On The Road Again – Week in Orlando

Drive out – and Day 1 at Magic Kingdom

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  It has been 6 months since I have taken any type of  road trip (Not since the Florida Bat Festival last August).  The ARRL Southeastern Division Amateur Radio convention also known as Hamcation is held every year in February and I have never been to the WaltDisney World parks (Growing up in South California, and Disneyland being only 2 hours away meant that we always went to the West Coast Disney Parks.  Adding camping to the list of  things I have not done a long time.  Put all these all together and what have you got?  A week long camping trip in Orlando Florida that included the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Hamcation!  Come along for a lot of hits, some misses, but never a dull moment on a road trip with Brent!

   The 2 days before departure were filled with running around like a chicken with my head cut off getting last minute tasks done!  I had intended to be on the road around 8, but I kept hitting the snooze on my iPhone, I did not get on the road until 1130!  This would usually not have been a problem and I tend to not stick to any set schedule on road trips but the gate to the park I was camping in closes at sunset, which this time of year is 6pm!  The GPS had me scheduled to arrive at 6:15.  A call to the park, and I was able to make arrangements to be checked in by the campground host.  At one of my fuel stops I discovered the error of my ways!  I had somehow enabled the Toll avoidance mode on my iPhone and the route the Maps application chose to  get around the Florida Turnpike added an extra hour to the trip!  I ended up arriving at Moss Park at 05:57pm!  Just by the skin of my teeth!

  I wasted no time setting up camp and was tired enough that I decided to skip a formal dinner and subside on some Publix pasta salad and a Roast Beef sandwich I had made at home.  It was then to bed early and get ready for our first Orlando Adventure at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. 

  I had every intention of waking up at 0730 to get coffee on the stove and head out to the Magic Kingdom.  Exhaustion from driving and setting up camp won over and I ended up hitting the snooze button until 0800.  I was finally able to drag myself out of the sleeping bag and get going!

  Fortified by freshly percolated Starbucks Breakfast Blend, it was time to hit the road.  I made a slight mistake by programming just “Magic Kingdom” into Apple Maps, which took me right to one of the hotel parking lots.  Save yourself the headache and program in “Magic Kingdom Toll Plaza” instead.

Finally parked.  Baxter and I were in the tram to The Magic Kingdom!

  I had already purchased 3 day Florida Resident tickets, and made my reservations for 3 parks so I could bypass the ticket lines.  I had an extra stop with security due to my camera backpack, tripod, and Handi Talkie, but the screening was quick and polite, (Disney should provide training to the TSA and the number of complaints with that agency would drop to zero!).

  Our first stop was Tomorrowland and Space Mountain, I was eager to compare the ride to the one in Disneyland in California and Hong Kong.   Besides for the volume of the rides soundtrack, I did not notice much difference, though it did seem darker without some of the background effects I seem to remember form California, but that could just be due to the fact I have not ridden it in over 20 years!

  We then quickly headed over to the Tron ride, which was probably our longest line of the day (with the Jungle Cruise being the second longest!).  I really enjoyed this ride!  The G-Forces were out of this world!  I would have gone on the ride again, but the process of securing all of my camera gear in a locker was just not worth it!

  Leaving the ride, I setup for one of my first technical remote photo shoots!  I had mentally seen a couple of places I wanted to try to get ride photos.  What a technical nightmare!

While it was easy getting a great on ride photo without me in the picture, I just HAD to get a couple with Baxter in I in it!  Enter the headache.

  So, getting the Camera Connect app setup, mentally and visually counting off when a train might pass where I want it in relation to the subject (ME). I set about a lesion on “just good enough!”.  Here I am too late!

  This was the closest I could get to the perfect picture I had in my mind, and this is with 1:1 cropping in post.

I think the best picture, was this one with Baxter, though I still have the phone up, which I usually do not want, so.  I can still use it, and create the story that “Baxter was doing his best to help get a a complicated shot!”.

  One more try, and we were a fraction of a second too late.  Time to reflect on other lessons, like the Professor Falken’s lesson in War Games, that sometimes you just have to give up!

  We then headed over to the Autopia, and Baxter got to try driving a car!

  After going to several rides that I wanted to, it was only fair to give in to Baxter’s desire check out the haunted mansion.  So off we went to one of Disney’s most enduring and beloved attractions. 

I did not get any on ride photo’s but here is Baxter hamming it up after getting off the ride!  I enjoy this ride.  I think the ride at Magic Kingdom is a bit longer, and the dining room scene is enhanced from California.  I did not see the section where a ghost rider is projected into your “carriage”.

If you are a frequent visitor of Brent’s World, you know I make an effort to put gags into my blogs, so we had to do It’s A Small World!  So off we went to what should have been the least stressful and trouble free ride in the park.   I ended up accidently elbowing a young girl in the head getting on the boat and taking off my backpack!  Not one of my more coordinated moments, and extremely awkward all around!  Fortunately, apologies were accepted and outside of a moment of abject shame, we settled down to enjoy the ride.  I later felt guilty because I realized I spent more time apologizing to the parents than the girl I clocked in the head!

Waiting in line, I could not help feel I was beginning the Squid Game!

Baxter got a kick out of the ride though and was all smiles!

We then headed off to Pirates Of The Caribbean, which for some inexplicable reason I did not get any photo’s on!

 

Finally we hit the Jungle Cruise, which is always a favorite due to the on-ride humor.  I got a kick out of these 1940’s style mailboxes, because they are still in use in the Kunsan Air Base’s mailroom.

Here is Baxter, keeping a sharp lookout for any relatives hanging in the trees.

  Don’t know what happened here, but looks like a potentially explosive situation!

  Ahh, the pride in this photo!

Yup, this is definitely Florida!

This picture makes me feel so “ALIVE!”

 

A game of Happy Hippo anyone?

This picture reminded me of the Cambodia Temples.

What is a river cruise without some elephants?

It was then time to head back to the campsite, have dinner, and get ready for our day at Disney’s EPCOT!

Getting back to the campsite, tired but in need of real food, I baked a potatoe on the grill, and fixed up some Mahi Mahi and Rice Pilaf!  I had forgotten to bring the ingrediants for the rub I had intended to season the fish with, but desperation fosters innovation!  Wondering how the Texas Roadhouse Steak Rub would work, I decided to give it a shot!  It ended up turning out really good!

Fortified with a great dinner, and refreshed from the free hot showers at Moss Park, into the tent I went, to start my fight with my snooze button all over again!

Thanks for reading part 1 of a series of blogs documenting my trip to Disney’s Magic Kingdom and Hamcation in Orlando!

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