever had. For dinner I got an Aruba Red beer, which was very good, and a Filet Mignon, which was awesome but too small-like all F.M. After dinner, I bought a Kahlua cigar which I smoked on the porch while talking to Samantha. Great day--best food of the trip and the best of the 4 Disney parks.
SATURDAY:
Today, we were off to Animal Kingdom at around 9AM. We got there extra early, right when the park opens, because we heard that is when the animals are out. When we first walked in, it was like going to a zoo. Every where you looked there were different animals behind a fence, but close enough that you could touch them. At first we went to the Africa Section. We went on the Pagani Forest Walking Trail. This is where you walk around on a trail and look at different birds and other animals, all native to Africa. Also, there were fact sheets, with pictures, telling you about the different species. Every once in a while there was a building with cages, showing smaller animals like snakes and insects. It was really cool. Next, was the best part of the park. It was the African safari. It was a 30 minute safari tour where you got ridiculously close to everything: hippos, giraffes (which walked right up to the jeep), lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, zebras, elepahants, and much much more. We got tons of pictures of this. Following the tour, we went to the Asia section of the park. The whole family went on a white water rafting ride. It was decently fun, but for the 95 degree weather, we didn't get nearly wet enough. Also, we went on a Jungle Trek, which was the Asian walking tour and was just as cool only with different animals/species. The last thing we wanted to do was go on the new roller coaster, Expedition Everest, but the wait was 2 hours. Derek had someone give him a single Fastpass (We used them all week. Basically, you can have one at a time and it allows you to go right into a ride--ie. 10 minute wait instead of an hour. The only problem is that you have to go to the ride to get one and then wait like 2-5 hours before you can use it), and they were out so we couldn't get more, so he got to go on. He said it was the best ride in Disney, and it was one of the many things I wished I had gotten to do. The next section of the park we went to was DinoLand. It was mostly carnival style with kiddy rides and carnival style games. The only decent looking ride there was the Primeval Whirl, which I went on with Nicky and it wasn't too bad. Then, we were going to go on the Dinosaur ride (real ride outside of the carnival section) but it was broken. The last section in the park was Discovery Island. This is where the Tree of Life is (If you have ever been to Disney you know that every park has a huge, awesome thing that you see right when you walk in: Epcot=ball, Magic Kingdom=Cinderella's castle, MGM=magic hat from Fantasia, Animal Kingdom=Tree of Life). The Tree of Life claims to have every animal carved into this huge (fake) tree. It was really cool. While here, we went to see A Bug's Life in 3D. This show was really good and almost as cool as the Muppet's one. This one had more of the smoke/water stuff that made you jump. At this time, it was around 1PM and we left the park having done about half of it. We could have used more time here, but there is only so much you can do. I would say that it is the smallest park, with the least to do, and my 3rd favorite (or second to worst), ahead of only Magic Kingdom, which is only there for the younger kids anyways, so for its purpose it is probably the best park. Basically, I am saying that Michael Eisner screwed up with his newest park... just go to Sea World instead.
From about 1PM to 5, I read The Da Vinci Code, which is one of the greatest books I have ever read. I won't give away anything that happens, but the code and action is incredible. Even the history is great, it is so well-researched that you think you are reading a history book. I never wanted to put it down and I wasn't disappointed with the ending. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.
Anyway, at about 5, we went to Downtown Disney. This is the place with all of the night clubs, restaurants, and shopping. It is actually a pretty cool place that you could spend a few days at. Instead, we only spent a few hours and didn't go back, which was kind of disappointing, but I had been there before and you can only do so much in one week. We went to the House of Blues for dinner. This place is in 3 sections: the restaurant, the shop, and the club, where there is a concert every night, including Disturbed, Pink, Dashboard Confessions, and many more just this month. I had a burger and fries, a Heineken, and a Howlin' Wolf (my new favorite drink--JD, Peach Schnapps, and cranberry juice served on the rocks). It was ok, but I had expected better. My mother's order was screwed up wicked bad. She likes her steak well-done and the waitress put it in as medium. It came out purple. Then, she had it recooked, but the waitress this time put it in as medium to medium-well, even though my mom said well-done to medium-well. It had to be cooked again. We were all done with our meals 10 minutes before she got hers. It wound up being free, but needless to say, she was pissed. Next, we went to see Cirque du Soleil, but the tickets were $600 for the family, so we didn't go. We walked through the string of night clubs and bars, called Pleasure Island. It looked like so much fun, but I never made it there, mostly because I had no one to go with. We went by the Lego store, which has huge lego constructions in the main walkway, including a hundred foot long sea monster in the lake. They had some really cool stuff. Lastly, we went to World of Disney, which was the giant Disney store, the largest one in Orlando. There was so much more to do, but it was about 10 and we headed back.
SUNDAY:
First, a little note. ITALY WON THE WORLD CUP!!! Woohoo! I had been rooting for them all tournament; yes, even over the US. They final score was 1-1, but they beat France 5-3 on penalty kicks. The highlight of the game though was the Zinedine Zidane (best player and captain of France) headbutt on Italian player, Marco Materazzi because he allegedly called him a "terrorist." Look it up if you haven't seen it, high quality comedy.
Anyways, we went to the Magic Kingdom at around 1PM. Today, like yesterday was very warm and dry all day. There is so much to do here, because this was the first park, but we tried to do everything we wanted to do in one day. First we went to Adventure land. The only thing we wanted to do here was go on the Pirate's of the Caribbean ride. It was just reopened this week. It is a boat ride, where you see scenes of pirates (much like the Mexican ride and "It's a Small World"), but now there is also Jack Sparrow in it. There was other stuff to do here, but we rushed along to Frontierland. Here, the 4 of us went on "big kid" rides, while my dad and Chris watched a parade of Disney characters. We went on Splash Mountain, which is a very cool water ride with a decent drop, but otherwise it is not very good. It does nothing other than the drop, which isn't even far enough (50 feet), and you don't get very wet, and we REALLY needed to cool off. After, we went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster, which has to be the worst roller coaster world-wide. I could walk faster than this thing and all it does is spiral around a mountain--no drops, no twists, nothing.
We all ate lunch at the Plaza Restaurant. Like everywhere else in Disney (except Epcot), the food wasn't great, the atmosphere was average, the prices were ridiculous, and the menu had 5 or less items. I got a burger and fries again, but only because there was nothing else to choose from. For dessert, everyone got (or split) banana splits except for me because I got a NY strawberry cheesecake.
After lunch, we went to Liberty Square, where once again there was a ton to do, but we did the only thing we wanted to do, which was the Haunted Mansion. You sit in a chair that glides around and gives you a tour of the mansion, while scary noises are blaring. It was actually kind of cool and definitely frightening for the little ones. We went back to the main section of the park, where all the restaurants (including where we ate) and shops are, to stand in front of the castle and watch Cinderellabration. It is a show with all of the Disney "princesses" to initiate Cinderella as a princess. Basically, the whole show was "If you believe, your dreams can come true and you can be a princess too." It was great for a 7 year old girl, but needless to say, no one in my family liked it. Based on the other shows in Disney I thought it could be decent, but it was wicked lame. Finally, we came to Fantasyland, which is the largest section of the park and was the original Disney World park (which expanded to a bigger Magic Kingdom, expanded to more parks, and expanded to other Disney parks world wide--Paris, California, Hong Kong, and Tokyo). While here only did two things: the A Small World Ride and Mickey's 3D movie. The movie was awesome just like the other ones and was told by Donald and chronicled all of the best songs from every Disney movie through Fantasia. During the movie Chris peed his pants. We had to go buy him new clothes, the big baby. The last section of the park we came to was Tomorrowland. Here we went on Space Mountain, one of the best roller coasters in Disney (still not saying much). It was ok. It had twists, went fast, a few drops (none very big), but the fact that it was unlit and inside (so you didn't know where you were going) was the best part. Then, we went on a Buzz Lightyear ride. You drive around in this self-moving vehicle and shoot targets. I couldn't figure out how to work the thing and then found out my gun was broken, so I came in last in the family. Nicky and Chris won, big surprise there.
Now for the nighttime shows. The first was was called SpectroMagic and it was at 9PM. It was a light show/parade. Basically there were a bunch of floats with all the Disney characters on them that were lit up and changed colors that slowly moved as a parade. It was pretty cool and was probably better that it was pretty short. At 10 we watched the Wishes Come True fireworks display. Once again, it was more show then fireworks. It was linked to music and the voice of Jimminy Cricket. It was pretty cool. To leave the park we had to take a ferry boat (we took the monorail to get here) to the tram to the parking lot. It took over an hour just to leave the park. Magic Kingdom was the least fun for someone my age and was the most poorly designed park.
MONDAY:
Today was the only day that we didn't do Disney. At around 10AM, we went to Sea World, which marks the first time I have even been there. Most of the park is exhibits of different animals. All exhibits have animals followed by a shop which is animal-specific and have fact sheets with pictures to tell the different species apart. Also, some have petting, feeding, underwater viewing, and informational videos. I will mention when they have these things.
The first animal exhibit was the Giant Turtles. The were HUGE, like multi-hundred pounds. Next we went to see the Stingrays. They were in a little pool in front of us where we could, and did, pet and feed them. All they did was swim around in a CCW circle in the pool, all in the same direction. It was a little strange. The next section was by far the best of the park and maybe the best of the trip. Dolphins! I had never really liked dolphins or cared or anything, but they have to be the coolest and smartest animals in the world. I could have watched them all day. We got to pet them and feed them. My dad got a nice video of Chris feeding the dolphins. Then, we went underwater and watched them play from below. It was REALLY awesome. Grudgingly, we all left and went to see the alligator and then the manatees. The manatees had an informational video (did you know they are mammals and their closest relative is the elephant) and underwater viewing, but they were boring. The next thing that we saw were Samantha's favorite, the penguins. They were pretty cool. The best part was trying to find the different species. The rockhopper was the best because of how cool it walked, but there was one that looked like a penguin murderer. It was scary. There were a bunch of penguin-related activities and videos that were cool too.
The 4 of us went on Journey to Atlantis, which was similar but better than Splash Mountain. There were two drops and you got soaked. After this, we went to the Dolphin Show called Blue Lagoon, or something like that. The dolphins were amazing. They swam around pushing the trainers, they splashed the crowd, did jumps, and they even did flips. After that they did a stupid bird show with acrobats and divers dressed like birds. Next, there was supposed to be a Killer Whale show, but the whale thought she was pregnant and wouldn't cooperate so they had to cancel the show halfway through.
Back to the fish. We went to the shark display where you went through the middle of their tank with just a glass arch over you (which they waited until after to tell you that it was a special make that could hold the weight of 700 elephants). There were tons of different species of shark and it was near impossible, even with the pictures, to locate them all. After, we took a family picture with a fake shark. Derek is trying to pull Chris out of the mouth, while I am trying to push my dad's head in and my mom and Nicky are riding on its back. It's a pretty funny picture. The next thing we did was go to see the Sea Lions, Sea Otter, and Seals. They were actually the closest thing (along with the Killer Whale) to being as cool as a Dolphin that we saw all day. We also got to feed these. They would jump right up and lean over the edge of barrier and bark at you and then you would throw the fish in its mouth. Also, they would wave and "play" like dolphins did. Very cool.
Now, we went to the "adult" section of the park and saw the Clydesdales. As you may, or may not know, Sea World and Busch Gardens, along with their partner Universal Studios are owned by Anheuser-Busch and work together against Disney. Basically, we went to a glorified beer-themed park, and you could see it everywhere. We we drinking 16oz, aluminum bottled, Bud, Bud Light, Michelob, and many of their other 20 brews all day. Anyways, back to the Clydesdales. There was a video playing on a continuous loop of all Anheuser-Busch commercials ever, there was the Budweiser donkey (from the commercial), and a bunch of Clydedales, which were huge. We even got to pet them and got a family picture taken with one. Next, we went to the Hospitality Center where there was beer tasting. All free beer! This was like heaven. I drank 3 or 4 ones I had never tried before and they were all pretty good, much better than that crappy Bud Light. The best one was the Irish-American. Also, they had Flavor Shots (Mango, Spicy Melon, Hot Chocolate, and Lime) which made your beer taste like a Smirnoff. It was half-decent. I could never drink them and ruin a beer ("It tastes like someone spilled something in my beer"), but the girls would LOVE them.
Anyway, after our little drink fest and I was sufficiently buzzed, Derek and I (everyone else was too scared) walked over to Kraken. It is the biggest, badest roller coaster in Orlando, the kind where your feet dangle off. You start off by climbing 200 feet and the drop down at about 70 degrees, followed by a 100 foot high loop. Then, it keeps going with 2 more 50 feet drops, 3 more loops, and 2 corkscrews. The best part was the drop (although I hate nothing more than the climb up), but especially the corkscrews. It was over quickly because it went so fast, but I had a HUGE smile on my face the whole time. I have never experienced anything like it and it was a ton of fun. But now due to the alcohol and the ride, I couldn't walk straight for a little while. Haha. Well, we went next to the Wild Arctic exhibit, which was an indoor (freezing-cold) exhibit of polar bears, walruses, and more. It started with a simulator ride, similar to Star Tours and ending with an area where you could see the animals through a glass case, both above and underwater. On the way to our last destination, we stopped by the Dolphin Nursery where there were all of the baby dolphins playing and doing jumps and a pool so close that you could reach out and touch them.
Now we watched the highlight of Sea World, the Shamu Show. It was really cool and it was incredible how strong these animals were. They would splash the water and soak everyone in a 10,000 person crowd, even the ones 300 feet back in the last row. They would do the same tricks as the dolphins, but not as acrobatically and with much more strength. They would push a trainer by putting its nose on their feet and then ride up to do a jump and throw them 50 feet in the air. It was incredible. After the show, we had reservations for Dinner with Shamu. The dinner was all-you-can-eat. There was chicken, turkey, seafood, all normal sides, and salads. Also, there was free beer. For dessert there were a bunch of pies and cookies. The food was average at best, easily the worst of the trip. The food wasn't the reason we were here though, our table, with 50 others, was right next to the killer whale pool. Our pool had 3 "Shamus" in it, two sisters and a 10 month old baby. The killer whales swam around, did a few tricks, and the trainers fed them and told us their life stories along with some facts about killer whales. By now it was about 9PM, and we left Sea World. The park beat the hell out of Animal Kingdom, but I still liked Epcot and MGM more... barely
When we got back everyone went down to the pool and the bar. I drank a Jack on the Rocks. My dad drank a couple of Long Island Iced Teas. We went back up the room. My dad shows up with a 32oz Big Gulp full of LIIT. He had said he wanted two for the road and that is what the guy gave him. Wow, he was trashed. Anyways, we drank margaritas, laughed our asses off to Anchorman, and played cards. Like every other night, it ended with me on the porch, after most everyone had gone to bed, talking to Samantha.
TUESDAY:
After a few nice days, now the weather really sucks again.
Anyway, at 1PM we decided to brave the rain and go to the ESPN club on Disney's boardwalk. There were TV's everywhere, at least a couple of hundred. They were even in the bathroom in front of every stall. Great idea. Also, there were autographs, pictures, memorabilia, and game-used materials all over the place. It was sport's heaven. We ate lunch. My father and I split a pitcher of Foster's and got free ESPN glasses. They are really cool. I just picked at appetizers, buffalo wings, BBQ chicken fingers, and fries. Everyone else got a meal. After eating, we went in the ESPN store for a while. There was tons of really cool stuff, but I didn't get anything.
Now, it was about 4, and we went to the World Showcase section of Epcot. The weather had cleared up, and although it wasn't sunny, it had stopped raining for good. When we walked in, I went into a shop and bought a Mickey Mouse shot glass for Samantha. Now, our family broke in two: Derek and Nicky went to go on some rides in the Future World and the 4 of us went to the World Showcase. Like I said before, every country has its own native shops and gifts, restaurants, alcohol, architectures, shows, and attractions. I will go through every country (because we did all of them) and tell what we did. First was Canada. Here I bought a nice display with international coins from every country at Epcot for Samantha because she collects international coins. We went through the shops and briefly watched the performance of the Canadian band Off Kilter. Secondly, we stopped at the U.K. At the Rose and Crown pub, I got my father to drink an Irish Car Bomb. I think he liked it, but was embarrassed to get it. We got a Harp for the road and then went through the shops. We took a (partial) family picture in front of all of the architectures, but my mother's camera broke and we lost a ton of film from today and all of it from Sea World. Anyway, we are now in France. We saw the Eiffel Tower and went through the shops filled with mostly wine and perfume. Following this, we shopped in Morocco, which was cool because of how different it was. We skipped Japan because we did it all the first time we went to Epcot. In the American Adventure, there was a film (most countries had a 30 minute film) but we skipped it to watch the concert of Billy Joel music again while I drank a Sam Adams ("always a good decision"). For obvious reasons, we spent the longest time in Italy. I bought some Italian candy and a shirt with an Italian flag on it from the shops. Also, my father and I drank a glass of Chiati. My mother and father both took a shot of Limonchello. I will have to try that stuff because they both like it and drink it a lot. The World Showcase Players were an Italian comedy troupe. After watching the street performance, we went off to Germany, which as you can guess was all beer and Oktoberfest. I drank my father's beer, Bock, which was very dark and heavy, because he didn't like it. While here, I bought Samantha a shot glass made to look like a beer stein and had it engraved for her. Next, came the "Outpost," which was a bunch of African shops, similar to what we saw in Morocco. While here, Chris painted his face like a Tiger. It looked awesome and was pretty funny. I definitely would have made Samantha do it if she was with me. We skipped right over China because we did everything while we were there for dinner last Thursday. We shopped in Norway. No one got anything because it was all heavy jackets and sweaters, and who wants that in the dead of summer. While here, we went on the Maelstrom, the Viking boat ride. It's closest comparison would have to be to the Pirate's of the Caribbean ride.
The last country in the park was Mexico. My brothers met us and we ate dinner here at about 8:30. We got Nachos for a free appetizer. I drank a Dos Equis, which is a pretty good beer and is similar to a Corona. For my meal, I ate steak and shrimp with potatoes and veggies. It was incredibly spicy, but very good. I love Mexican food. After our meal we shopped for a while. They had some really cool Mexican gadgets, gifts, and clothes. By now it was well past 10 and we headed back to the condo.
WEDNESDAY:
We spent the early part of morning in the sun because (thus far) today was much nicer than yesterday. I sat there for at least 3 hours reading, and finishing, the Da Vinci code while my dad and Nicky went out golfing. By almost 2PM, we went to Epcot to finish the park. This time we went to Future World, which was the section with all of the rides. We didn't NEARLY get to do everything though as we missed out on Mission Space and Test Track (2 of the better and newer rides in all of Disney--my brothers did it yesterday though) along with a few other exhibits and activities. This was due to the extreme rain (I will get to that later), the long waits for everything, and the fact that this part of the park closed at 7, all other parts of all Disney parks closed at either 9 or 10.
This wound up being one of the worst days of the trip, along with yesterday. Once we got to Epcot, it monsooned! I have never seen it rain so hard. If you were in the rain for a split second it was like having a bucket of water poured on your head; so much that your hair dripped and your shirt could be wrung out like a sponge. Shitty... Well, when we walked to our first building, the Living Seas, that is what happened to us. Now, keep in mind that all of the building are very cold (air conditioned) because of how excruciatingly hot it gets. My clothes were dripping and I was freezing. It was VERY uncomfortable to say the least.
First, we went to the Living Seas building. There was a Finding Nemo video, but we didn't watch it because the line was too long since everyone was trying to get out of the rain. In addition to that, there were Sea World-like live fish displays. Most of them were from the movie too, accompanied by the picture of the cartoon character. Next, we went to Imagination. First, we took a boat ride with Figment. He was a cartoon dragon that talked about our five senses. For example, when we reached the "smell" section, we got sprayed with skunk smell. Then, came the What If labs by Kodak. There were some really cool things in here, like a place where you could photo-shop pictures and email them home, an area where your movements made music, and a shop. The last thing we did in Imagination was we watched the Honey I Shrunk the Audience 3D movie. It was the worst one of all of the 3D movie, but still entertaining nonetheless..
Afterwords, we took a shuttle boat across the lake to the World Showcase because we had dinner reservations for 3:45 at Tappanyaki in Japan. The food was like any other Japanese restaurant, where the cook cooks the meal right in front of you on the stove in the middle of the table. I got steak, shrimp, vegetables, steamed, rice, bean sprouts, and seaweed salad. It was great like all Japanese food, but just not enough to fill you up completely. With the meal I had Kirin, a Japanese beer. It was ok, but I am not itching to get it again. My father got a Saki martini, but that stuff is disgusting. We went back to Italy now and shopped some more. Also, we watched Sergio, the mime juggler and street performer. After his show was over, we hopped back on the boat shuttle and went back to Future World.
We had Fastpasses from earlier, and now the 4 of us that go on rides went on Soarin' while my father and Chris went on the Living on the Land ride. Soarin' is the newest ride in any of the parks and the wait was 110 minutes. Yeah, it's that popular. Anyway, you get strapped in like you are about to go on a Kraken-type roller coaster; but, all the ride does is lift you up in front of a big movie screen. You stay there the whole time and watch Omni theater type videos while your chair moves with the video. Basically, it is a simulator of para-sailing. I thought it was wicked cool. You actually felt like you were moving. It was a very fun ride... but not worth a 110 minute wait... thank god for those Fastpasses. The last ride we got to do before the park closed was Ellen's Energy Adventure with Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye the Science Guy. It was a video, followed by a ride through a section with dinosaurs, followed by another video. It was 45 minutes and was very informational, but it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be. Lastly, we went into Mouse Gears, the largest single shop inside a Disney park. It had all Mickey Mouse gifts, etc. While here, I bought Samantha t-shirt that said "Happily Ever After." I thought she would think it was cute.
At about 8PM, we got back. My father and I sat at the bar. I had 2 more of those Howlin' Wolves (the JD drink). Also, we ate some buffalo wings for a late dinner, if you call dinner at Japan a late lunch. I ended the night by playing some Wist and then smoking my last cigar on the patio while talking to Samantha.
THURSDAY:
Today, our trip ends. We had to pack and be checked-out by 10AM. The next 5 hours we spent by the pool area. I will use this opportunity to describe the Marriot Horizons community. There are multiple in-ground, outdoor pools everywhere. Each one is separately themed too. The one near us was had a pirate ship at one end that shot water out of its cannons and sails. Also, it had water slides on it. It was a like a mini-water park for kids. Also on the property was a mini-golf course, ping-pong tables, basketball courts, tennis courts, an arcade room, a gym, foosball tables, and a full bar that also served as an all-day pool-side restaurant. Very cool area. Anyways, the majority of the 5 hours I spent sitting in the sun, playing cards, or playing ping-pong while drinking Heineken's. I wound up with a VERY dark tan on my arms and only my left shoulder burned a little, but I didn't get much color anywhere else.
At 3PM, we went back to Bahama Breeze for a quick meal before the plane. I drank a Bahama Mama, which was similar in fruity taste and strength to a Sex on the Beach. Not too shabby, but not great. For lunch/dinner, I ate a steak kabob with island rice and vegetables. It was ok, but not very good, certainly not as good as my last meal there.
We were done with dinner by 5 and headed over to the airport. We got through security by 6:30 (for a 7:10) flight, but it wound up being delayed until 8:30. While waiting I went with my father and mother to the Outback bar and drank a Sam Adams draft. Then, I grabbed some Burger King fries at about 8 to hold me over. They weren't very good. I am a McDonald's man. In the meantime, I watched episodes of Family Guy with Christopher on his portable DVD player. We boarded the same plane we took down here by just after 8 and we off by 8:30. Now for the flight, which was both good and bad. The bad: it was a turbulence filled ride with a very bumpy landing; the trivia game didn't work, which was highly disappointing; I got my tickets later than everyone else (we were lucky on the flight down) so I was in a different row from my family (they were in 5, I was in 23--actually I was in 23 both there and back... and if you watch LOST you know how weird that was for me--Jack sat in row 23, it is one of the "numbers," and that is the last row in the front of the plane before the back broke off). The good: I watched the Sox game the whole way down (although they blew a lead and lost in extra innings); I didn't get sick like the last time. After we landed, we grabbed out luggage, went to the limo van that brought us home, and then unpacked. I was in bed just after midnight.
Thus concludes my trip to Disney. Notice, I have always called it a trip because it was a sight-seeing trip and not a vacation. Aruba was a vacation. This week was very hectic and I was exhausted by the time I got home. Frankly, I was ready to go home whereas in Aruba they had to drag me out kicking and screaming. That being said it was a lot of fun and only could have been better if I had gone with Samantha because she would have loved it there. To anyone who is going or wants to go to Disney I have a few tips: 1) Go in either Oct/Nov or in March/April/May because the weather is much better. 2) Get the 7-day pass because it is much cheaper and if you rush to see everything in one day you won't have as much fun. Every park needs at least 2 days and if you do that then you will enjoy it more and get to see more. Ok, thanks for bearing with me for this long entry that took 6 or so hours over 5 days. If you read it, please leave me comment. I want to see who else has no life ;P.