a search for character.. seeking meaning of life.. losing naivete in the process..

Recap..

5th February, Orlando time..

Reached Orlando 5.30am in the morning.. The sun wasn't up yet, so it's pretty cold. Waited for the free shuttle bus to the car rental area.. retrieved the car and it's aint working.. changed from the original KIA to another a nissan.. everyone was so much happier with the change.. for the fact that there's more boot space for the luggages and we didnt have to place them at our leg area.. Headed to Ramada Inn at Kissimee area (cant remember if it's spelt correctly).. Couldnt find the hotel.. Went into a wrong hotel and asked for directions.. Found out it's just a couple of miles down the road..

Reached the hotel and washed up.. Had breakfast buffet in the hotel.. According to my taste buds.. the food sucks.. but then, i didnt like american breakfast afterall.. anyway, the breakfast is really BAD.. the hotcakes were so ROCK HARD.. i can actually hear it clink when i drop it on the plate...

Here's a photo of me checking out the hotel view.. Weather is pretty refreshing..



Headed towards Disney World after breakfast and believe it anot.. Disney World in Florida is actually bigger than the whole of Singapore.. Disney here actually spans over some 430 square miles.. and yes.. the charges are expensive too!! Took a photo with all the disney charges..



Some advice for those who are planning a trip to disneyland or disney world.. The tickets goes by the days.. and they NEVER expires.. so let say u got a 4 day ticket and only went there for three days.. you can keep the ticket and then use it the next time you go there.. mabbe ten years later?? Another thing to note.. it's always more worth the money to go during the summer time than winter coz disney in summer has longer operating hours and it's more worth for money in a way..it's really cold at night in the winter and disney usually closes at 6pm.. depending on the different parks if you are in florida...the only bad thing abt summer days is that the queues are longer, more crowded and it's in a peak travelling season...

Decided to head towards Animal Kingdom today.. Took a Disney bus there from the entrance of Disney World.. While waiting for the bus.. i discovered an interesting flower.. my aunt, a florist, told me that it's called dragon snap. The flower looks like a dragon head and one can actually put your fingers into the flower petals and make the dragon mouth snap.. like some miniature puppet.. Pretty fun and i was playing with it and irritating everyone with the dragon i had.. *grinz*



Dragon at Disney..




The day is followed by rides and shows and personally, i feel that "It's Tough to be a Bug" (inspired by Bug's Life) and "Kali River Rapids" shouldnt be missed in Animal Kingdom. It's tough to be a bug is a 3D animation show that provides lots of laughter and surprises.. hee.. Defintely will like it coz its something u wont expect.. As for Kali River Rapids.. all i can say is be prepared to get wet.. It's really fun tho.. But my, i was freezing and jumping in the cold when the wind is blowing in my face.. and See how wet my jeans is when i came out of that ride?




Kilimanjaro Safaris is another ride that shouldnt be missed if you are a nature lover.. It's like you are in the middle of Africa with real life animals roaming freely.. The concept is a bit like night safari of singapore.. but this is LOADS nicer than that night zoo we have.. But it might be boring depending on the driver.. it's up to them to make the ride more interesting and it'll be good if you got a great driver..The only NO NO show in the whole of Animal Kingdom is Tarzan Rocks. It's a stunt filled musical performance with Tarzan swinging here and there and it was SO BORING that it put both my uncles to sleep and i had to keep nudging my uncle who was seated beside me all the time to prevent him from snoring.. Left the show halfway coz really couldnt stand it.. Falling asleep myself.. Good thing that we weren't seated right in front..

Headed for MGM Studios after Animal Kingdom has closed.. (the parks have different closing times..) There werent much time left so headed for two of the most exciting rides there have in there.. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.. Sat Tower of Terror twice and each time you go on the ride.. the experience is different.. depending on the person that orientate you for the ride.. This is a free falling elevator and you'll get the floating feeling and it doesnt just stop there.. Goes up then down, then up then down then up then down and when you least expect it.. goes all the way down.. Please do not try it if you have a faint heart.. There are three rows of seat in the elevator... seated right in front, you'll get all the thrills and it definately more exciting and thrilling in the front.. seated right at the back.. you'll get a better view of everything that's shown on the ride.. But it's usually not up to you to choose as they will arrange your seat arrangement depending on the number of parties that's with you and the group size of the rest of the people queueing up for that ride...
As for the roller coaster.. i got a little sick coz i cant take stimulation kind of ride.. it's not exactly a 100% stimulation ride.. but it's enough to make me feel slightly sick..

Left Disney after that and headed for dinner at Denny's.. Was really beat after dinner.. collapsed right after my shower..

6th February, Orlando time..

Was the earliest to wake.. not because that i slept earlier.. but i had the responsibility of making sure everyone is up on time and ensuring that we leave the hotel on schedule..although everyone was ready.. uncle still had some business to attend to.. work shouldnt be forgotten in the midst of fun and enjoyment.. Didnt really eat the breakfast buffet at the hotel.. After the bad experience i had yesterday.. all i took was a couple slices of french toast and orange juice..

We were all getting restless while waiting for uncle in the hotel room and hungry too.. drove to KFC a few miles down the road to grab some food.. if you like KFC in singapore.. you should try it here.. the chicken is so MUCh better and nicer and.. a MUST TRY is the corn on the cob... really soft and juicy.. nothing like singapore's!! I got hooked on them when i first came here 6 years ago.. Anyway, here's a photo of us waiting for the KFC to open...




Headed to Epcot in Disney World today.. Started the day with a new ride (Mission: SPACE) they had there and guess what.. it kinda spoiled the day for all of us. It's a stimulation ride.. where one can feel the full force of a space launch.. My.. it's really bad.. i'm so glad that i took dramamine before embarking on any rides. I didn't puke.. i just felt really sick.. my aunt was really sick and so were both my uncles.. My brother was no where better.. it's really a bad ride.. i can actually feel the blood draining away from my face.. and it's weird and they try to take away the gravity and one get the floating feeling.. The only person that came out of the ride perfectly fine is Huisi.. everyone else is SO sick. The ride kinda spoiled the day coz everyone is just too sick to do anything.. just sat there and i kept drinking loads of lemonade.. That has been my favourite drink since the day i stepped into the country. All the drinks they have here are frizzy and their iced tea isnt very pleasant to my palette.. it's not sweet, a little bitter and it just tastes weird..

Oh.. liked the flowers everywhere in disney.. and here's a photo of me jumping into a bed of flowers..




Spent half the day recuperating from the sickness of that ride.. Test Track is another ride in Epcot that one shouldn't miss.. you'll get to feel the speed of acceleration of the car.. Cant remember the details but it's really fast.. my cap almost flew away.. had to hold it on tightly so that i dun lose the cap. As for the rest of the rides, they seemed pretty boring to me.. I guess i wouldnt mind missing them the next time im here.. but it's the biggest park in Disney here.. They had the world showcase.. which is pretty interesting.. They have Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco, France, UK and Canada..spans over a few kilometres and have to spend half a day to just walk pass all the countries.. Get a chance to see the buildings in these countries and the type of merchandise that they sell.. Well.. Japan's still my favourite.. but i cant seem to find Melody there!! So sad.. Kitty fans will be really happy there...

See how pretty the signature "golf ball-lookalike" in Epcot is in the night?



Oh Oh.. Almost forgot.. The best part of Disney every night is that you'll get to see LOADS and LOADS of super nice fireworks.. and every park has a different theme to the fireworks.. it's really nice.. and it's on a really large scale.. the fireworks can last for more than half an hour... After the show.. it's a mad rush for shopping in the Disney stores.. Had so much fun playing with the Eeyores they have there.. wanted to buy them so much.. but it's way off my budget.. :(
Well.. playing with them is not such a bad idea after all.. see what i did.. Riding on Eeyore.. haha..





Was so beat that i slept on the ride back to the hotel vicinity.. Got woken up for dinner.. Had chinese food at this Dynasty Chinese restaurant.. YUCKS.. miss all those chicken rice and noodles in Singapore suddenly.. Everything in that restaurant is so SALTY! Had to gulp down loads of water and didnt eat much.. Totally knocked out when i got back to the hotel.. Guess it''s really physically draining to walk all over a park that big for one whole day...

7th February, Orlando time...

Decided we were sick of Disney for a while and headed towards Universal Studios today.. It was further away from the hotel than Disney and spent more time driving there.. Spent the next couple of hours queueing and trying to get the best deal.. They have promotions on stuff like signing up for a credit card and getting discounts on all the merchandise in there and on the tickets..and another deal on a annual pass and getting more discounts.. but these cards need processing and a certain amount of waiting time was required.. Well.. for the sake of saving at least a hundred dollars.. the wait was definitely worth it.. Anyway, spent the waiting time doing my favourite activity... SHOPPING!! *grinz* Went Hard Rock Cafe and came out quite broke..

The rides at Universal Studios are definitely better than those in Disney.. more thrills and some of them quite funny.. But they have more shows than rides here.. Some of those that cannot be missed includes Jaws, Earthquake, Twister, Men in Black, Back to the Future, Terminator 2 and Shrek 4D.. Some of the rides did make me a little queasy.. especially the stimulation rides..In there, you'll find many tricks that they use to film movies.. demostration of how they made the U571 movie with volunteers from the crowd.. They are currently building "The Return of the Mummy".. Those who are planning a trip there couple of months down the road should be able to catch it.. For those who has went before, they took out the King Kong ride..



Kinda hate posting all my pictures that big.. but didnt have photoshop to work with on the computer i am working on..

Oh.. there is something interesting that i observed in this country.. the people here put a lesh on their kids and pull them around like they are dogs.. Thought it was pretty crude.. but i guess it's their way of making sure the kids wont get lost.. especially in huge parks in Disney and Universal Studio..

Another tiring day.. Im getting drained from the lack of sleep and i couldnt do anything but sleep immediately the moment i got back to the hotel.. and it's almost 1am in the morning!!

8th February, Orlando time..

Today is a freezing day and for once.. i feel so uncomfortable with the super cold wind blowing at my face constantly.. Nose feeling super uncomfortable and feeling a little runny.. Although i wore a thicker jacket today.. i never expected florida to be that cold.. Freezing and the first thing i did when i got to Disney Magic Kingdom was to buy gloves.. Bought the Mickey's gloves.. really expensive but fun to have..

Oh.. there were 75 huge Mickey Mouse statues at the entrance of Magic Kingdom, each unique to its own theme.. They will all be auctioned off for some purpose couple of months down the road.. but i cant remember the cause for it. Anyway, some of them are really cute and my favourite is this postcard mickey..



Here in Magic Kingdom.. my favourite rides are Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.. these are pretty common rides and the Disneyland in both Anaheim and Tokyo has them too.. Another interesting ride that i'll always go is It's a Small World.. It's a pretty kiddy ride.. but i always think that it's mandatory to go for that ride.. I'll always come out of that ride humming the song.. and believe me.. the song will ring in your head for the rest of the day.. (tho i didnt get that feeling from the one in Japan.. everything was sang in japanese and i didnt understand a single word then..) Magic Kingdom is really like a world of fantasy.. And it's somehow replicated in the disneyland in both Anaheim and Tokyo.. didnt spend much time here coz i been to most of the rides already..

It's a really really cold day and was freezing like hell.. headed to MGM studios to finish the rest of the rides there.. There wasnt much time to finish everything.. i guess it's hard unless you stay there for two weeks or something.. but it's really gonna be expensive..

When Disney has closed, headed to the hotel for lobster buffet.. Stomach wasnt feeling very well.. been having loads of gas in my stomach and i feel so bloated.. Not sure about the cause of it.. but it did surely make me feel sick all the time.. Felt so nausea and didnt have any appetite to eat at all..

By the time im back to the hotel room.. i'm so worn and drained from all the hectic activities for the past few days.. Another day in Florida and i'll be heading towards my aunt's place in Seattle..

9th February, Orlando time..

Woke up really early today.. have loads of area to cover in Universal Studio again.. Going to Universal Islands of Adventure where all the really interesting and fun roller coaster rides are.. If you are into roller coasters that goes 360 degrees round the loop.. this is a place NOT to be missed.. However, this is also a place to stay away from if you are afraid of heights and have motion sickness..

Well.. some of the rides are fun.. others are really bad.. made most of us sick in the stomach.. especially there's this spiderman ride.. You'll come out feeling weird... and after taking some of the rides.. it made me feel like the ground is slowly rocking and im pretty much disoriented.. It's like you are paying to suffer.. but it's really fun tho..

i guess this is the place with the best rides as compared to the rest that i have gone through in the last few days.. Had to pack my luggage tonight.. heading for Seattle the next morning.. Been trying hard to think of a way to fit a 60cm tall cat plush, 2 carebears and all the shopping stuff i bought into that tiny luggage that i brought along with me..

10th February, Orlando time...

Woke really early to make it to the airport.. had to return the rented car and carry lots of plush toys around in the airport.. We had a 4 feet tall Scooby Doo, the cat plush.. 3 care bears (1 large and 2 medium sized ones) and i cant remember what.. all the toys we won at Universal Studios.. Giving us a real headache.. No one has sufficient luggage space to accomodate them all.. Decided to put them all in a huge plastic bag and check them in..

Had to fly to Chicago to transit and the seats on the domestic United Airlines were a little too cramp for comfort and the person seated in front of me aint very cooperative.. Kept lower his seat and i didnt really have much leg space left..

Touched down in Chicago a couple of hours later.. i think 3 or 4.. cant remember anymore.. it was snowing.. and the whole of Chicago was a patch of whites from the plane's view before we touched down...

It started snowing when my flight is about to take off an hour later.. you can imagine how cold the temperature was.. the flight wasn't full and i had three seats to myself.. Slept the whole journey back to Seattle.. Temperature in Seattle is also quite cold.. Kinda freezing when i was waiting for my uncle to drive the car over..

It was already in the evening by the time we settled down.. Didnt really go anywhere except downtown to have dinner..