August 3, 2011
Orlando and Tampa
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| The Backyard |
On July 9, I got to return to the motherland and visit the city of Miami for 3 weeks, probably the longest vacation that I've actually labeled "vacation" since I graduated from college. It was quite awesome. Dagmara, Babcia (her grandma) and I met her mom (Beata), Oscar, and Nestor (Beata's boyfriend) at the airport and rode on to Dagmara's mom's 2nd house in the burbs of Miami. The house is awesome, complete with a pool, bbq pavilion of sorts, and an imported backyard jungle. Honestly, I probably would have been satisfied if we never even left the house. But we did. And it was legend…wait for it…dary!
After a few days of relaxation and changing my pale body to a light beige, we took off for Orlando. You might hate me for saying this, but the trip was actually quite tiring and…Disneyland just isn’t the same as it was when I was a child. Actually, it might have been had it not been for the 10 parades that halted all foot traffic, singing about some sort of celebration that we were all supposed to be having in the 95 degree heat and 100% humidity, using only slightly different rhythms and lyrics each time. I'm very curious to know how many college students and foreigners from 3rd world countries working for Disney that die each summer from heat exhaustion wearing those excessively warm costumes…sarcasm aside, it was a fun experience, but I do recommend that young adults with no kids go to Universal instead of Disney, especially if you like thrill rides and don't have a lot of money.
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| The poor guy that had to wear that beast costume obviously had no idea what he was signing up for |
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| Mickey and Minnie |
We stayed in Orlando/Tampa for 5 days, so we did it all. Universal was up after Disney, and I was super excited. The rides at Universal are incredible. Not only do you get an adrenaline rush from the rides, but the visual details are very simply amazing. I do have to admit that in my ripe old age, I discovered that I had contracted the tendency to get motion sickness. Alas, I didn't bring any Dramamine (a mistake I would not make twice!) and by the end of the day, I was feeling a little sick. A quick list of my favorites: the Hulk roller coaster, Spiderman (incredible visuals!), Harry Potter (feels like you're flying!), almost threw up on the Simpsons, the Mummy was good, and the Rock and Roller coaster (something like that) was great. For those planning a trip to Universal, FYI, buy a fastpass, definitely worth it.
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| Classic |
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| Hogwarts Castle |
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| Village from Harry Potter. I was quite disappointed that the snow wasn't real :( |
The next day, everyone was exhausted, 2 full days walking and standing in line in the heat and humidity wears on you. So we drove to Tampa/Clearwater to the beach and cooled off in the ocean…which actually wasn't even remotely lukecold. Cool enough I guess, it just felt nice not to be on my feet.
Our last theme park day was arguably the best. At least for me. We went to Busch Gardens in Tampa. No, the visuals aren't as impressive as Disney and Universal, but the thrills are better. They also have a plethora of exotic wildlife. The roller coasters were awesome. My favorite was the Cheetah—it was easily the smoothest, thrillgiving coaster I've been on. You seem to glide through the air so easily, yet still get plenty of butterflies. Dagmara's favorite was also good…I think I blacked out on it a few times. Something called the Mummy or Egypt coaster, I can't quite remember, my mind was a bit foggy. Thankfully I had loaded my bloodstream with Dramamine before the park and I only threw up a little bit after the 25th coaster ride. By the time the day was over we were all ready to go home, happy but ready to just lay down in one place and not move for a very long time. Awesome trip, thank you Beata, Nestor, and Dagmara.
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| the blackout ride |
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