Ok so we've got 2 more days to the trip and 2 more parks to check out. Sunday was actually another clinic day and we did go to learn the new level 3 routines, but since they start with level 5, the more complicated routines and work backwards, we had a pretty good understanding of the new text and were able to buzz through them quickly.
Magic Kingdom was the first thing on the agenda. There were a few rides we had missed the first day and I felt that it was necessary to ride Space Mountain again!! We weren't there for too long but we even got to ride the monorail which made me very excited :)
We were off to Hollywood Studios. I believe last time I was there it was actually called MGM Studios, but some of it was still the same, like the Indiana Jones stunt show and Tower of Terror.
There was a new coaster that everyone had been telling me about. Some rockin' roller coaster, something about Aerosmith . . . I got to find out what all the talk was about. Holy cow this thing was cool!! A giant limo is your car, and Steven Tyler counts down and this thing takes off!! It's not like a lot of coasters were there are chains and things to pull you up a hill, there's hydraulics or something that just launch you!! Then it's all in the dark sort of like Space Mountain but there are black lights lighting up different things. Just make sure you hold onto your stuff, almost lost my camera bag going through the cork screw!!
The Tower of Terror is a ride I can remember doing when I was a kid. I don't think anything about it has changed in 17 years, even the interior looked just like I remembered. I can remember going on it with my mom and brother, and I think we waited forever to get on it. I remember the sun going down when we went inside and it being dark when the doors of the ride opened at the top of the ride. It was still fun!! We felt the need to go on it a few different times :)
I was very excited to find out that Hollywood Studios does some sort of Star Wars weekend this time of year. I personally love the original Star Wars so to walk around and run into Chewie and Ewoks was pretty awesome!!
Darth Vader was even around for the Jedi training when we were getting on the Star Tours ride . . . it's the simple things :)
Plus they did this dance party thing that night. We missed the beginning but still got to see Vader dancing to Bad by Michael Jackson. It was pretty fantastic :)
Our last day down in Florida and we were finally going to get to my second request of the trip!! When I had last visited in '96 the Animal Kingdom was still being built and wouldn't open until '98. I love going to zoos and aquariums, and I've always wanted to go on an African safari. Shari assured me we would make it to the safari!! We got lucky that Animal Kingdom had magic hours that morning, so we could get in an hour early. Only problem was it took FOREVER to get a shuttle that day, don't know what the hold up was but we opted for a cab in the end and were still there about a half hour before the general public was allowed in.
Expedition Everest was our first stop. Such a fun coaster!! Never thought I'd ever climb Everest (and that is probably as close as I'll ever actually get) or get chased by a Yeti. The view on the way up the coaster is amazing!! Not only do you get an amazing view of the mountain itself but if you look out around you, you can see the Tower of Terror and the big Epcot ball.
The Tree of Life was just breath taking too!! I had seen pictures of it, and seen it on Discovery Channel specials and that sort of thing but to actually see it . . . the detail is just amazing!! There were animals everywhere. Carved into the branches, even on the roots at the base of the tree going into the water below. It's a wonderful centerpiece for the park.
The safari!! There were 2 animal rides, the first one we did was a riding safari ride. It was so much fun!! You get into a safari truck and drive along a path but the animals are free to wander around the huge space. There was something everywhere you looked!! I could have gone on that one over and over again!!
The walk through safari was cool too. Sort of like a zoo area, but there was a bird area to go through a huge gorilla enclosure, the meerkats were cute, and the landscaping was - like most things in Disney - perfect!!
Shari was a wonderful tour guide. She knew which shows were the "must-sees" and knew how important it was go get in line early to get a good seat. The Nemo show was cute. To me it was really neat because the whole thing was done with puppets. Made me miss being a puppeteer!! How some of them were designed and operated, even the sea plants had someone behind them to make them move and look like we were on the bottom of the ocean. A truly fantastic show, but make sure to get in line a good half hour before show time!!
The Lion King show was the other show we made sure to catch!! It was the Festival of the Lion King, so where Nemo was like a play telling the story Finding Nemo, this one had a lot of the Lion King characters but it had some acrobatics and performers, a little bit of a Cirque feel almost. Still a lot of fun!!
After a nice dinner at the biggest Rainforest Cafe in the world, we were back to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon. There were a couple rides and shows we just didn't have a chance to fit in the day before. The Toy Story Mania ride was one of them. We had been hoping to get fast passes but by the time we got there we had to just wait in line, which turned out to be not that bad of a wait. We had an ice cream wager riding on this game again. I was super excited because I was winning after the first little game . . . Shari killed me again . . . a lot of fun though, wish we had, had time to do it again!!
Our last day down in Florida and we were finally going to get to my second request of the trip!! When I had last visited in '96 the Animal Kingdom was still being built and wouldn't open until '98. I love going to zoos and aquariums, and I've always wanted to go on an African safari. Shari assured me we would make it to the safari!! We got lucky that Animal Kingdom had magic hours that morning, so we could get in an hour early. Only problem was it took FOREVER to get a shuttle that day, don't know what the hold up was but we opted for a cab in the end and were still there about a half hour before the general public was allowed in.
The Tree of Life was just breath taking too!! I had seen pictures of it, and seen it on Discovery Channel specials and that sort of thing but to actually see it . . . the detail is just amazing!! There were animals everywhere. Carved into the branches, even on the roots at the base of the tree going into the water below. It's a wonderful centerpiece for the park.The safari!! There were 2 animal rides, the first one we did was a riding safari ride. It was so much fun!! You get into a safari truck and drive along a path but the animals are free to wander around the huge space. There was something everywhere you looked!! I could have gone on that one over and over again!!
Shari was a wonderful tour guide. She knew which shows were the "must-sees" and knew how important it was go get in line early to get a good seat. The Nemo show was cute. To me it was really neat because the whole thing was done with puppets. Made me miss being a puppeteer!! How some of them were designed and operated, even the sea plants had someone behind them to make them move and look like we were on the bottom of the ocean. A truly fantastic show, but make sure to get in line a good half hour before show time!!
The Lion King show was the other show we made sure to catch!! It was the Festival of the Lion King, so where Nemo was like a play telling the story Finding Nemo, this one had a lot of the Lion King characters but it had some acrobatics and performers, a little bit of a Cirque feel almost. Still a lot of fun!!
After a nice dinner at the biggest Rainforest Cafe in the world, we were back to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon. There were a couple rides and shows we just didn't have a chance to fit in the day before. The Toy Story Mania ride was one of them. We had been hoping to get fast passes but by the time we got there we had to just wait in line, which turned out to be not that bad of a wait. We had an ice cream wager riding on this game again. I was super excited because I was winning after the first little game . . . Shari killed me again . . . a lot of fun though, wish we had, had time to do it again!!
Beauty and the Beast was being performed . . .
And we finished the night with the Fantasmic show. That was cool. They warned you ahead of time that you may get wet, they would shoot up these curtains of water and project scenes from different movies off of it. Then behind it a live actors would pop up and do things, and boats would float by . . . It never ceases to amaze me what they do there, the brilliant things they come up with.
Well that was my super awesome trip to Florida!! I can only hope it doesn't take me 17 years before I get to go back. It really is a magical place where dreams can come true!!
Cheers!!
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