Animal Kingdom seemed even more authentic thanks to the small belts of moderate to heavy rainfall that gave it an organic, rainforest-like feel.
Anyway, having indulged in a little too much Egg Nog while visiting my aunt the previous night, I was having none of that crazy ride madness; not that I was having any before. I stuck to the strictly tame, mostly animal-related activities that didn't really thrill you, but made you feel good about nature and stuff.
The funny thing about the live animals in Animal Kingdom is that, with the exception of a few species, it seems like all the creatures on display are native to the area. It's as if they just happened to be on the grounds when the park was built. Had I been in New Hampshire, not Florida, I might have been impressed. As it was, I was looking into glass habitats filled with the kind of birds that tried to steal my sandwich at Epcot.
Aside from having more locals than Cheers, they had some gorillas who were just chilling out, a hippo who I got to see above water and under water (they're surprisingly graceful under water), and a wide selection of creepy crawlies kept in glass aquariums which just didn't seem to be thick enough (we're not talking about the kind of bugs you go after with Raid. When these guys show up at your house, it's time to pack up the kids and move).
They also had the world's most disappointing petting zoo. I don't know if it was the spurts of rain, of if the animals were kind of burned out on people, but every last one of them was huddled together within a roped off area labeled as their, "Time Out Zone." Species that were probably natural rivals were piled on top of each other in their little zone telling each other, "If one more kid touches me I'm gonna freaking loose it."
My favorite attraction was within the "Tree of Life," large man-made tree whose bark, upon closer inspection, is actually a collection of hundreds of carvings depicting various animals. Within the tree was the theater for, "It's Tough Being a Bug," an interactive presentation starring the characters from "A Bug's Life." Not just a 3D movie, you were sprayed with water, "stung" in the back, and hosed by a stink bug. Better than the beloved "Muppets 3D." I'm told that I missed a similar experience at MGM in "Honey I Shrunk the Audience," which I didn't intentionally avoid, I simply didn't know it was there. Maybe next time.
It was a short day because we had to catch the craziest ride of all, our flight home.
Overall I had a wonderful time at Walt Disney World and I think perhaps one day I'll go back, but maybe after I have kids of my own, I KNOW they'll freaking love it.
12/30/2004
Florida Day 4: Epcot (12/8/04)
Epcot was fine and dandy.
Ug, don’t feel like writing anymore.
It was largely an educational and enlightening experience, well, for me anyway (I pussed out on a few of the wild rides).
Highlights included an enlightening presentation on animation, various moving movie and anamatronic rides, all kinds of science and technology doohickeys, and a large international pavilion featuring cultures from all over the world.
My dad made a note of how, besides a few shows and about one culture film in each area, the international area was really just a string of gift shops, an international super mall if you will. He had that right, but I enjoy shopping, so I was OK with it.
Apparently Disney makes it a policy to hire only natives of that country in each international pavilion. I was crazy about this, it was so cool. It was a kaleidoscope of accents and mannerisms. And the women, oh the women, exotic and lovely. In the hot chick international category, we have a tie for first place between the strong yet delicate women of Germany (well, of Epcot Germany anyway. The real Germans might be different), and the exotic beauties of Japan. I bet I’d be a stud in Japan. A tall American stud muffin with my wild Western manners. I would dominate Japan like Godzilla… or not… it’s just a theory I have.
One new album “Other Misc Shots,” can be found at the picture site http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/radioactiveegg03/my_photos , comprised mainly of pictures taken by other members of my family. Some good stuff in there.
Epcot was fine and dandy.
Ug, don’t feel like writing anymore.
It was largely an educational and enlightening experience, well, for me anyway (I pussed out on a few of the wild rides).
Highlights included an enlightening presentation on animation, various moving movie and anamatronic rides, all kinds of science and technology doohickeys, and a large international pavilion featuring cultures from all over the world.
My dad made a note of how, besides a few shows and about one culture film in each area, the international area was really just a string of gift shops, an international super mall if you will. He had that right, but I enjoy shopping, so I was OK with it.
Apparently Disney makes it a policy to hire only natives of that country in each international pavilion. I was crazy about this, it was so cool. It was a kaleidoscope of accents and mannerisms. And the women, oh the women, exotic and lovely. In the hot chick international category, we have a tie for first place between the strong yet delicate women of Germany (well, of Epcot Germany anyway. The real Germans might be different), and the exotic beauties of Japan. I bet I’d be a stud in Japan. A tall American stud muffin with my wild Western manners. I would dominate Japan like Godzilla… or not… it’s just a theory I have.
One new album “Other Misc Shots,” can be found at the picture site http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/radioactiveegg03/my_photos , comprised mainly of pictures taken by other members of my family. Some good stuff in there.
Florida Day 3: Disney/MGM Studios (12/7/04)
Now this is more like it! A movie theme park. That’s my kind place. I also really dug the 1950’s Hollywood Boulevard motif, I guess I’m really into retro lately.
I’m actually getting tired of writing. It could be caused by any number of things, which I’ll get into later. But for now I’m just going to run through some of the highlights of the visit.
Muppets 3D – You gotta love the Muppets. You gotta love 3D. You gotta love this show. The revolutionary 3D technology was like nothing you’ve seen before (unless you’ve seen other 3D shows at the other parks before this, I guess). Helped out by “real” Muppets at the side and back of the stage.
The Great Movie Ride – Tour through surprisingly well rendered sets from your favorite movies. My personal favorite was, of course, the set of Alien. The creepy gothic space ship halls were awesome, even if I could barely see the alien in all that fog and steam.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre – Though not actually an “attraction,” it was my favorite place. Picture a restaurant where all the tables are shaped like 1950’s cars, and they’re all facing a big screen that plays cartoons and ultra cheesy sci-fi movie trailers. The waitress comes around, sometimes on roller skates, to deliver your drinks which each have a light in them that causes them to glow. How cool is that!
Fantasmic makes for a spectacular nighttime show. Part stage show, part parade, part fireworks, it’s a joy for all the senses. And let me tell you, it was packed. When you have a massive outdoor arena and by the time you get to the show, 20 minutes before it starts, and there’s only standing room left, then you can imagine how packed it was. It was worthwhile though.
HARBOR ATTACK! – By just missing the previous showing and being first in line for the next performance, my sister and I were chosen, along with two other hapless guests, to participate in the show. We were ushered into a side room and given rain slickers, pants, and heavy boots to wear. This was the first sign of trouble. We were brought out on stage where we were the performers in the Harbor Attack Special Effects Show. Basically they me at the head of a PT boat being hit by “torpedoes” which splashed water everywhere. Jen got it worse in the “engineering room” where two huge dumpster-sized buckets of water were shot in the window at her. A good time was had by all.
Now this is more like it! A movie theme park. That’s my kind place. I also really dug the 1950’s Hollywood Boulevard motif, I guess I’m really into retro lately.
I’m actually getting tired of writing. It could be caused by any number of things, which I’ll get into later. But for now I’m just going to run through some of the highlights of the visit.
Muppets 3D – You gotta love the Muppets. You gotta love 3D. You gotta love this show. The revolutionary 3D technology was like nothing you’ve seen before (unless you’ve seen other 3D shows at the other parks before this, I guess). Helped out by “real” Muppets at the side and back of the stage.
The Great Movie Ride – Tour through surprisingly well rendered sets from your favorite movies. My personal favorite was, of course, the set of Alien. The creepy gothic space ship halls were awesome, even if I could barely see the alien in all that fog and steam.
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre – Though not actually an “attraction,” it was my favorite place. Picture a restaurant where all the tables are shaped like 1950’s cars, and they’re all facing a big screen that plays cartoons and ultra cheesy sci-fi movie trailers. The waitress comes around, sometimes on roller skates, to deliver your drinks which each have a light in them that causes them to glow. How cool is that!
Fantasmic makes for a spectacular nighttime show. Part stage show, part parade, part fireworks, it’s a joy for all the senses. And let me tell you, it was packed. When you have a massive outdoor arena and by the time you get to the show, 20 minutes before it starts, and there’s only standing room left, then you can imagine how packed it was. It was worthwhile though.
HARBOR ATTACK! – By just missing the previous showing and being first in line for the next performance, my sister and I were chosen, along with two other hapless guests, to participate in the show. We were ushered into a side room and given rain slickers, pants, and heavy boots to wear. This was the first sign of trouble. We were brought out on stage where we were the performers in the Harbor Attack Special Effects Show. Basically they me at the head of a PT boat being hit by “torpedoes” which splashed water everywhere. Jen got it worse in the “engineering room” where two huge dumpster-sized buckets of water were shot in the window at her. A good time was had by all.
12/26/2004
Florida Day 2: The Magic Kingdom (12/6/04)
Without being negative, I think I can say that some of the "magic" of the "Magic" Kingdom is lost on me. Maybe it’s just my age. Having said that, it’s still a damn fun time.
I tried a roller coaster for the first time! I didn’t like it. I’m going to revert to my anti-roller coaster stance. My sister told me I need to try more, to overcome my fear of rollercoasters. For the record, I’m not afraid of roller coasters. I’m afraid of vomiting while taking a turn at 90mph. Fortunately, there are very few ways to be put in that situation, and they’re easy to avoid.
The roller coaster in question was Thunder Mountain, a “Disneyfied” roller coaster for “kids.” The “kids” on the train seemed to like it. I, on the other hand, was not enjoying myself. I just don’t like the sensations brought on by a roller coaster. It’s just the way I am.
Other rides brought me much joy. Splash Mountain was a personal favorite of mine (although for fear of losing my glasses on the big splashdowns I kept them in my pocket. This kind of dampened the experience a little as I watched a Brer Rabbit-shaped blur being chased by a Brer Fox-shaped blur alongside the boat.)
Other favorites include Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. A very tame ride, it’s more of a moving shooting gallery, which was… well… a blast. My mad video game skills were showing when I scored more than three times anyone else in my family. 78500 points! Go to Walt Disney World right now, hop on that ride a few times and beat that score, I dare you!
That particular ride was located in Tomorrowland, my favorite of the sub kingdoms within The Magic Kingdom (which is, itself, a sub kingdom of Walt Disney World). I loved the retro-future motif of that whole wing of the park, kind of a 1950’s view of the future, it’s was groovy.
The Haunted Mansion and other animatronic attractions like it were pretty anti-climactic, but fun nonetheless. They're still notable for all their visual tricks and puns.
We capped off the day by catching the parade… well, one of the parades anyway, apparently there are a LOT of parades in Disney World. At night the place lit up all sorts of colors and we were treated to various stage shows until we were to tired to stand, much less walk.
Pictures are up now at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/radioactiveegg03/my_photos.
Without being negative, I think I can say that some of the "magic" of the "Magic" Kingdom is lost on me. Maybe it’s just my age. Having said that, it’s still a damn fun time.
I tried a roller coaster for the first time! I didn’t like it. I’m going to revert to my anti-roller coaster stance. My sister told me I need to try more, to overcome my fear of rollercoasters. For the record, I’m not afraid of roller coasters. I’m afraid of vomiting while taking a turn at 90mph. Fortunately, there are very few ways to be put in that situation, and they’re easy to avoid.
The roller coaster in question was Thunder Mountain, a “Disneyfied” roller coaster for “kids.” The “kids” on the train seemed to like it. I, on the other hand, was not enjoying myself. I just don’t like the sensations brought on by a roller coaster. It’s just the way I am.
Other rides brought me much joy. Splash Mountain was a personal favorite of mine (although for fear of losing my glasses on the big splashdowns I kept them in my pocket. This kind of dampened the experience a little as I watched a Brer Rabbit-shaped blur being chased by a Brer Fox-shaped blur alongside the boat.)
Other favorites include Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. A very tame ride, it’s more of a moving shooting gallery, which was… well… a blast. My mad video game skills were showing when I scored more than three times anyone else in my family. 78500 points! Go to Walt Disney World right now, hop on that ride a few times and beat that score, I dare you!
That particular ride was located in Tomorrowland, my favorite of the sub kingdoms within The Magic Kingdom (which is, itself, a sub kingdom of Walt Disney World). I loved the retro-future motif of that whole wing of the park, kind of a 1950’s view of the future, it’s was groovy.
The Haunted Mansion and other animatronic attractions like it were pretty anti-climactic, but fun nonetheless. They're still notable for all their visual tricks and puns.
We capped off the day by catching the parade… well, one of the parades anyway, apparently there are a LOT of parades in Disney World. At night the place lit up all sorts of colors and we were treated to various stage shows until we were to tired to stand, much less walk.
Pictures are up now at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/radioactiveegg03/my_photos.
12/14/2004
Florida Day 1 (12/5/04)
Though not my first flight, I dealt with my ride to Florida with less than iron fortitude. Twiddling my thumbs at mach speed and clenching my jaw so tight that it somehow made my crotch hurt. It was difficult to say what I was so nervous about. I'm well informed, I knew the facts; I know there's a better chance of killing myself with a Nutrageous bar than actually dying in a plane crash. But that didn't seem to make me any more relaxed. Something about it, the long dawn out anticipation before takeoff, the massive acceleration as you speed down the runway, the availability of free booze. It's all so intimidating.
Things went off without a hitch though, and for that I’m grateful.
It became apparent soon after we landed and piled in our rental car how obsessed my mother was with hurricane damage. Every few minutes it was “Oooh, look at all knocked over trees,” or “Look, that house still has a tarp over the roof.” She would point out broken street signs like she was drawing our attention to foreign landmarks. My mom is funny like that.
The condo, which was to be the base of our operations for the next six days and five nights, was about the size of my car. It had one bedroom and one living area. The bedroom was for my parents, the living area was for my sister and I. She got the fold-out couch. I got the cot which, because of the space taken up by the fold-out couch, could not be unfurled without opening two doors. This is not to say she had the bigger bed, it was just a small, small place.
That was it, on day one we only settled in and had dinner at Cracker Barrel (where you can get eggs with ANYTHING!).
P.S. What’s up with grits? They’re not that great.
P.S.S. Pictures to follow soon.
Though not my first flight, I dealt with my ride to Florida with less than iron fortitude. Twiddling my thumbs at mach speed and clenching my jaw so tight that it somehow made my crotch hurt. It was difficult to say what I was so nervous about. I'm well informed, I knew the facts; I know there's a better chance of killing myself with a Nutrageous bar than actually dying in a plane crash. But that didn't seem to make me any more relaxed. Something about it, the long dawn out anticipation before takeoff, the massive acceleration as you speed down the runway, the availability of free booze. It's all so intimidating.
Things went off without a hitch though, and for that I’m grateful.
It became apparent soon after we landed and piled in our rental car how obsessed my mother was with hurricane damage. Every few minutes it was “Oooh, look at all knocked over trees,” or “Look, that house still has a tarp over the roof.” She would point out broken street signs like she was drawing our attention to foreign landmarks. My mom is funny like that.
The condo, which was to be the base of our operations for the next six days and five nights, was about the size of my car. It had one bedroom and one living area. The bedroom was for my parents, the living area was for my sister and I. She got the fold-out couch. I got the cot which, because of the space taken up by the fold-out couch, could not be unfurled without opening two doors. This is not to say she had the bigger bed, it was just a small, small place.
That was it, on day one we only settled in and had dinner at Cracker Barrel (where you can get eggs with ANYTHING!).
P.S. What’s up with grits? They’re not that great.
P.S.S. Pictures to follow soon.
12/03/2004
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