Sound Bites & Snap Shots

Today was the opening day for the AAP convention.  Bill left early morning for his conferences and the boys and I headed to Blizzard Beach, a Disney water park. 

We didn’t take a lot of pictures at Blizzard Beach because cameras and water don’t mix well.  Here are a few highlights of the day.

We rode all of the attractions and they were all open! Mason got to ride a zip line that was closed to Walker and me because of height caps.

The lazy river stretched around the entire park and its distance was almost a mile.  It was a great lazy river although the surface was rough.  My toes were really in bad shape when I was done.  It was my fault; I ran the river in the inner tube to keep up with the boys.

The wave pool had a sandy bottom.  The boys thought that was neat.

We built sand castles and ate our lunch out in the sun. 

I mustered all the courage I had and rode the two most terrifying water slides I have ever ridden in my life:  Summit Plummet and Slush Gusher. 

Disney describes Summit Plummet as “the most extreme attraction at Disney’s Blizzard Beach…down a sheer 120-foot slope.”  Riders “assume the position, push off when…ready and let gravity take hold. (They) plunge 12 stories at unbelievable speeds, hurtle through a darkened tunnel and then emerge in a massive spray of whitewater as (they) arrive at the end of the 360-foot-long run.” 

On Slush Gusher, riders “catapult straight to the bottom of this swiftly moving, snow-banked slide—and grab some air on the way down.  (Riders) lie back, cross (their) arms and legs, and brace (themselves) as (they) zoom over not one, but 2 rolling hills that give an exhilarating lift.” 

Go look at them on YouTube.  They are amazing.  I still can’t believe I rode them.

We had to end our day and head back to the hotel on the early side because we had big plans for the evening.  The big Saturday event was at Hollywood Studios open just for the AAP members and their guests.  It could not have started better.  First of all, Disney is well accustomed to transferring a lot of guests from one place to another.  Unlike last year, we had no problem getting from the hotel directly to the event in a timely fashion. 

When we arrived at Hollywood Studios, we discovered they had rolled out the red carpet just for us.  Bill and I ran across but the boys took their time and signed autographs along the way. 

You can clearly see how seriously Mason took this. He signed every autograph book he saw.  Every single one. He loved being famous!

Brooklyn + subway = love

Our first ride was Toy Story.  We loved this ride last time and we loved it again!  We walked right on.  We moved so fast we didn’t actually get to enjoy the story that unfolds when the queue moves slowly.  That was ok with us.

We went right in and up on the Tower of Terror.  We rode with a group of physicians from Mexico City. They were hilarious.  Clearly, they had never encountered anything like the Tower before and I particularly was in stitches with their reactions.  It started when one of the females walked into the elevator saying, “Oh Jesus!” By the time the ride was over, they were gabbing so fast that I could only catch that one said his passport escaped from his breast pocket. 

We also rode the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith.  I do declare this to be my absolute favorite ride. It was a high speed roller coaster incredibly timed with music and in the dark.  Walker and I rode it twice.  I would have definitely looped this one over and over. 

Disney understands the convenience of having the exit of every ride pass through a gift shop where fingers belonging to the young and the old are tempted to touch and try on items. 

A scoop of chocolate ice cream was in order after Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. 

We rode Star Tours before finding seats for a spectacular fireworks and water extravaganza show called Fantasmic! Once it was over, we returned to the busses and were easily and quickly returned to our hotel.  It was a long, long day for us but tomorrow we will rest.