We're back home

[madmonkeygirl]

Ok here goes. I never really do any sort of trip report when it comes down to going to Orlando. Matt's already working on his pictures he took but i have so very limited time to do anything to go along with the report i'm just going to do the whole writing portion of it. Maybe he'll be inclined to add photos.


DAY 1 Departure Day

The day finally arrived for our trip to Orlando. How excited I was to finally be able to get away on a vacation with Matt. Leaving everything behind for a glorious week and a half. I was very burned out with work and stressed that this is exactly what was needed before the summer starts.

Matt's dad picked us up and made sure we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. Since we had time we went to McDonald's to get some food and coffee for me then sit at our gate. Boarded and taking off on time at least going there. Coming home long story later. One thing i love about Orlando is the airport. So much better than LAX. Our luggage was circling the carosel waiting for us. Checking in and receiving our rental car was stress free. Walking to our rental car space wondering what we were going to get. Ended up having a gold (didn't care for the color but not important) Dodge Caliber. Ok i can not spell please forgive me and don't jump on me. 4 door automatic door locks, alarm, windows etc. I'm not used to this seeing how my pathetic old car has no power anything.

So first order of business toll road. Somehow i forgot about this and ended up in the EXACT COINS lane. Not having enough and scrambling to get coins and being honked at from behind we went. I'm like ok if i got caught not paying the fare oh well..lol moving on we found Wendy's and stopped for food. One thing i hate about flying now is they charge for everything. And i do mean everything. No wonder they are not making money. No one wants to fly and have to pay for their food and their check in luggage. Too bad i'm not rich enough to have my own private plane.

After food and the fact that the evening is nice weather wise we decide to hit the Star Flyer at Magic Midway. We managed to ride the Star Flyer 4 times. Giant swing set that goes up and the chairs swing out. The ride operator even let us take on our cameras when we asked him. Take that Disney....I managed to ride the space shot.

Then we headed to the hotel. Check in was a breeze. Here's where i think lack of sleep time difference etc got to me. I thought i put my wallet (id holder/credit card holder) on the roof of the car as we pulled around to the room. Going inside and showering and then i was looking for my wallet. (Long story short i found it 4 days later) so i panic and look everywhere (but i guess not good enough at the time) i go down to the lobby to see if anyone turned it in. Nope nothing. So i do what the only thing i can think of is and call and cancel my ATM debit bank card, my 2 credit cards. We don't let this damper our spirits and actually made the trip more fun without the use of what we should have had.

We head back upstairs and get ready for bed and our first full day in Orlando and Bush Gardens Tampa on Tuesday...

TO BE CONTINUED

[dlrp_bopazot]

can't wait to read the report .

[dlrp_bopazot]

Originally Posted by madmonkeygirl

One thing i hate about flying now is they charge for everything. And i do mean everything. No wonder they are not making money. No one wants to fly and have to pay for their food and their check in luggage. Too bad i'm not rich enough to have my own private plane.


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Flying our of the Country they actualy dont charge for your Luggage or food ( depends how many hours of flight ) .

Delta is trying to introduce a fee for their luggage in coach but if they do everyone will fly with other airline carrier . Most airlines from Europe you're allowed to bring 2 Luggages of 50Lbs .

The only airline that still dont charge for the first and second luggage in the US is Southwest Airlines . Here in Europe major Airlines like Air France , British Airways still dont charge you for your 1st luggage .

How was Star Flyer ? i rode a couple of them in Europe Already .

I rode Star Flyer in Tivoli Gardens , Holiday Park and Paris Fun Fair .

[madmonkeygirl]

Louis the StarFlyer is amazing. I can't even imagine riding the ones you have there. The ride operator was nice enough to let us bring our cameras onboard. I asked him nicely and he said "go ahead". Much to my amazement since the theme parks in the US discourage and won't let you bring cameras onboard. We almost flew Southwest but they didn't fly directly to Orlando. Now i can see why the airline industry is suffering. If they continue to charge for things no one will fly. Cutting off the hand that should help them.

Ok onto the trip report....

DAY 2 BUSH GARDENS TAMPA FL

Today since the weather is so gorgeous we initially were going to Walt Disney World parks but decided to change itinerary plans and head to Bush Gardens today since i have never been to this park before and i needed all the coaster credits (which i managed to get before the downpour). This would be our longest drive and much to my dismay i love driving in Orlando. I'll give anything to live there and drive on a daily basis compared to our freeway system here. Our freeway system here stinks and is so horrible here compared to there.

Arriving prior to park opening and already purchased our theme park tickets online we were set to head to the front gate. When they opened the park we headed to Gwazi first. Let me tell you i HATE that wooden coaster. First side was Tiger i think (can't remember). The ride ops were horrible in their dispatch times. For me a wooden coaster needs to be a combination of smooth, and air time, twisting of track etc. Gwazi was just the opposite but maybe because we were riding ontop of a wheel in the car so that could have made a difference. After our first disappointing ride we decide to do the other side Lion side for the credit since they had both sides open. This was much smoother and a bit better but they stacked the train on the brake run for what seemed like 5 minutes. I was really like hopefully the rest of the day won't be like this.

So after a very iffy ride on Gwazi we head to Shiekra. I loved watching video of this coaster and hearing reviews of it. So i was anxious to ride. We should have waited for front row (not a long line at all) for our first ride but we went for second row and i took the outside seat. Maybe that's why it made a difference to me compared to Matt's thoughts and feelings. We were able to get in a second ride before the storm hit later in the evening in the front row and made a HUGE difference in our opinions.

We rode Kumba (so many times i forget how many) i love this more than Riddler's Revenge. I like their log ride and their rapids ride is amazing and you won't get off the raft dry. Montu is so intense we only managed 2 rides on it once in the front once in the back. It kicks that after the second ride i could barely walk. Scorpion only lap bars only amazing. We don't have that here. No seat belt. I wish CA would leave alone the fact a lap bar is just fine but whatever. Cheetah Chase disappointing but had to ride it for the credit. The animals were awesome to watch and at one point the tiger was right against the glass as i took Matt's picture he lunged forward my heart stopped thinking he was going to break thru the glass/material and maul Matt. Rhino Ralley wasn't open but it was ok. We saw alot of animals and took the Sky Ride (buckets) across the park.

It started to pour about 45 minutes prior to park closing. Thus as we were waiting for the SkyRide to go ride Montu for a 3rd and final time it started to thunder and lighting. They had to close everything down except for the train that goes around the park. So we went over to the train station to wait a good 20 minutes for the train. Once the train came it was the final train of the day and was only going halfway around the park. So we took it to the last stop and walked the rest of the way to the park exit. Overall we rode everything and most of the coasters except for Scorpion and Cheetah Chase many times over.

Up next Day 3 and Sea World.