PTR:Nice, warm Orlando while the UK froze!

[davidm]

All that clear blue sky is tricky for interesting pics though (and HDR especially) - it all just comes out flat, some nice stormy clouds would be much better I think... ;-)


Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey


Harry Potter...

 

[davidm]

...I also spent quite a while wandering around the Studios on Friday, just have
not sorted through those pictures yet...


Muppet

and went to see the Blue Man Group in the evening (again - seen the Florida show
a couple of times now and the Vegas one too; MUCH nicer theatre in Vegas).


Saturday - Day 8

Quite an odd day really I think, I checked out of the hotel (cheap deal done with)
and went down to the Magic Kingdom. Got there reasonably early so managed the big
rides before the crowds turned up... and turn up they did! Death by baby-stroller!

So the day was odd because I did some rides and wandered the park, all in somewhat
of a real grouchy mood. My grouchyness got the better of me and I quit the place
in the afternoon to find the next hotel (@ Downtown Disney) and thought I'd snap
myself out of my bad mood by trawling Downtown for some beer and food... even that
didn't work. Walked out of one eatery 'cos it was so slow and only managed a beer
and an $10 margeritta sat out in the cold.

Some pics from the Kingdom (compact camera) then (fairly horrible day tho')

So easily the worst/most grouchy day of the hols!!

 

[davidm]

Sunday - Day 9

So after my grumpy day yesterday, I got a resort bus to the last park of my
trip.


Dome!

Took the good camera along as well, since its pretty photogenic out there.


Earth?

And I had a thoroughly enjoyable day (you'll be glad to know; no moaning on
today!)

I managed to spend all day in the park, fuelled by taking pictures and the
"beer opportunities" afforded by wondering around the world (why I took
the resort bus rather than the hire care today! )

Got the big rides done first up though, Mission Space being cool (even if I was
the only passenger on the entire ride - can't be cost effective that!) - I was
somewhat confused by the "soft option" ride... the point being what exactly? The
ride is a centrifuge so you choose the centrifuge that doesn't spin????

Soarin' I was a tad dissappointed with ; I had it my mind that there was going to
be a different film to the one at DCA (can't explain why I though that); but
there wasn't... still I cool enough ride, but why no different film? Stupid
popular as well, fastpasses all gone early on, hour long queues and the park was
not even that busy. (I fastpast'd it naturally)

Then the aquarium but - this had been Nemo'd since I had been here before, and
the refit works pretty well I thought, even if all the ride tech pales rather
when you hit that HUGE fish tank.


Seas?

Really enjoyed wandering around with Nemo and his friends!

Next up was the rather bizarre Captain EO "tribute". Disney cashing in on the
demise of Jacko is a bit odd IMHO, but anything that gets rid of the awful
Honey I Shrunk the Audience film that replaced EO initially must be a good thing
right?

Wrong.

In fairness the film-quality was excellent on the 70mm print, but the film/story
was just awful... clearly not being a Jacko fan at all something is lost on me,
but even considering that its just pitiful.

OK dead-celebs aside, wandered around Imagination! and Test Track before making
my way into the World...

(for some reason I missed out Innovations and Universe of Energy completely
today, I meant to come back to do them later, but never got around to it - d'oh)

So I made my way around the World, riding the little rides they have (Mexico's
had been refitted since my previous visit) and watching their little films
(Canada's had been redone too), taking lots of pictures and partaking of
various "beers of the world" too! (Perhaps the latter explains my good
mood today then!)


China?


China


China 360


China pond


Epcot Lake


Germany?

Germany - they sell beer here!


Italy?


Venice?


Torri


Japan?


Torri, Dusk

These photos are brought to you with the assistance of BEER!


Kirin


Torii


France?


France Fountains

Started to get dark by the time I was in France...


Oh... Canada?

then after a quick trip around Spaceship Earth (and Soarin again 'cos I had
a fastpass still) I turned around and went back around the World.


Imagination!


Earth?


China?


Mexico?

Finished up watching the fireworks before I grabbed the bus back to the hotel.


Bang


Pop


Whizz

NB all firework pics were hand-held as well, not bad I thought!

--

So best day of the holiday then today!

 

[marc]

Great photos, really enjoyed Epcot this time as well. They seem to have done the place up, I dont know maybe I just took it for what it was this time and done the world show case stating in Canada and not Mexico.

The fireworks were great and they added a bit at the end for xmas when we saw them.

But unlike you I found that people walking round drinking beer and getting totally smashed by the time the fireworks were on was a bit much for me and I hope they get rid of it. Yes drink but don't breath you horrid beer breath down me when standing in queue lines lol. We cannot smoke where we want yet people can get drunk round the whole park, they should do what they do with us smokers and only let people drink in areas. Not saying you did btw we just found this happening in every park but the Magic Kingdom. There were people being sick at Hollywood Studios and Epcot as they had been on the beer all day.

I should really do a trip report lol, but we parked hopped so much it is hard to remember what we done on what day

 

[Hixee]

Great pictures again David. Really very impressive.

It sounds like you had a great time too! Thanks for sharing.

 

[davidm]

Monday - Day 10

OK then last day now...

Flight home was late afternoon, so just got up late, had some fast food breakfast
and wandered around (a mostly deserted) Downtown Disney for a while utterly
failing to purchase a Woody & Jessie doll for my niece & nephews Xmas present
(I figured that the packaging wasn't going to make it through my luggage so I
picked up the same dolls in the UK instead - for seemingly twice the price!)


Crabs?


Pub


Statue

Anyway it was COLD this morning, first real COLD day of my holidays - suspect
that the COLD arriving now affected Mark & Marc a little more than me then!

I'd have had a go on this, but there was noone there (despite the opening times
board indicating that there should be!) Boo!


Characters in Flight

Perhaps they didn't like the COLD?


Characters in Flight


House of Blues


Characters in Flight


Lego


People

so after mooching in the COLD at Downtown Disney I did a bit of mall-hopping
to occupy a couple of hours (The Festival Bay mall up at the top of I-Drive
is a laugh; vast place almost entirely empty of shops... how does it survive?)

The Florida Mall towards the airport was much livelier - fairly busy in fact,
but it was just a time-filler before I headed back to MCO, dumped the car
(had managed the whole holiday on a single tank - thats what not going to Tampa
gets for you!) and caught a plane home to the COLD in Manchester.

So thats it! Pretty easy holiday, kept me fairly entertained and WARMER
than I'd have been in the UK anyway ;-)


Might dump a few more pics into the thread as I process them, so
I reserve the right to BUMP this in the future!

 

[marc]

We only ever saw that thing up in the air twice, they blamed wind at its height.

You did the same as us on our last day lol

 

[davidm]

Shooting into the sun at Universal Studios...


Universal Studios


Mel's Drive-In