Bear Hugs, the Tree of Life, the Lion King, and an African Safari

 

Disney Hollywood Studios

 

One advantage of being in a wheelchair-FRONT ROW SEATS on occasion.  We loved the Beauty and the Beast Performance, followed by the American Idol Experience, and then the Little Mermaid Show. 

To finish off the day, we headed to another one of our favorite restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory.  After an 80 minute wait, which is the longest I can ever recall waiting, we decided it was worth the wait.  Even though my mom and I are dieting, we couldn’t skip sharing a piece of cheesecake three-ways with Kelly.   YUMMY!

EPCOT

Too many late nights make it hard to blog so here are a few pictures. 

Magical Kingdom

I Need some SPACE!

An hour’s drive from Orlando, we found ourselves at the Kennedy Space Center.   We rushed into the IMAX film that was starting momentarily.  It was all about the Space Station and was narrated by Tom Cruise.  I found it to be very informative since I know very little about NASA.   Then we hopped aboard a tour bus. First destination: Launch Pad 39 A and B.  We missed seeing the shuttle crawler transporter take the shuttle Discovery to its destination on the pad by a few hours.  It is set to launch on February 12th and will be delivering more components to the Space Station.  We had a nice view of it from the observation platform. 

 

 

The Vehicle Assembly Building  is just huge!  It covers 8 acres and is 525 feet tall.  The doors open to 464 feet and it took 6,000 gallons to paint the US flag on the side of it.    The second stop on the tour was the Apollo/ Saturn Center.  We watched an film that shows all that goes into the days and hours and minutes before each actual launch.  Exiting the film, you are brought into a huge area that houses the Saturn V moon rocket that transported people to the moon and back.   We also saw the lunar vehicle that was actually used on the moon. 

 

 

 

The final stop on the tour was the International Space Station center.  It is the location were all the parts and supplies are prepared for transport to the Space Station.  We got to pass through a real size replica of it and we most impressed by the bathroom facilities…. or the lack thereof.  We also found it interesting the number of inventions that we commonly use today that were initially discovered for space travel.  Diapers!  CAT scans!  Cordless power tools!     

Before departing, we went on their newest attraction: the Shuttle Launch Experience.   It is meant to help you experience the sights, sounds, and feelings of a vertical launch into space.  It was pretty awesome.  

Back in Orlando, we met Dave, Jeni and family at House of Blues for a late dinner.  It was great to catch up and visit with them. 

Gators, Schmidts, and the Titanic

The morning started out rather slow or should I say afternoon because it was 12:00   (9:00 CA time) before we left our villa.  We arrived last night to the Marriott Vacation Club property, Grande Vista.  Thanks Dad for finding such a deal.  We paid less than $500.00 for a two bedroom villa for a week. It is just like the villas in Aruba and St. Kitts that we have stayed in.

Our first destination was Toho lake to go on an airboat ride.  When we arrived it was threatening rain.  But thanks to my mother's prayers, it didn't start raining until we finished our 45 minute ride.  We glided along the lake while keeping our eyes out for wildlife but more importantly alligators.  Unfortunatly, the driver only came across one area that had one large alligator and a few small ones.  We couldn't get very close, so my pictures aren't worth posting. We saw lots of beautiful birds. Sand Hill cranes, Great Blue Herons, egrets, and others that I didn't recognize the names of.   The ride was smooth and so fast that it felt like we were getting a facelift or maybe just windblown.

Lunch/Dinner was eaten at one of Kelly and my personal favorite’s Mccormick and Schmidts.  As always the food was incredible!  Kelly had mahi mahi, my mother had swordfish, and I devoured stuffed salmon.   It didn’t take much to convince my mother why it was a must dine while in Orlando. 

Anyone recognize this staircase?   Its a replica from the White Stage Line’s infamous ship Titanic.  No Leonardo dicaprio to swoon over but a tour guide with a fake Irish accent lead us through the exhibit.   The exhibit was very informative and really made you think about what you would have done if you were aboard the ship.   I was amazed to hear that the average human could live anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes in the freezing cold water.   Kelly wondered how long she would survive.  

Day one was concluded with a trip to the Walmart Supercenter.  We purchased our tickets for DisneyWorld and the Kennedy Space Center at slightly discounted prices.   Breakfast foods, snacks, and a few souvenirs rounded out our cart.  

Magic Mountain Fright Festival

As an Enrichment group, we went to Magic Mountain for the day.  We had a small group (Angela, Lynn, Tabi, and I) but the fun we had made up for it.  Thanks ladies for joining me on this adventure and helping me feel young again.   Angela bought these little wallet size pictures for each of us.  I got a scanner a few weeks ago and I am trying to figure it out.   Here is my first scanned picture.