DISNEYWOLD, FLORIDA

The ROLLERCOASTER we went on!!!!!!!

Day 245

DISNEYWORLD, FLORIDA

OHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my gawd....................today is the day we went to Disneyworld!!!!!

We're staying closeby..and so, like big kids, we were up and about ready to go to see Mickey Mouse!!!!

There are four parks in Disneyworld...Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and MGM Disney Studios..and we were told we'd manage one or two of the parks..so we chose EPCOT and MGM Disney Studios. They're situated on 45 square miles and to get between the parks you catch a monorail (to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom) and a bus to MGM Disney. There is also a ferry to get to Epcot from MGM.

Imagine that..45sq miles? The Royal Show is on how many miles (or kilometres)..about 1 or 2 at the most!

That was one thing we didn't know about Disneyworld..that is is so HUGE. Even when we drove in last night...all we could see were the directions to all the parks...the accomodation was on the outskirts (we were lucky to get a good hotel at a good price)...but it really is big. ANd it's not all in the one park, like Disneyland (which we've both been to in our past life!)


Here it is! EPCOT!












Epcot is the science and technology park..and that suited us since we've both interested in that!

It's HUGE. So many things to do.....to see....rides to go on, exhibitions, shows, displays and at Epcot there was an International Food Fair on which took up half of the park.

The future technology was amazing, particularly what can be used in the home. Scary in a way, to see how we may live in the next few decades. We also went through a hydroponic garden where pumpkins, strawberries and all sorts of fruit and vegetables were grown without soil..and were massive! (Everything is biiiiig in AMERICA! haha)

We also tried out the latest in footpath technology...and drove the "segways"!

We spent five hours at Epcot..and guess what??

WE WENT TO MARS!!!!!

This is a ride that feels just like going into a real rocket and taking off....it was so weird..because to go into the rides you usually have to line up, but we got what you call a 'fast pass'...this enables you to hop the line and just go straight in...

Anyway..we approached this ride thinking it would be fun...BUT...we really got the ride of our life!! The G forces had us spinning and turning....far out!!

I was positioned as the Commander and Greg was the Engineer....there were two kids being the pilot and the navigator in our rocket. Haha...talk about feeling like we really went to Mars! These simulators are unbelievable!

There were other rides like "Soarin" that took us hang gliden over California...

After Epcot we went to MGM Disney Studios which is like one huge movie set. We went to exhibitions that had the history of Walt Disney and the movies..and saw the makings of old and current movies...

And...we WENT ON A ROLLERCOASTER!! Imagine that!! Elise would be so proud! I remember when we were in Bali..on the huge slide in Water Bomb Park..and i ended up pulling out and not going! So imagine the fear when i said to Greg, what the heck, lels DO IT! (I was thinking Elise and Sam would be SO PROUD!) and off we went...rocking to Aerosmith...on the Rocking Rollin Roller Coaster!! It was amazing...and i was terrified at first..even pulled my back out because i was so tensed up!!! But after about a minute..i actually opened my eyes and started seeing what was 'out there' and the surroundings!

I feel quite proud of myself that i did this...now i reckon i could easily go hangliding or parachuting!!!!!


MGM Disney...THE hat!!












Tower of Terror

















I had no idea what i was getting into with this ride. We just found ourselves lining up for this...But! This is the SCARIEST ride i have ever been on..or have seen..or will ever go on. It doesn't even compare to a rollercoaster.

The building was like a huge multistoried old fashioned hotel..which had an elevator lift...that went down 12 floors...and once we were in the lift we got carried up to the top..THEN...it literallly DROPPED a floor..and i screamed so loud..my lungs were sore when we got out. Then..it dropped more floors. And more......No kidding..it was terrible...horrific..and downright frightening!

Disneyworld was such an amazing place..the International Food court was great too...the whole thing was amazing..and being a kid for a day..was just wonderful!

We wanna go back!!!

NB In our excitement..we forgot where we parked our car..so we spent an hour after it closed looking for it...at 11pm at night! Duh

But even that couldn't dampen the excitement of the day!

NASA Kennedy Space Centre

Day 244

KENNEDY SPACE CENTRE

Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

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TIZZIE'S 8th Birthday...awww....
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We went back to Cocoa Beach this morning to see if we could see it in the daylight..and yes...we could..and went down there...

It was blowing 30 knots..and the sand was not white..like we thought it would be! Disappointing really...

Are we spoilt by the white sandy beaches of Perth...I mean..what could be better than Cottesloe Beach??!

We then left Cocoa Beach to go to NASA! The Kennedy Space Centre.

Packed all our gear in our little car...and thought our best bet would be to go to NASA and think about accomodation after!

As we were approaching NASA we were overwhelmed by the rockets at the entrance..it really is a dream to be there. I rememember when i was only 5 and Dad dressed me up in a space costume, consisting of a car water hose and his Norton crash helmet and i honestly thought i was off to the moon......

I waited and waited for the rocket to come..and it didn't! (Who has THAT slide of me that Dad took for me by the way????)

Today...we did go in the space shuttle...and we did feel like we were taking off to the moon. There is an IMAX theatre in the venue that simulates that first space launch...

The Space Centre has a Launch Complex and Observation Gantry which has an exhibit area..and it shows all the space shuttles...JFK speech (where he pledged astronauts would land on the moon by the end of the 60's and of course they did...in 1969!)

Kennedy Space Centre Launch Pad!














There is also a building assembly area where we viewed the launch pads, the crawlerway and the vehicle assembly area. The crawler way was amazing..to think that the rocket crawls along there at 1 mile an hour to get to the launch pad!

It's so huge...NASA. Of course, it has to be because there are rockets taking off from there..but you just don't think about that before you go there.....

We also went to the International Space Station Centre..and the Apollo/Saturn Centre where there is a 363 foot rocket!

It showed how the first rocket, Apollo 1 failed and 3 people were killed. And it showed Apollo 13, the rocket from the movie of the same name and the one that orbited the moon and didn't land and had only a few seconds to spare before doom...and it showed the last Apollo...Apollo 17.

We saw the preparations for the rocket that is going to be launched in December...Atlantis..

The whole experience was just FANTASTIC!

Greg and i were in awe. We ended up staying there all day, had lunch, and continued on...just absorbed as much as we could.....

I'd recommend going there to anyone..

To me, it's the place that holds the very moment that the 20th century will be known for..and that is..

JULY 20th, 1969

THE DAY MAN LANDED ON THE MOON!

A day that will be forever instilled in all our memories...

COCOA BEACH

Cocoa Beach Pier










Day 243

Cocoa Beach, Mid Florida USA

HALLOWEEN!













It's 81 F and rainy here..due to the tropical storm...but we're escaping it and moving away. Hopefully by the time we get to Orlando it'll abate..

It's great having a car..we can please ourselves and stop where we want! And here we are..at Cocoa Beach and only because we stopped to fuel up..and saw the Cocoa Beach Inn next door and decided to make some inquiries within and found it was a reasonable price, breakfast included, so we stayed.

It did say there was free internet but we found that only applies to wireless internet..seems the ol desktop is history here in the US. Everyone has wireless and travels with their laptop! I wish i had one!!!!! If we have time we're going to check out the laptops here as they're so cheap..half the price as in Aussie...in fact everything is cheap here in comparison! Clothes, food, accomodation...everything...

Makes me wonder why everything IS so costly at home! And the tax here is ridiculous...there was an article in the paper this morning saying they want to increase sales tax as that's more acceptable...and leave the income tax as it is..and it's very low in some states, less than 5%! When we look at our 30 and above income tax we can see why it's killing us....From a traveller's point of view, we'd rather they tax income than put extra sales on though..because that's the insidious thing about pricing here...you THINK you're buying something..but then they add sales tax..up to 7.5%! And then there is tipping...which incidently, we've somehow gotten used to and don't resent anymore! The things you become accustomed to!

Anyway...enough about that...

We landed in Cocoa Beach and decided to go and look at the beach...the only thing is we couldn't quite get down to it! There are houses all along the coastline!!!

So we left that one alone..and got pizza (no wonder our clothes are not fitting at the moment..which is scaring us, because we're wondering what will happen in SA when we go to get into our trekking clothes..time for a diet!)

Halloween was a quiet affair here really..we saw some houses dressed up and took pics..but i think Chicago was the place to be on Halloween...

Kate! Can you send me those pics you showed me of your house at Halloween????

We watched scary movies all night though....and scared ourselves witless....

And that was Cocoa Beach!

xx

PS Heard that Elvis is the biggest grossing dead performer....making 50 million a year! Then John Lennon....far out...Elvis and John LIVE! haha