Celebration Time: Grad Bash 2014

     Wow! Grad Bash was an interesting experience if I have ever had one. It was a great time, mixed in with some not so great times I have to say. Our school left bright and early hat 9:15 in the morning, actually fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, and arrived at our resort (I say resort because was most definitely not a hotel but it was quite clean. Maingate Lakeside Resort if you're interested; it's for people just needing a place to rest their heads, not much more). Then it was time to go to Universal for Grad Bash (proper). We arrived around 5:15, just the Blastoff Party was getting started. We were ushered into the night club area for two hours to eat, listen to music, dance, and just hang out before being let into the actual theme park side of things. My friends and I went into all the clubs, including the Bob Marley one, and just kind of hung out for a while. Then all the seniors there (including us) were ready to go into the theme parks; by that I mean we all congregated outside in the walkway, contained by security, and started all manner of chanting to get the rope dropped so we could move on (unsuccessfully).

     The theme park was awesome, especially since we had the park to ourselves. I myself am not much one for roller coasters, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy myself. Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios look pretty cool at night. The only downside to this part of the weekend? The fact that it was raining off and on all night. We walked all around the entire park twice, I rode Flight of the Hippogriff (yes it is a kid's ride, but that didn't stop almost every senior there from riding it), drank Butterbeer, and then we all went to Universal by way of the (quite sketchy) pathway between the two parks that's open during special events. They rode the Mummy, the Transformers ride, and the MIB ride; I didn't, again I don't like roller coasters or simulators. Then we all decided to go back to Seuss Landing to ride the train. It was pretty cool; the theme of the decor is the book about the Sneetches (you know, with the beach and the con man and the green stars; spoiler alert: by the end they don't care about the stars). It was super fun, and a great way to rest our feet while not having to sit on wet park benches. Then, it was time to go congregate at the exit so we could leave. When I got back to my room, ten minutes later I was in my cot and asleep. I slept like a corpse in a cheap coffin on my cot: dead to the world, but not resting in peace; it was uncomfortable. 

     Five hours later, it was time to get up, get on our swimsuits, and go to Typhoon Lagoon! Do you remember the first time you walked into Magic Kingdom, or Epcot, or any other Disney park? I had one of those experiences where it's like "whoa." My thought process basically went, "Wow! So this is what a water park should look like!" It was fantastic.

We started our day in the wave pool, waiting on the huge waves to come. I have to say, I'm a strong swimmer but not strong enough to handle that. I was sitting in the shallows when the first wave came, and it carried me five feet away from where I was sitting; that was not a wave, that was a tiny tsunami. Then it was time to catch Castaway Creek (their lazy river) around to the first slides. We didn't know where the landing where you could get floats was, so we just kind of floated along swimming in it until we got to the first slides, the ones where you go down either individually or as a "family", aka Keelhaul Falls, Mayday Falls, and Gangplank Falls. These were awesome!! They also weren't as intense as I expected them to be. Then we made our way to the two body slides: Humunga Kowabunga and Storm Slides. I didn't go on HK because a five story almost-vertical drop doesn't really enthuse me. My friends rode it and thought was not as fun, because of the water rushing up at the very end. Then it was Storm Slide time! This was my favorite sliding experience of the day! There are three different slides you can pick from, and we went on all of them. I can't tell you which was my favorite, because they were all fantastic. We were wandering around, trying to figure out where to put in to the Creek at, and stumbled across the Shark Reef. This was where they have little leopard sharks and fish swimming around in ten feet of (cold) salt water, just cruising around and hanging out while the people snorkel across, not disturbing the surface above. It was pretty awesome but I have to say if I'm not allowed to kick my feet I need a flotation device (oops).

Then, it was time to cruise around the Creek (twice) to get to lunch. We were all pretty hungry, and we all enjoyed our lunch greatly, in a way that people who have spent all day in/on the water understand. As luck would have it, we still hadn't gone on the Crush 'n' Gusher. This was my second favorite experience of the day. It was so much fun! Of course it was terrifying the first time through because I wasn't expecting so many drops, but it was a great time. Warning: if you're going in a three person float, beware the grating on the drops. It will hurt your lower back if you don't do a half bridge while going down the drops. Of course then you have to worry about lifting off the float during said drops, but that just adds to the fun! Then it was time to hit the slides one more time, get dried off, and make our way back to the buses.

     This was one of the greatest experiences, but it was mixed in with some not so fun times. I took a nose dive off my float into the Creek and got a nose full of chlorinated water. It immediately gave me a massive headache, but it was okay. Then we were on the way home and I still had a headache, but honestly it didn't get me down too badly. What did was the wreck we saw on I-75 going home. It was a horrible one, and is the reason why I-75 scares me so much. If you're on this interstate, please drive safely and don't get in a hurry. At highway speeds, getting in a hurry leads to a medical examiner being called to the scene of crashes. Anyway, I got home, I said hi to my mom and dad, and I went to sleep. That was Grad Bash, and honestly I will never attempt to walk around a theme park for nine hours again, but it was still fun. If you get a chance to go to Typhoon Lagoon, go! It is an amazing water park! Until my next adventure,
Cheers!

The Journey's Will Continue...

Just not quite yet. It's really interesting how adventure comes in waves. At times, it's all around and one just can't seem to get away from it and relax. Then at other times, like these past few weeks, it just doesn't seem to be anywhere. Last weekend, my family and I made our way to Walt Disney World for one last hoo-rah before our annual passes expire. It was also a way of introducing me to the next wave of adventure to come.
Now about Disney...
We left early Saturday morning (as in so early we were there by 11:30).

Of course, we went straight to the hotel, got checked in, all that jazz, blah blah blah. Then the real fun began. We stayed at a new hotel this time, the Swan & Dolphin Hotel to be exact. It was super nice, and was in walking distance to everyone's favorite place, EPCOT! 

We had a bit of time to kill before our lunch reservations at Le Cellier in Canada at Epcot. First off, this restaurant is one of the most difficult to make plans for. We always wondered what was up with that, but, then we ate there. Hands down, it is the best meal I have ever had. I would recommend it for anyone going to Disney who doesn't want to dine with characters. It's a prime steakhouse, and a bit on the pricey side, but if you're looking for a great meal to treat you and your family to, this is an excellent place. There's also The Seas at Epcot too, but, that's another story for another day. 

We got to ride Soarin', one of our favorite rides there, as well as Journey Into Imagination with Figment, and even Spaceship Earth with minimal wait. I take that back, there was hardly any wait at all thanks to the new Fast Pass+ that Disney is introducing. We were able to plan our days in advance, which really takes the stress out of a Disney vacation. We were even able to squeeze in riding Test Track before it was time to go find a place to watch fireworks! Look at me and my mom, aren't we adorable?

If you're looking for the best place to watch Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, I highly recommend both the bridge between France and the UK, as well as anywhere in Canada. Also, if the moon is rising when the show first starts, watch it. It will look like it is under water. However, this mirage cannot be caught on film; believe me I tried my best. 

After the fireworks, it was a short walk back to our hotel and we even stopped by a bakery at the Boardwalk Resort for a little pick-me-up after walking off our amazing lunch. We went to sleep early in preparation for day two of our adventure. 

You see, there's this thing in my family: nobody likes to sleep in any later than about 0830 in the morning, and when we're on vacation that time becomes 0700. It never fails; we don't sleep in. I suppose it has to do with the fact that we generally like to get as much into one day as we can. It didn't help that we only had two days. We were up, packed, and on our way to Magic Kingdom in absolutely record time. Until FP+, we really didn't like Magic Kingdom, because we never got to ride any of the rides. Now, it and Epcot are my favorites. 

One of my favorite things about Magic Kingdom? Why, getting to meet Merida of course! I don't think anyone except for curly-haired people understand what it's like to finally see a princess with truly curly hair, in all its unruly glory. Anyway, yes I got to meet her and yes it was in fact magical. 

hey look new hairs

Yes, here we go, meeting Merida!

Now, people usually guess correctly when the say that I am a Disney nut. We had some time to kill after lunch before going on the Little Mermaid ride, so what did I do? I went to meet Ariel of course...

Sadly, the weekend came to a close and we headed home again. Now, I'm enjoying a Snow Day in Florida (yes, yes, snow day, nobody knows how to handle cold and ice and bad road conditions). This is more than likely the only snow day I'll ever manage to get, seeing as moving north means cold and snow and ice are not such a big deal. I'm enjoying my day and also getting ready for Region Latin Forum this Saturday. Until the next adventure,

Cheers!