Daughter has written this for her English homework, and I know I'm biased but I think it's pretty darned good! Enjoy :-)
"I am here today to tell you of a magnificent jewel, a natural beauty, found within the depths of the Scared Jungle. Many believe that this exceedinly rare treasure was left to us by the Greek goddess Tamra. But by the touch of a finger, this iridescent jewel will ingite its wicked powers!
It all began when a young traveller, whose name is unknown, began his journey in search of treasure. Hiking up a vast mountain he was surrounded by a thick, eerie mist; he stumbled and came upon a cave which seemed to draw him in. As if transfixed the traveller made his way steadily through the tunnels of caves, until at last he stopped just outside an arch-like entrance...
After a few minutes he began stumbling on as if he knew the secret tunnels like the back of his hand. Just then a strong wind pushed him back, his scruffy hair flowing behind him....the fire-lit torches never flickered. A luminous light shone from in front, then a glassy shimmer caught his bright, blue dancing eyes. The jewel was crescent-shaped, like the moon in the dark, night sky.
Its ruby red colour seemed to be a vivid fire in which a polished ruby lay - the finest quality! The man reached out one shaking hand to greedily clasp the fragile jewel, but as soon as he flet the coldness upon his hand his heart stopped pumping and he fell to the ground, motionless.
Yet another victim. Who would be next?"
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
The day we hit Downtown Disney to eat, shop and play
We breakfasted on Bob Evans 'biscuits' or toast and some 'jelly' or peanut butter at the villa. It took us a while to get going so we decided to veer from my plan of Wet n Wild or a park this afternoon and devote the whole day to Downtown Disney.
We had an ADR for T Rex restaurant at DTD for 11am (which wasn't really needed as it opened at 11am and there was only a short queue).
I was very pleased to make the acquaintance of Manny, from one of my fave films, in there
and even more pleased with my Tar Pit Shrimp meal. I just love shrimp!
I thought the meteor shower was over-rated, or else I'd hyped it up in my own mind!
The kids loved the theming and their cameras were both out in an instant.
We grabbed our server for a family shot too:
.jpg)
The lighting in that restaurant is terrible, it really is!
Here's Lee's $25 platter!!
Gotta be a carnivore to eat that lot! Lucky he was hungry, as was this fella...
We paid a spur of the moment trip into Disneyquest which the kids enjoyed but I thought was far too hot, crowded and noisy for my likeing. We stayed for 2 hours though and I must admit to enjoying a go on Guitar Hero! Here's me, the ageing rocker..
and my younger, more attractive sidekick :-)
While we mastered one of our fave songs by Coldplay the boys shared a game:
We strolled across Pleasure Island commenting on how little of it we remembered other than that we went into the Comedy Warehouse, and although we saw a Comedy warehouse logo on the side of a buidling none of the area looked familiar. But hey, it was 17 years ago that we were last there!
Characters in Flight:
Up, up and away...
The Lego shop over in the Marketplace was next stop. Katie filled a cup with as much as she could cram in.....after spending a good half an hour deciding which pieces she wanted! The choice was overwhelming...
Despite being a long-standing and massive Lego fan I didn't buy a single piece, although I did try to interfere with what Katie chose to put in her fill-your-own pot, while Lee was chief advisor on how to squueze as much into that pot as possible by strategically placing certain shaped pieces in the tiny lip around the bottom of the pot :-)
We also had a leisurely stroll over to the other end of the Marketplace in search of a belt stall from which Lee had bought a nice leather belt and buckle 17 years ago. There was still such a stall, who'd have thought it! A few evenings later Lee got chatting to the man on the stall while choosing a new belt and buckle (he still has the first one but his waist has expanded somewhat since 1992!), a very friendly Pole, who, while making the belts to size, managed to tell us his entire life story, but he was a nice guy and we were interested. This took some time, and in the end the kids and I sauntered off to rest our tired bods on a wall where I took the opportunity to play with my new camera...again :-)
But I digress, back to that afternoon.... We popped into the Under $10 store, my goodness is that place unbearable! No air-con and packed with kids and grumpy parents! I did however find two Disney punches for my scrapbooking stash! The stuffiness of this store finished us off and we were soon on our way back to the car and the villa.
Here's a few of my fave photos from around DTD:
.jpg)
After a rest at the villa we headed off for some mini-golf at Jungle Golf , Formosa Gardens on the 192 .This place seemed very new, and was very well flood light for late night golfing. I think it cost about $8 each, that may been expensive for mini-golf, I'm not sure, it's the only one we visited, but we enjoyed it anyway, for its fun and newness.
As we arrived the sky came over very dark and there was a gorgeous rainbow and fortunately the heavens didn't open while we played...
We had planned on dinner in a restaurant but we were tired and just grabbed a McDonald's drive thru (still, quite a feast given the U.S. portion sizes!)then it was back to the villa for some zzzs
We had an ADR for T Rex restaurant at DTD for 11am (which wasn't really needed as it opened at 11am and there was only a short queue).
I was very pleased to make the acquaintance of Manny, from one of my fave films, in there
and even more pleased with my Tar Pit Shrimp meal. I just love shrimp!
I thought the meteor shower was over-rated, or else I'd hyped it up in my own mind!
The kids loved the theming and their cameras were both out in an instant.
We grabbed our server for a family shot too:
.jpg)
The lighting in that restaurant is terrible, it really is!
Here's Lee's $25 platter!!
Gotta be a carnivore to eat that lot! Lucky he was hungry, as was this fella...
We paid a spur of the moment trip into Disneyquest which the kids enjoyed but I thought was far too hot, crowded and noisy for my likeing. We stayed for 2 hours though and I must admit to enjoying a go on Guitar Hero! Here's me, the ageing rocker..
and my younger, more attractive sidekick :-)
While we mastered one of our fave songs by Coldplay the boys shared a game:
We strolled across Pleasure Island commenting on how little of it we remembered other than that we went into the Comedy Warehouse, and although we saw a Comedy warehouse logo on the side of a buidling none of the area looked familiar. But hey, it was 17 years ago that we were last there!
Characters in Flight:
Up, up and away...
The Lego shop over in the Marketplace was next stop. Katie filled a cup with as much as she could cram in.....after spending a good half an hour deciding which pieces she wanted! The choice was overwhelming...
Despite being a long-standing and massive Lego fan I didn't buy a single piece, although I did try to interfere with what Katie chose to put in her fill-your-own pot, while Lee was chief advisor on how to squueze as much into that pot as possible by strategically placing certain shaped pieces in the tiny lip around the bottom of the pot :-)
We also had a leisurely stroll over to the other end of the Marketplace in search of a belt stall from which Lee had bought a nice leather belt and buckle 17 years ago. There was still such a stall, who'd have thought it! A few evenings later Lee got chatting to the man on the stall while choosing a new belt and buckle (he still has the first one but his waist has expanded somewhat since 1992!), a very friendly Pole, who, while making the belts to size, managed to tell us his entire life story, but he was a nice guy and we were interested. This took some time, and in the end the kids and I sauntered off to rest our tired bods on a wall where I took the opportunity to play with my new camera...again :-)
But I digress, back to that afternoon.... We popped into the Under $10 store, my goodness is that place unbearable! No air-con and packed with kids and grumpy parents! I did however find two Disney punches for my scrapbooking stash! The stuffiness of this store finished us off and we were soon on our way back to the car and the villa.
Here's a few of my fave photos from around DTD:
.jpg)
After a rest at the villa we headed off for some mini-golf at Jungle Golf , Formosa Gardens on the 192 .This place seemed very new, and was very well flood light for late night golfing. I think it cost about $8 each, that may been expensive for mini-golf, I'm not sure, it's the only one we visited, but we enjoyed it anyway, for its fun and newness.
As we arrived the sky came over very dark and there was a gorgeous rainbow and fortunately the heavens didn't open while we played...
We had planned on dinner in a restaurant but we were tired and just grabbed a McDonald's drive thru (still, quite a feast given the U.S. portion sizes!)then it was back to the villa for some zzzs
The Day Sam turned 16
We woke a little earlier today so decided to eat at the park. Today was Hollywood Studios day. As it was Sam's 16th birthday this seemed a good place to go, having rides associated with films that Sam has enjoyed in years gone by (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Honey I Shrunk the Kids) as well as some exciting rides like the Tower of Terror and the Rock n Roller Coaster.
Sam had most of his birthday cards the day before we flew as there didn't seem any point in taking cards along with us, apart from one from ourselves. We did take one present along, but just one as Sam wanted money this year. After he'd opened his present, a new digital camera, we made it to rope drop again and picked up from the Will Call window a $79 Fun Card for our birthday boy (yes! It had gone up from $75 to $79 LOL!) and a birthday badge. The card coud be spent in any Disney store, even here in England, and had no expiry date (not that the latter was a problem as we spent it at Downtown Disney a few days later! There wasn't much Sam actually wanted, other than a huge Mickey Mouse soft toy for $19.99 so we used it on gifts and memories). The birthday badge made the day special, Sam got alot of birthday greetings from cast members which was nice.
Bloomin' good, my new camera, here's a snap of Sam bearing badges mid sneeze....no camera shake or blur with this camera, and a totally unintentional shot!
We headed for the Rock n Roller Coaster first, along with some other early starters, but laughed at the ones who ran ahead...it was hot already, and we weren't running anywhere!
What luck, it was a walk-on! No queue at all, only in the rows next to the car you board for the ride! No wait, no chance for me to be afraid! Sam and I were a little scared but determined to say we had ridden. We hopped into a car, behind Lee and Katie, and started to chant the countdown excitedly, oh my, the acceleration was terrifying, it took my breath away and I had to force myself to open my eyes after a few seconds! There were a few hairy moments out there in the dark, twisting and turning, including a moment when, midride, I doubted that I had anchored my camera and bag to my leg with the straps as I felt them lift of the floor at one point!!
After a mixture of screams and laughter we emerged triumphant, we had survived a 'big' ride! I was so proud of myself I forgot to take a photo of the outside of the ride but here's one of our next stop...cue scary music...do-do-do-dooo do-do-do-dooo (Twilight Zone, just in case you're wondering!)
Here we picked up a fastpass each because the standby time was over 30 minutes already. We filled the time until our return time with some breakfast and a spot in the shade at Starring Rolls Cafe, Star Tours and Muppet Vision 3D (both were walk-ons).
I think I'll stick with my own glasses thanks!
We returned to the Tower of Terror, terrified, at 10.50 and again had no more than a few minutes wait. The anticipation for this one was almost unbearable, I'm not keen on heights nor that feeling when you lose your stomach in a big drop. I was grateful to be at the edge of the elevator when we got seated as I got the extra handle, which I clung to with my clammy hand until it ached! I began to concentrate on controlling my breathing and 'lost the plot' of the pre-ride journey through the hotel, and we were soon into our first drop! Oh my goodness, I still can't describe the motion! I felt something like a baby must feel in a baby bouncer that hangs from a doorway, only much worse! I hunched my stomach forwards and that seemed to help somehow. I couldn't decide if it was better to look out of those doors as they opened to show how high up we were over the park, or whether it was better to keep my eyes tight shut! It was certainly thrilling and I now understand why you can hear so many screams from outside the tower - I know that I wasn't the only one screamin in the elevator!
Can you spot us? Look at Katie, such a brave soul!!
High five! I'd survived another big ride! I would even go so far as to say I enjoyed it, well, the feeling afterwards at least! Lee, Sam and Katie definitely enjoyed it, although Sam didn't want to ride again (me neither!). My enjoyment defintiely stemmed from the sense of achievement I felt in having ridden.
We grabbed some lunch in the Backlot Express while we waited for the Indiana Jones show and made the most of the airconditioning and some icy water from our bottles. By this time Sam was struggling with the heat (he hadn't chosen a white T Shirt today!) but he decided to stay for the Indie show.
We all enjoyed the stunt spectacular, especially Lee and I, shice we remembered this from our honeymoon in 1992 and it didn't appear to have changed much.
When we arrived home I read that someone had died in this show (I think it was during a rehersal), whether it was anyone from this photo I don't know. Very sad though.
We then headed towards the park entrance, walking thorugh the shops for a browse and to benefit form the air-con again. We were grateful that we chose a villa with a pool that afternoon and spent a couple of hours in and around it recovering from the heat. Here are my water babies...another chance to play with my camera :-)
Our plan was to return to HS as we still had our Toy Story Mania fastpasses that we had picked up and had also fogotten to visit the Backlot Tour and Magic of Disney Animation however the skies greyed over and the rain started. No of us fancied going out in it, this was no short shower, it went on and on, and got heavier and heavier, accompanied by loud claps of thunder and lightening. Nevertheless, aware that we only had so many days in which to conquer all that we wanted to see, we decided to make our way back to HS in the hope that it would pass over. Our journey up the US 27, along the 192 and onto World Drive was unbelieveable. The windscreen wipers were at their fastest and we could barely see!
Thus far we hadn't used the Sherbeth Road shortcut that I'd learnt about here on the Dibb, but eventually I spotted signs for it and it came in handy as the 192 seemed quite busy in the evenings. It took more than 2 or 3 trips back to the villa before I finally figured out how to use the shortcut in reverse (tip - to get back to the 192 from Epcot, MK or HS follow sings for AK and then for AK Lodge where the road splits for AK and the AK Lodge otherwise you end up in the AK parking lot!)
On arrival at HS's parking lot the rain was still torrential and the lightening hadn't stopped. We, along with some other families, sat in the car for about 25 minutes an eventually decided to leg it to the tram and not worry about getting wet clothes and trainers.
We sloshed our way over to Toy Story Mania and used our fast passes (glad we had them, the wait was for almost 2 hours by then and there were no fast passes left!).
Even with our fastpasses there was a wait of about 25 minutes. This ride was fun with a capital F! We adored it! Lee got a score of 116000, Sam got over 100000 too, Katie and I managed 89000 and 96000, but the scores didn't matter, it was such good fun! Some scores onthe board when we got off were around 260000 so we clearly needed more practice and I wished I had read up on how to get good scores in my Julie and Mike Neal book, The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 (page 191 if you have the book too)!
We headed to the Backlot Tour but it had stopped running because of the weather. We hung around for 15 mins until almost 6.30pm and with lightening still in the area and the ride due to officially close at 7pm we gave up and decided to come back another day. Instead, we did the first part of the Magic of Disney Animation, It was a half hour wait and I was really tired but glad I stuck around, I really loved the show with the cast memeber and Mishu interacting. I coudl have sat and watched this show over and over. Katie and Sam wanted to do the animation class but there was another 20 minute queue for it so we called it a day, hoping for a shorter line next time.
We headed back to the 192 to find somwhere to eat and decided on Bob Evans. This place was a hit from the moment we walked in, form the cleanliness and friendliness to the American biscuit with apple butter and the menu choice (later in my trip report you'll see we changed our mind about how wonderful Bob Evans was, but that's another story!) Cranberry, walnut and chicken slad for me, Chef's salad for Lee, southern fried chicken with mash and veg for Katie, and turkey, mash and breadcrumb and celery stuffing with gravy for Sam. The gravy is somewhat different to good old Bisto though! And the mash...well, if you like Smash you'd be just fine an dandy :-)
How me and Lee loved the American 'biscuits'! Our server was great and gave us two extra in a box to take away with us. He was very friendly, telling us all about his knowledge of what us Brits eat and enjoy, and about his home grown veggies!
After dinner we went to Walmart at Cagan's Crossing where Sam and Lee looked at tools and electronics and me and Katie spend many happy minutes marvelling at the scrapbooking section and prices, popping more an a couple of items into our trolley! I'm quite new to scrapbooking and thus far have only bought from a couple of online stores and ebay. Walmart, without a doubt, worked out cheaper! Sadly there were no Disney scrap items, but a whole load of lovely letterings and stickers, as well as nice albums and papers.
Another day done and dusted, back to the villa we went, content with our lot.
Sam had most of his birthday cards the day before we flew as there didn't seem any point in taking cards along with us, apart from one from ourselves. We did take one present along, but just one as Sam wanted money this year. After he'd opened his present, a new digital camera, we made it to rope drop again and picked up from the Will Call window a $79 Fun Card for our birthday boy (yes! It had gone up from $75 to $79 LOL!) and a birthday badge. The card coud be spent in any Disney store, even here in England, and had no expiry date (not that the latter was a problem as we spent it at Downtown Disney a few days later! There wasn't much Sam actually wanted, other than a huge Mickey Mouse soft toy for $19.99 so we used it on gifts and memories). The birthday badge made the day special, Sam got alot of birthday greetings from cast members which was nice.
Bloomin' good, my new camera, here's a snap of Sam bearing badges mid sneeze....no camera shake or blur with this camera, and a totally unintentional shot!
We headed for the Rock n Roller Coaster first, along with some other early starters, but laughed at the ones who ran ahead...it was hot already, and we weren't running anywhere!
What luck, it was a walk-on! No queue at all, only in the rows next to the car you board for the ride! No wait, no chance for me to be afraid! Sam and I were a little scared but determined to say we had ridden. We hopped into a car, behind Lee and Katie, and started to chant the countdown excitedly, oh my, the acceleration was terrifying, it took my breath away and I had to force myself to open my eyes after a few seconds! There were a few hairy moments out there in the dark, twisting and turning, including a moment when, midride, I doubted that I had anchored my camera and bag to my leg with the straps as I felt them lift of the floor at one point!!
After a mixture of screams and laughter we emerged triumphant, we had survived a 'big' ride! I was so proud of myself I forgot to take a photo of the outside of the ride but here's one of our next stop...cue scary music...do-do-do-dooo do-do-do-dooo (Twilight Zone, just in case you're wondering!)
Here we picked up a fastpass each because the standby time was over 30 minutes already. We filled the time until our return time with some breakfast and a spot in the shade at Starring Rolls Cafe, Star Tours and Muppet Vision 3D (both were walk-ons).
I think I'll stick with my own glasses thanks!
We returned to the Tower of Terror, terrified, at 10.50 and again had no more than a few minutes wait. The anticipation for this one was almost unbearable, I'm not keen on heights nor that feeling when you lose your stomach in a big drop. I was grateful to be at the edge of the elevator when we got seated as I got the extra handle, which I clung to with my clammy hand until it ached! I began to concentrate on controlling my breathing and 'lost the plot' of the pre-ride journey through the hotel, and we were soon into our first drop! Oh my goodness, I still can't describe the motion! I felt something like a baby must feel in a baby bouncer that hangs from a doorway, only much worse! I hunched my stomach forwards and that seemed to help somehow. I couldn't decide if it was better to look out of those doors as they opened to show how high up we were over the park, or whether it was better to keep my eyes tight shut! It was certainly thrilling and I now understand why you can hear so many screams from outside the tower - I know that I wasn't the only one screamin in the elevator!
Can you spot us? Look at Katie, such a brave soul!!
High five! I'd survived another big ride! I would even go so far as to say I enjoyed it, well, the feeling afterwards at least! Lee, Sam and Katie definitely enjoyed it, although Sam didn't want to ride again (me neither!). My enjoyment defintiely stemmed from the sense of achievement I felt in having ridden.
We grabbed some lunch in the Backlot Express while we waited for the Indiana Jones show and made the most of the airconditioning and some icy water from our bottles. By this time Sam was struggling with the heat (he hadn't chosen a white T Shirt today!) but he decided to stay for the Indie show.
We all enjoyed the stunt spectacular, especially Lee and I, shice we remembered this from our honeymoon in 1992 and it didn't appear to have changed much.
When we arrived home I read that someone had died in this show (I think it was during a rehersal), whether it was anyone from this photo I don't know. Very sad though.
We then headed towards the park entrance, walking thorugh the shops for a browse and to benefit form the air-con again. We were grateful that we chose a villa with a pool that afternoon and spent a couple of hours in and around it recovering from the heat. Here are my water babies...another chance to play with my camera :-)
Our plan was to return to HS as we still had our Toy Story Mania fastpasses that we had picked up and had also fogotten to visit the Backlot Tour and Magic of Disney Animation however the skies greyed over and the rain started. No of us fancied going out in it, this was no short shower, it went on and on, and got heavier and heavier, accompanied by loud claps of thunder and lightening. Nevertheless, aware that we only had so many days in which to conquer all that we wanted to see, we decided to make our way back to HS in the hope that it would pass over. Our journey up the US 27, along the 192 and onto World Drive was unbelieveable. The windscreen wipers were at their fastest and we could barely see!
Thus far we hadn't used the Sherbeth Road shortcut that I'd learnt about here on the Dibb, but eventually I spotted signs for it and it came in handy as the 192 seemed quite busy in the evenings. It took more than 2 or 3 trips back to the villa before I finally figured out how to use the shortcut in reverse (tip - to get back to the 192 from Epcot, MK or HS follow sings for AK and then for AK Lodge where the road splits for AK and the AK Lodge otherwise you end up in the AK parking lot!)
On arrival at HS's parking lot the rain was still torrential and the lightening hadn't stopped. We, along with some other families, sat in the car for about 25 minutes an eventually decided to leg it to the tram and not worry about getting wet clothes and trainers.
We sloshed our way over to Toy Story Mania and used our fast passes (glad we had them, the wait was for almost 2 hours by then and there were no fast passes left!).
Even with our fastpasses there was a wait of about 25 minutes. This ride was fun with a capital F! We adored it! Lee got a score of 116000, Sam got over 100000 too, Katie and I managed 89000 and 96000, but the scores didn't matter, it was such good fun! Some scores onthe board when we got off were around 260000 so we clearly needed more practice and I wished I had read up on how to get good scores in my Julie and Mike Neal book, The Complete Walt Disney World 2009 (page 191 if you have the book too)!
We headed to the Backlot Tour but it had stopped running because of the weather. We hung around for 15 mins until almost 6.30pm and with lightening still in the area and the ride due to officially close at 7pm we gave up and decided to come back another day. Instead, we did the first part of the Magic of Disney Animation, It was a half hour wait and I was really tired but glad I stuck around, I really loved the show with the cast memeber and Mishu interacting. I coudl have sat and watched this show over and over. Katie and Sam wanted to do the animation class but there was another 20 minute queue for it so we called it a day, hoping for a shorter line next time.
We headed back to the 192 to find somwhere to eat and decided on Bob Evans. This place was a hit from the moment we walked in, form the cleanliness and friendliness to the American biscuit with apple butter and the menu choice (later in my trip report you'll see we changed our mind about how wonderful Bob Evans was, but that's another story!) Cranberry, walnut and chicken slad for me, Chef's salad for Lee, southern fried chicken with mash and veg for Katie, and turkey, mash and breadcrumb and celery stuffing with gravy for Sam. The gravy is somewhat different to good old Bisto though! And the mash...well, if you like Smash you'd be just fine an dandy :-)
How me and Lee loved the American 'biscuits'! Our server was great and gave us two extra in a box to take away with us. He was very friendly, telling us all about his knowledge of what us Brits eat and enjoy, and about his home grown veggies!
After dinner we went to Walmart at Cagan's Crossing where Sam and Lee looked at tools and electronics and me and Katie spend many happy minutes marvelling at the scrapbooking section and prices, popping more an a couple of items into our trolley! I'm quite new to scrapbooking and thus far have only bought from a couple of online stores and ebay. Walmart, without a doubt, worked out cheaper! Sadly there were no Disney scrap items, but a whole load of lovely letterings and stickers, as well as nice albums and papers.
Another day done and dusted, back to the villa we went, content with our lot.
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