Matt & Sam's Orlando Adventure 2010! - Day 2 -BB&Celebration

[Guest]

9th August 2010 – Day Two – Blizzard Beach and Celebration.

I planned today as a rest day of sorts (well the closest we were going to get to a rest day!) as I figured the jet lag would be kicking in by now.

We arose at 7.10am, showered, smothered ourselves in P20 and got ready for a morning at Blizzard Beach. Matt is total water baby, and so he couldn’t wait to be set loose in a water park!
Sorry no pics at BB - we took a waterproof disposable camera, but it's not been developed yet!
We had a small breakfast of Frosties (which tasted about 5 times more sugary than the UK variety – despite the box proudly stating ‘Now with less sugar!’) and Matt made a bacon sandwich (I think he sees cereal as more of a prelude to breakfast, than breakfast itself).
We left Orange Lake at 8.20am to cloudy skies yet again – and I began to panic that we’d have two grey weeks and no sunshine. It was hot, but the sky was dull and a few angry rain clouds were circling above. We had 10 minutes of torrential rain en route, so I crossed my fingers that the sun would appear at some point.

By 8.45 we were parked up at BB, in the third row – clearly the rain was putting people off! We were through the ticket gates by 8.50, grabbed a locker ($13 for a small, with $5 returned when you gave your key back) and joined the throng by the ropes in the direction of Summit Plummet.

After a 10 second CM-led countdown (during which a 5 year old in front of me shouted louder than anyone within 10 yards) we headed for the stairs leading up to Summit Plummet.
Matt had been looking forward to this slide since he’d woken up this morning, and despite my frequent reminders that there was no way I was going on it, he leapt up the stairs as if the climb would convince me otherwise.
It was only when I stopped at the top of the staircase and refused to go anywhere near the SP queue that he relented and suggested we try the Slush Gusher first.
There was no queue, and as Matt sat down, he took great joy in telling the CM that I was too chicken for SP. The attendant laughed and said “I swear to you, Summit Plummet is the easiest ride in the park. Its just straight down, it ends before you know it.”
Yeah. Sure.
I followed Matt down CG – and screamed all the way down. Water slides scare me more than any rollercoaster – I think it’s the fact you can’t see because of the water in your face, and it’s just you, a water stream, and plastic tubing – no restraints! I definitely lifted off the slide on the final hill and stopped at the bottom to find Matt in hysterics. Apparently everyone nearby could hear me screaming!

Matt wanted to tackle SP, so we took the chairlift up to the top. It was drizzling, but it only lasted for a few minutes. As we were there already, I decided to go down via CG while Matt joined the short queue for SP.

As I waited for him at the bottom, I was slightly embarrassed watching children of about 10 jumping up at the end of SP having loved every second - but a woman in her thirties came off declaring “That was awful!” – which reassured me I wasn’t a total wuss.
Matt loved it, of course. He’s become a total adrenaline junkie since his sky dive last summer. He also bumped into a Dibber in the queue (username G.Baggs? or something like that, Matt couldn’t remember, tsk) – after ridiculing me for my Dibb obsession for so long, he got to find out first hand how many people love the site!
We said goodbye, grabbed the Photopass card from the photographer at the bottom, and continued our journey around the park.

Teamboat Springs was next – we were put in a raft with three guys (from Liverpool I think!). Great fun, even if I did fall out at the end (I don’t really do graceful exits from rafts!).
We wandered across the park to the purple slides, and the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds! The short drizzle showers continued every hour or so, but being at a water park, its not too much of a problem!
We started with the Toboggan Racers, where I was determined to beat Matt, before I mucked up my launch and saw him whizz ahead. Damn. We came back up to tackle the Snow Stormers – predictably, I screamed all the way down, whereas Matt said he had the giggles the entire time – anyone who heard him probably thought he was mad!
We went to the last of the Purple Slopes - the Downhill Double Dipper – and as we queued for 10 minutes, the sun tried to come out again – I kept my fingers crossed!
This slide was probably my favourite, really fast! I again failed to climb off my ring with any sort of grace – I just tumble off then go chasing after it!
Last up was the Red Slopes and the Run Off Rapids – after grabbing a two-person tube we headed up the stairs (water parks sure are good for toning the legs!). Another fun ride, another dismounting disaster.
It was about 11am, and we’d manged to get on everything, with no queues. I couldn’t believe it! I had spent the build up to the holiday mentally preparing myself for WDW in chaos, floods of people, queues…and we’d not met a single glitch.

The sun, hallelujah, had decided to come out for good, too!
Slightly peckish, we decided to share some food before going to Meltaway Bay and Cross Country Creek. We grabbed a table at Wattalotta Lodge and ordered a double bacon cheeseburger and fries (start as you mean to go on!) – it was the perfect amount to share between the two of us, and with a large coke it came to about $12. I think this may be where the two week Coke addiction started (note the capitalisation to avoid vicious rumours)!

After eating (and updating trip notes!) we headed to Meltaway Bay for a swim. There seemed to be no real system for getting a ring to bob about on, except grabbing a free one as soon as your saw it…but it wasn’t long before we both swiped one.
I was happily bobbing along, enjoying the sunshine, when all of a sudden Matt thought it was a good idea to push me off the ring! The water not being that deep I grazed my knee on the evil spiky floor, and took great pleasure showing Matt my injury and watching him grovel. Boys. :angry:

We decided to finish off with a pleasant circuit of the lazy river, before deciding to leave the park. The plan said Celebration for this afternoon, so after handing in the locker key, we headed back to the car and to OL to get showered and changed.

By the time we headed back out of OL, it was boiling. The weather just seemed to tranform from humid and grey to sunny and roasting hot! We were so happy to see the sun.
Finding Celebration was easy, thanks to Mapman’s map and all the road signs. We parked opposite Market Street Café and I was so excited to see the lake and rocking chairs I’d read about in so many trip reports!



We decided to walk around the lake, following the Walking Trail...


and gawped at the beautiful houses en route. A fair few were for sale, we didn’t dare think how much for!



Matt became obsessed with filming crickets along the trail path, they were everywhere and didn’t seem to mind people walking alongside them. Lizards too – constantly darting on and off the path.

I don’t mind crickets, and lizards are fine too – but all of a sudden I looked to my right to see the last 2ft of a big black snake headed back into the trees and shrubs! I didn’t catch a picture, it was too quick – Matt was walking ahead and missed it. I just ran up to him shouting ‘snake!’ – I was so shook up! I’m not scared of snakes particularly, but it was seeing such a big one in the wild that unnerved me. I didn’t walk too close to the bushes after that!
The walk around the lake was lovely – so tranquil. There was noone about and it was a nice change from the park crowds! It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.



We laughed at the sign saying it was a crime to ‘harass the alligators’ – who on earth was harassing them? Poking them with sticks? I think if I saw an alligator the last thing I’d want to do is harass it!


When we made it back to where we had parked, I sent Matt to secure two rocking chairs while I went to Starbucks. Vanilla latte frappacino and a chocolate brownie for Matt and a mocha frappacino and slice of banana walnut bread for me. Came to about $10 – about £8 – what I usually end up spending in Starbucks in the UK.
The rocking chairs were fab, with a gorgeous view of the lake. We enjoyed our coffees and cakes and sat watching the birds for a while, as they darted in and out of the water. The sky was beginning to cloud slightly but it didn’t look like rain.
(The following pics aren't the best quality - taken on the video camera)

[Guest]

It was about 3pm, so we debated heading somewhere else for a while. We didn’t fancy going to one of the parks, as they were all in our itinerary and we knew they’d be packed at this time, and we didn’t fancy shopping either. After some deliberation we decided miniature golf was the way forward and decided to head to the Winterland Summerland course at Blizzard Beach.

The theming was amazing, even if it did feel a little odd hearing Christmas music in August! The course was really fun, a lot more innovative than your bog standard mini golf course. There was a family of five in front of us who kindly let us overtake them so we didn’t have to wait for the next hole, which meant I felt like I had a small audience the whole way round!





Matt won (even though I managed a few fluky hole-in-ones!). Bah humbug. We drove back to Orange Lake and decided to check out the pool by the hotel, as Matt was itching for a swim. Having already washed my hair once today, I decided I didn’t to swim, but I was more than happy to chill out by the pool with a beer!

The pool area was lovely – it was busy most of the time we were there, but it was never any trouble to find some good sun loungers near the bar, and the pool never felt too crowded. I think the crowds were drawn to the resort’s water park, River Island. We didn’t mind!
We grabbed a Bud Lite each ($2 each – we arrived during happy hour!) and grabbed a couple of sun loungers – it was so hot, the sun was beating down, and I moved to the shade after a while. I bought a copy of the New York Times, and Matt got to have a swim.

One thing that always makes me laugh about Florida weather is how it can be roasting sunshine one moment, then dark, ominous clouds the next.
The sky seemed to cloud over within seconds, and so we decided to go back to our studio in the hotel before it began to rain.
We were gathering our stuff together when all of a sudden there was the loudest crack of thunder I had ever heard in my life. I actually thought it was gunfire at first! Everyone screamed and jumped out of the pool, and we decided to make our way back to the studio.
We were moments away when the heavens opened – luckily the NY Times doubled as a handy rain cover!

We had a quick shower and change and decided to have dinner at Olive Garden, having read so many great reviews. We arrived at the OG on the 192 (about five minutes drive from Orange Lake!) at 7pm, and it was bustling and busy (always a good sign!). We decided to get a drink while we waited for the pager to buzz – and it was then we discovered we hadn’t brought any ID with us!
As we were so close, Matt decided to dash back for them, so I waited at the bar, trying not to look like a real loner, looking at my glass of wine I couldn’t drink. I did have my driving license, but didn’t think they’d take it – but then again, what was the harm in trying?
To my joy I got the thumbs up! Just had to wait for Matt to return. The pager went off as I waited, but they kindly delayed our table for 10 minutes as I urged Matt to hurry up! He walked in just as it went off for the second time, and we were seated in a booth. Matt ordered his well-earnt pint and we began to drool over the menu.

I ordered the salad to start, and Matt opted for minestrone soup, which came quickly to the table, along with some hot doughy breadsticks. All were lovely – I tried not to fill up on the salad but the dressing was gorgeous!
The main courses didn’t disappoint either. I had chicken parmagiana with spaghetti, and Matt opted for the cappelline de mare. Both were lovely, great size portions and Matt loved all the seafood.
We decided to take on a dessert (just because we’d seen a few come to tables near us and they looked lovely!) and shared a trio of dessert pots – lemon, strawberry and dark chocolate. They were lovely, like three mini cheesecakes – but we were so stuffed afterwards!
The bill came to $55 including tip - superb value. We drove back to Orange Lake very happy!

We had another drink in the hotel bar before returning to our studio. By 10.30 we were both shattered – and this was meant to be a rest day!

[colinzy]

What a rest day! Celebration is a lovely place. Look forward to more of your trippy

[macdonald88]

Fantastic day Sam I am the same i was completely terrified of SP just even looking at it made me feel quezy and as for the snake brilliant meal at Olive Garden i've never had a bad meal there yet! Keep them coming.

[Guest]

Sounds like a lovely day. Looking forward to reading more.

[chaffey]

Your rest days sound a bit like ours.

Celebration looks lovely hopefully we will get there on our next trip.

Looking forward to reading more about you trip

[Guest]

Great report!

[mazzie]

We usually have lunch in Celebration the day after we get there and then do the walking trail. I'm always on the look out for snakes!

[summersun]

great report

[happy08]

A brilliant report, thanks for sharing :0)