Orlando Again But I'm Not Complaining

After staying in Cape Cape Canaveral for 3 nights, we headed to Orlando/Kissimmee area on Jan. 2. We stayed at Galleria Palms Hotel in Kissimmee which is so near Animal Kingdom. It's like less than a mile west of I-4 on Hwy 192 and when went to AK, I followed our GPS and gave us a back road direction that's probably like 2 miles from the gate. Anyway, the hotel was a good deal. It was clean and had the looks of a boutique hotel. The toiletries were Bath and Bodyworks, TV is flat screen and they serve Seattle's Best coffee but I still like my Folgers Gourmet Supreme much better. The included breakfast was just so-so compared to Country Inns and Suites or Hotels by Marriotts like Springhill Suites but still it wasn't a deal breaker.



We haven't visited Animal Kingdom for a long time and I don't remember bringing Missy there not even once. It was always Magic Kingdom and Epcot since these parks are our favorites.This time we chose to visit just one park, go to Downtown Disney and the 'Outlets' the following day, just hang out and leave after 3 nights.


We got caught in a super cold time to be there. It was 30 deg. F in the morning we were in Animal Kingdom, about 24 deg. with wind chill. It was literally freezing and the news was all about the cold weather and frost warning for the citrus growers. Three layers of clothes, gloves and a bonnet/hoodie. Who thinks it doesn't get this cold in Florida? I probably experienced this at least 3 times by now.


The highlight of AK was the Expedition Everest ride which is a super-duper roller coaster ride and is the number one attraction now in Disney World. I did take photos during the ride and unfortunately I lost my lens hood in the process. I didn't expect it to be too fast and wild that it was virtually impossible to shoot during some segments. Between the four of us, I was the only one who saw the 'Yeti' during the last segment since they all had their eyes closed including Ophine. Missy was already begging for the ride to stop. I was just not able to take the Yeti's photo at the end since I had to hold David and give him some assurance when he got scared. Besides it was my first time and was just not ready when to expect it after the wild moments. Compared to Test Track in Epcot, even though it was also a fast ride, it was still possible to shoot even during those very fast moments. Overall, the Expedition Everest ride was really awesome. I kept kidding the two kids that we'll go back to the line again but Missy said only after 5 more years.


Of course the Kilimanjaro Safaris, the 3-D 'It's Tough to be a Bug' attraction, Kali River Ride and the musical 'Finding Nemo' which is actually new are not to be missed. The musical is a very elaborate show and indeed was worth the price of admission for the park, just throw in the Everest ride. We did the Kali River Ride a number of times since there was practically no line. It was so cold that nobody really wanted to get soaked but we came prepared, bringing even some waterproof pants. The Dinosaur ride was so jerky and bumpy on all angles that it was a pain to ride it. We were also able to watch the parade but missed some attractions as well. Nobody can really finish all the attractions in one park for just one day unless you have a super VIP privilege for people like Samantha Brown doing it for the Travel Channel.


Friday, we just went to Downtown Disney and went straight to the Lego shop. We were still not able to get the Star Wars Jabba's Sail Barge which is on the short list of David but so hard to get even online unless you want to pay almost double for it. We just hang out for a few hours then we went to Orlando Premium Outlets before calling it a day. The next day it was home at last.





A slideshow of some of our photos.