Rachel's Belated Birthday Bash - Part 2
Wednesday
I didn't feel too well today so decided to give the parks a miss. I drove Philip & Rachel to Animal Kingdom and arranged to meet them in the evening at MGM Studios for dinner and Fantasmic. I had a day just pottering around the villa, doing a bit of ironing, listening to music and sitting out by the pool with a book and a nice glass of OJ. By the end of the day I did feel a lot better and headed off to MGM.
I did arrive a bit earlier than we had arranged to meet so went on the Great Movie Ride - yes I know it is corny but Wizard of Oz is one of my favourite films! The good thing as well about having an annual pass is I didn't feel I was wasting a ticket by only going over at the end of the day.
Met up with Philip & Rachel at the Hollywood & Vine Restuarant. They seemed to have had a fantastic day and had managed to get on Everest at Animal Kingdom which Rachel said was brilliant. I might have to try it myself next time we go as she told me it didn't have any inversions but was more like Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom which is one of my favourites. They had also had a bit of time around MGM and had been to the Muppet 3D and the Indiana Jones Stunt Show which they had enjoyed.
After dinner went to Fantasmic. Rachel hadn't seen this before and was really impressed with it - especially the way they project the film onto the water screens.
Thursday
I had been looking forward to today all week as we were off to my favourite theme park - Magic Kingdom. This is a real must for me if we are going to do theme parks during a trip. We had a fantastic day doing all the 'big' rides: Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunter Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean as well as some of the 'younger' attractions such as Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie The Pooh, Buzz Lightyear. My favourite is Mickey's Philharmagic which is a wonderful 3D show.
The suprising thing was that Rachel really remembered It's a Small World (complete with annoying tune) and the Country Bear Jamboree more than anything else in the park. Funny what sticks in a young child's mind isn't it!
We stopped for the SpectroMagic parade and the Wishes fireworks in the evening which were wonderful as usual. Coming out of the park I was suprised as I don't know if we just haven't notice before but Mickey was standing at the Train Station saying goodbye to everybody as well.
On the way back Rachel was saying that although all the parks are really fantastic somehow Magic Kingdom is just really what you expect Disney to be - it is just special and I have to say I agree with her!
Friday
Last full day today and decided to spend it at Sea World which had been Rachel's favourite on previous trips. We had a great day doing all the shows, Clyde & Seymour, Blue Horizons and Shamu and wonderful weather, as it was now in the 80s, to wonder around the park looking at all the other exhibits. Rachel also got to try out her last 2 rides - Kraken and Journey to Atlantis. Sea World is more relaxing than the other parks and we seemed to have plenty of time to do everything
In the evening we went to The Olive Garden for a last meal. This is one of our favourite restaurants in Florida. We went to the one at Crossroads this time as we hadn't tried this one before. Food was excellent as usual but might just prefer the I-Drive location for atmosphere etc.
Saturday
Last day today and the week has just flown by! Went to Denny's for breakfast before heading back to the villa to get packing etc done. Spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool until time to go to the Airport for flight home.
Another wonderful holiday in Florida and already looking forward to the next one - only 3 months, 15 days to go!!
