Monday, December 20, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Plodding along with the 2009 trip report :-)
Will I ever catch up?! I'll have to as I'm currently typing up our August 2010 trip report!!
August 18th 2009. Universally Challenged!
Guess what.....another lie-in followed our full-on day yesterday!
We didn't know it at this point, but today would be the day that we would get lost, queued to exasperation and got more wet than we could possibly imagine!
We were off to Universal Studios for the day. After a short detour on the I4 (I, the navigator, missed the exit! Tip - if you want US or IofA look out for a 'Universal' sign, I was looking for a 'Universal Studios' sign and don't think I found one!
We got there in the end though, off at the next exit and back down the I4 again!
Katie was particularly looking forward to the Universal parks for their wild rides while I had mixed feelings aout a couple that I tought might turn my stomach and induce a panic attack (my first happened after I rode an upside down, loop the loop ride at D'Eftling in Holland, mind you, I had been very poorly with flu or something and I think my body was simply telling me to ease up! The panic attacks lasted for a good 18 months on and off after that though, so anyone who has had one can understand why I had my reservations about the big rides!)
We marched through Citywalk at a brisk pace (note to self for next visit...stop and 'smell the roses'!) after takig a photo of our parking area (Spiderman) fearing the queues that were probably already building judging by the carpark and number of people heading into Citywalk.
Of course, there's the obligatory shot in front of the globe too (it was packed and difficult to get a perfect shot so I opted for a not so perfect one just around the corner!)
The queues to enter the park weren't actually that bad, but boy, by the end of the day were we frustrated with the queuing inside the park, as those who paid for express passes help up the regular lines time and time again. (I've since found out that if you booked at the Hard Rock Hotel for a couple of nights your room key not only acts as an express pass, but an express pass that allows you to ride more than once...there are exceptions though, usually new rides. So rather than pay on the gate for express passes why not splash out on a room at the Hard Rock, which for a family of four, can be equal to, if not cheaper than four express passes bought at the gate!)
Lee began to get a bit of a bee in his bonnet about the unfairness of this system compared to Disney's free Fastpass system that did not favour those who could afford to splash out on express passes. His other gripe was that US was very similar to UK fairgrounds where every stall entices you to part with yet more money (Amity in particular).
These weren't the only things that left a sour taste in Lee's mouth as you will soon hear! :-)
Frustrations apart, we loved the rides.
First up was Shrek 4D, this was nice but we were tiring of 3/4D shows and ready for some excitement.
As we walked down 57th Street we noticed that the new Rip Ride Rockit was up and running, and that sometimes it had riders, athough it wasn't full to capacity. We assumed it must be testing. No matter, I had no intentions of riding this one after seeing the vertical climb! We also noticed how low the ride dipped in front of the NY library at the end of the street (and later compared today's photo with the same view of the street in 1992).
We took in Twister next, we all loved this, especially me, who has a fascination with tornadoes) and was glued to the TVs in the line for the tornado footage. We got a little wetter than exptected at the end, but oh my, the cow! They really need to get rid of it, it was simply laughable :-)
Katie begged us to ride the Mummy but we were hungry and stopped for some giganitc pizzas in Louie's
and decided to let our food go down before riding it. Instead, we checked out the queue for this:
we changed our minds when we saw the queue, and headed over to queue for Jaws, which also had quite a long wait but was an attraction the kids really wanted to experience.
It was brilliant! How we survived an encounter with a shark in one of these I'll never know ;-)
Photos opportunities as we queued/sat in the boat (although I put my camera away for the action, one has to have your wits about you when there's a man-eater around!)
Our guide had to be pretty firm at one point when two grown, muscualr men insisted on standing up in the boat so as not to get wet bottoms, poor loves!
All limbs intact, we had to get 'the' Jaws photo:
and then we wandered on into World Expo, here's Katie, full of excitement, joy and bounce:
As soon as we crossed the bridge the heavens opened. We 'hid' near the toilets; Lee, Sam and Katie got an ice cream but I decided to wait until later for a slush.
As the downpour continued we made a dash for the Men in Black line only to be turned away because we'd forgotten ....no bags! Back into the rain agian, and over to the lockers! Double soaked!! It was pandemonium here, packed because of those sheltering from the rain and those, like us, trying to figure out the locker system and whether there was a line to get a locker or whether it was a 'free for all' stand-by-a-locker-and-hope-it-soon-becomes-free! You just couldn't tell who was retrieving stuff from a locker from who was loading a locker!
It took us a good 5 minutes to get a locker but thankfully we didn't have any bother with our first encounter with the fingerprint recognition system!
Back into the rain (yawn) and the queue, and a very long wait without water to quench the never-ending thirst that comes with the August heat. At this stage I really wished I'd opted for an ice-cream!!
Therre was just one interesting moment worht mentioning. There were some girls behind us who asked where we were from and that we had strong accents (that'll be the slight Chav-ham accent then!) to which I replied that their American accents were much more interesting than ours. Love the drawl!
This is, I'm afraid, as far as my journal goes! For some reason (exhaustion probably!) I never did catch up with my notes while we were on holiday, but fear not, I have lots of photos of week 2 (and the rest of this day in US) and kept a daily record of where we went so I can continue my trip report from memory :-)
Onward again...
Men In Black Men In Black was another one of those rides I had my doubts about because of the spinning element, but a couple of weeks prior to our trip I had heard from an old friend, a lady of 70, who had enjoyed the ride so much that she couldn't stop laughing. Well, I thought, if a 70 year old can survive the ride so can I!
I needn't have worried, I rode in the same ride vehicle as daughter Katie and we were so enthusiastic about shooting those creatures from outer space that it didn't occur to me to worry about any spinning that might happen. Happen it did, it was fast, brief tummy-clenching good fun!
Believe it or not, we were in need of more refreshment!! Underestimate not the heat in August!! Parting with more dollars it was icy stuff all round and into another queue - The Simpsons!
Here's one hot and bothered sweetie:
yes, sweetie, your hair looks fine...you're in a theme park, it's probably 100 degrees...it looks fine, really it does!
and my cool dude Sam:
Now, generally, I am not a fan of the Simpsons one bit, but they are bright and colourful and I'd seen a clip of the ride on YouTube and wanted to ride it as much as the kids. Good job we were very keen, because our keen-ness saw us through a veeery, looong, winnnding queue! Just when you thought you might be turning a corner, there appeared a sea of more heads in the queue! It was shaded though, so not too bad.
Here one of those seas of heads...
Looking back at this photo now, I'm struck by how many people are wearing Tshirts with little sleeves...there's no way I could have worn anything with sleeves, it was far, far too hot and humid! They must all be Floridians and used to the heat! Boobtube tops for me, every day I believe! Shuffling along to get as close as possible to a fan without breathing down someone's neck was my method of survival!
Wasn't too keen on being cooped up in a little waiting room with one other family for the ride, in fact I was really not expecting that. But it was ok once the ride got going, I soon forgot any feelings of claustrohobia. Some of the ride was a bit hairy, that was as close as I was going to get to a big coaster that was a long way off the ground. Yes I know it wasn't real, but it did mess with my stomach and mind!
We skipped Woody Woodpecker's Kids Zone after the Simpsons, alhtough I had planned to see Animal actors on Location but we had to stop for E.T Adventure because I loved the film so much and had fond memories of the ride in 1992. I think the kids thought it was a bit lame, but they didn't grumble, it was just a feeling I got.
I'm not quite sure where we were (seeing as I'm doing the remainder of the trip from memory and photos) but it was sometime around now that the heavens opened once more, this was one of those downpours that soaked you to the skin, and was accompanied my some rather scary claps of thunder and lightening! We took shelter for a while by a shop and then decided to make a run for it to Terminator 2. We pelted it in the direction of our destination for a little while, against hub's desire (although he did run the fastest and I got left way behind, fearful of slipping inside my big, sloshing Crocs!) We ducked and dived, joined some sardines under a few umbrellas and I took a couple of photos before wrapping my camera up and tucking it into my (canvas) bag and up under my armpit (cue wrinkled-up nose!) for some protection (the lens was steaming up, my poor, precious new camera!)
Here's one of my drowned ratties, across the road from Mel's Diner (must stop and look at that next time we go, weather permitting!)
and here are a few other random drowned rats that didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that water and lightening are not a good mix, and that light coloured shorts aren't a good idea when you are soaked through!! Hope no one recognises themselves now that I've insulted their intelligence and dress-sense! ;-) Note the two red 'statues' just standing there, back to back..not sure what they were doing!
When we got to Terminator 2, soaked through and in need of some shelter, we were basically turned away because the queue wasn't meant to start forming for a while. However, the park visitors around us were having none of it and basically told the attendant that it wouldn't hurt to start waiting inside. We joined the throng and dripped for a while before joining the 'formal' queuing area.
I thought this was an okay show. I think my boys enjoyed it more than me. But I was happy enough resting my feet.
Once out we rode Jimmy Neutrons Nicktoon Blast before we decided we'd seen enough. We were all pooped and uncomfortable in our soaked attire. We went back to Citywalk, I can't remember if it was still raining, and called in at Bubba Gumps for dinner. Goody, we all loved the film and were looking forward to seeing the theming and getting some yummy grub in our hungry tumblies.
Our time in Bubbas was marred slightly because Katie found the air-conditioning rather extreme while so wet and she was one mass of shivering goosebumps and felt quite rough as a result. We cuddled up close in the booth; she kicked off her wet pumps; wrapped her legs up under her and I really wished I had something to cover her arms.
The food though got a big thumbs up. I had the most delicious shrimp I'd ever tasted, hub chose a burger as he's not into seafood, and the kids had chicken and mash.
Here's some piccies to make you hungry...
Being so cold, Lee asked for his first cup of tea in a U.S. restaurant. I can't remember what they brought him, but I think it was iced tea! He got something resembling an English-tasting tea in the end though.
By the time we left it was dark. Forgot to look out for the photo opp where you put your feet inside those Forrest shoes!
Katie was pleased to get back into the car because it was warm!
That was about it for the day. Another evening in front of the TV was on the cards, plus some hot baths, and the realisation that we'd totally overlooked the Horror Make-Up show and the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue (next time!)
Oh yes, somewhere before we crossed the bridge into World Expo we looked for the Delorian and the train from Back to the Future and the kids posed for photos, while Lee, spotting a rather familiar police car followed it into Delancy Street (I think). Here we stopped to listen to the Blues Brothers...I must be mistaken, but it was the same guys from 1992 ;-)
The kids quite liked their music, far departed as it was from their usual choice of 'noise'! Took a couple of piccies and some video, but I won't bore you with the piccies now, I'm sure you all know what they look and sound like.
Next up...Magic Kingom, yaaaay!!
August 18th 2009. Universally Challenged!
Guess what.....another lie-in followed our full-on day yesterday!
We didn't know it at this point, but today would be the day that we would get lost, queued to exasperation and got more wet than we could possibly imagine!
We were off to Universal Studios for the day. After a short detour on the I4 (I, the navigator, missed the exit! Tip - if you want US or IofA look out for a 'Universal' sign, I was looking for a 'Universal Studios' sign and don't think I found one!
We got there in the end though, off at the next exit and back down the I4 again!
Katie was particularly looking forward to the Universal parks for their wild rides while I had mixed feelings aout a couple that I tought might turn my stomach and induce a panic attack (my first happened after I rode an upside down, loop the loop ride at D'Eftling in Holland, mind you, I had been very poorly with flu or something and I think my body was simply telling me to ease up! The panic attacks lasted for a good 18 months on and off after that though, so anyone who has had one can understand why I had my reservations about the big rides!)
We marched through Citywalk at a brisk pace (note to self for next visit...stop and 'smell the roses'!) after takig a photo of our parking area (Spiderman) fearing the queues that were probably already building judging by the carpark and number of people heading into Citywalk.
Of course, there's the obligatory shot in front of the globe too (it was packed and difficult to get a perfect shot so I opted for a not so perfect one just around the corner!)
The queues to enter the park weren't actually that bad, but boy, by the end of the day were we frustrated with the queuing inside the park, as those who paid for express passes help up the regular lines time and time again. (I've since found out that if you booked at the Hard Rock Hotel for a couple of nights your room key not only acts as an express pass, but an express pass that allows you to ride more than once...there are exceptions though, usually new rides. So rather than pay on the gate for express passes why not splash out on a room at the Hard Rock, which for a family of four, can be equal to, if not cheaper than four express passes bought at the gate!)
Lee began to get a bit of a bee in his bonnet about the unfairness of this system compared to Disney's free Fastpass system that did not favour those who could afford to splash out on express passes. His other gripe was that US was very similar to UK fairgrounds where every stall entices you to part with yet more money (Amity in particular).
These weren't the only things that left a sour taste in Lee's mouth as you will soon hear! :-)
Frustrations apart, we loved the rides.
First up was Shrek 4D, this was nice but we were tiring of 3/4D shows and ready for some excitement.
As we walked down 57th Street we noticed that the new Rip Ride Rockit was up and running, and that sometimes it had riders, athough it wasn't full to capacity. We assumed it must be testing. No matter, I had no intentions of riding this one after seeing the vertical climb! We also noticed how low the ride dipped in front of the NY library at the end of the street (and later compared today's photo with the same view of the street in 1992).
We took in Twister next, we all loved this, especially me, who has a fascination with tornadoes) and was glued to the TVs in the line for the tornado footage. We got a little wetter than exptected at the end, but oh my, the cow! They really need to get rid of it, it was simply laughable :-)
Katie begged us to ride the Mummy but we were hungry and stopped for some giganitc pizzas in Louie's
and decided to let our food go down before riding it. Instead, we checked out the queue for this:
we changed our minds when we saw the queue, and headed over to queue for Jaws, which also had quite a long wait but was an attraction the kids really wanted to experience.
It was brilliant! How we survived an encounter with a shark in one of these I'll never know ;-)
Photos opportunities as we queued/sat in the boat (although I put my camera away for the action, one has to have your wits about you when there's a man-eater around!)
Our guide had to be pretty firm at one point when two grown, muscualr men insisted on standing up in the boat so as not to get wet bottoms, poor loves!
All limbs intact, we had to get 'the' Jaws photo:
and then we wandered on into World Expo, here's Katie, full of excitement, joy and bounce:
As soon as we crossed the bridge the heavens opened. We 'hid' near the toilets; Lee, Sam and Katie got an ice cream but I decided to wait until later for a slush.
As the downpour continued we made a dash for the Men in Black line only to be turned away because we'd forgotten ....no bags! Back into the rain agian, and over to the lockers! Double soaked!! It was pandemonium here, packed because of those sheltering from the rain and those, like us, trying to figure out the locker system and whether there was a line to get a locker or whether it was a 'free for all' stand-by-a-locker-and-hope-it-soon-becomes-free! You just couldn't tell who was retrieving stuff from a locker from who was loading a locker!
It took us a good 5 minutes to get a locker but thankfully we didn't have any bother with our first encounter with the fingerprint recognition system!
Back into the rain (yawn) and the queue, and a very long wait without water to quench the never-ending thirst that comes with the August heat. At this stage I really wished I'd opted for an ice-cream!!
Therre was just one interesting moment worht mentioning. There were some girls behind us who asked where we were from and that we had strong accents (that'll be the slight Chav-ham accent then!) to which I replied that their American accents were much more interesting than ours. Love the drawl!
This is, I'm afraid, as far as my journal goes! For some reason (exhaustion probably!) I never did catch up with my notes while we were on holiday, but fear not, I have lots of photos of week 2 (and the rest of this day in US) and kept a daily record of where we went so I can continue my trip report from memory :-)
Onward again...
Men In Black Men In Black was another one of those rides I had my doubts about because of the spinning element, but a couple of weeks prior to our trip I had heard from an old friend, a lady of 70, who had enjoyed the ride so much that she couldn't stop laughing. Well, I thought, if a 70 year old can survive the ride so can I!
I needn't have worried, I rode in the same ride vehicle as daughter Katie and we were so enthusiastic about shooting those creatures from outer space that it didn't occur to me to worry about any spinning that might happen. Happen it did, it was fast, brief tummy-clenching good fun!
Believe it or not, we were in need of more refreshment!! Underestimate not the heat in August!! Parting with more dollars it was icy stuff all round and into another queue - The Simpsons!
Here's one hot and bothered sweetie:
yes, sweetie, your hair looks fine...you're in a theme park, it's probably 100 degrees...it looks fine, really it does!
and my cool dude Sam:
Now, generally, I am not a fan of the Simpsons one bit, but they are bright and colourful and I'd seen a clip of the ride on YouTube and wanted to ride it as much as the kids. Good job we were very keen, because our keen-ness saw us through a veeery, looong, winnnding queue! Just when you thought you might be turning a corner, there appeared a sea of more heads in the queue! It was shaded though, so not too bad.
Here one of those seas of heads...
Looking back at this photo now, I'm struck by how many people are wearing Tshirts with little sleeves...there's no way I could have worn anything with sleeves, it was far, far too hot and humid! They must all be Floridians and used to the heat! Boobtube tops for me, every day I believe! Shuffling along to get as close as possible to a fan without breathing down someone's neck was my method of survival!
Wasn't too keen on being cooped up in a little waiting room with one other family for the ride, in fact I was really not expecting that. But it was ok once the ride got going, I soon forgot any feelings of claustrohobia. Some of the ride was a bit hairy, that was as close as I was going to get to a big coaster that was a long way off the ground. Yes I know it wasn't real, but it did mess with my stomach and mind!
We skipped Woody Woodpecker's Kids Zone after the Simpsons, alhtough I had planned to see Animal actors on Location but we had to stop for E.T Adventure because I loved the film so much and had fond memories of the ride in 1992. I think the kids thought it was a bit lame, but they didn't grumble, it was just a feeling I got.
I'm not quite sure where we were (seeing as I'm doing the remainder of the trip from memory and photos) but it was sometime around now that the heavens opened once more, this was one of those downpours that soaked you to the skin, and was accompanied my some rather scary claps of thunder and lightening! We took shelter for a while by a shop and then decided to make a run for it to Terminator 2. We pelted it in the direction of our destination for a little while, against hub's desire (although he did run the fastest and I got left way behind, fearful of slipping inside my big, sloshing Crocs!) We ducked and dived, joined some sardines under a few umbrellas and I took a couple of photos before wrapping my camera up and tucking it into my (canvas) bag and up under my armpit (cue wrinkled-up nose!) for some protection (the lens was steaming up, my poor, precious new camera!)
Here's one of my drowned ratties, across the road from Mel's Diner (must stop and look at that next time we go, weather permitting!)
and here are a few other random drowned rats that didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that water and lightening are not a good mix, and that light coloured shorts aren't a good idea when you are soaked through!! Hope no one recognises themselves now that I've insulted their intelligence and dress-sense! ;-) Note the two red 'statues' just standing there, back to back..not sure what they were doing!
When we got to Terminator 2, soaked through and in need of some shelter, we were basically turned away because the queue wasn't meant to start forming for a while. However, the park visitors around us were having none of it and basically told the attendant that it wouldn't hurt to start waiting inside. We joined the throng and dripped for a while before joining the 'formal' queuing area.
I thought this was an okay show. I think my boys enjoyed it more than me. But I was happy enough resting my feet.
Once out we rode Jimmy Neutrons Nicktoon Blast before we decided we'd seen enough. We were all pooped and uncomfortable in our soaked attire. We went back to Citywalk, I can't remember if it was still raining, and called in at Bubba Gumps for dinner. Goody, we all loved the film and were looking forward to seeing the theming and getting some yummy grub in our hungry tumblies.
Our time in Bubbas was marred slightly because Katie found the air-conditioning rather extreme while so wet and she was one mass of shivering goosebumps and felt quite rough as a result. We cuddled up close in the booth; she kicked off her wet pumps; wrapped her legs up under her and I really wished I had something to cover her arms.
The food though got a big thumbs up. I had the most delicious shrimp I'd ever tasted, hub chose a burger as he's not into seafood, and the kids had chicken and mash.
Here's some piccies to make you hungry...
Being so cold, Lee asked for his first cup of tea in a U.S. restaurant. I can't remember what they brought him, but I think it was iced tea! He got something resembling an English-tasting tea in the end though.
By the time we left it was dark. Forgot to look out for the photo opp where you put your feet inside those Forrest shoes!
Katie was pleased to get back into the car because it was warm!
That was about it for the day. Another evening in front of the TV was on the cards, plus some hot baths, and the realisation that we'd totally overlooked the Horror Make-Up show and the Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue (next time!)
Oh yes, somewhere before we crossed the bridge into World Expo we looked for the Delorian and the train from Back to the Future and the kids posed for photos, while Lee, spotting a rather familiar police car followed it into Delancy Street (I think). Here we stopped to listen to the Blues Brothers...I must be mistaken, but it was the same guys from 1992 ;-)
The kids quite liked their music, far departed as it was from their usual choice of 'noise'! Took a couple of piccies and some video, but I won't bore you with the piccies now, I'm sure you all know what they look and sound like.
Next up...Magic Kingom, yaaaay!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Moki Dugway.
Lately I've been talking to mum and dad about our cross-America trip in January and February 1981 from 'home' in Michigan to Colorado, Arizona and Utah (plus more states) to California and back via more states! It's a fascinating topic and I am looking forward to spending many more months sharing the memories and, one day, visit similar places. Dad spent a whole evening on Google Maps on my computer last weekend, trying to recall a specific and dangerous road that we drove in thick snow in our motorhome.
Eventually we figured out it was the Moki Dugway in Utah (route 261), just short of Mexican Hat. One of dad's 'short cuts'! The road is unpaved and winds its way up to Cedar Mesa. Bearing in mind this was winter, snowy and with poor visibility Mum recalls her panic, being on the passenger side looking down to where the road just dropped away. Dad recalls thinking "can't stop, can't turn back, got to keep going or we get stuck!" accompanied by blasts on the horn at each sharp switchback. Me? I remember not alot to be honest, but I love hearing about it!
So here, mum, dad, and sis Claire, is an idea...come onto Flickr and type in anything you want that's related to our trip and relive it in beautiful photos! Here's one to start you off. It will seriously gobble up your day though, be warned :-)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Lucky rainbow?
As dad starts his radiation treatment today can't help hoping the rainbow is a good omen.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Ojen
On the way down to Marbella coast in Southern Spain, as you wind you way down the mountains, there is a viewpoint that overlooks Ojen pueblo. Ojen is an Arabic name that means 'harsh' or 'bitter', yet it is a tranquil spot. It's a lovely to just stand and gaze down at the little white casas and at the green mountains against the blue skies.
Friday, October 08, 2010
Meeting The Mice
Feeling a under the weather today, seasonal germs, so I decided not to dash around like usual but to sit and do a hobby for a while. Getting a bit more familiar with PSE6 at last.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Some work.
Thank you OCR, I'd love to mark Biology again in January, that will help pay for my holiday :-)
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
For family, because life ain't always beautiful.
Life ain't always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down, it can break your heart
Life ain't always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day
But the struggles makes you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has its own way of takin' it sweet time
[chorus]
No,life aint always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life aint always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride
Life aint always beautiful
Some days I miss your smile
I get tired of walkin' all these lonely miles
And I wish for just one minute
I could see your pretty face
Guess I can dream, but life don't work that way
But the struggles makes me stronger
And the changes make me wise
And happiness has its own way of takin' its sweet time
No, life ain't always beautiful
But I know I'll be fine
Hey, life ain't always beautiful
But its a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride
It's been a while. It's been two months...two months of rollercoaster emotions.
July saw dad diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer and weeks of waiting to hear just how advanced it is.
August brought our family holiday, the one high in the month, a job interview for Sam (no luck), back pain for me, and more waiting to hear about dad for all of us.
September brings a 60% chance of a cure, more waiting - 6 weeks for radiation to begin, and increasingly frequent back pain. Life is just a pile of poop sometimes but you have to be brave and get on with it.
I know I said I'd get last year's trip report finished before I had another to write, but I think I can cut myself some slack on this, for now :-)
Oh yes, and my Blog's a mess. I played around with it some time ago. Don't like it much but don't have the time to make it better!
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Pushing on...
Bloomin' heck, where did June go?!
I made a decision yesterday. No more Facebook games (apart from Scrabble, but even that addiction is wearing off!), so goodbye Farmville and Frontierville. They are time-gobblers and I have so many other things I want to achieve.
It also seems a shame that I don't blog as much as I used to. I kinda got stuck into a routine of Facebook status updates over blogging. I'm switching back to blogging so that it's all there for keeps - I couldn't tell you what status updates I made last week. Blogging is better for looking back and seeing what I've been up to. It occured to me that no-one may be reading or in the slightest bit interested, but I don't mind, this is as much for me as for your entertainment :-)
Taking five minutes out over lunch to crack on with last summers trip report. Gotta get it done before we go back to Orlando this summer!
so...
August 17th 2009
Animated at Hollywood Studios (that's MGM Studios to us oldies!)
After a nice lie in and a slooow start we spent a little time in the pool,or sunbathing in the small corner that had sun mid-morning.
It was back to the Golden Corral for lunch and then off we went to Hollywood Studios. On our last visit we hadn't done the Backlot Studio tour and as this was an attraction DH and I could recall from 1992 it was one we wanted to revisit. We also hadn't done this:
- Disney Animation Class, and we really keen to try that (there's an artistic streak in my side of the family...my grandad in his younger days had painted inn signs and a beautiful Taj Mahal on the living room wall, mum is artistic, my sister used to paint backdrops for the Royal Opera House, DS enjoyed Art and Design BTEC, and DD was identified as 'gifted and talented' in Year 7). We got to draw Dale, and it proved a big hit with all of us. We agreed it was one of the best experiences in the park and were pleased with our sketches. I found the whole experience vey relaxing...sitting in semi-darkness and it was so quiet since we were all concentrating so hard! It occured to me half way through that it'd be good to take some photos of my artists at work, even though it meant getting behind in following the cast member's instructions, but I didn't want to ruin the concentration of the other visitors by letting my flash go off!
Here's the guy giving us guidance and one of our finished products:
I'd wholeheartedly recommend everyone to have a go, even if you don't think you are any good at drawing, it's all simple shapes, built up to make the overall portrait!
I would have liked to have joined the line for another go but I also wanted our photos take with Chip and Dale and the kids wanted to show the characters their portraits! As the line to see the characters was not too long we decided to join it. The friendly chipmunks seemed impressed with Sam and Katie's drawings and autographed their masterpieces. Sam found it amusing to tease one of the chipmunks, seeing as it wouldn't give him his drawing back, by sneakily putting his baseball cap on the chipmunk's head, see photo!
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Katie and I also stood with 2 of the Incredibles for a photo but missed the opportunity to pose with Minnie and Pluto and some characters from the Robin Hood film who were on their way 'backstage' before we could catch them!
On our way out we admired the wonderful paintings and drawings on the walls and in the shop
.jpg)
We also stopped for a while to watch an artist at work, and I regret not buying something for myself in this shop, but Sam bought an animation book with his birthday fun card.
We also rode the Great Movie Ride, the scenes from the movies were great but the gangster acting wasn't very impressive!
We caught the Backlot Tour, hurray, no rain-check today! The kids only recognised a few of the vehicles (Herbie and Star Wars) and it was nice to see the Mickey Ears tower. Last night, looking at my photos I wondered what I could do with some of them and thought I'd do a collage of transport in WDW. It's over on Flickr account (see left) under Picasa 3 if you want to see.
There wasn't enough room for all the vehicles so I need to make a couple more, but I was really pleased with my attempt :-)
We all loved the tanker and fire, and later got to watch the action again on the stairs that led you down from the stands of the lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt show
which was our next port of call.
There was quite a wait for this show so we just sat, rested our feet and swigged our water, thankful for the shade.
It was a [I]really[/I] noisy show and the kids enjoyed it more than me, but then I made life difficult for myself by trying to take photos and video while trying to watch the action and the big screen that showed the commentators down on the street. Took loads of mediocre photos!
After the show we thought we'd try Toy Story Mania one more time but the wait time was in excess of 90 minutes so we decided not to.
By this time it was 6.45pm, just 15 minutes til closing time and on our way to the exit I persuaded the family to come to One Man's Dream where I wanted to find out more about Mr Disney himself. The kids were pretty quick wandering through the attraction so I didn't get a chance to read everything on offer but did get some nice photos of Mickey and films through the years. You're spared these, I think there are more than enough photos in this thread!
For the kids I suspect the film was as much a chance to let their minds wander and take in all that had gone before and relax their feet as it was to learn about how WDW came to be, but Lee and I, especially, enjoyed the history. Normally I would have bought a 'coffee table' book to take home but, as we'd spent enough of DH's hard earned pennies thus far, I didn't. A pleasant change from fast rides and walking we quite simply, enjoyed :-)
With some energy to spare we decided to squeeze in another visit to Downtown Disney. We refuelled at McDonalds and then strolled from the Lego store all the way down to the Rainforest Cafe, admiring the sunset and the lights of the shops, as well as the contents of as many as the shops as our quickly tiring legs would stand, and of course, the poor family had to put up with me snapping photos left right and centre, or palming the camera off so as to be in some of the shots to prove I really did get to my dream destination :-)
note how DS Sam is trying to walk straight past this one...is it really that he didn't notice a chocolate shop or is he actually trying to spare the minute on the lips, lifetime on the hips reality of the situation if I got myself in there?!
Lee decided to buy a new belt and buckle from the stall that we'd discovered days before and it took sooo long, boy, can men talk sometimes!
Honestly, talk about like a kid in a candy store, or a woman in a dressing room, trying on clothes: "I quite like this one...""but then again...it doesn't really go well with this buckle does it? Do you think it'll make my hips look big" :-)
Eventually the kids and I found a wall to sit on and as boredom set in I played with my camera....again, and even let the kids have a go to keep them quiet and we had some fun goofing around...
.jpg)
the more I asked for "just one nice photo of the two of you not bickering" the worse the faces Sam pulled :-)
A few more...
Oh yes, and if you haven't yet been to Downtown Disney, be sure to stand yourself right under Stitch (World of Disney store), he really is a charming fella, go on, have a good look...
A free Ghiraldelli's fix (yummy!), and some souvenirs and gifts, many photos and hours later we headed back to the villa to chill before bed. The kids spent an hour happily sketching Disney characters using Sam's animation book while Lee and I half watched TV/looked at the day's photos on the netbook/dished out complimentary comments on our budding artists' work and half dozed. What a brilliant day!
I made a decision yesterday. No more Facebook games (apart from Scrabble, but even that addiction is wearing off!), so goodbye Farmville and Frontierville. They are time-gobblers and I have so many other things I want to achieve.
It also seems a shame that I don't blog as much as I used to. I kinda got stuck into a routine of Facebook status updates over blogging. I'm switching back to blogging so that it's all there for keeps - I couldn't tell you what status updates I made last week. Blogging is better for looking back and seeing what I've been up to. It occured to me that no-one may be reading or in the slightest bit interested, but I don't mind, this is as much for me as for your entertainment :-)
Taking five minutes out over lunch to crack on with last summers trip report. Gotta get it done before we go back to Orlando this summer!
so...
August 17th 2009
Animated at Hollywood Studios (that's MGM Studios to us oldies!)
After a nice lie in and a slooow start we spent a little time in the pool,or sunbathing in the small corner that had sun mid-morning.
It was back to the Golden Corral for lunch and then off we went to Hollywood Studios. On our last visit we hadn't done the Backlot Studio tour and as this was an attraction DH and I could recall from 1992 it was one we wanted to revisit. We also hadn't done this:
- Disney Animation Class, and we really keen to try that (there's an artistic streak in my side of the family...my grandad in his younger days had painted inn signs and a beautiful Taj Mahal on the living room wall, mum is artistic, my sister used to paint backdrops for the Royal Opera House, DS enjoyed Art and Design BTEC, and DD was identified as 'gifted and talented' in Year 7). We got to draw Dale, and it proved a big hit with all of us. We agreed it was one of the best experiences in the park and were pleased with our sketches. I found the whole experience vey relaxing...sitting in semi-darkness and it was so quiet since we were all concentrating so hard! It occured to me half way through that it'd be good to take some photos of my artists at work, even though it meant getting behind in following the cast member's instructions, but I didn't want to ruin the concentration of the other visitors by letting my flash go off!
Here's the guy giving us guidance and one of our finished products:
I'd wholeheartedly recommend everyone to have a go, even if you don't think you are any good at drawing, it's all simple shapes, built up to make the overall portrait!
I would have liked to have joined the line for another go but I also wanted our photos take with Chip and Dale and the kids wanted to show the characters their portraits! As the line to see the characters was not too long we decided to join it. The friendly chipmunks seemed impressed with Sam and Katie's drawings and autographed their masterpieces. Sam found it amusing to tease one of the chipmunks, seeing as it wouldn't give him his drawing back, by sneakily putting his baseball cap on the chipmunk's head, see photo!
.jpg)
Katie and I also stood with 2 of the Incredibles for a photo but missed the opportunity to pose with Minnie and Pluto and some characters from the Robin Hood film who were on their way 'backstage' before we could catch them!
On our way out we admired the wonderful paintings and drawings on the walls and in the shop
.jpg)
We also stopped for a while to watch an artist at work, and I regret not buying something for myself in this shop, but Sam bought an animation book with his birthday fun card.
We also rode the Great Movie Ride, the scenes from the movies were great but the gangster acting wasn't very impressive!
We caught the Backlot Tour, hurray, no rain-check today! The kids only recognised a few of the vehicles (Herbie and Star Wars) and it was nice to see the Mickey Ears tower. Last night, looking at my photos I wondered what I could do with some of them and thought I'd do a collage of transport in WDW. It's over on Flickr account (see left) under Picasa 3 if you want to see.
There wasn't enough room for all the vehicles so I need to make a couple more, but I was really pleased with my attempt :-)
We all loved the tanker and fire, and later got to watch the action again on the stairs that led you down from the stands of the lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt show
which was our next port of call.
There was quite a wait for this show so we just sat, rested our feet and swigged our water, thankful for the shade.
It was a [I]really[/I] noisy show and the kids enjoyed it more than me, but then I made life difficult for myself by trying to take photos and video while trying to watch the action and the big screen that showed the commentators down on the street. Took loads of mediocre photos!
After the show we thought we'd try Toy Story Mania one more time but the wait time was in excess of 90 minutes so we decided not to.
By this time it was 6.45pm, just 15 minutes til closing time and on our way to the exit I persuaded the family to come to One Man's Dream where I wanted to find out more about Mr Disney himself. The kids were pretty quick wandering through the attraction so I didn't get a chance to read everything on offer but did get some nice photos of Mickey and films through the years. You're spared these, I think there are more than enough photos in this thread!
For the kids I suspect the film was as much a chance to let their minds wander and take in all that had gone before and relax their feet as it was to learn about how WDW came to be, but Lee and I, especially, enjoyed the history. Normally I would have bought a 'coffee table' book to take home but, as we'd spent enough of DH's hard earned pennies thus far, I didn't. A pleasant change from fast rides and walking we quite simply, enjoyed :-)
With some energy to spare we decided to squeeze in another visit to Downtown Disney. We refuelled at McDonalds and then strolled from the Lego store all the way down to the Rainforest Cafe, admiring the sunset and the lights of the shops, as well as the contents of as many as the shops as our quickly tiring legs would stand, and of course, the poor family had to put up with me snapping photos left right and centre, or palming the camera off so as to be in some of the shots to prove I really did get to my dream destination :-)
note how DS Sam is trying to walk straight past this one...is it really that he didn't notice a chocolate shop or is he actually trying to spare the minute on the lips, lifetime on the hips reality of the situation if I got myself in there?!
Lee decided to buy a new belt and buckle from the stall that we'd discovered days before and it took sooo long, boy, can men talk sometimes!
Honestly, talk about like a kid in a candy store, or a woman in a dressing room, trying on clothes: "I quite like this one...""but then again...it doesn't really go well with this buckle does it? Do you think it'll make my hips look big" :-)
Eventually the kids and I found a wall to sit on and as boredom set in I played with my camera....again, and even let the kids have a go to keep them quiet and we had some fun goofing around...
.jpg)
the more I asked for "just one nice photo of the two of you not bickering" the worse the faces Sam pulled :-)
A few more...
Oh yes, and if you haven't yet been to Downtown Disney, be sure to stand yourself right under Stitch (World of Disney store), he really is a charming fella, go on, have a good look...
A free Ghiraldelli's fix (yummy!), and some souvenirs and gifts, many photos and hours later we headed back to the villa to chill before bed. The kids spent an hour happily sketching Disney characters using Sam's animation book while Lee and I half watched TV/looked at the day's photos on the netbook/dished out complimentary comments on our budding artists' work and half dozed. What a brilliant day!
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