The Long-Awaited Florida Trip!!!

So we finally went to Florida! What a trip it was! I am pretty tired still, so please excuse any errors in this blog!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

We left at 5am to catch a 7am flight. We arrived in Florida, picked up the rental car, and headed to Seaworld. We had fun there! We saw many different animals! We saw turtles, alligators, sharks, penguins, dolphins, whales, walruses, sea lions, otters, manatees, belugas, sting rays, and even a polar bear! Not to mention the flamingos and various other birds! We headed right over to the dolphin habitat, where we fed the dolphins! This was a first time experience for him, and the dolphins made him a little nervous, but it was old hat to me! He enjoyed feeding and petting the dolphins! We also went to the sting ray touch pool, where we could touch the sting rays as they swam by the surface! That was a new experience for me, and I enjoyed that! They felt slimy in the water, but when you pulled your hand out of the water it wasn't slimy at all! We took in the Dolphin and Bird Show, Blue Horizon, which combined real animals with acrobats! It was a good show! We went on Journey to Atlantis, which is a flume ride. We also saw the Clyde and Seamore Show, which was a sea lion/otter show based on pirates! It is a very funny show, and we enjoyed that a lot! We checked out other exhibits, my favorites being the sharks, (you go through the exhibit and end up under a giant clear tunnel and the sharks swim over your head! very awesome!)the penguins, and the Wild Arctic, which is a motion simulator helicopter ride that ends in a frozen exhibit that houses belugas, a polar bear, and two giant walruses! After that we headed to the Shamu show, Believe. It was a fantastic show, and that show made Dan fall in love with Seaworld like me! We couldn't believe how quickly 7 hours went by!

After Seaworld we headed to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. It was so much fun! I was a gypsy and Dan was a chick magnet(see pics on my photobucket for what it was!) We both spent the night getting complimented on our outfits! We went on several rides, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan's Flight, and Winnie-the-Pooh. We also did the Hall of Presidents, I wanted to see Obama! I went there mostly for entertainment, though! Everyone who knows me knows I just adore Halloween! We saw the Villains Show(I just love Disney Villains!) and got our picture taken with Maleficent, from Sleeping Beauty, who is my absolute favorite! We also saw the Halloween fireworks, AMAZING! The fireworks were the best I had ever seen! And they went off to different Disney Halloween songs, like "Grim Grinning Ghosts," and "This Is Halloween"(My favorite!), and "Heffalumps and Woozles!" We also saw the "Boo To You" Parade! It was great! They gave everyone who entered a trick or treat bag and had stations set up for trick or treating! I got to feel like a kid again! It was very fun, and not just for small children which I loved! You could see everyone there who loved Halloween! Mostly everyone was in costume!
We checked in at our hotel around 1:30 am. Our room was AMAZING! We had 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms! Two of the bathrooms had jacuzzi tubs in them! Our dining room was huge, as was the living room. We had our own washer and dryer and a nice screened in porch! We didn't need all that for just two of us but it was nice!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

We stayed in bed til about 9:30, then we went down to the concierge to get our free park tickets! We had decided we were going to go to Disney Quest this morning. Disney Quest is a 5-story building in Downtown Disney that is FILLED with video games! Each floor has one or two signature games on it, and then regular arcade games. You have a choice of starting on the 1st floor and working your way up, or taking the elevator(Genie from Aladdin is your host here, telling you various things you will find throughout Disney Quest!) to the top and working your way down. We decided to work our way up. The first floor was the adventure floor. On that floor it had two signature games: Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. On Jungle Cruise we sat in a raft with paddles and had to steer ourselves through white water rapids, complete with real water splashing us! Pirates of the Caribbean we were on a ship and we had to use cannons to shoot enemy ships and steal their gold! It was fun, the boat rocked from side to side and front to back and we had to keep running to shoot the six cannons! Then on to floor 2, where they have Animation Academy(it is kind of like a class to learn how to draw Disney characters, we skipped this though, it wasn't running when we got there!) They also had Radio Disney Song Maker, which was a booth where you could make your own cd's, and Sid's Toy Factory, where you could create a toy, and then actually purchase it after! We didn't really do much in here. Magic Carpets of Aladdin was also here, this was a virtual reality ride that had you as Abu the Monkey riding a carpet through Agrabah to get gems. It was fun, but the head gear you had to wear was heavy and didn't fit me right, I could barely breathe! Cyber Space Mountain was also located on this level, and this is (to me!) the best ride in here! You design your own roller coaster, and then you go in a special machine that actually lets you ride it! We had tons of loops, jumps, and spirals in ours! Then it was on to the third floor, where we went on Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blast. This was bumper cars with a twist-instead of just bumping other people, you had to shoot them with balls(or asteroids) that you ran over and sucked up into a cannon! We did this twice! Also on this floor was Mighty Ducks Pinball, where you were part of the game! Everyone was on a moving platform as a "ball" and you had to get your ball past the goal! NOT as easy as you think! Fourth floor was the Wonderland Cafe, where we each had a HUGE cupcake(So good but TONS of frosting!) and relaxed awhile on the internet. We also played air hockey, and various other arcade games, including virtual bowling, which was wicked fun! Finally we arrived on the fourth floor, where we Rode the Comix, another virtual reality ride, with those heavy head gear. And we did Alien Invasion, where you get in a spaceship to save people. We were actually in this spaceship, he was shooting and I was piloting. We were both awful! The fifth floor actually had their cafe, but we were full from cupcakes! Since we got there so early we banged out Disney Quest in 3.5 hours and went out to walk Downtown Disney. We had heard Pleasure Island Closed, so we were surprised to see it still open. We headed that way, and we saw that, while the clubs still stood there, they weren't open, and instead had been replaced with high end stores and restaurants. We also passed by Characters In Flight, a 100 foot high hot air balloon that reaches heights of 400 feet tethered! I wanted to go on here, I should have gone on this day when we were here. I wanted to go on at night, he was willing to take me back on Thursday but my feet hurt so much I declined! Next time I go, definitely am doing this!

We headed back to the hotel to change for our pictures at the Grand Floridian. That was fun, I had not had professional pictures like this taken with a boyfriend before! (Every year I go to Salem and we get fun professional photos taken, but this was much nicer as we were dressed up!)

After our pictures we went to Capone's Dinner Theatre, where we were handed a slip of paper with our "password" on it. We had to knock on the door three times and tell them our password, which was "two cherry cokes." They then let us in and took our "mugshot." We were assigned a table, we were table 29, and told to go help ourselves to the buffet. The buffet was excellent! They had salad with ranch or Italian dressing, linguini with a choice of red sauce or alfredo sauce, macaroni and cheese, green beans, turkey with stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes, pot roast with carrots and potatoes, some fish dishes, and some delicious breadsticks with just a hint of garlic! We headed back to our table where our waiter took our order for drinks. I had a rum and coke(we had free alcohol included, so I figured might as well have one!, which was mostly rum and not a whole lot of coke, so I let it water down a lot! The waiter came by later and I asked for water, he brings me another rum and coke(they made a lot of jokes about everyone getting drunk) and I was like no, I really meant water. So he hands the rum and coke to Dan and says "I was trying to get her ready for you for later, guess that isn't going to happen!" and he brings me my water. The show was hysterical! I don't think there was one dull moment! The characters were Miss Jewel, who ran a speakeasy, Bunny June, who was a singer there and who just married Fingers Salvatorio, Fingers Salvatorio was a wanna-be gangster, who had two goals: to not work and to avoid Bugs Maran. Honey and Sunny are Bunny June's sisters, who come back to re-form their girl group, and Bugs Maran, the top gangster who was looking for Fingers. The waiters were all part of the show too, with names like Joey Too Slow, and other names! I won't give away the storyline, but it was definitely worth it! An awesome time! They also sang Happy Birthday to me, which was cool!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Today we went to Epcot. Epcot is right in the middle of its annual Food and Wine Festival, so Dan was excited to try things! We got to Epcot pretty much as it opened, and even with only Future World being open at 9(the countries don't open until 11) we managed to get through everything no problem! We started with Spaceship Earth, which shows you how history has developed over the years.Spaceship Earth is the Big Epcot Ball,and they have revamped it, which was great! There is now a touch screen panel in your seat that asks you questions and takes your picture to show you how your "future" will be! From Spaceship Earth we went to Mission Space and Test Track, to get those done fast! We chose single rider lines for Test Track, from experience I know that you don't wait long at all, and usually end up in the same car, which we did! (Mission Space simulated what it would be like to be an astronaut in space, and Test Track lets you ride in a car that goes through all the check tests car makers do to make sure your car is safe!) After those were done, we went on the Nemo Ride, in which you are in a giant clam shell that takes you through the movie using screens and character props. After the ride you get out into a big aquarium that, aside from various colorful fish, also features dolphins and manatees! I could have stayed there all day, but he was anxious to do more rides! From Nemo we went to Soarin, which was the longest line we had all day(50 minutes) but they had giant interactive screens that had games on there that everyone could partake in, so that helped kill time! Soarin is an attraction where you get in a glider and you "Soar" over California, and you can smell the pine trees and oranges as well as see different parts of the state, It is a very unique experience! After Soarin the countries were open, so we headed over there. That is where the Food and Wine Festival began. Most places would just have temporary tents set up for the Food. Not Disney! They actually built small stands for each country that was participating! Dan was all about that, he purchased a card to swipe on a wrist band so he didn't have to keep pulling his debit card out. He tried an empanada from Argentina, a lamb shank from Australia, chocolate milk creme brulee from France, polpetti from Italy, lava cake with Bailey's ganache from Ireland, a rice patty with beef from China, and Sushi from Japan. And that is only a sampling of the things to choose from! The countries represented are Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Mexico City, Mexico, Barcelona, Spain; Krakow, Poland; Shanghai, China; Vienna, Austria; Cork, Ireland; New Delhi, India; Cape Town, South Africa; Bangkok, Thailand; Melbourne, Australia; Paris, France; Munich, Germany; Bologna, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; Marrakesh, Morocco; New Orleans, Louisiana; Wellington, New Zealand; Montreal, Canada; Athens, Greece; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. I am really picky, so I didn't try anything, but Dan recommends it to everyone who has an adventurous palate! I ate at the good old American Adventure's Liberty Tree Tavern! Can't get more exciting than a double cheeseburger! I did try rocky road chocolate mousse from there! Does that count? The countries we visited were Mexico, we did the Gran Fiesta boat ride featuring Donald Duck and the Three Caballeros, as we go through Mexico looking for Donald, Norway for Maelstrom, which is a Nordic boat/flume ride that has you "cursed" by trolls, and Japan, so I could see the koi ponds and gardens. We also stopped by the American Adventure, where we saw the pre-show of the Voices of Liberty, an a capella group singing Patriotic Songs, and then the American Adventure Show, which I love! It has a combination of song, movie, and animatronics to show the history of our nation. When we got out of there, it started to torrentially rain, so we went to the Liberty Tree Tavern. The other people were stupid and just stayed in the rain, guess they didn't know the Tavern was next door! I wasn't about to tell them, I wanted to get a table! The fife and drum corp came and performed while we waited, which was cool! The rain let up and we headed for the exit, to jump on a Disney bus for Disney's Hollywood Studios. We got to the Studios only to find that our complimentary tickets were one day one park, so we hopped the bus back to Epcot. At Epcot we went on the Imagination Ride featuring Figment, the Purple Dragon. This was a ride I had never been on before, and I really liked it! Figment takes you through the senses, and probably the most memorable room was unfortunately the smell room, where we had the pleasure of smelling skunk spray! We went back over to England to the Rose and Crown Pub, for me to see the Hat Lady, Pam. She was a very good pianist and vocalist, and she also sang Happy Birthday to me! She sang Broadway songs, polka songs, Irish songs--something for everyone! She wanted me to come sing with her but I was a little shy, even though Dan told her I was a great singer! She has been there 15 years, and I can't believe I had never seen her before! I made friends with this wonderful guy named Harry, who looked just like Anthony Rapp(from RENT, Original Broadway Cast, as well as other musicals! Anthony is actually coming to Providence in November to reprise his role of Mark Cohen for the final RENT tour, as is Adam Pascal who is reprising his original role of Roger Davis! Ok, no more cheap plugs, I promise!) Harry was thrilled that I said he looked like Anthony, as he LOVED RENT and saw the Original Broadway Cast in New York! I loved the fact that when I left that Pub I felt like a regular, it was like Cheers, where everybody knows your name! After that we made our way to the front to leave. We were back at the hotel by 9, and settled in to watch tv, (TNA for him) and for me to relax in the awesome jacuzzi tub! I want a tub like that! I also packed us up, so we didn't have to do that in the morning, and he took advantage of our washer-dryer and did our laundry, which was nice!

Friday, October 16, 2009 (My Birthday!!)

We woke up early, as we were going to head to Disney's Hollywood Studios(formerly known as MGM.) We checked out of the hotel before we left. When we arrived at Hollywood Studios, we went straight for Toy Story Midway Games, a new 3-D ride that let you play carnival games for points, much like Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom. It was incredibly fun, and only a short line! After that we did Walt Disney, The Man Behind The Dream, which was a nice walk through full of memorabilia from the parks and even Walt himself. It was a wonderful tribute for Walt! At that point I decided I wanted to see if I could obtain a birthday pin. I went up to the Will Call office and explained that it was my birthday, but we already had admission into the parks. The woman behind the counter was very nice, and she gave me not only a birthday pin that she wrote my name on, but she offered me three choices: Fast Passes for up to 6 members of my party, a ticket that I can use to come back anytime within the next year, or a gift card equal to $79 that I could spend on pretty much anything! So I chose the gift card, of course! I bought a hardcover Disney book, a set of 5 Disney books about the individual parks, a Haunted Mansion Game of Life, and a HUGE bag that ended up being my carry-on to fit it all in! After my shopping spree we did the Backlot Tour, which is a behind the scenes look at special effects in movies and various movie props from actual movies, and it culminated in a special Villains attraction where we could see costumes from various Disney Villains and Star Wars Villains! We also did the Great Movie Ride, which is a must-do for anyone going to Hollywood Studios! The Great Movie Ride is a ride through that takes us through the movies, starting with the early silent films up through current movies. We didn't have time for anything else, as we had to go to Universal Studios!

We head over to Universal Studios around 2. This place is amazing! You are on a Midway filled with games and shops before you even enter the park! We went into the regular Universal Studios, and go right on the Jimmy Neutron ride. We watch the pre-show, then get on the ride. Jimmy Neutron is a ride where you board Jimmy's Mark 1 space cruiser to track down his nemesis and save the planet. The Mark 1 moves, as does the screen in front of you. You soar through Hey Arnold's neighborhood, the house where the Rugrats live, Jimmy Neutron's own neighborhood, and Bikini Bottom, where Spongebob Squarepants lives. At the end of the ride the nemesis catches up to you and forces you to do the chicken dance! It is very funny, as the ride actually does the dance for you! After Jimmy Neutron, we went and did Shrek 4D. Princess Fiona has been kidnapped by the ghost of Lord Farquaad's henchman Thelonious! You join Shrek and Donkey as they race to get Fiona back! In this experience you actually can feel things, like Dragon's sneeze, or the bumpy onion carriage ride! The pre-show is great, too! The 3 little pigs are held in torturous starvation boxes, and Pinocchio is in an Iron Maiden. The Magic Mirror is also in this torture chamber, and Farquaad's Ghost comes to torture them! After this we split up, he went on Twister, and I went to the I Love Lucy Tribute. This was a walk through filled with things from Lucille Ball's life, including the I Love Lucy Show, when Desi Jr was born, things from The Lucy Show, and even chronicling her Broadway career. There were props, clothes, letters, jewelry. There was even an I Love Lucy quiz, where you are trying to get Ricky, Lucy, Fred, and Ethel to California! I loved it! Dan loved Twister too, he said it was a lot of fun! We met up at Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue, a fun show of monsters that turn Rock n Roll. They perform popular songs, and even did the Thriller dance! I liked it, Dan not so much. I did see this at Riverside Park back in the day when it was Halloween time, I preferred that show myself as they did older songs and made it fit in, like Devil with a Blue Dress, and Phantom of the Opera, because they had the Phantom there! Beetlejuice is just funny as always though! Finally, we went to the Simpsons Ride. We walked through "Martha's Vineyard" on our way, because that's where the Jaws Ride was. We make it to the Simpsons Ride where we had the longest line of the day, an hour. It was worth it though! They had Simpsons clips playing to entertain you as you waited. When you get to the ride you board a roller coaster car, and I was expecting to go on a coaster. The ride raises you up, and then you move in the car as you "ride" the coaster on the screen! It really felt like you were riding a coaster! It was a different experience, but I would totally recommend it!

After this the park was closing for its Halloween Spooktacular, and we had a flight to catch anyway, so we headed to the airport. We had to get gas because they required us to fill the car, so we chose to go closer to the airport. Boy did we get screwed! It cost us $4.49 a gallon! We make it to the airport and breeze through security, and we head to our gate to find our plane was delayed, which was good as we were running late ourselves! We made it on the plane for 7:31 pm, and arrived back in Boston by 9:50 pm! We took the Silver line to South Station and finally arrived back in Attleboro by 1 am! What a long trip! But it was so fun! Please check out my pictures on photobucket.com/butterfly1016217 if you would like to see my trip!