Florida Dreamin'

After spending the summer cooped up, tirelessly applying for jobs, helping out around the house, and helping my mom out after an appendectomy, I decided that I needed to get outta here. My original plans failed, and in search of a beach to visit, I found very reasonably priced tickets to go to Orlando... So, as if I didn't get enough of Disney with my annual pass to EuroDisney this past year, I decided to visit the whole kit and caboodle, the very epitome of all things happy: Disney World!

Recently I heard a DJ on the radio use the anecdote: "Who goes to Disney World alone? It's like going to Chuck E. Cheese's and sitting in the corner smiling." I beg to differ. I had a great time! Just one of the perks was the single-riders line. It was so much faster than using a FastPass! And, I didn't spend the entire time at Disney World, either. I broke it up and spent a day at Universal Studios, a day at the beach, and two days at Disney (Hollywood Studios and Epcot).

On my arrival in Orlando, my flight came in at a pretty stormy time. There were thunderheads here and there, and I definitely chose a seat on the right side of the plane. I was able to see 3 rainbows on the way back down to the ground! Even a double rainbow! After getting into the airport, I went to pick up my rental car (my first rental entirely on my own!), and I drove straight to my hotel. I was staying on Disney property in the 80s/Rubiks Cube section of the Pop Century Resort, and elected to eat dinner in their cafeteria.

My first day, I went to Universal Studios. After a bit of confusion about which park had what areas, I made it to the correct location: Islands of Adventure. I just started out by walking counter-clockwise through the park, visiting all of the different Islands (Marvel Super Heroes, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, the Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing). I hit up nearly all of the rides, and enjoyed a Butterbeer in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. To give you an idea about Universal's take on Butterbeer, it was much like Root Beer, but sweeter, and a layer of slightly whipped cream was put on top to be the foam. I also saw the Hogwart's choir, and I watched Olivander help a young man pick out a wand. I sort of wanted to purchase myself a wand, but found it difficult to justify 80 dollars on something like that. Maybe someday!

I spent all day at Universal, and I went back through and re-rode a couple of rides. It was an exhausting day, and it was rather hot outside. It's interesting that September begins the down season even though the weather is still pretty decent for doing everything in Florida. It's a great time of year to go since the lines for rides aren't too long, and it's definitely not as hot as the middle of July!

The park closed fairly early at 6, so I headed to The Cheesecake Factory, which was relatively close. I sincerely think Southern Missouri needs to get one of these. They are sooooo good! It's always fun to go to The Cheesecake Factory when I visit my brother in San Francisco, and I was very glad that Orlando had one I could go to!

My second day in Florida was my day for the beach. I had checked weather, and it sounded perfect: 92 degrees and sunny. So, I took to the road, and ended up in Cocoa Beach. I started out by going to Ron Jon's Surf Shop (always a great place to wander), then I drove South of the city and found a nearly abandoned beach. I was a bit wary of it being so empty, so I drove back into the city and found a stretch of beach that was part of a park. I had bought some spray-on sunscreen, and doused myself up, then hit the water. It was pretty murky, and the rip currents were pretty strong. I avoided the surfers as I guppied my way through the water. After just being out in the calm of the ocean for an hour, I went back to the beach and dried off. I then got in my car, and drove North to Daytona Beach in the hopes that the water might be a little clearer. It wasn't, but I did get to see more of Florida. At Daytona Beach, you can actually drive your car on the sand - a fact I didn't know about previously. I decided not to do that, though, and I parked in a Beach Access area, and made my way down to the water there. The beach was much flatter than in Cocoa Beach, and the water was so strong I didn't make it out very far. I could always easily stand in the water as I was swimming around, and it seemed like the water in Daytona was pushing me around more than the water in Cocoa Beach. I didn't spend a lot of time in the water, and when I got out, dried off, and grabbed my camera to take a few pictures, something interesting happened. Three military helicopters came up the coast, and the lifeguard in my area went a bit wild for them. He took down his umbrella, shouted to the few people on the beach to wave, and as the helicopters went by, he waved to them with the water quality flag and gave them all a thumbs-up as they flew by.

I realized when I got back to my hotel that my spray-on sunscreen had not been effective that day. I looked in the mirror and saw that I should have sprayed, then I should have rubbed it in... as a result, my arms and back were quite splotchy. It's rather funny, but man, was I in pain that night! I went to CVS to buy Aloe Vera, and began a regimen of ibuprofen, with a promise to myself that my last two days I would douse myself up with twice the sunscreen as should probably be necessary.

My third day in Florida, I went to Disney's Hollywood studios. There was a shuttle from my hotel that I took to the park, and after comparing prices a lot, I went with a two-day pass with access to one park each day (and even that was more expensive than my yearly pass to EuroDisney!). I rode all the rides, and got to see The Hollywood Tower Hotel again, which is one of my favorites. This was the ride that I noticed the most differences on compared to EuroDisney. It wasn't a huge difference, just the build-up to the elevator drop was a bit different, and I still really enjoyed it! I also got to ride the new version of Star Tours (it is more up-to-date, no more 80s flashbacks, and there are different worlds that can be visited in the ride, so every time it will probably be different from the time before), I saw the parade and the Beauty and the Beast show, and I got to ride the new Toy Story Mania ride. The Toy Story Mania takes you through a series of CG arcade games where you have to shoot and get the most points possible - fun! It was also the busiest ride with at least 50 minutes of a wait all day, so I got a fastpass for it. Since I got to the park when it opened, I was done with everything by around 6. I was tired and sore from the sun burn, so I decided to skip the fireworks that night, and just go rest at my hotel and hang out by the pool.

Oh, and I also got to get pictures with Winnie and Mickey! In a little side note, I really like what Disney is doing with their photographers these days. You get a photo pass ticket, and each time one of their Cast Members takes your photo, you give them the pass and they scan it. You can then buy the pictures in the park, or you can buy prints or digital copies online later. They also do this with the ride photos, so you can claim a picture from a ride with your card and decide to buy it later, too. And, in the spirit of niceness, the photographers are pretty cool about taking a picture with your own camera, too. I really liked this idea as I was going through the parks.

My last day in Florida, I went to Epcot. All the Disney parks are fun, but for some reason Epcot holds a special place in my heart :-). I started the day by riding one of the new rides in The Land: Soaring. In this ride, you're lifted up into an IMAX-like rounded screen, and it's meant to feel like you're hang gliding over California. There's even a puff of different scents that is sprayed whenever you fly over different areas (the ones I picked out were evergreen for the forests and oranges for orange fields), but to be honest, most of the scents smelled a bit the same, so maybe they were starting to blend together. I then stayed in the same area and took a boat ride that talked about sustainability and it took us through the greenhouse for Epcot. I'm pretty sure I've done that ride before, but maybe I'm more eco-conscious now, and I was just really impressed by how much they attempt to grow for their restaurants in the park. I then headed to The Sea and rode the Finding Nemo ride, and went to Turtle Talk with Crush, and then I watched the dolphins in the aquarium for a while. I then went to the giant golf ball, followed by The Future, and learned about fossil fuels with Ellen, went on Space Mountain, and Test Track.

My trip to Epcot also coincided with the first day of the International Food and Wine Festival, so in addition to traveling the world in one park, I also got to eat my way around the world. I spread several tastings throughout the afternoon, and ended up trying a lot of different food. I guess I stayed mainly in my comfort zone, though, and would have to say the best thing I had was a lettuce wrap from South Korea. At the booth for Italy, they were speaking Italian and were very complimentary towards me ;-). In France, I went into the French movie that featured footage from all over France, and it made me miss the country. People were talking about how beautiful it was and how much they want to go there, and I know that I really want to go back. I went to the French bakery and ordered a coffee, and the cashier even asked me if I was French :-). I told her that I had spent time in France, and she told me that my accent was quite good, which makes me glad since I haven't been speaking it much lately. Another interesting thing about the France of Epcot was that they sold a lot of the same items that are in EuroDisney (Paris coffee mugs with Mickey and Minnie, Eiffel Towers, that sort of thing), and a lot of it was cheaper than at Disneyland Paris, but then again the tickets to Disney World are much more expensive, so maybe that is where the difference comes into play.

I was at Epcot all day, and I decided to stay for one night of fireworks. The show was really well done, and I especially enjoyed the globe that was floated out to the middle of the lake. It had screens over all of the continents and had video playing. It was really something to see in person! After the fireworks as I was walking to the exit, I noticed a lot of people taking pictures and saw that the moon was hanging right at the skyline, and it looked amazing! It's at times like these that I wish I had a super camera with incredible zoom capabilities, along with a tripod. Unfortunately, I don't, but I'll still share the picture my camera produced.

And, finally, I would like to give a shout-out to Steve Jobs, who passed away just after my trip. I've been a mac user for about four years now. For the past year, I have been using an iPod Touch not only for music and video, but also to help me find my way around the world. It was a portable computer everywhere I went, and I was able to save itineraries, keep in touch with my family, and plan out what I wanted to do while traveling. I recently switched to an iPhone, and this trip to Florida had a lot less hassle because of it. I was able to download apps for the parks which included ride wait times, I was able to check my flight times, and I even avoided getting lost (hallelujah!) due to the maps on my phone. It's amazing to think that none of that would have been possible on a phone ten years ago. So, thanks for all of these innovations, Mr. Jobs, and I hope your legacy continues to bring us life changing products!