dcentity2000
<font color=red>Simba Cub<br><font color=green>Is
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2003
- Messages
- 10,057
"Well hi there everybody!"O-kay, time for a reeaallly late trip report, another one to join the masses that reside here unread...
I'm 18. The furthest I'd ever travelled from my home - until two months ago that is - had been just under three hundred miles away. I'd only ever set foot inside an aircraft once and even then it had remained firmly on the ground - it was parked in a museum. So when my girlfriend decided that we were to go on holiday together (and who argues with their girlfriend on such an issue?!) I could only nod my head. What started off as hopping over the English Channel to Paris quickly became Milan and then Rome itself - eventually all this was re-written to spell 'Orlando Florida'. Yurp.
Somehow - I'm not sure how yet - I let all this happen. My brain shut down and placed a subroutine of nodding at every mention of Florida along with the occasional 'Yes honey'. To be honest, I was scared stiff - I'd never been out of my tiny home country! The world was a foreign land to me, and it was all I could do not to scream and run for dear life.
On the third of September I was rudely awakened by my alarm clock and bundled into a waiting car before my brain had even had time to supply the customary 'Yes honey' - as you can guess, it comes as quite a shock to go from fast asleep to London Gatwick International Airport without experiencing the intermediate stage commonly known as 'waking up' - this only added to my terror and subsequent spate of appallingly bad humour (what do you get if you cross a giraffe with a hedgehog? a really big toothbrush!). Fortunately some comfort was to be had - I was reassured as to my status of 'boyfriend' when minutes later I was carrying all the bags.
By the time I had woken up completely we were going through a series of metal detectors - I felt at this point the beginnings of a sentence like 'Good thing I put the sword in my bad' or 'maybe I should have left the bazooka at home' forming in my throat and managed to bite them down - my girlfriend didn't look like the only one who wouldn't appreciate my Godawful sense of 'humour'.
Eventually we were on the plane and in due course I was having visions of crashing into Mount Etna at a kajillion miles per hour with narry a chance of living to see 19. Fortunately the plane didn't go that fast so I summarised that I was safe, and settled down to watch a movie. Or three. They had to prise me from the seat with crowbars when we landed - Finding Nemo was on, Goddammit!
Stepping out into the Floridian heat was like being doused in warm water - it was intoxicating. The air seemed relaxed, and all thoughts of apprehension steamed away - until I caught sight of those damn metal detectors. I'm still convinced that they were just a way of collecting biological data from our compliant human bodies so the aliens could invade just that bit smoother - or something. Anyway I got through all of these without contracting cancer and finally emerged into the early evening sunlight to wait for our transportation to International Drive. The wait was very interesting indeed - no, wait, what's the other word? Ah yes. Tedious.
Our first night together in Florida went as planned - with the fire alarm going off. Did I care? NO! I was in America and suddenly people were being NICE to me - such a difference from the English greeting of 'What yer loookin' at? I'll ave yer!' and by the end of this sentence it was time to rise and shine - Magic Kingdom was owed a visit!
Words cannot express how, after such apprehension, the Magic Kingdom felt like - my senses were being rewired, happiness was the new world order - it was glorious! We set off down the road ahead of us hand in hand, smiles affixed on our faces - it was, for want of a better word, magical! Tomorrowland provided a sophisticated feel that I had loved all my life, and the various rides all felt full of imagination and fun - Splash Mountain was great whilst the Jungle Cruise was a laugh! The Alien Encounter I loved, although my gf refused point blank to go on it - I still feel bad about leaving her, even if it was only for 10 minutes, although I can't say I regret experiencing it! SCARY!!!
Epcot was the next park to be visited, and for some unfathomable reason this park became my favourite - although I preferred Magic Kingdom (that doesn't make any sense, I know!) - the laid back wonder of the place just clicked with me. The subtle park music was relaxing and the modern fee pleasing to say the least. Ice Station Cool was a bit dull, even if the initial blast of ice scared the living daylights outta me! The figment ride was great, the Honey I Shrunk The Audience show stunning - the World Showcase was mesmerising, although it is fair to say not very amusing - it is one to relax in. The food was good in this park and the centrepiece - the giant 'golf ball' - instantly recognisable and satisfying(odd word?!); the ride inside was cute too. Illuminations here was, in my opinion, better than the Magic Kingdom fireworks - the show was spectacular!
SeaWorld was up next and this park was one for a quiet day out - the animals made it all worth a visit, although Kraken was a monster by any person's standards! Journey To Atlantis wasn't as well designed as Splash Mountain - but it was certainly wilder! One complaint though - all of the trainers thought that it was incredibly funny to teach the killer whales to splash all of the audience members throughout various parts of the show...
Universal Studios was a strange place to visit - the rides were good, the layout imaginative and the shows fun - yet it lacked the same charm that Disney possessed. True, the Twister and Earthquake rides were basically unmissable, Terminato a stroke of genius and I'd definitely go again, if only to see the Ghostbusters show, but I wouldn't be in so much of a rush
Disney's Animal Kingdom was soon paid a visit. Now, this only proves that one should look where one is going and NOT filming all the time like some gawping tourist: I almost tripped over a talking tree. Hmm. On closer inspection the tree accused me of being 'Mr. Spielberg' and bumbled over to my girlfriend, where the two of them engaged in an interesting conversation over who should be in the shot. Odd. Obviously the plane had crashed and God was just having a laugh with me. This sudden conviction placed a shrewd smile on my face (why? I don't bloomin' know!) which was soon wiped clean off when a passing tree ran over my foot. Ah well.
Anyway, the park was amazing, full of animals, an amazing set piece (The World Tree, fun rides and shows - I love this place! The World Tree is a triumph of human design and the Kilimanjaro Safari a great way to actually learn something. This was, I suspect, the best park to eat in.
MGM studios was great fun too - Fantasmic! was, as far as I was concerned, the feather in Disney's cap - it was only a pity that we recorded over it later on in the trip. The muppet show was a riot and the general park layout was jolly and lighthearted, so no complaints here - except maybe make a few more rides with emphasis on the more famous films? Lion King ride anybody?
The last day in Disney was spent going everywhere in one day and that was a task in itself - we certainly missed out around half of Animal Kingdom, even if we did trip over a talking trash can this time (a pattern was starting to emerge - I predict a talking kitchen sink next time). We managed it though before long it was all over - time to go home.
We loved our visit to Disney, even if this report didn't show it enough. I would gladly have written more, but I realise that people have more pressing things to do than read what I write... except for you, of course.
Take it easy
Rich::
Great report honey... if a bit summarised at the end! (only joking!) i thought ud mention all the bus transfers we had to get every night from the parks, or all the hundreds of shops we visited, or the tiki island adventure golf! (great fun if you havent been- mini golf with a volcano that goes off on international drive) 
) and we're hopefully going back next christmas to relive the magic! 
