live2tell75

Even mo' pics! After riding, we thought the ride was still pretty good. The only difference is that you don't feel your face being pulled back. But now when you come off the ride you are forced to wear space helmets for the rest of the day! We wanted to check what the less intense version of Mission Space was like. Jeff showing off the special boarding pass that you now need to get on. Got to take the artsy-abstract Universe of Energy photo. Did I mention that we only waited a total of 10 minutes for Soarin'! I didn't know Wanda from In Living Color was going to be riding Soarin' with us. After AK, we headed over to Epcot. When we arrived we were welcomed by another yum-o hottie!

Mo' pics: This is for you Elissa! Plus the Festival of the Lion King show has the hot singer! Another shocking moment was when Jeff and I found out that Tommy & James had never seen the Festival of the Lion King. So we had an emergency viewing! So Kilimanjaro Safaris is always fun, but especially doing the safari with this hottie in front of us! Watch out Tommy, you got a hater behind you! To end our visit at AK, thought everyone at TPR might like this little guy.

Mo' pics! After riding so many painful mouses on the UK trip, I don't know why I got on this thing again. Not new to any of us, we rode the other AK coaster credit, Primeval Whirl. As are Tommy and James. Jeff and I are super scared! All four of us got a new credit: The TriceraTop Spin!

Yo what up peeps! I was lucky enough to spend all Tuesday with the luxurious pimps known as Jeff, Tommy and James. So I drove up from my crib in Tampa Bay to meet up with Tommy and James and their friend Jeff from Orlando at their hotel, The Contemporary. I must say, that since the renovation, the Contemporary's rooms were very luxurious and stylish. After meeting, we headed for some Animal Kingdom and Epcot lovin'. As many have posted before, September is a fantastic month to visit the parks, almost walk-ons for everything: Everest, Dinosaur, Test Track, Mission Space and only a 10 minute wait for Soarin'! The longest line was for Turtle Talk with Crush, we skipped it. The line was like 30 minutes, we were too used to being VIP's (very important pimps) to wait in a line like that! We finished the day with a nice dinner in Mexico and Illuminations. We had a lot of fun, it was like a mini TPR UK trip/ GAP reunion. Onto the pics: Eric, James, Tommy & Jeff. I couldn't believe Tommy & James had never really explored the Tree of Life or seen It's Tough To Be A Bug! Like my eyewear? Tommy's like I'm Supa fierce! Yeah, we conquered Everest. I really love Everest, I think it was a perfect addition to Animal Kingdom. What is that, OMG its a big fury beast known as the Yeti! Damn! The track is all torn up in here! The 5 minute wait for Everest was such a drag! Jeff and I are ready to kick some Yeti butt on Everest! Since we conquered Everest and there was no line, we decided to re-ride a few more times.

It's sad to see the park go. It may have not have been the best park, but it did have the funhouse. The funhouse was one of the best hightlights on the recent TPR UK trip. I'm glad to hear that the funhouse is going to remain open. I will miss the Cyclone, I actually injoyed this coaster a lot. And I will miss those cheesy dark rides and walk through's. They don't make them like that anymore! Mr. Funhouse, I'm glad your not going anywhere! The classy ghost trian, you will be missed! Good-bye smelly Caterpillar ride. Good-bye Haunted Inn. This was a fun small woodie. I will miss the Cyclone and it's funky lift. Rest In Peace Southport.

Great trip report Erik! I love going to the parks this time of year! I have only done 5 parks in one day once. It was tiring but really fun, like a theme park marathon. If you ever get the bug to do it again, give me a buzz, I'd love to come up and do the Eric/k Johnsons attack all the Orlando parks in one day tour! Glad you you had fun.

Chris Isaak at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida, Sept 1st. Awesome show. I got see him back in 99' and 95'. Still puts on a great show! He even still meets with all of his fans after the show, very cool and a really nice down to earth guy.

I just got home from a 10pm preview showing of the film. Normally I wouldn't see this type of film but I couldn't resist. I have a big fear of snakes so I thought it might be interesting! The film was exactly what we thought it would be: far fetched, ridiculious, but a lot of fun. I think my friends laughed throughout the movie. It was funny and I liked that the movie didn't take itself to seriously. I know the snakes were all mostly computer generated but they still freaked me out! If you see this movie you know what kind of movie it is going to be, so don't be surprised. It's just fun. Leave your brain at the door.

My friends and I love going to the Food & Wine Festival. We have gone the last three years. It's funny as we get older our Fall plans seem to be set around when we are going to Epcot for the festival. It used to always be set around HHN. (Don't get me wrong, we still love HHN!) It is just that the festival at Epcot is always a nice relaxing day. We love to eat and drink our way around the World Showcase. The cheese soup and maple fudge from Canada are always highlights. Last year I really enjoyed the Indian, Irish, Polish and Greek Pavillions -all very good. I know this isn't unique to The Food & Wine Festival, but we always have to have a egg roll from China and end our Epcot day at the French bakery for the yum-o chocolate croissants, they are to die for!

Kathy Griffin in Lakeland, FL last Friday night. My stomach still hurts from laughing so much!

I spent about $1,840 for my direct flight and the cost of the tour. About $160 for food on the TPR part of the trip. $50 on sovineers from the parks: 1 shirt, 5 pins, 3 buttons, and 3 magnets. I spent 3 extra days exploring London. I spent about $300 on 3 hotel nights, about another $400 on London expenses: attractions, sites, my 3 day travel card, tours, food and a stage show/play. So for 2 weeks in the UK I spent around $3000.00 The trip was worth every penny! The TPR trip was amazing! We had breakfast I think every day and lunch at a bunch of the parks and a few dinners included. And don't forget the amazing perks! Well worth the money!

My work pins or also known as "Outback flare". My Outback Flare.

Park pins I got on the recent Theme Park Review UK trip: Alton Towers, Splash Landings Hotel & Oblivion from Alton, Apocalypse from Drayton Manor, Thorpe Park pin and a pin from the London Eye.

Cedar Point and Knott's Berry Farm Pins: Cedar Point pins, Raptor, Mean Streak, Gemini, Wicked Twister, Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force, Magnum XL 200, Mantis, Iron Dragon. Knotts's Berry Farm pins, Silver Bullet, Xcelerator, Ghostrider & Timber Mountain Log Ride.

Six Flags Pins: Six Flags Magic Mountain pins: Goliath, Viper, Ninja, Collossus, Scream!, Batman: The Ride, Superman: The Escape, & Ridler's Revenge. Six Flags Over Georgia pin and Goliath.

Universal Orlando, Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens Africa pins: Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Twister, Men In Black, Back To The Future, Shriek 4D, Revenge of the Mummy, E.T., Jaws, Kong, T2, Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Dr. Doom, The Royal Pacific Resort & HHN 2002, 2003 & 2005. Busch Gardens Africa and Sea World Orlando. pins, Kumba, Montu, Gwazi, Shiekra, Congo River Rapids, Tidal Wave, Haunted Lighthouse, Rhino Ralley, Kraken & Journey To Atlantis. And an Adventure Island pin.

I started collecting Disney attraction pins almost 10 years ago. I now try to collect pins from every park I go to. I don't wear my pins to the parks or trade them. I just keep them in a pin collection book. Here are photos from my collection. The photos aren't the best quality, but I think you can make out the attractions. The first 6 photos are of my Disney pins. After the those photos, I have my non-Disney park pins. Disneyland Resort pins, Disney's California Adventure, The Matterhorn, and Indiana Jones and the temple of the Forbidden Eye. Disney's Animal Kingdom pins, Kilmanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, It's Tough to be a Bug, Kali River Rapids, Exbedition Everest, and Dinosaur. Disney-MGM pins, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Fantasmic!, Muppet Vision 4D, Star Tours, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Lights, Motors, Action!, Voyage of the LIttle Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast Live & Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Play It! Epcot pins, Body Wars, Mission Space, Test Track, The Living Seas, Soarin', Honey, I Shrunk The Audience 3D and the American Adventure. Magic Kingdom pins, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Country Bears, Diamond Horseshoe Revue, The Haunted Mansion, Mickey's Philharmagic, Alice's Mad Tea Party, Alien Encounter, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, Space Mountain & General Walt Disney World Resort pins, Caribbean Beach, Disney's Wildnerness Lodge, Disneyquest, La Numba and The Rainforest Cafe.

I just added some Madonna concert photos to my concert review section of this thread. Enjoy!

^ Thanks, Beemer, I didn't get any pics, of the pool, I wish I had thou. It was very cool how half of it was under part of the house. The artifacts were very cool. I liked the Roman marble tripod in the living room a lot. I wish I was able to take pics inside the house, but I totally understand they want to protect the furnishings.

Saw P!nk at Jannis Landing in St. Petersburg last night. Awesome show. It was 1,000 degrees outside but we still had a great time! She has an amazing voice! If you ever have the chance to see her go! It was a general admission show so we got to get up pretty close and get some pictures! It's funny, I could of seen 7 more P!nk' concerts for the same price as one of the most expensive seats at the Madonna show. Either way both Madonna and P!nk's concerts were big highlights of this last week! One of the highlights was when she sang the 4 Non-Blondes hit, What's Going On. I think all of St.Petersburg heard the crowd sing along with her! She did a song called Dear Mr. President from her last album which was very cool! She sang most of her hits: Stupid Girls, Who Knew, Get The Party Started, There You Go, Don't Let Me Get Me, Trouble, Just Like A Pill, and Family Portrait. P!nk was hot!

^ Thanks, Elissa. I guess that's how they stay in shape! These shows are quite a work out for them!

More Vizcaya Photos: The Vizcaya is a must if you ever visit Miami! We love the Vizcaya! My friend, Olivia. The many fountains were pretty. I would love to live here! The gardens area was a great place for photos. The waterfront that the estate is located on was beautiful.

On Sunday we had a nice breakfast at another open-air cafe and the took in the sights of the Vizcaya, a gorgeous estate on the water front. This estate was the winter home to former vice president John Deering. We really enjoyed the grounds and the many elaborate rooms of the estate. Kevin and me- it was such a gorgeous day, a lot breezier than in the Tampa Bay area! The grounds surrounding the home were beautiful. The many rooms in the house were full of rare anitiques. Olivia, Kevin and Lynn. The Vizcaya, the winter home to former vice president, John Deering. With Lynn at breakfast. Kevin and me at breakfast.

My final thoughts of the show: It was a lot of fun and tiring! I have seen Madonna on her last 2 tours: Drowned World Tour in 2001 and the Re-invention Tour in 2004. What I like about her shows is that they are always different! Drowned World will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first time I had ever seen her live. I enjoyed the dark and theatarical parts of the Drowned World tour. Re-invention 2 years ago was awesome, she sang a lot of her old hits, like Like A Prayer and Into The Groove which were amazing! The Confessions Tour was the most energetic! She was doing her cardio, aerobic workout throughout the show, forcing us to dance the whole show too! I have never been so tired after a concert! This tour confirmed that every time people think Madonna is done, she always has a trick up her sleeve! You would never know that she is almost 48, she did things that most 20 somethings couldn't even do! And I complained on another tread a few months ago about the cost of the concert being to high, well I can't believe it but it was worth every penny! Next up- Photos from our day at the Vizcaya in Miami.

The final set began. On all the large screens flashed a gazillion images and videos from Madonna's past. A radio anouncer informed that we need to put our dancing shoes on cause they only play non-stop groove shaking tunes! Then the music of the 70's Tramps classic, Disco Inferno started to play while a video of Madonna in a retro red dress danced non stop on all of the screens. The see-through main curved video screen raised and dancers on rollerskates danced and skated all over the stage. The skater/dancers skated up and sown the cat walks. They did some amazing stunts! While the music of Disco Inferno was being played you would hear an electronic voice say "hey mr. dj" from the song Music every so often or "I want to free my soul" from the old Madonna song, Where's The Party. After a few minutes of the skating stunts, Madonna appeared out of the floor of the main stage with 2 of her dancers. Totally dressed up in Saturday Night Fever gear, she started to sign the song Music over the music of Disco Inferno. This was the best part of the show. The crowd really loved every minute of it. She did her "John Travolta strut" down to the end of the main catwalk. There she broke it down for about 4 miuntes of non-stop 70's inspired dancing! I thought the crowd was going to explode! After the explosive song Music, she and her dancers stripped off their 70's suits for more form fiting outfits. She and her dancers did a slow sexy dance to her old hit Erotica. This was very cool because she added lyrics from a song called You Thrill Me. I actually liked this version of Erotica better than the original. The dancing was very sensual and hot! After Erotica, Island beaches and swaying palm trees appreared on the video screens and Madonna went into an up-tempo version of the classic La Isla Bonita. The energy from Madonna, the dancers and the crowd was burning hot! She sizzeled and salsaed her way around all parts of the stage! At the end of La Isla Bonita, she collapsed on the stage and her 2 backup singers came out to her and told her she has to go on! So they put a 70's Abba inspired cape on her that read "Dancing Queen" on the back. A thumping beat pulsated through the arena and she began to sing her early classic, Lucky Star. She opened her cape to reveal a gazillion bright lights that lite up the under side of her cape. It was very cool to hear Lucky Star, I never thought I would hear that in concert! Towards the end of Lucky Star, she began to start singing "every little thing you say or do, I'm hung up on you" and she disappeared under the stage. The sample from the Abba song "Gimmie, Gimmie (A Man After Midnight)" started to get louder and louder in the arena. The video screens started showing the images of the Hung Up video. And then at the back of the stage, Madonna appeared with her dancers all in the leatard outfits from the video. She bumped and grinded all over the stage signing her hit Hung Up. The crowd was insane, the energy was so intense! Towards the end of the song, thousands of gold balloons fell on different areas of the arena. She made the arena sing "time goes by so slowly, time goes by so slowly" till the point that the audience made the arena deafening! At the end of the song, she stood with her dance troupe and the large curved screen covered the stage. On the screen appered the question: Have you confessed? What a cool ending to the show! hungup.bmp Madonna bumped and grinded her way through the final number, her hit, Hung Up. music.bmp One of my fav parts of the show, the "Music Inferno" set.