Rob and Hild catching up with Aussies in Orlando - January 2014
We were excited to find out that so many of our bestest Aussie friends were coming to Orlando - and that they told us about it!
So we jumped on a plane to go see them and enjoy Disney World together. When you join 9 Aussies, one Brit and one Norwegian together you get a
grand party to scare even the most level-headed maitre'd at Disney establishments: "We are ready for our table - Washer, party of 11!!".
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Prologue: 
The Aussies were on their way towards Disney World - here spotted at Woldenberg Park in New Orleans: Robert, Craig, Mynd, Monique, James, Patty, Stewart, and Margaret - and Elaine behind the camera. About the same time, Rob and Hild were spotted skating in Ottawa.... 
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Below: To add even more excitement we, Rob and Hild, decided to camp. Nice timing, since a polar vortex was wreaking havoc bringing overnight temperatures horribly close to zero celsius.... One night Hild slept while wearing her entire wardrobe: many many layers in addition to their Ajungilak Igloo-rating sleeping bags. Still it was fun inspite of fear that the overnight rain would break the tent. Luckily there were no flooding problems. We quickly discovered just how big the Fort Wilderness campsite is... which is why most people used golf carts, bikes, and cars to get around. Luckily there were sidewalks so we could do what we usually do: walk. Our camp site was number 38 on the 2000 loop: Spanish Moss Lane. Really nice spot and close to the very clean and very warm bathrooms and showerblock - or comfort stations as they are called here. Twenty minute walk to the ferry across the lake to Magic Kingdom and 20 minute walk to the bus stops for all the other parks. |
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Below: Our hire car was big (for us) but somehow we filled it with all our camping gear. The birds, including this beautiful red cardinal, came to watch the wonder of us pitching our tent for the first time in several years. It went well, and before we knew it the picnic table was ready and tea was brewing. Rob had his mobile office set up with complementary modem (!!!) from Disney. The camping went smoothly particularly because Kristin and Alvaro supplied many key items such as a impossibly huge tarpolin and a very handy heavy blanket that doubled for sitting on and sleeping under. |
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Below: We were only a few minutes walk away from the shop (Meadow Trading Post) where one could also use the swimming pool, rent bikes, kayaks, and canoes, as well as watch movies outside. One night we all attended Chip and Dale's singalong and made smores on the bonfire. For those unfamiliar with smores, it is an incredibly sweet treat made from roasted marshmallows squished by chocolate squares and graham crackers. |
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Below: We put on our Disney Magic Bands which made us all RFID-tagged and ready to be scanned and get easy and quick access to all the fun to be found throughout Disney World. Even more handy (read: financially iffy), we could use the bracelets to pay for food and stuff throughout the parks. We also had our fast-passes linked to our Magic Bands to bypass those who had to line up for hours for the most popular rides. This turned out to be Stewart and Hild's favourite activity: waving while waking past the plebs standing in line. It turned out that the busses were very handy for getting back and to between camp site and amusement parks. Sometimes there was a bit of a wait, but not too bad at all. |
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Below: We spent the first day together at Magic Kingdom. Well, it was hard to walk around in a group of 11 so we just decided to split into one group that did all the most horribly scary rides (Craig, Robert, Elaine, Mynd, and Monique - and sometimes Rob), and one group that did the more docile rides (Patty, James, Margaret, Stewart, Rob, and Hild). |
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Below: It was fun to arrive at Magic Kingdom by ferry from our campsite. As a group we covered many modes of transportation - some of us arriving by boat, some by bus, and some by monorail! |
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Below: The highlight of the day - at least for Rob who had it on his bucket-list - was to ride Space Mountain. In the end Rob rode it twice. The picture below shows Craig, Rob, Robert, Mynd, Elaine, and Monique emerging unscathed from their trip on Space Mountain.... in fact everybody except Hild went on Space Mountain. Shame on her! |
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Below: Our first lunch together - at Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom: Elaine, Stewart, James, Monique, Mynd, Patty, Hild, Rob, Robert, Margaret, and Craig behind the camera. Those that thought that Hild drinks a lot of tea.. you should see Elaine!! And later - Hild, Mynd, and Monique all huddled up in the Plaza Restaurant to stay warm after the Main Street Electrical Parade and fireworks. |
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Below: On the second day we went to EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) also because we knew we had to have two days to cover the whole park. Patty and Elaine were in the know and got us sorted with where to go. Number one on the list was the Soarin' ride as "EVERYBODY" told us to do it - so we did twice. It was very handy with fast passes because the lines grew to over an hour long in no time at all. Other important rides in Future World included "Test Track" with build-your-own race car, and "Mission Space" with you landing on mars with lots of bumps and close calls. Whimpy Hild passed while the others had a blast - again! The "The Land", "finding Nemo" and "Spaceship Earth" rides were more to Hild's liking. Everybody were left puzzled by the "Imagination!" exhibit/ride, but that probably says more about us than about the ride. |
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Below: It was a cold day to line up outside EPCOT, but we endured and came prepared with beanies. We enjoyed a nice meal in the Coral Reef Restaurant after having tried to find Nemo. Robert didn't find Nemo but it looks like he did find Bruce (or Anchor or Chum)! |
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Below: In the World Showcase we seemed to cover the lot. Not all of us got to do all countries but this were the highlights were Mexico for the restaurant and ride, Norway for the baked goods and Helly Hansen store, China for the acrobatics, Germany for the miniature village, Italy for the food, USA for bathrooms when we needed them, Japan for the coy fish, Morocco for the coffee, France for the afternoon snacks, UK for the music, and Canada for the video/show. |
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Below: Stewart, Patty, Margaret, James, Rob and Hild enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at Tutto Italia. It included gnocchetti for Hild and polenta served on wooden boards for Rob and and Margaret. Stewart, Patty and James had equally yummy dishes. The waiter was Italian and had several stories about working and travelling in Australia - so it was a funfilled evening and we were about the last people to leave EPCOT that night! |
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Below: With quite so many scientists in our party, "Living with the Land" was a big hit - first with the boat ride through glasshouses and then a behind-the-scenes tour that included fish tanks, hydroponics, biotechnology lab. The guide kept his cool even after he realised that he had multiple PhDs in the tour party including geneticists,biotechnologists, biochemists.... The rest of us enjoyed simpler things like pepper trees shaped like Mickey Mouse, lettuce fields shaped like Mickey, cucumbers shaped like Mickey... you see where this is going! |
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Below: The next day we went to Animal Kingdom. While the other parks had lots of fun rides, the Animal Kingdom rides and shows were easier to take photos of. The key rides to book on fast pass were Expedition Everest, the Kilimanjaro Safari, and the Kali River Rapids. Having said that, those that did the Kali River Rapids also got horribly wet (well, Robert did). It was also really worth going to the 3D movie with "It's a Bugs Life"! We all screamed like girls, or at least jumped, at the big surprise under our chairs at the end.... |
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Below: We couldn't quite make out if the Tree of Life is real with carved bark or just a giant fake... Pretty either way. |
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Below: Just walking around the park we saw lots of birds and animals and other nice things to look at. |
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Below: The Kilimajaro Safari was great and worth the wait even with fast-passes. Margaret, Patty, and James riding along in the bus over bumpy roads, flooded roads, and a rickety bridge. |
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Below: It was a cool day so we got to see the hippos sleeping along side the river rather than hiding in it. There were plenty of deer, giraffes, lions, elephants, wilderbeasts, and crocodiles. |
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Below: ... Rhinos, wart hogs, different kinds of deer and antilopes.... |
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Below: Our favourite show in this park was "Flights of Wonder" where they showed off very well trained birds. It was a lot of fun seeing the birds so close including a bald eagle and a trained chicken. Like Rob says: "How can you train a chicken to do tricks?!". Wonders never seize. Volunteers from the audience also got to sit on stage and take very up-close photos of an owl. |
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Below: We also walked through an Asia aviary and the pictures indicated a lot of different birds, hardly any of which we could spot flying around. Then again, all of them were foreign to us. We probably look the same to the birds too! |
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Below: Then came the time to do the "Expedition Everest" ride. Craig and Robert went on it multiple times (as can be expected). It was a hairy ride according to most accounts and it made great impact on our intrepid travellers. Through the rest of the day Stewart and Rob kept blurting out: "but it went BACKWARDS in the DARK!!!" We caught this blurry picture of Rob, Stewart and James surviving, while a girl sitting next to Rob was waving her arms in the air while "whoo-whoo-ing" in pure delight. |
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Below: Hild operates at a lower fear-level and is here seen after having gone on the "Primeval Whirl" ride. It was fun and she might have gone again if the lines had been shorter (hm.. maybe that is just an excuse?). |
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Below: It was a good time to kick back and enjoy a snack at the Rainforest Cafe bar. Nice chairs! |
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Below: On one of our Asia walks we encountered these giant bats.... eeeek - not much more to say other than that we were happy there was a glass window between us and them. |
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| On the very last day for Rob and Hild, we went to the Hollywood Studios park. Hild is increasingly embarassed to say that there are hardly any photos of that (except those supplied by Elaine). Hild does not have any good excuses for why this happened. Still, we enjoyed very much the "Toy Story" and "Star Wars" rides. The two stunt shows and a ride about movies through the ages were nice and entertaining without being scary. As usual, the more extreme half of our party (Craig, Robert, Elaine, Mynd, and Monique) also did "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" and "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster" rides. Aaaarrgh |
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Epilogue 1: 
Rob and Hild then returned to warmer climes three hours south in Coral Springs. Stewart and James went to see what Dallas is all about, while the remaining crew went to see what all the fuss was about snow in New York City.... But first some of us stopped by at Universal's Islands of Adventure park. We have it on (reasonably good) authority that this is an accurate summary of the experience: "Craig and Robert did the Hulk more times than should have been humanly possible. Elaine and Monique also rode the Hulk while Mynd refrained. All of us did Spiderman (x2), Dr Doom drop (Tower-of-Terror-wannabee), Harry Potter, Jurrasic Park (we wore ponchos), and (regretfully) the Poseidon walk through [Editor's note from Hild and Rob: "Hee hee. We told you so!"]. Craig and Robert did the Dragon Challenge, but no one else was willing." |
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Epilogue 2: So - they found out what snow in NYC is all about: it was very cold and called for squirrel feeding in Central Park, apparently! 
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Epilogue 3: Some photos shared by Stewart and James indicate to the rest of us what Dallas/Fort Worth was all about: Fast cars, money, food and drink, indoor rodeo, bears and rabbits?! Looks like a fun time. 
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Epilogue 4: Rob and Hild went on to spend some time in Coral Springs and surroundings - including a dolphin- and bird-spotting trip with picnic at Everglades City. Some quality time was spent with Kristn, Alvaro, Alexandra and Austin. And then there was IKEA bed assembly and the birthday celebration including beautiful flowers and a cake - but is that a typo? Shouldn't 43 be 34??!! 
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So, guys, thanks for a great holiday (and for sharing your photos for us to post here) -
and hope to see you again soon maybe back home in Perth. We'll keep you posted.
February 2014