Photo TR: shesaidboom and 307 do Disney, BGA, and SeaWorld!

[shesaidboom]

shesaidboom and 307 do Disney World, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Africa - part one of six

 

HELLO

 

For those who were lucky enough to be posting a couple of years ago when we did our awesome TRs more regularly, you may have noticed that we've kinda fell off the face of the earth for the past - uh - ...couple of years. Well, we're back!

 

Due to some stuff none of you get to know about, we took a hiatus from park-going for most of 2007 and 2008, save for Behemoth Bash. But with 2009 we decided, to hell with it, and for our four-year anniversary Nikki decided that we needed to go to Florida and do something Jer had never done before - Disney World! And some other crap.

 

So, we made the plans, booked the flight - which in itself was something Jer had really never done before - and went on our merry way. Tra-la-la!

 

Before we bore you with more of these weird symbol things that people sometimes refer to as 'letters' or 'words', we will instead show you PICTURES.

 

As an aside, Nikki and I travelled to Florida back in 2005 as one of our first roller coaster/credit whoring adventures. Unfortunately we didn't make a photo TR of it [i say unfortunately because you guys missed out on something fantastic], but we do have pictures available to peruse on Nikki's Flickr account, which you can find here.

 

TRIP PLAN

Part One [June 6 to 8]: Fly to Orlando, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom [see below!]

Part Two [June 9]: Animal Kingdom

Part Three [June 10]: EPCOT

Part Four [June 11]: SeaWorld Orlando

Part Five [June 12]: Busch Gardens Africa

Part Six [June 13 to 16]: Everything else

 

Gonna be a fun ride, so um, scroll down?

If you're enjoying this trip report, my name is Jer. If not, my name is Nikki. (This caption not approved by Nikki.)

I can't believe the guy's ass was bleeding. Now that is attention to detail!

I storm barns.

Goofy is a dog. Nikki has a dog. Only one of them wears pants and talks.

It's so funny!

We really didn't like how they ran the line for both Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Instead of having an orderly line, they herded everyone into a long hallway. Everyone was pushing and shoving, trying to get ahead of everyone else. If something were to happen or a child were to get separated from their parents, it would be extremely difficult to get help in there. This seemed very surprising for a place like Disney World.

AW FK.

It's a great big beautiful tomorrow! NO IT'S NOT! IT'S NOT! STOP SINGING ALREADY!

People merged without looking in the line for Pirates. Nikki took this picture to combat this. Positive effects were minimal.

Jer thought Swiss Family Robinson sucked bag. Nikki thought it was neat. Go bananas!

We didn't understand how the rabbit escaped being tied up over a pot, but this was a good ride nonetheless.

What the hell is a Brer Rabbit?

Does this look infected?

Does this look the same as the last?

The last time Nikki rode this she cried because she was six. This time she cried because she realized there were three lift hills.

Our monorail shots were crappy, so here's a special picture for BeemerBoy!

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom, where dreams come true. Jer is moving in next week.

Disney gives these cards to riders entering the line to determine the length of wait times, however, by the time they get to the front of the line the wait is often greatly different. Interesting system, poor results.

DINOCREAM!

This water flowed in our general direction.

This aircraft took Walt Disney to various places, where he then partook in numerous activities. And now, he's dead. Or at least cryogenically frozen. For now.

This plane was used in the movie 'Pearl Harbor'. This gives me an opportunity to say that the movie 'Pearl Harbor' was terrible.

No dancing on the backstage tour!

In Fantasia the brooms dance, at Hollywood Studios they garden.

Okay, sorry if we're retarded, but when we first saw this ride oh so long ago, were we the only ones who thought that the coaster was supposed to come out of the guitar?!

Nikki dislikes Aerosmith, but approves of their amusement machine. She finds it pleasurable.

This guy scared the crap out of Jer. Bring out the Gimp!

The conversion rate is wrong. This is funny. Ha. Ha. Ha.

I'm having surgeries next week, is Dr. Malpractice available?

After waiting in line for over 45 minutes they abruptly shut the ride down and made everyone leave. What a rip-off!

The Toy Story area is incredibly well themed. Too bad that we didn't get to ride.

Whoever is playing this Scrabble game sucks! You can't just start words wherever you want! 'Got'? 'Me'? These get you NO POINTS. Come on, people!

Nikki's park-sized camera has a black dot on the inside of the lens and since she wasn't able to get it cleaned in time it ruined most of our park photos. It does create opportunities for FUN with our brand new game. Can you 'Spot the Dot'?

Jer and his friend have a contest going over who can find the funniest named soda. Here's one of Jer's recent nominees, Postobon!

Cracker Barrel has eschewed plates in favour of serving meals in pieces of tin foil. Here Jer enjoys a large slab of beef.

Yo mama so fat she sat on a rainbow and Skittles popped out!

We waited an hour and a half in a rental car line for THIS?!

We liek tramz and we don't care who knows!

Jer on a plane! This is quite exciting. Jer was afraid of flying before this trip. It didn't take long for him to get over that once we were on the plane!

WestJet is one of the few airlines which has personal TVs in every seat. That benefit is somewhat ruined when your TV is broken on the way there and on the way back, as Nikki's was.

In Pearson Airport waiting for our plane. Jer's thumbs went down when he realized the wireless internet was $14.99.

[ryno1986]

Good report so far.

 

Brer Rabbit escapes by saying to Brer Fox, "You go right ahead and roast/skin/hang me, but please don't fling me in that briar patch!" By using reverse psychology, Brer Rabbit convinces Brer Fox/ Brer Bear to throw him into the briar patch, which is his home, just as we are also falling into the briar patch. This is actually based off part of Song of the South. Hope that helps!

[307]

Good report so far.

 

Brer Rabbit escapes by saying to Brer Fox, "You go right ahead and roast/skin/hang me, but please don't fling me in that briar patch!" By using reverse psychology, Brer Rabbit convinces Brer Fox/ Brer Bear to throw him into the briar patch, which is his home, just as we are also falling into the briar patch. This is actually based off part of Song of the South. Hope that helps!

It most certainly does.

 

I remember hearing something faint about the briar patch! Thanks for clearing it up!

[BeemerBoy]

LOL! This made my whole morning!

[KrakenKing]

Song of The South, the racist Disney movie.

 

Good report so far Looks like you all had a blast.

[thecoasterkid]

Nice start to your trip report! I find those symbols you make happen with a "keyboard" to be quite entertaining. Glad to see you guys are back riding coasters!

 

Wonderland visit with Andrew soon so I can hear about all the fun everyone else has been having while my arse has been stuck here?

[Homer]

MSPaint TR = win. I'm enjoying this trip report and I can't wait for part deux.

[Lenaapple1974]

**LOVING THE REPORT!!**

 

What kind of camera was used? I am curious about the mysterious (sometimes huge) spot. My camera had the same situation for my HersheyPark trip last year, and I didn't notice until the end of the trip! I was so angry. BUT, I went on the website, and learned how to clean it out. I have an SLR, so maybe your camera has that same type of option?

[happyscrappy]

Were the Bananas in Pajamas driving the monorail?! That picture rules!

[EnglndPatriots6]

Great TR!. I know im pretty mad that SM is closed for the year too but I wasnt even planning on going this summer anyway. One question, what the heck happened to the monorail beam? It goes and then it's just cut off lol.

[shesaidboom]

Wonderland visit with Andrew soon so I can hear about all the fun everyone else has been having while my arse has been stuck here?

Dude, 100% yes. Make it so.

 

One question, what the heck happened to the monorail beam? It goes and then it's just cut off lol.

Ummmm... good question! When you come up with an answer, let us know!

 

Were the Bananas in Pajamas driving the monorail?!

YES. It's a little known fact that Bananas in Pajamas started out as monorail drivers before they broke big on the TV scene.

 

What kind of camera was used? I am curious about the mysterious (sometimes huge) spot. My camera had the same situation for my HersheyPark trip last year, and I didn't notice until the end of the trip! I was so angry. BUT, I went on the website, and learned how to clean it out. I have an SLR, so maybe your camera has that same type of option?

Most of the pics were taken with a Sony CyberShot from, like, 2004. Outside of the black blotch, it still takes pretty good pictures!

 

Thanks for all the comments! Keep 'em comin'

[307]

shesaidboom and 307 do Disney World, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Africa - part two of six

 

ANIMAL KINGDOM

 

And we're back!

 

Before we keep going I reckon it's time to write a bit about each park!

 

The first day was at Hollywood Studios. Rock N' Roller coaster was a great way for us to kick off the trip! We were expecting something pretty bleh and easily forgettable and instead were treated to a solid coaster! The rest of the park was a really nice introduction to the Disney experience, with everything looking top notch. It also was an introduction to the insane Disney crowds that we were to face every day. No clue how heavy a day it was for peeps, but wow. It was hardcore for me, anyway. Serious mass of humanity! Serious invasion of personal space! The only other awesome ride at the park was Tower of Terror, which Nikki skipped out on. But holy crap it was wild! Jer is so glad he went on it!

 

Second day, we went to Magic Kingdom, where we had slightly differing opinions. Jer didn't really like any of the attractions, and thought it was by far the weakest Disney park. Nikki ranked it above Hollywood Studios and enjoyed the attractions - or at least Thunder Mountain - more than Jer. Nikki points to nostalgia for that, as it was her first Disney park, back when she was six years old. Splash Mountain was the highlight of the park for both of us. And man, that Caroussel of Progress SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKED. As an aside, Dole Whip also rules.

 

On the third day we hit what was unanimously our favourite Disney Park, Animal Kingdom. Absolutely amazing scenery, great theming for practically everything, really nice integration of animal displays, just a generally fabulous park. It would be really cool if they handed out a list of animals carved into the Tree of Life for everyone to find. Expedition Everest was awesome, Jer really liked Dinosaur [and Nikki missed most of it as she was screaming for her life with her head buried in her hands], and the Bug's Life 3D show was really incredible thanks to the interaction of the show with the crowd. Very, very well done! But Primeval Whirl was sfgluinsafgopbn bad.

 

We decided to split EPCOT and Animal Kingdom up as we have a boatload of shots from AK!

 

So here's some picz.

Oh yeah, they also had this.

 

See you at EPCOT!

The safari ride brings you face to face with many dangerous animals who are so hopped up on bennies and goofballs that they don't know what's what! Kind of lessens the impact when they can barely stand.

Gorilla.

Herpes.

Giraffe.

Deer.

If only they had posted a "Beware" sign instead of trying to promote saving the earth, Jer would still have a head!

What's with this "recycling" crap? That's not scary! Where are the "Beware of Killer Hippos" signs? That makes people poop themselves, not this recycling business.

MONKEH.

That hit the [G]spot!

Phallic shaped frozen treats! With nuts! Score!

It was freakin' hot out, so we stopped for some rapids action. While we didn't get soaked, it provided an acceptable amount of heat relief and was also a good ride!

Riding Primeval Whirl = lame. Waiting 95 minutes to ride Primeval Whirl = drinking chunky milk!

The time listed for the wait on this ride was 20 minutes. But when we asked the ride-op, he said it was "more like 30". 95 minutes later, we finally boarded. Exhibit A as to why those little red wait time cards they hand out don't work.

Funny story: The family behind us in line got into a discussion about dinosaurs as we walked into this room. The dad started by saying that Disney had bought the naming rights to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, then went on to explain that the creators of Jurassic Park 3 were forced to 'invent' a 'better dinosaur' and kill the t-rex to show Disney that they didn't need a stupid t-rex. He also used this giant skeleton as an example of a t-rex, by explaining that this one was a 'special spiked-horn t-rex'. Which, of course, it's not - it's a carnotaurus. Sadly, his fully grown children [think 16 and 24 years] ate up this story with a spoon, even exclaiming "That makes perfect sense!" near the end.

 

Do I even have to explain all the things wrong with this?

 

By the way, here's a dinosaur butt.

Warning! Warning!

See, look how small and unassuming this little guy is!

This should have been a warning as to the terror ratio of Dinosaur, but we thought "hey, this is a Disney Park, how bad could it be?"

Nikki can't stop talking about how awesome this show was. And it was awesome. So, now you know.

The animal carvings travel down into the roots of the tree, including through the entrance for a Bug's Life 3D show.

I mean, holy crap!

This tree is the centerpiece for the park's gorgeous theming.

Nikki - "Do you think they have animals here?"

Jer - "Nah, it's probably just a typo."

We were greeted at Animal Kingdom by this sky writer. He forgot the second 's' in 'Jesus'. TURN TO JESU!

[Em-Z]

Awesome TR! I saw a religious skywriter there also!

[ginzo]

Song of The South, the racist Disney movie.

 

Have you actually seen the movie? Personally, I didn't find any racism in it.

[Lenaapple1974]

Another great update! That Sony camera takes such great pics! Very crisp/clear pics. I honestly would not have guessed it a Sony. Nikon, Canon, maybe...

[ECZenith]

I agree, Dinosaur is very scary (and very dark) and almost as good as Indy.

 

The ride used to be WAY more intense when it opened as Countdown to Extinction. Trust me, the enhanced motion vehicle is capable of some serious action sequences. Luckily I was able to ride in it's debut year before it was neutered when the movie came out so kids could ride it. Yet another victim of tamed down for the kiddies... if "ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter" had a grave I would most certainly visit it.

[shesaidboom]

shesaidboom and 307 do Disney World, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Africa - part three of six

 

Our final stop on the Disney Train was EPCOT and the giant ball thing. It was, I think, the hottest day of our trip thus far on this day. Absolutely ridiculously hot and humid and sticky, and the fact that this is probably the least shaded Disney park did not help at all.

 

So about mid way through exploring the various 'countries' around the lake, we decided screw it, it's too hot, and just busted butt to Soarin'. Being that EPCOT doesn't have too many 'top notch' attractions, the Fast Passes went uh, fast. By about 11AM, the Soarin' Fast Passes were going for 7'30 to 8'30 PM! And by 12 they were way sold out. We did manage to get passes for Mission Space and Test Track. Yay!

 

We went into Soarin' having no idea what to expect or what the ride was even like. While the ride itself was really cool, the transitions in the film were nonsensical and left us feeling as if we were watching clips on National Geographic rather than actually 'flying'. It was still the best ride in the park.

 

EPCOT was less a thrill park than an exploration area, but what they had for attractions was pretty good. Walking the countries was a pretty fun experience, especially exploring each country's shops and food. Unanimously, EPCOT was our second favourite Disney park.

 

NOW HERE ARE PHOTOS.

Vinylmation is awesome and so am I.

 

See you next time for SeaWorld!

We asked for one button and they kept trying to give us more. Who are we to decline?

Does this globe thing have a name?

Tired and worn out from the day, we entered the two hour line for Soarin'. Jer thought to himself, 'wouldn't it be cool if someone just gave us their fast passes?'. Five minutes later, a family exiting the ride did just that!!!

 

SO AWESOME. Bye two hour line, hello ten minute fast pass wait! Dudes were our heroes.

Everything anyone has ever said about Beverly is true. Except the good things.

Even moreso than Norway, Disney has managed to replicate an authentic Canadian experience. Jer and I, writing this from our igloo, looking out onto our Native Canadian themed totem poles, in the latest style of red plaid shirts with nifty suspenders and snow shoes, alongside our pet beaver and black bear, salute you!

 

We also like hockey.

Where's my tea and crumpets, wench?

I see London, I see France, I see holy crap it was hot this day.

Nikki went nuts in the Mitsukoshi store and bought lots of stuff. Here is a portion of her purchases.

Oh look, we're back in Asia!

Germany is pretty small.

Now we're back in Europe again! What is this crap?

We thought Europe and Asia were further away than this.

My you've got an immaculately kept uh... roof.

'You see that chick?'

'Ye I was like Daim, that ass was Nonstop'

Jer is accurately representing a typical Norwegian citizen.

Maelstrom illustrated what it is like to live in Norway: lots of Vikings, trolls, and polar bears.

Norway was our favourite country.

This is a bad picture, but Test Track was pretty good.

Why do they keep the dummy heads in the cages? Are they afraid they're going to escape or something? And if they did escape, where would they go?! They don't have any limbs!

These aren't the coolest jellies we'd see in the trip.

As usual with Disney Parks, the queues were very well themed.

I'm so sick of these damn seagulls. NOT YOURS! NO!

Now we are Finding Nemos.

Nikki is astronaut.

They kept yelling at Jer to push the buttons, but he refused!

We had thought this was like one of those things where they stick you in a little ball, and then spin you like crazy until you puke, like they do to astronauts. Instead, it wasn't. But it was still ok.

We didn't know EPCOT had this giant ball.

[Homeboy23]

Great trip reports so far, I just got back from my Orlando trip yesterday.

 

Same thing happened to me at Epcot with Soarin, the fast pass was gone before I could get one.

[Allena.k.a.Alan]

Awesome report!

[dandaman]

Song of The South, the racist Disney movie.

 

Have you actually seen the movie? Personally, I didn't find any racism in it.

 

I thought it was very well done and really doesn't deserve all the criticism it continues to get. James Baskett definitely earned that honorary Oscar.

 

Also, as Eric said once, Beverly is "liquid failure in a cup".

[thecoasterkid]

I don't know what's worse...Beverly or Buckleys. Both of them are horrid. Unlike your trip report! It's hilarious. I'd put your reports right up there with Dave Thomas' for comedic value.

 

Keep it up! Also...Wonderland...Friday night or Sunday morning, any preference from you 2?

[shesaidboom]

shesaidboom and 307 do Disney World, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Africa - part four of six

 

Our fifth stop was to SeaWorld Orlando, another place we'd never been before!

 

By this point the walking around in the 90+ heat was getting to us and we were pretty beat down. It certainly didn't hamper our enjoyment of the park, though, as SeaWorld was our favourite park of the trip. Yeah, suck on that, Disney fanboys!

 

Manta was oodles better than the three other flyers we've been on. The pretzel loop remains very intense, and the final splash turn was awesome, especially in the back on the inside of the train! Kraken was good but nothing special - I guess it would be considered a 'typical' B&M. Saying things like that makes me think we're taking such awesome coasters for granted, but really it didn't stand out much from any other B&Ms we've ever been on. Journey to Atlantis was a lot of fun and didn't get us too wet, but provided some nice heat relief.

 

The highlight was of course all of the animals in the area. Jer's a big sea creature fan so seeing sharks, rays, jellies, dolphins, turtles, fish and most importantly manatees was awesome.

 

While the park was an obvious step down in terms of over-all theming and presentation, it was still a pretty enough park with a fair bit of foliage and shade. Jer didn't like the entire empty section between the main bulk of the park and the Shamu stadium, but otherwise it was pretty well laid out as well.

 

We spent a loooooot of time taking pictures at SeaWorld so get ready for a barrage!

People thought the rays were fake. Then they started pooping on the glass!

 

Busch Gardens is up next!

And now, 30,000 Manta pictures, 100% caption free!

Shortly after taking this picture, we saw a walrus crap itself.

So gross, but cannot look away...

AHHH UNAGI.

We enjoyed the moving sidewalk through the shark tunnel ride. Nikki crapped her pants THREE TIMES.

A billion million points to anyone who can tell me where in the park this is. We wont win because we forget.

Nikki: "Pleeease?"

Jer: "No."

Why are the rails purple?

But the whales are fair game.

To deter pedos, the kiddie land at Sea World is full of crabs.

Nikki: "Pleeease?"

Jer: "No."

Nikki: "Can I feed them? Please?"

Jer: "No."

Nikki: "Pleeease?"

Jer: "No."

Dolphin show?! I thought this was the donkey show!

Highlight of the trip.

Look at those goofy bastards.

Sea cow.

OH, THE HUGE MANATEE!

Dolphins revving at the starting line.

Nikki exclaimed "I love when people push me out of the way!" to which the woman responded "They have a right to go first, they're kids."

 

In a rare display of quick wittedness, Jer responded, "They also have a right to good parenting, but instead they got you!"

 

(PS - we're not really jerks, if she or the kids had asked if they could go in front of us we would have happily obliged. It's the unnecessary rudeness and physical contact that grinds our gears.)

We were standing next to the dolphin pool taking pictures when out of nowhere some woman shoved Nikki out of the way and ushered her kids into the spot.

Typical B&M is still better than most rides!

Typical B&M, typical B&M picture.

Can't go a trip report without a lift hill picture. Nikki has finally learned to hold her camera straight!

Two circular objects with little squirmy things swimming around inside them. What does that make YOU think of?

Right after this picture was taken, the sea monster asked Jer for $3.50. We ain't gonna give no monstah no tree fiddy! Damn woman! What you think we made of money?! Gonna give no monstah no tree fiddy.

Best.

Nikki hates fish, but loves aquariums. You figure that one out.

Robert De Niro would do more than just splash us. We barely even got wet!

So a mermaid turns into a witch and then splashes us and that's her great revenge? Chick needs to watch 'Cape Fear'.

For some reason we were under the impression that there were a lot more roller coaster parts, but what was there was pretty fun!

So majestic!

This ride gets you a little moist if you're sitting in the back. I'll leave it up to you to decide the context of that.

Manta features the latest in coaster technology, including new invisible trains (pictured here).

In case you get lost in the parking lot, they put up a light house to help you find your way. How thoughtful!

[lil jimmy norton]

Awesome pictures. What kind of lame pedo would be stopped by crabs? Obviously not a determined one, thats what kind.

[Capitalize]

Awesome TR!

[Tikifire]

This is great! It's nice to see my home parks through others' eyes.