Friday, March 14, 2008

South eighth grader reports on Disney World trip

(Note from Mr. Turner: I thought I had put this story on the website a few months ago, but just discovered it never made it. My apologies to Mary Jean Miller.)

By MARY JEAN MILLER
Room 210 Staff Writer





We’ve all been to, seen, or heard about Disney World, right? Well, on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, my family and I took a family vacation to Disney World for a week. I would like to share my experiences with the readers of the room 210 news blog.

Day 1 (Wednesday 31, 2007)


Happy Halloween everyone! Today was the day we went to our first park of Disney World!

Our first park was MGM Studios. We passed a huge Christmas tree at the entrance, and we were soon on our way down the central street of MGM. We took a right turn and found ourselves looking down the street that would take my family and me to the Rockin’ Rollercoaster starring Aerosmith; beyond that being the Hollywood Tower Hotel, Home to the Tower of Terror! I rode the Tower of Terror 4 times, and for skeptics, yeah, it was that good. We all rode the Rockin’ Rollercoaster 3 times. Not as good as the Tower (I may be just a little biased there…. TOWER OF TERROR ROCKS!!!! …. ya know, just a little biased) and it rattled your brains a little, but still completely amazing (you really get to go through a doughnut…. seriously).

My family and I really wanted to see 3 shows. 1st, we saw the Indiana Jones show. We saw how they make all the films, and we even got to see how scenes were shot. Right after that, we saw Lights, Motors, Action! which was a lot like the Indiana Jones show, but instead of a person or people in a scene, Lights, Motors, Action! is an awesome car chase brought overseas from the Disney World in Paris, France! It was a whole bunch of cars, motorcycles, jet skis, and props/ramping fun and action. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

We had time between the motor show and the next show, so we went on a back lot tour. We got to see how film makers produced an “out-of-control” flash flood in a canyon, but it was all carefully planned and controlled so nobody got hurt.

After the back lot tour, it was time to go see the third show called Sounds Dangerous. The main character, Drew Carey, is an undercover cop who has to bust a smuggling dude called Lefty Malone. I didn’t like it that much, but if you like listening to things without seeing them, you’ll love this show.

My family and I then went over to a Star Wars simulator ride called Star Tours. You get to travel through space like you see in Star Wars while on a trip to Endor. It was LOADS of fun!

At the end of the day, we got to see the firework show called Fantasmic. Mickey is having a dream, and Disney villains soon invade! You watch as Mickey fights Jafar the snake, and then Maleficent the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. You will love this pyrotechnic, water shooting, fireworks show.

It was GREAT!



Day 2 (Thursday, November 1, 2007)


We’re going to Sea World!

When we got to Sea World (had to take a taxi….better than a bus) I was sure my little brother, Preston, was going to go completely wild. He wants to be a marine biologist, so he’s really interested in sea creatures….especially sea lions. The main square wasn’t open yet, but we were able to look at some of the gift shops. When Sea World opened, we headed over to the sea lion enclosure. Before we go any farther, you should know that Sea World and Disney don’t capture animals in the wild. All the animals you see were rescued and they can’t fend for themselves, or were born in captivity.

Now....back to the sea lions. They were so playful! They chased each other, sunned themselves, and goofed around a lot. You could even feed them. 1 of the sea lions had cataracts, so it couldn’t see the food. You had to wave a fish in front of its face (leaning carefully over the rail to do so). It would open its mouth, find the direction the fish was, and wait. You had to toss the fish into its mouth or at least toss the fish to where the fish hit the mouth so it could catch the fish. Otherwise, because this sea lion can’t see, it won’t get the fish. Preston and I found this out when we fed the sea lions.

After that, we went and rode the newest attraction at Sea World. With 7 (yes, 7) inversions (when you go upside down), the Kraken is an incredible rollercoaster that will push your nerves to the limit. This rollercoaster features high speeds, high height, loop-de-loops, corkscrews, huge hills, and more! Preston and I rode it 3 times whereas my parents only rode The Kraken once. Talk about dizzy!

We saw 3 shows in this theme park as well. The 1st show was a show full of dolphins, whales, gymnasts, and stunts. The 2nd show had 2 sea lions, a walrus, and an otter, co-working with a man and woman. All of them were trying to take over an island called Pirate Island. This show was a hilarious comedy full of laughter and fun (they had a mime entertain the audience before the show, and he was really funny when he imitated people finding seats). Last but certainly not least, we saw the Shamu show. All the killer whales are of the same family (pod), so Shamu is their last name. The killer whales splashed the audience, waved to everybody, flipped, dove, and amazed the crowed over and over again. We also rode a flight simulator that simulated a helicopter ride to an Arctic Base that was so real, when everyone saw the screen and ride move to doge avalanches, rocks, and even the sea after a ledge broke off, everybody screamed because everything was so close and real-like. We even went “underwater” in the simulator. After we got off the ride, it opened into a mini-area where we saw real walruses, polar bears, and very playful beluga whales. All in the Arctic! It was kind of cold, though. We even got to see a bunch of penguins and cousins of the penguins at a walk called Penguin Encounter. They were all so beautiful and cute. Sea World was great!



Day 3 (Friday Nov. 2, 2007


Magic Kingdom….here we come!

Caught a bus to Magic Kingdom this morning. After we got inside the park, we caught a train to Frontier Land. The first ride we rode was Splash Mountain. My mom and I got in the 2nd seat so we wouldn’t get too wet. Of course, we ended up getting off the ride pretty wet. Go figure. To dry off, We all headed over to Big Thunder Mountain. My dad and I rode it before my mom and brother, but the coaster was pretty mild. My mom and I were a little drier when we got off, though.

After we rode Big Thunder, we went next door into Adventure Land. The 1st ride we rode was Pirates of the Caribbean. It was great! We spent a half hour shopping after the ride, though. There was sooooo much pirate stuff! We saw a show called The Tiki Room, and it was okay. Then we went on a little boat ride through a bunch of different rivers and learned a little about each one. When that was done, we saw a tutorial given by Captain Jack Sparrow. My brother even got to swordfight him. The actor was just like the real Jack. It was awesome!! After dueling with Jack, we headed over to get a Dole whip. It’s really great tasting pineapple ice cream. Then we went and rode the Haunted Mansion over in Liberty Square. It was really sweet.

We headed over to Tomorrow Land and rode Space Mountain (2 times), the Space Orbiter, and the new Buzz Lightyear ride (it wasn’t little kiddish at all). We went to Fantasy Land and rode Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (the spinning cups) and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. They were cool (but the Tea Party made me feel kinda sick because I get motion sick when I spin around a lot). We headed to Main Street, did a little shopping, lift the park, ran like the wind to catch a monorail, went to Disney’s Polynesian Resort, and had a great time at a luau. That was fun.



Day 4 Saturday Nov. 3, 2007


Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

My family and I went to Animal Kingdom today. But before we did, we slept in, had a nice breakfast (usually, we skip it all together), and decided today would be an easy day. When we caught a bus to Animal Kingdom, we were standing by a really nice family, so we had a great time on the bus ride. When we got to the park, we immedeatly headed over to Expedition Everest, Animal’s newest ride. We ended up riding it 3 times.

After Everest, we went on a jungle walk to see jungle animals like komodo dragons and tigers and exotic birds. Then we went to Dino Land, where we rode Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur (based on the movie).

We took a break to have lunch, and then went to a show about the Lion King. Right after the Lion King show, we saw It’s Tough to be a Bug in the base of the Tree of Life. It was extremely real (Don’t take little kids). To end our day at the park, where else to go than the Kahli River Rapids. My dad, my brother and I rode it 4 times and came off cold and soaking wet.

We came back to the hotel and swam in our heated pool run by the hotel, then went and ate dinner and had popcorn.



Day 5 Sunday Nov. 4, 2007


Big giant ball for a symbol….must be Epcot!

Today, my family and I went to Epcot. There were 3 main rides we wanted to ride. They were:

1: Soarin’~ you get to fly high above the golden state of California in a simulated hang-glider ride. It’s incredible. I have no words to describe it except that it’s so realistic and you don’t even know that Soarin’ is a ride.

2: Mission Space~ you may have heard of this one. The original had to be toned down and a “Less-intense” ride was created because people were having heart attacks on it. It was great. I first rode the Green Team because the Orange Team is a giant centrifuge, and don’t forget that I get motion sick if I see people spinning or I’m spinning and can’t focus on anything. I got bored on the Green Team, so I decided to wing it and try the Orange Team. I LOVED IT!!!! It was so awesome. Disney did a great job.

3: Test Track~ enter this building and get transported to a car testing lab. The first time, we all got to the boarding area and the cars broke down. We came back later and finally got to ride it, and it was great. You went over bumpy road, almost crash into a wall, go through extreme heat, cold, and a corrosive chamber, then take a lap or 2 around the outside of the building before coming back to unload. All of this is done in a convertible type test car.

After rides, there’s the World Showcase. Visit countries all over the world without ever leaving Florida. My favorite was Japan, where I got a silk Screen. At 9:00, Epcot’s fireworks show, Illuminations, began. It was spectacular. Completely amazing. Towards the end, a rotating globe came out (all of this was done over a lagoon), opened up, and revealed a giant torch.

It. Was. Great!



Day 6 Last day Monday, Nov. 5, 2007


Time to park hop!

Today we started in Magic Kingdom and redid rides we got to do and didn’t get to ride. We came back to the hotel to drop off some packages, then caught a bus to MGM Studios. I rode the Tower of Terror 4 more times with my father for a total of 8 times this whole trip. I rode Star Tours and the Rockin’ Rollercoaster one more time and went primal on a gigantic turkey leg. We had some dessert at the hotel, and finally got to stop standing on our feet.



My family and I had a great time on our trip to Disney World. I hope that everyone who reads this journal will get to experience some of the fun I had. Who knows? It may help you map your next trip to Walt Disney World!

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