Rachel
Coaster MILF
Back in June my boyfriend and I went to Orlando for the first time. We had booked the holiday in October 2012 so after what seemed like forever we were finally at Gatwick waiting to board our plane. The flight wasn’t too bad – we had extra leg room seats which made it slightly more comfortable and there was a good selection of films and TV programmes. The food was atrocious though. After a long 9 hours we were finally in the USA. Got through customs and baggage claim quickly and were greeted by the wonderful Florida humidity </3. It was about an hours drive to the hotel and we drove through a tropical storm which was scary as hell! The guide told us Florida had been having some quite bad weather in the last week or so which worried us slightly but it actually turned out to be the worst we experienced. Finally got to the hotel at about 6pm (11pm to our body clocks) tried to stay awake as long as possible and then finally crashed out around 8pm.
Day 1 – Hollywood Studios
So after an early start (we kept waking up at 4am for the first couple of days) and a trip to IHOP we were on the shuttle bus on our way to Disney. We thought the transport was fantastic in Florida, the shuttle buses took us to Epcot where it was then so easy to get from one park to another. There was also a bus that went right to the Magic Kingdom car park from outside our hotel which we used a couple of time. Got to HS sorted out our passes and headed into the park.
Toy Story Midway Mania
First port of call was Toy Story as I’d heard that queues build up pretty quickly. Didn’t really see much of the queue as we went straight through most of it, loved the giant Mr Potato Head though <3. Got onto the ride, was about a minute through and then it broke down. This was to be the start of quite a few breakdowns we experienced in Orlando. After about 5 minutes the ride got going again. I can’t remember my score but I did beat my boyfriend so that was good. The ride was good and I liked the different style of shooter (even though it killed my arm) and I can see why kids would love it but if I’d queued ages I wouldn’t have been happy. 7/10.
Next we headed up to Tower of Terror, grabbed some fastpasses (seriously how amazing is this system?!) and then went to our first coaster of the trip.
Rock N Rollercoaster
Love the whole look of this from the theming outside of the building to the queue line. I found the pre show a bit cheesy but I guess it goes with the style of the ride. As for the actual coaster I thought it was pretty decent, the launch is the best in Florida in my opinion and the speed is kept up pretty consistently throughout the whole ride. I wouldn’t say it was particularly smooth but I didn’t experience any head banging. I’d give it a 7/10.
Tower of Terror
Next we headed up to Tower of Terror to use our fastpasses. Didn’t really get to see much of the outside queue, went through and were on the ride quickly. Basically I loved it. It was one of the rides I was most looking forward and it did not disappoint. That feeling when it first drops and you come out of your seat is simply amazing. The fact that you are only held in by a lap belt makes this ride even scarier, I don’t think the phrase “white knuckle” has ever been more appropriate than the way my hands were holding onto the side bars. - 10/10
Love this view walking up this part of the park.
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
This was a bit meh. The stunts were incredible but I just felt that the overall feel and running of the show lacked consistency and was a bit jolted. I’ve never seen an Indiana Jones film either so the whole thing was a bit lost on me. 5/10
It was around lunchtime at this point so we stopped for a bit to get something to eat – nothing fancy, some chicken nuggets and chips from a fast food place. Our eating pattern was a bit all over the place on holiday – I found that although I’d looked up places beforehand where we could eat, often we would just go to what was nearest to us when we felt hungry. We’d also be starving for lunch at about 11am after getting up and eating breakfast so early.
Found Pizza Planet right after we'd eaten somewhere else. Gutted
After lunch we had a look in some of the shops (air con<3) and went in some of the arcades. There was stuff happening on the stage by the hat so we sat and watched that for a while whilst having a cold drink.
Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
Next we headed to the Beauty and the Beast show. I wont lie, I thought it was rubbish. I know they have to try and fit as much as possible into 20 minutes but I adore the film and they left so much out. Anyone who had never seen the film wouldn’t have a clue what was going on. Plus I hated the way they performed the main song. 3/10
Studio Backlot Tour
I thought this was pretty good, and although you don’t really get to see where actual movies are filmed there are some pretty good effects. The first part gives you something to watch whilst waiting for the main tram part and walking through and seeing all the props was pretty cool. The tram part just takes you round showing you old Walt Disney memorabilia but the part where you stop with the explosion and all the rushing water was awesome. 7/10
Titanic<3
After this we wandered around for a bit more. We went on TOT and RNRC again and then I think we had to start making our way back to catch our bus.
Thanks for reading, part 2 coming soon
Day 1 – Hollywood Studios
So after an early start (we kept waking up at 4am for the first couple of days) and a trip to IHOP we were on the shuttle bus on our way to Disney. We thought the transport was fantastic in Florida, the shuttle buses took us to Epcot where it was then so easy to get from one park to another. There was also a bus that went right to the Magic Kingdom car park from outside our hotel which we used a couple of time. Got to HS sorted out our passes and headed into the park.
Toy Story Midway Mania
First port of call was Toy Story as I’d heard that queues build up pretty quickly. Didn’t really see much of the queue as we went straight through most of it, loved the giant Mr Potato Head though <3. Got onto the ride, was about a minute through and then it broke down. This was to be the start of quite a few breakdowns we experienced in Orlando. After about 5 minutes the ride got going again. I can’t remember my score but I did beat my boyfriend so that was good. The ride was good and I liked the different style of shooter (even though it killed my arm) and I can see why kids would love it but if I’d queued ages I wouldn’t have been happy. 7/10.
Next we headed up to Tower of Terror, grabbed some fastpasses (seriously how amazing is this system?!) and then went to our first coaster of the trip.
Rock N Rollercoaster
Love the whole look of this from the theming outside of the building to the queue line. I found the pre show a bit cheesy but I guess it goes with the style of the ride. As for the actual coaster I thought it was pretty decent, the launch is the best in Florida in my opinion and the speed is kept up pretty consistently throughout the whole ride. I wouldn’t say it was particularly smooth but I didn’t experience any head banging. I’d give it a 7/10.
Tower of Terror
Next we headed up to Tower of Terror to use our fastpasses. Didn’t really get to see much of the outside queue, went through and were on the ride quickly. Basically I loved it. It was one of the rides I was most looking forward and it did not disappoint. That feeling when it first drops and you come out of your seat is simply amazing. The fact that you are only held in by a lap belt makes this ride even scarier, I don’t think the phrase “white knuckle” has ever been more appropriate than the way my hands were holding onto the side bars. - 10/10
Love this view walking up this part of the park.
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
This was a bit meh. The stunts were incredible but I just felt that the overall feel and running of the show lacked consistency and was a bit jolted. I’ve never seen an Indiana Jones film either so the whole thing was a bit lost on me. 5/10
It was around lunchtime at this point so we stopped for a bit to get something to eat – nothing fancy, some chicken nuggets and chips from a fast food place. Our eating pattern was a bit all over the place on holiday – I found that although I’d looked up places beforehand where we could eat, often we would just go to what was nearest to us when we felt hungry. We’d also be starving for lunch at about 11am after getting up and eating breakfast so early.
Found Pizza Planet right after we'd eaten somewhere else. Gutted
After lunch we had a look in some of the shops (air con<3) and went in some of the arcades. There was stuff happening on the stage by the hat so we sat and watched that for a while whilst having a cold drink.
Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage
Next we headed to the Beauty and the Beast show. I wont lie, I thought it was rubbish. I know they have to try and fit as much as possible into 20 minutes but I adore the film and they left so much out. Anyone who had never seen the film wouldn’t have a clue what was going on. Plus I hated the way they performed the main song. 3/10
Studio Backlot Tour
I thought this was pretty good, and although you don’t really get to see where actual movies are filmed there are some pretty good effects. The first part gives you something to watch whilst waiting for the main tram part and walking through and seeing all the props was pretty cool. The tram part just takes you round showing you old Walt Disney memorabilia but the part where you stop with the explosion and all the rushing water was awesome. 7/10
Titanic<3
After this we wandered around for a bit more. We went on TOT and RNRC again and then I think we had to start making our way back to catch our bus.
Thanks for reading, part 2 coming soon
