Flashback Friday - Florida 2002

**This post is part of a Flashback Friday series. I will be posting photos from the trips I took as a kid accompanied by the journal entries I kept while traveling**

This was my very first trip to Florida, in fourth grade.

March 19, 2002

Here We Come

1:14 PM (In the Car)

We just left from school.  Our plane should take off at about 6:30 PM from Minneapolis to Chicago, and 8:30 from Chicago to Orlando.  We should get there at 11:30 PM in Minnesota and 12:30 AM in Florida.

5:42 PM (@ Minneapolis International Airport)

Oh great, now our plane is in a holding pattern.  In other words, there are too many planes landing now and it cannot land until 6:00 PM. We cannot take off until 6:45 PM It will be my third time in Chicago.  It is so boring waiting here.  We had White Castle before.  We got here at around 4:10 PM Well our plane just landed early by 10 minutes (we think its ours anyway). I have been writing for ten minutes now.  I hope we leave soon.  This will by my 6th or 7th plane ride.  I can't wait till we'll actually be on the plane.  Now our schedule is all messed up.

7:33 PM (On the airplane to Chicago)

Well we finally took off an hour after we were suppose to.  I have not been on a plane since June 2000.  That was in second grade.  Now I am in fourth.

March 20, 2002

5:45 PM (@ the resort)

We arrived at around 12:40 AM.  We got up at 7 AM this morning and went to Epcot. We went to "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience," and "Food Rocks."  Those were both shows.  We went on some rides too.  We went on Test Track, a boat ride, and that's all.  We went to the Mexico part, the Norway part, the Germany part, and the China part.

10:40 PM (@ the resort)

We went to Spaceship Earth.  That told a story about the future while you slowly rode through the gigantic Epcot ball.  I went to the France part after.  At 9 PM Epcot time, they had really cool fireworks.  Tomorrow we're going to Magic Kingdom.

March 21, 2002

8:00 AM (In the van)

We are going to Magic Kingdom.  I can't wait.  We are hoping to go to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad then Space Mountain.

9:43 PM (@ the resort)

We went to Magic Kingdom today.  I went on Thunder Mountain, then Splash Mountain and more.  It's pretty hot down here.  I am so glad I am not in Minnesota.

March 22, 2002

9:45 PM (@ the resort)

We went to MGM Studios today.  First, I went on the Tower of Terror.  You went on an elevator in an old hotel called The Hollywood Tower Hotel.  The legend is that one Halloween night lightening hit the hotel.  A whole section of the hotel disappeared.  So did an elevator carrying 5 people.  No one ever saw them again.  The end.  The ride was you sat in a big elevator and a strap comes over you.  First the elevator takes you on a short tour of the hotel.  Then POW! the cables snap and the elevator falls 8 stories.  Then you go up 13 stories, 9 down... You do that for awhile.  You never know how many times you will go up and down.  I did not think it was very scary.  Next i went on Rock'n'Roller Coaster.  It is very cool.  You go upside down three times! You are suppose to be late for an Aerosmith concert. Your limo goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in the first 3 seconds of the ride.

I also went on The Great Movie Ride.  That ride went through a bunch of different movie scenes such as The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, Alien, and Fantasia. It was very fun.  The cool one was the one where someone was robbing a bank.  We also went to the Playhouse Disney Live.  It was actually pretty neat.  You got to watch Bear in the Big Blue House, Rolie Polie, Olie, Pooh, and Stanley.  We also went on Backlot Tour.  That showed special effects, like how they happen and stuff like that.  You got to ride a tram over a bridge and once you got up there, the bridge would rock.  Soon, water started to pour down like a hurricane and I got wet.  I loved that ride.

My family and I went to Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D.  That was really cool.  You wore special glasses.  It's like you can reach out and touch them.  Sometimes people in the costumes would come out and say things like when one of the characters ran away.  We also went to Star Tours.  Now that was awesome.  The pilot is Captain Rex.  It is his first job and he cannot seem to control the plane.  you go through giant ice crystals when you're up in space.  It seems like you're really moving but you're not.  It is a virtual reality type of thing.

I went to the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.  I thought that was the best.  They showed how they made the movies like how to make it look like you punched someone but you really didn't.  We were going to go to the Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade, but the pizza was too expensive.  We went to Sounds Dangerous starring Drew Carey. It was a movie where you wear headphones.  It is dark almost the whole time.  We went to Fantasmic firework show at night.

March 23, 2002

8:33 AM (In the van)

We got up early this morning to go to Kennedy Space Center.  That's where rockets blast off.  Then, later we are going to the beach.  I am going to collect shells.

4:27 PM (In the van)

We went to Kennedy Space Center today.  It was awesome.  I got a squishy thing, and glow in the dark nail polish.  We also went to the beach.  I collected shells.  My family (well most of it) went in the water with clothes on.  I was all sandy.  We saw a lot, I mean A LOT of police cars with their sirens on go by.  We even saw a bomb squad go by.  We might watch the news tonight to see what happened.  The salt water tasted very very very very very very very salty.  It is GROSS.

March 24, 2002

7:42 AM (In the van)

Well we are going to the Gulf of Mexico.  We are going to Tampa Bay first because we're visiting some friends: Rick, Helen, Michael, Danielle, and one more we don't remember seeing. They are going there too.

5:30 PM 

That was really fun.  I got sun burnt a lot though. Ouch.

March 25, 2002

7:29 AM (In the van)

We are going to Animal Kingdom today.  I can't wait.

March 27, 2002

9:10 AM (@ Chicago Airport)

Animal Kingdom was okay, but I did not really like it.  Yesterday we just stayed at the resort and swam.  Helen and Michael came over.  There was a thunderstorm and all the lightening went straight down.  It was warm though.  We went shopping too.  I got a blue t-shirt and shorts. The shirt says Florida across the top.  I got a Florida magnet.  I also got a notebook that says Florida and has dolphins on it.  The palm trees are neat.

Orlanda, Florida (Fall 2024)

 

Thursday, October 17, 2024 // Day 1

The flight attendant on our 5AM flight to St. Louis was hilarious. After the whole Cottage Grove 8th grade class boarded behind us, she definitely made jokes at their expense. My personal favorites were:

• "You know better, and most of you aren't old enough anyway. No smoking."
• "...a mask will fall from above you.  First, stop screaming and put your mask on. Then pick your favorite student and help them."
• "If you haven't ridden in a car since 1943, these are called seatbelts.  It's the law that you wear them."

And then before we deplaned in St. Louis - "If you forget anything, you can check eBay for it later."

We had a brief layover in St. Louis before the flight to Orlando.

After landing in Orlando, we quickly deplaned and picked up our rental car, making it to Epcot around noon and hitting up our first food vendor. My goal was to make it by 1 so we could join the virtual queue for the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster. Luckily we were able to get a spot in boarding group 130 with an estimated callback time of 6PM.

In the mean time, we ate around the world and road The Three Caballeros, Remy’s, Soarin’, and Journey Into Imagination with Figment.

We were finally able to scan through for Guardians a little after 7, but still had an hour wait in line before boarding. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - best. coaster. EVER. Such a smooth ride! 

Since we weren’t off Guardians until around 83:0, we decided we’d stay for the fireworks at 9. After hitting up a couple more food booths, the show began. This is the first time we've every made it to the fireworks in four years of attending the festival. Usually we are so full that we can't fathom eating any more food, so we go back to the hotel to sleep it off. Disney fireworks/light shows are beautiful!

Our food for the day was as follows:

🍟 The Fry Basket: Fry Flight - Truffle-Parmesan Fries, BBQ Bacon Fries with Smoked Aioli, Sweet Potato Casserole Fries with candied pecans, toasted marshmallow cream, and bourbon maple syrup (4.5/5⭐️)

🇨🇳 China: Pan-fried Chicken Dumplings with house-made sweet-and-spicy sauce (5/5⭐️)

🏔️The Alps: Dark Chocolate Fondue with berries, pound cake, and meringues (5/5⭐️) 

🍜 Macatizers: Truffle Macaroni and Cheese (2/5⭐️) [I'm not convinced there was any truffle seasoning. Very bland]

🍴 Refreshment Outpost: Chocolate Amarula Mousse Dome with white chocolate (5/5⭐️)

🍟 The Fry Basket: Adobo Yuca Fries with garlic-cilantro aioli (5/5⭐️)

🔥 Flavors From Fire: Steakhouse Blended Burger: Beef and wild mushroom slider with truffle brie cheese fondue, arugula, and truffle potato chips on a sesame seed bun (5/5⭐️)

🇨🇦 Canada: Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup served with a pretzel roll (3/5⭐️) [soup was too salty!]

🎉 Festival Favorites: Key Lime Tart (4/5⭐️) [better w/o the toasted marshmallow!]

Friday, October 18, 2024 // Day 2

I was up in plenty of time to snag us a spot in the Guardians virtual queue. The park opened at 9, and even though our callback time wasn't until almost 10, we made sure to get to the park by 9:30 - which was great because we were called to Guardians right as we arrived! The best part of having a morning queue time is that you get right on. Though we'd had an hour wait the night before. It wasn't more than 10 minutes that we were through the indoor queue and on the ride. As a bonus, the song we got was "One Way or Another" by Blondie which we both strongly believe is the BEST song for that ride. 

We then headed to the Land Pavillion to get a snack (since the food booths didn't open until 11) and get in line for Soarin'. This worked out perfectly, because as soon as we could get off Soarin', it was 11 and we could eat! Between booths we rode the remaining rides that we didn't get to the day before - Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends, as well as doing a little shopping. We didn't stay as late today, but still made it to after sunset! We could have stayed for the fireworks again, but wanted to beat the traffic.

Our food for the day:

☀️ Sunshine Seasons: Caramel Apple Milk Shake: Artisanal gelato, pâte brisée, whipped cream, candy apple cake, and caramel drizzle (4/5⭐️)

🇮🇹 Italy: Polpettine Toscane: Beef meatballs, rosemary focaccia, and pomodoro sauce (4/5⭐️)

🇮🇹 Italy: Vanilla Cheesecake: Vanilla cheesecake, whipped cream, and fresh strawberry sauce (3/5⭐️)

🇲🇽 Mexico: Flauta de Barbacoa: Fried tortillas filled with barbacoa beef topped with salsa verde, crema Mexicana, and queso fresco (4/5⭐️)

🇨🇳 China: Crispy Duck Bao Bun with hoisin sauce (4/5⭐️)

🇨🇳 China: Mango Peach Bubble Tea: Green tea, mango and peach syrups, and white boba (4/5⭐️)

🇺🇸 Flavors of America: Freshly-baked Chocolate Pudding Cake with bourbon caramel (5/5⭐️) 

🇨🇦 Canada: Filet Mignon with mushrooms, Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs mashed potatoes, and Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs butter (4/5⭐️)

🇲🇽 Mexico: Pan de Elote: Traditional Mexican cornbread topped with chocolate sauce and queso fresco (1/5⭐️) [there were whole kernals of corn in this, and while I typically love corn, I could not get past the texture of this]

🌲 Forest & Field: Pumpkin Mascarpone Ravioli with sage-brown butter, pecorino cheese, and hazelnut praline (4/5⭐️)

🇩🇪 Germany: Apple Strudel with vanilla sauce (3.5/5)

🇩🇪 Germany: Bratwurst on a pretzel roll with mustard (2/5⭐️) 

🍴 Refreshment Port: Poutine: French fries with beef gravy and cheese curds (5/5⭐️)

Saturday, October 19, 2024 // Day 3

Our final day in Orlando took us to Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure. We arrived in just the right about of time to get through security and to the gates of Universal Studios before they started scanning people in at 7:50AM. Much like many others, we booked it to Diagon Alley and into the queue for Escape from Gringotts. Lucky for us, we were on the first cart! When we got off, we got right back on for the second time before 8:30AM. (Pro tip: wear a fanny pack and not a backpack so you don't have to stop and put your things into a locker!)

From there I got my first butterbeer and we walked to Rip Ride Rocket for Ike to ride. I like Rip Ride Rocket, but I'm also aware enough to know that coaster is likely to give me a headache, and I wanted to make sure I could ride Velocicoaster later, so I didn't risk it. They were delayed until 9:15 to open RRR, but Ike was on the first cart again!

We then hit up Revenge of the Mummy. The wait said 25 minutes but we didn't wait that long. This is a good one and I don't know how the wait isn't always long! 

Heading back to Diagon Alley we grabbed some ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour (butterbeer flavor for me!) before going to the Minions ride. In four years, we had never gone on the Minions ride, and I was adament we were going to do so this year. What I didn't realize is that there are TWO Minions rides. And one is more of a game than a ride. Of course this was the one I had put us in line for (Villian-Con Minions Blast). The wait was only like 25 minutes which excited me. When I realized that there was another ACTUAL ride (Despicable Me Minion Mayhem) and the queue was 65 minutes long I was disappointed and not up for that.

Instead we hopped on the Hogwarts Express to head over to Islands of Adventures and get in line for Velocicoaster. The posted was time was 120 minutes, but we only ended up waiting about 75 minutes. (Pro tip: Before you enter the room with the lockers, contain all your belongings in your bag - phone, watch, whatever else is in your pockets. Grab a ticket from a staff member as you enter the room and have one person put your things all in a locker while the other(s) grab a spot in line). This coaster is awesome! Not as smooth as Guardians, but more of a thrill. Definitely worth the wait!

By this time we were hungry for lunch, so we went to The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. If you go, you need to mobile order through the app, then enter your table number once you're seated. Ike got the ribs and chicken. I got the fish and chips with the apple pie as dessert. Y'all I have dreamed about this apple pie since I had it last year. I swear it is the best apple pie I have ever eaten. I was worried that I had amped it up in my head and it wouldn't be as good, but I was wrong. It was still just as I remembered it! I just need to remember for next year to only get the apple pie, because I cannot eat both a meal and dessert. Even this year I only ate the fish and a few fries, but could still only eat half the pie. And I was stuffed. Over-stuffed to be honest.

We had strategically planned to eat after Velocicoaster (because riding that will a full tummy would not be smart) and before Hagrid's because the wait for that is ALWAYS two hours. Today especially, because it wasn't running the whole morning. When we got it line, the wait was at 135 minutes. The line was moving SO SLOW. About halfway through we got word that they stopped letting people in the line, and the app said it was delayed. They finally announced that they were adding another cart to move the line faster. Which took FOREVER. Also, why would you not start with the max amount of trains? This ride is always the top demand! We made friends with the people in front of us who had never ridden before. After roughly three hours, we finally got to ride! Was it worth a three hour wait? Probably not. But it is a must ride, and honestly I was so full I wouldn't have been able to ride anything else in those three hours anywho! 

After the long wait, we had run out of steam. Plus with an early flight the next day, we were okay going back to the hotel to back up. We grabbed another butterbeer and left Islands. In the City Walk, they have a model of what Epic Universe, the third Universal park, will look like when it opens next year. This was cool to see, and we're excited to hopefully go next fall!

We grabbed our Panda Express from City Walk (its tradition at this point), and drove across the street to our hotel.

Its a quick trip, but I'm glad we decided to continue the sibling-bonding tradition even after my school schedule switched from a full week fall break to a two-day MEA break.

Orlando, Florida (Fall 2023)

Orlando, Florida (Fall 2022)

Orlando, Florida (Fall 2021)