Tuesday, 19th September 2006
Florida Trip
My much awaited Florida trip is over and i'm back to the usual grind. Looking back over the past few days, I must say the trip was bundles of fun (albeit expensive). I'm tired as hell and expectedly need a vacation from the vacation i took. Well i guess that is to be expected if you try and fit in too many things within a few days. We flew to Tampa, drove to Orlando, went to Epcot-Disney, Universal Studios CityWalk, Wet-n-Wild and then to Miami. Later we drove along the Florida Keys and back to Tampa. It was definitely a strenuous trip.
Epcot-DisneyEpcot is one of the theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was dedicated to international culture and technological innovation. The name Epcot derives from the acronym EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), a utopian city of the future planned by Walt Disney. The park consists of two sections: Future World and World Showcase. Future World consists of a variety of pavilions that explore innovative aspects and applications of technology.
Some of the fun shows in Future world included Honey, I Shrunk The Audience which is a 3-D film themed to the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids film series". The shrinking machine goes out of control and shrinks the audience. The viewers are antagonized by obstacles such as a kid taking a picture of the audience with a blinding flash and picking up the theater to "show the little people to Mommy." Then a python, much larger than the miniature audience, nearly eats the theater.
A standout show for me was Soarin which is a hang glider simulator that "flys" over various areas of California. The Soarinattraction takes guests at a time on a simulated hang glider tour of the Golden State. Guests "fly" over such California landmarks as Redwood Creek, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Napa Valley, San Francisco, San Diego, Lake Tahoe, Monterey, Malibu, Yosemite National Park, Palm Springs (actually shot in nearby La Quinta), Los Angeles and finally Disneyland park.
The other standout showcase event is IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth: which is a nightly fireworks and laser show that tells the story a story encompassing the creation of Earth to celebrating the people of the world. This thirteen-minute fireworks show takes place in the World Showcase Lagoon every night at the park's closing time (usually 9:00 PM). A large rotating globe with curved LED screens is the centerpeice of the show and is used to project images of people and places.
World Showcase is made up of eleven pavilions Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States of America, Japan, Morocco, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
My favorite was Morocco which is designed to look like a Moroccan city, with a realistic Minaret. The area is decorated with gardens and fountains to give a North African feel. Often throughout each day, Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, and the Genie from Disney's Aladdin appear at the Morocco Pavilion to meet and greet guests and take pictures. The Restaurant Marrakesh which serves Moroccan farehere also has a musical show including a Belly Dancer!!!
The American Adventure is a stage show using audio-animatronic figures rather than human actors. These figures were so realistic, for a while i was actually fooled into believing them to be real. The American Adventure takes the visitor on a trip through America's rich 200+ year history. The Germany Pavilion is designed to look like a German town, but with architecture from different eras and regions. The pavilion has no actual attraction (apart from the beer and shopping). The France Pavilion is themed to look like a Paris neighborhood with a pool and fountains and with a view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. The pavilion features Impressions de France a panoramic movie which visits France's cities and historical structure and a street show with acrobatics.
Later that evening i hung out at Pleasure island which is Walt Disney World's nighttime entertainment complex. I had a multi-club pass and i used it as much as i could hopping from one club to another till my already worn out feet gave way.
Mannequins Dance Palace was one place that i liked because it includes a huge dance floor which actually rotates as you gyrate to the throbbing sounds of techno-trance tunes. The Adventurers Club presents themed interactive entertainment. The club is decorated with many "treasures and artifacts" brought back from far off expeditions. Some of the other clubs that i went to included BET Soundstage Club (which played high-energy Hip-Hop, Reggae, Old School and R&B dance music) and 8 Trax (which seemed to be playing the best music that nite).
Miami Beach
If Orlando was all about theme parks and water parks, Miami is all about beaches and nightlife. Nowhere is it so epitomized than Miami Beach. It is a well known fact that obesity is a national problem, not so on Miami Beach, because you find the most finely sculpted figures and bulging biceps strutting their stuff around. I wonder where all the bulges and fat folks went !!!! The temperatures hit 3 digits in the afternoon sending us running for cover while the barely clothed folks were enjoying every momemnt under the sun. But night is when the beach comes alive. Walking along ocean drive (parking is a pain) is a nice experience. Several restaurants and night clubs line the opposite side of the ocean on this road. It isn't uncommon to find pretty women peddling expensive cigars or in my case i even saw a couple of ladies with python snakes around their necks and daring people to get pictures with them (scary stuff).
The clubs were going strong on a friday nite. The clubs i jumped around included The Clevelander, Mango's tropical cafe and SoBe entertainment. The Clevelander had a couple of live shows on, but in my opinion Mango's was the most fun place to be. Actually there was one other place, which was the hottest and most happenning place on the beach and that was Mansion. But after looking at the serpentine lines, gargantuan bouncers and even well-dressed people getting turned away at the door, my hopes of getting in drained away and i didn't bother trying.
The following day (the last day of your trip) we went driving along Florida Keys. If not for the fact that i was exhausted as hell from my previous two nights, i would have enjoyed the drive a lot more. We didnt manage to make it all the way to Key West, but went halfway, past the Islamorada also known as "Village of lslands.
The pictures of the trip are posted as usual in the albums section. I threw in the album for the trip to smokey mts (labor day long weekend) as well since i was too lazy and tired to post a new entry. Enjoy
Posted by Nikhil on Tuesday, 19th September 2006 in Life in General | Humour | Fun | Events