Wednesday was the last day of the trip. We actually slept in, the first time on the trip, and it felt amazing!! We were so physically tired from the amazement parks. Once we rolled out of bed, we packed up our suitcases and headed to Downtown Disney to shop for souvenirs.
Chad and I bought our first ornament for our Christmas tree. It has Minnie and Mickie in a snow globe. It's really cute! We couldn't resist the Mickey Mouse suckers, so we stocked up for all of our nieces and nephews.
The day before Thanksgiving is the busiest day to fly... just our luck, we get stuck flying in the middle of all that confusion. We went to the airport early to make sure we wouldn't miss our flight. It was actually really crowded, we were glad we went early. I have never seen the security line so long.
We took off at 5:15 pm from Orlando and landed in Pheonix, AZ at 7 pm. We grabbed some food and get on our flight to SLC. This flight was absolutely horrible. You know thee beep that goes on the intercom when the pilot is going to make an announcement? Well imagine that beep constantly beeping for an hour and a half, with the speaker above your head... welcome to my life. The pilot said they were having technical difficulties and they wouldn't be able to stop the beep unless we did an emergency landing, which wasn't worth the risk. I am just glad it was the beeping and not the steering that had technical difficulties!
Since we were flying to SLC, that meant there were a lot of babies on the flight, I mean come on, it's Utah, of course there would be a lot of babies.... but this meant that none of them could sleep because of the beeping, which resulted in all of them crying. This is just a glimpse of the flight. All I can say, is that I've never been so happy to get off of a plane before. It feels great to be back in Utah!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom is the last park we went to... so sad... but we were just saving the best for last! The entire park feels like you're in Africa, not in the dead center of Orlando, FL. I actually liked the feeling of not being in an amusement park. Six days of amusement parks starts to get old. Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely LOVED this vacation and I have dreaded going home to good ol' Provo, but the lines, the people, the crowds, the fast food, the stinky hotel room get old after awhile. Six days for Disneyworld is the perfect amount of time!
I had 2 favorite rides at Animal Kingdom. The first was Mt. Everest. It's similar to Disneyland's Mattahorn, except for it has a twist (literally). I'm won't spoil it for you, but I will definitely recommend it!
Last, but definitely not least, was the safari. We almost didn't go on the safari because it had a 90 minute wait and we were tired and ready to go back to the hotel, but we figured if people are willing to wait for 90 minutes for one ride, it must be worth it. We got some fast passes and came back an hour later. This ride was different than any other ride. Instead of having a track that the car goes on, we got in a jeep and there was a driver that that drove us around "Africa". It was actually really cool! We were 3 feet away from giraffes, zebras, ostriches, hippos, etc. It was like being going to a zoo, but without the glass and bars to keep you away. This was by far the best "ride". Now I understand why people would wait 90 minutes.
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom is the park most similar to Disneyland. There is a beautiful castle, many Disney characters roaming throughout the park and rides that bring back memories from your childhood.
We arrived at the park early and left the park for lunch. We went to our favorite fast food restaurant.... Popeyes! They have amazing fried chicken and biscuits. It's similar to KFC, but 1,000 times better. We ate there a total of three times throughout the trip, it's THAT good! Plus, it's cheaper than eating in the park.
We headed back to the hotel and took a 2 hour nap. I forgot how much amusement parks wear you out. Logan had a pedometer, and on average, we walked between 6-7 miles a day!
Once we got back to the park, we got amazing seats to the firework show. It amazes me how many fireworks they do! I can't even imagine how much it costs, but it was definitely the best firework show I have ever seen!!
We arrived at the park early and left the park for lunch. We went to our favorite fast food restaurant.... Popeyes! They have amazing fried chicken and biscuits. It's similar to KFC, but 1,000 times better. We ate there a total of three times throughout the trip, it's THAT good! Plus, it's cheaper than eating in the park.
We headed back to the hotel and took a 2 hour nap. I forgot how much amusement parks wear you out. Logan had a pedometer, and on average, we walked between 6-7 miles a day!
Once we got back to the park, we got amazing seats to the firework show. It amazes me how many fireworks they do! I can't even imagine how much it costs, but it was definitely the best firework show I have ever seen!!
Epcot
On Sunday we spent the day at Epcot. I was really excited to go to this park because I have heard great things about it. This park is different then all the others. One part of the park is futuristic. All the rides are based around space and the future.
The second part of the park is a display of many of the countries around the world (Italy, Paris, Switzerland, America, Mexico, etc.). For each country, there are a few gift shops that sell items from that country. There was at least one restaurant or candy/pastry shop. Each country was decorated like the actual country and so it almost felt like you were actually there.
For dinner we ate in Morocco. We had chicken fajitas and french fries. I wasn't impressed with the food. I don't think I'll be traveling to Morocco anytime soon :)
Here are some pictures from the day..
For dinner we ate in Morocco. We had chicken fajitas and french fries. I wasn't impressed with the food. I don't think I'll be traveling to Morocco anytime soon :)
Here are some pictures from the day..
Our reactions after tasting the French pastries....they weren't too good :)
Excuse my awkward pose...
The whole group. From left to right: Logan Nelson, Chad, Me, Rashell Nelson, Colby Nelson
Monday, November 26, 2012
Hollywood Studios
We spent Saturday in the Hollywood Studios park. There aren't very many rides in that park, so we spent our time on Tower of Terror...my favorite ride! I like it better in Florida rather than California because you actually move around in a car instead of just going up an down in an elevator like in California.
Aerosmith was a fun ride too. It's a roller coaster that blasts Aerosmith in your ears as you cruise in the dark. I just wouldn't suggest waiting an hour in line for it. That was probably the longest line we had to wait in.
The highlight of the day was the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. It's a show where you can see the types of stunts they do in movies. We sat in the 3rd row. At the beginning of the show, they asked for volunteers. Chad jumped up and started yelling and waiving his arms so he could be picked. The host picked Chad!
He went onto the stage in front of 1000+ people along with a few other volunteers. Chad had to do a girls walk and shake his hips in front of everyone and finish with a pose. From that little dance and a few moves from Gangham Style, the crowd loved him. He was picked the be the "main" volunteer. He had to act like he was sneaking up on someone, who then turned and shot Chad, which caused him to fall to the ground. I never knew he was such an actor!
We ended the night by watching Fantasmic, a firework show in the amphitheater. It was an eventful day :)
Aerosmith was a fun ride too. It's a roller coaster that blasts Aerosmith in your ears as you cruise in the dark. I just wouldn't suggest waiting an hour in line for it. That was probably the longest line we had to wait in.
The highlight of the day was the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. It's a show where you can see the types of stunts they do in movies. We sat in the 3rd row. At the beginning of the show, they asked for volunteers. Chad jumped up and started yelling and waiving his arms so he could be picked. The host picked Chad!
He went onto the stage in front of 1000+ people along with a few other volunteers. Chad had to do a girls walk and shake his hips in front of everyone and finish with a pose. From that little dance and a few moves from Gangham Style, the crowd loved him. He was picked the be the "main" volunteer. He had to act like he was sneaking up on someone, who then turned and shot Chad, which caused him to fall to the ground. I never knew he was such an actor!
We ended the night by watching Fantasmic, a firework show in the amphitheater. It was an eventful day :)
Islands of Adventure
Thursday and Friday we spent at the park, Islands of Adventure. This was one of my favorite parks! We went on Jurassic park, the Hulk, Spider-Man, and many other rides.
The best part of the park was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The entire part of the park was decorated like the Harry Potter. I don't even like Harry Potter and I was obsessed with it, that's saying a lot! The ride was incredible, not only because the line forms throughout a castle and is replicated just like Hogwarts, but the ride makes you feel like you're in the movie. It switches between a simulator and the ride. It was soo fun that we rode it 4 times! Once you exit the ride, there are barrels with butter beer.
Butter beer is like drinking cream soda with a butterscotch foam on top. It sounds disgusting (at least that was my thought since I don't like butterscotch or cream soda) but it was delightful.
One of the worst mistakes I made was drinking and finishing a full cup of butter beer and then going on the Hulk (the ride accelerates to 45 mph in 2 seconds and immediately starts doing loops). Needless to say, I found myself throwing up in the bushes 2 minutes after the ride. Barfing didn't stop me, we still had 3 more rounds of butter beer throughout the day :)
Funny story... it was around 11am and I was starving. Me and Chad decided to take a break from the rides and get some food. As I was walking to the hot dog stand, something slammed into my face, it almost knocked me of my feet. My first thought was someone threw a ball at me. After I caught my balance and looked around to see what it could be, I noticed a bird spin in circles for a minute above my head and then fly away. I laughed my way over to Logan Nelson and he pulled out the bird feathers from my hair. What are the chances that it would run into my face at that split second?! It was hilarious! It was a great day :)
Butter beer is like drinking cream soda with a butterscotch foam on top. It sounds disgusting (at least that was my thought since I don't like butterscotch or cream soda) but it was delightful.
Funny story... it was around 11am and I was starving. Me and Chad decided to take a break from the rides and get some food. As I was walking to the hot dog stand, something slammed into my face, it almost knocked me of my feet. My first thought was someone threw a ball at me. After I caught my balance and looked around to see what it could be, I noticed a bird spin in circles for a minute above my head and then fly away. I laughed my way over to Logan Nelson and he pulled out the bird feathers from my hair. What are the chances that it would run into my face at that split second?! It was hilarious! It was a great day :)
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Universal Studios
Our first day in Florida we went to Universal Studios. The park was decorated very well and had a lot of cool rides/simulators and stores. Our favorite ride was a rockin' roller coaster. Music was blasting in our ears during the ride. We rode it 3 times, after the 3rd time, I was feeling quite nauseous. We decided we shouldn't go on it the rest of the day :)
Suprisingly, the park wasn't that crowded, we only had to wait about 10 minutes for each ride, it was awesome! The weather was absolutely perfect. It was overcast and a little rainy, all I needed was a light jacket. Once the park closed at 7 pm, we went to a local pizza restaurant and ordered 2 large pizza's for the 4 of us. We ate it all within 10 minutes, we were all starving. We went to Target and stocked up on some breakfast foods for the next week. Our hotel was fairly close to the parks. We stayed in the "Ramada". It wasn't the best hotel, but I can't really complain since we got such a great deal and we have at least a bed to sleep in :)
