Looty Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Hi Everyone! Some friends and I decided to spend New Year's Eve and the following week down in Florida. When we left MSP, the temp was about 6 degrees. When we landed in ORL, the temp was 72 degrees...it was awesome! We went to Universal on New Years Eve and the following day. Some other highlights include Disney and a few days down in Miami. We also decided to do poor man's Discovery Cove by swimming with Manatees in Crystal River. Overall, we had an awesome time and I took lots of photos. Enjoy! I'll end with a photo of the castle. Thanks for reading. Hey it's retired NFL Quarterback Doug Flutie! Ok so this one takes a minute. We were waiting in line to get on the train by Splash Mountain when the train station employee walks over to this guy sitting on the fence and nicely asks him to get down. He does. When the employee walks away, the guy jumps right back up. I turned to my friend and said, "That A-hole over there who looks like Doug Flutie wont get off the fence...wait a second...that is Doug Flutie!" Big Thunder Mountain. Splash was down for rehab Space Mountain. Good...but not as good as Disneyland's IMO. Haunted Mansion is really cool. If I were Paul Ruben, I would give HM Two Bananas Up! The next (and last) day we spent at Magic Kingdom. Japan at Epcot. France at night. Epcot's firework show was cool. We went to eat at Ohana at the Polynesian Resort before coming back to Epcot. If you are down visiting Disney, you have to eat at Ohana! Sunset at Epcot. Nemo! I never thought I could hate a ride SO much! Mission Space featuring Gary Sinise! The next day was Epcot. This is for all of you fans of "The First 48." Downtown. Cruise ship anyone? Here is the MacArthur Causeway. For those of you who saw Bad Boys 2, this is where they filmed the highway chase scene where all the cars come flying off of the car carrier. Versace Mansion The architecture in Miami is gorgeous. Here's me doing my best CSI David Caruso impression: Scene: David Caruso and Frank standing over a murdered couple at a cheap motel. Caruso: "Who reported the murder Frank?" Frank: "That couple from Kansas over there." Caruso turns to frank, puts on his sunglasses and tilts his head at an awkward angle before exclaiming to Frank "Yes well...it looks like they're not in Kansas anymore!" -Q the Who music!!! South Beach was nice. Dolphins stadium. Dolphins ended up losing on this day to the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs (my vikings lost too) Ok here's Boomers. We had an interesting visit here. We actually stopped by the night before which ended up being a mistake. It was a Saturday night and we got there at 10 pm just to ride the Hurricane and leave. When we pulled into the parking lot, it was like driving into a bad neighborhood. There were a lot of teens hanging around in the parking lot and three police cars were parked at the front door. It looked like a scene out of Fast and Furious just before a race was about to start. A lot of threatening looks were being distributed and it felt as if a fight was about to break out. When we walked inside, it was pretty much the same. There were plenty of loud-mouthed teens huddling around each other being obnoxious. We quickly rode the Hurricane and got the hell out of there. I understand that it was late on a Saturday night so we were a little stupid, but I had no idea what Boomers had to offer and I definitely would not recommend going on Saturday nights. Hurricane was awesome and offered plenty of airtime and I'm happy to report that there wasn't a drive by on the coaster involving the gang sitting in front of us! We saw both Nemo and the Lion King show throughout the day which were both very good. After that, there wasn't much to do so we left and headed down to Miami. Primeval Whirl was rather uneventful. Expedition Everest was my 300th coaster. It was really cool too...although the Yeti was in "B mode." Giant Tree! It's Tough to be a Bug was entertaining. The next day we went to Animal Kingdom!...note the random girl. Hollywood Studios at night. Hollywood Studios has an impressive night show too (i forget the name). Rock n' Roller Coaster was pretty neat. The wait time said 150 minutes but we only waited about 30 minutes...Oops! Toy Story Mania was actually really cool. Definitely a must when you're at Hollywood Studios. Lots of lights! Tower of Terror is amazing...especially at night! After the Manatees, we went to Hollywood Studios. This was honestly one of the coolest things I have ever done. This might sound cheesy, but it was incredible for me to go into a wild animals habitat and interact with them the way I did. I just can't get over how affectionate they are to humans. They come to you and allow you to rub them and interact with them. They reminded me of giant water puppies. If you don't want to spend $300 on the dolphins at Discovery Cove. Do this! It only cost $40 dollars and it was worth every penny. Definitely a unique experience. Rachel looking ridiculous. They are extremely gentle and affectionate. Up close and personal. The next day Sam, Rachel, and I went swimming with Manatees aka Sea Cows! Hulk at night. Dragons doing its thing. Me and Hulk. Rachel and Cameron don't look too worried. Me about to get eaten ala that guy on the toilet in the first movie. Hulk doing its thing. Spiderman is one of the best rides out there anywhere! Crowds IOA is one of my favorite parks. It was a little crowded on this day though. Next day was IOA! Jaws is one of my favorites. I always love seeing people freak out when half of a great white shark slowly leaps out of the water. Simpson's was new for us. I guess it was ok, but it made me a little motion sick. MIB is one of the best shooter/dark ride's out there IMO. Ok last one. More Rockit Rockit construction update. First stop was the studios. We drove by Rockit track on our way to Universal. WORST WAL-MART EVER! I never shop at wal-mart and my experience at this one only reinforces my feelings about Wal-Mart. If you enjoy battling every shopping cart the store owns in the parking lot, fighting your way through the crazy Orlando tourists in the store, and then waiting 20-25 minutes in the checkout line while Mr. un-motivated Wal-Mart employee who hates his life takes his time...then this Wal-Mart is for you! Classy liquor store close to our hotel. There were a plethora of mirrors and random light switches everywhere. Our king bed was comfortable though. Not bad. We stayed at the Westgate Towers. I had heard things about this place trying to rape you with timeshares and other annoyances, but it was actually quite nice. The employees at the front desk were Mt. Olympus quality, but we didn't need anything from them while we stayed there so it was okay. Our fire alarm did go off one night and we were instructed to "take out the batteries"...that was probably the ultimate of the guest service we experienced there. Picking up our luxurious rental car. Getting on the plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSkyWhirl Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Very nice trip report - thanks. Again, simply amazing that a report can be enjoyable without some sort of game or made up backstory to it. You went somewhere, took really nice photos, and posted them (with just a bit of commentary/explanation). Methinks some blowhards around here could take a page out of your book! In any case, how much homeword did you do in regards to buying discount tickets for the parks/hotel/car etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Very nice trip report - thanks. Again, simply amazing that a report can be enjoyable without some sort of game or made up backstory to it. You went somewhere, took really nice photos, and posted them (with just a bit of commentary/explanation). Methinks some blowhards around here could take a page out of your book! Ummm, yeah. Anyway, yes, nice report. I spent years around manatees in South Florida, and until this, I was unaware that there was a place where it was legal to interact with them like that. I remember telling countless tourists not to approach them if they saw them because it's illegal to even touch them -with something like a $500 fine tacked on to it. They are beautiful animals, and the carelessness that many Floridians show with their watercraft continues to sadden me. I appreciated those pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 ^There are some very strict rules that you have to follow to go swimming with Manatees. We were near a manatee "nursery" and it was absolutely forbidden to go into the nursery. You also couldn't pursue the manatees...they had to come to you. There were plenty of them that were laying on the bottom of the river and we were instructed not to bother them. There were a few enforcement officers on the river too that made sure everyone was following the rules. ^^As far as researching goes, we looked around online for everything. We booked our flight and hotel together online which saved us money and we purchased our Universal tickets at CostCo. We didn't seem to find very many deals that were worth purchasing when it came to Disney tickets. We rented our car from Enterprise which was the cheapest too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Very nice trip report - thanks. Again, simply amazing that a report can be enjoyable without some sort of game or made up backstory to it. You went somewhere, took really nice photos, and posted them (with just a bit of commentary/explanation). Methinks some blowhards around here could take a page out of your book! In any case, how much homeword did you do in regards to buying discount tickets for the parks/hotel/car etc? I agree--a very nice TR with good pics and good info. (I've never been to Boomers, but will avoid the place on Saturday nights.) Thanks for sharing. And MrSkyWhirl, methinks that, for a member with so few posts, thou doth protest too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberskara Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 It was 6 degrees in the Twin Cities? Wow, what a heat wave! Sure sounds nice compared to today. Awesome photos...God, I love those parks! I enjoyed hearing about your Boomer's experience, too-- glad you braved it out to ride the Hurricane! Thanks for posting, Matt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holyblakbelt Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Nice TR. My Sister and my niece were down in Florida too. And yes, six degrees above is a heat wave, but 32 is global warming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjaco Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 You should of just stepped on Doug Flutie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 You should of just stepped on Doug Flutie. Then you would have had Flutie Flakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 ^Ha!...I completely forgot about Flutie Flakes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSkyWhirl Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Very nice trip report - thanks. Again, simply amazing that a report can be enjoyable without some sort of game or made up backstory to it. You went somewhere, took really nice photos, and posted them (with just a bit of commentary/explanation). Methinks some blowhards around here could take a page out of your book! In any case, how much homeword did you do in regards to buying discount tickets for the parks/hotel/car etc? I agree--a very nice TR with good pics and good info. (I've never been to Boomers, but will avoid the place on Saturday nights.) Thanks for sharing. And MrSkyWhirl, methinks that, for a member with so few posts, thou doth protest too much. Touche', Sir, as there is no doubt that there is a strong correlation between post count and, well. I don't know. Mostly in lurker mode, I appreciate this place quite a bit - and when someone can simply post a trip report that is entertaining, informative, and douche-free I "must" say something. As far as the rental car, it's amazing that Enterprise had the best deal. In all of my US travels, they are usually the most expensive. By the way, sounds like you guys got your money's worth out of that rental (quite a bit of driving on your quick trip)! Again, thanks and hope you're enjoying the latest round of winter weather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 ^I respect your opinion regarding some members' trip reports. Each person has their own way of doing them, which is something I really appreciate about TPR. Godard once said the best way to criticize a film is to make your own film. You can apply that to TRs, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olsor Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 Great TR! I appreciate the nod to The First 48 (one of my favorite shows) and the Doug Flutie story. That's always the way it goes with celebrity sightings. You think, "That dude looks a lot like so and so," and then it turns out that it IS so and so. Although it would've been more appropriate if you had seen Brett Favre sitting on a fence. Retire already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 ^As much as I hated Favre as a Vikes fan, I would take him any day of the week over who we have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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