Sailing on a Ship That's Bound for Life

Disney World: Hollywood Studios

kelly_grigg — Wed, 7 May 2008 23:51:00 GMT

So this trip keeps getting more and more amazing but before I talk about what happened today (probably will make that entry tomorrow night) I'll talk about what happened yesterday.

We went to Hollywood Studios in Disney World. As the title of this entry made quite clear. It was awesome! The first thing we headed for was the Tower of Terror which drops you up to 13 stories I think it was and back up and down again randomly. That was pretty intense I can handle rollercoasters when you can see the track in front of you and can get prepared for the fall but when it's in the dark and you have no idea the anticipation can really get to you.

After that we went on the Aerosmith ride (I'll write down the name later) and that was really different because the rollercoaster was entirely in the dark which was unexpected so you had no idea what was going on. What made it better was that it played Aerosmith songs the whole time you are going through it. We also went to a Stunt Show, Star Tours, saw the Hollywood Studios Parade, among other things that I will again go back and add in when it's not so late.

My FAVORITE part of the day though was when we went and saw the Indian Jones show which shows you how they set up the stunts for the show and then has the stunt team go through all the action that you see in the movie. Well they asked for volunteers over 18 so I raised my hand and I got picked! I had a very important job of course, I got to dress up like a person of Ciaro (sp?), Egypt and had to take on the responsibility of portraying the entire population of Ciaro with about 6 other people. It was cool to meet the real stunt people, especially the guy who was Indy who was super gorgeous!

That's all I can add for now Kaitlin is about to fall asleep beside me and we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow!

Disney World: Epcot

kelly_grigg — Tue, 6 May 2008 23:46:00 GMT

Wow the last few days have been pretty much amazing. I am already two days behind on updating my journal so I'm just going to talk about getting to Florida and going to Epcot and will probably add more to this entry later because I don't think I'll remember everything now.

First of all, leaving home was a blur. It seems like we had just gotten done with the 9 hour drive home from Pittsburgh before we were packing the van back up and heading to the airport. Luckily flying home on breaks has taught me to pack light so I managed to get everything into a small rolling bag and a purse. The flight was straight to Orlando so it was easy, but I just got so excited when I saw all the little kids getting on the plane too. They just made me even more excited to get to Disney World.

When I got to the Orlando Airport the Hughes came and picked me up and it was soo great to see them again I can't believe it has been two years! By the time we got to the hotel that night we were pretty much ready to pass out because of all the traveling all of us had done, but we still scoped out the area around our hotel (which is beautiful) and got something to eat.

We ended up going to this place called Pacino's Italian Resteraunt which was really pretty and had amazing food. We had mussels for appetizers...moto bono! Then to end the night a guy we had met earlier who works on the board of Kaitilin's school saw Mr. Hughes' college sweatshirt and paid for our appetizers and drinks! Pretty sweet. After that we headed back to the hotel and Kaitlin and I went swimming.

Day 2

Epcot!! We left around 12 in the afternoon after Kaitlin and I had finished swimming and then we drove over to Disney World! The first thing we did when we got in was go on Spaceship Earth in the giant Epcot ball which I didn't know was a ride! I thought it was just a big ball! Anyway, we continued on to go to the FastTrack, Mission Space, The Seas, Soarin', among other things I will remember when I'm less tired.

I have to say I never was much for those virtual reality rides but I absolutely loved these. I wasn't sure at first how into Epcot I would be but it is absolutely beautiful with the gardens and the lake in the middle of it. Also the countries that it has around the lake are great. They made me want to go see the real countries they showed. Apparently they even went and got architect from the countries they were representing to design the buildings.

The lazer/firework show at the end really made the day. The fireworks and lazers were syncronized with the music they played and this giant globe lit up and showed images from Disney movies and life and at the end it opened up and this big torched turned on inside and shot out fireworks at the end. It is definitely something worth seeing.

That about sums it up for Epcot. I think I will come back and re-word this later when I'm not so tired. Pictures to come as soon as I get home!

So long freshman year!

kelly_grigg — Thu, 1 May 2008 16:27:00 GMT

Well currently I'm sitting in my dorm at school and one paper away from being a freshman year veteran. It's beautiful outside which is a rare thing for Pittsburgh so me and some friends walked down to The Point and looked out at the water and just enjoyed the weather for an hour or so. I can't believe I'll be home tomorrow night and then Sunday I'll be flying to Florida! I tell you I do miss the ocean something awful. The rivers here are nice but nothing beats the ocean. I guess I'm biased since my Dad's in the Coast Guard but what can I say. Anyway just wanted to get a start on this journal cause I can hardly wait to get to Florida and finally see Kaitlin. I think it has been almost two years since I've seen her and we have so much to update on about college. What better place to have a reunion than Disney World?