14/5: Another Disney adventure

Day one

Day two

Tiden flyver når man har det sjovt, og lige pludselig er det ved at være længe siden mit seneste Disney-eventyr med Thit og Angus.

Selvom jeg allerede havde set de fire Disney-parker i Orlando én gang før i december (læs her, her, her, her), så fik vi med lidt mere planlægning denne gang set nogle lidt andre ting end jeg havde set før - f.eks. en safari igennem Afrika i Animal Kingdom ;-) 

Vi startede hver morgen på IHOP med en sund og nærende (eller i hvert fald god og mættende) morgenmad, og var sent hjemme begge aftener. 

Selvom programmet var hårdt, håber jeg at mine to besøgende havde en god første tur til Disney. 

Denne gang lærte jeg at Magic Kingdom er en "tør" park, hvor man altså ikke kan købe alkohol, og vi var derfor på en spontan smuttur helt ud til EPCOT, bare for at købe en øl til vores aftensmad :-) 

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Time flies when you're have fun and all of a sudden it's been a while since my latest Disney adventure with Robyn and Angus. 

Even though I had already seen the four Disney parks in Orlando once before in december (read  here, here, here, here), we ended up seeing a few different things this time - like a safari through Africa in Animal Kingdom ;-) 

We started every morning at IHOP with a healthy and nutritious (or at least good and filling) breakfast, and were back late every night. 

Even though the program was a bit tight, I hope my two visitors had a good first visit to Disney. 

This time I learned that Magic Kingdom is a "dry" park, which means you can't buy alcohol, so we ended up taking a spontaneous trip all the way out to EPCOT just to be able to buy a beer for our dinner :-) 

13/3-15: Reunited and it feels so good!

Took me a while to pack for 5 different locations in 2 weeks

Sent fredag den 13. kom der endelig to velkendte ansigter ud i ankomsthallen i Orlando Airport!

Jeg var kørt fra Valdosta allerede ved 16-tiden for at sætte to veninder af i Gainesville som er ca. halvvejs, og for også at have tid til at spise, fare vild, og parkere.. (Jeg for ikke vild!)

Så jeg havde altså været længe undervejs, og nået at opbygge en masse spænding og glæde over endelig at se nogen hjemmefra igen :-) 

Efter gensynsknus og opsamling af baggage satte vi straks kursen mod vores hotel (motel). 

Vi fik hurtigt tjekket ind og tog derefter ud for at finde en sen bid mad inden vi straks skulle i seng for at være friske og udhvilede til de to næste travle dage i DISNEY!

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Late Friday the 13th two well known faces finally came through the arrivals in Orlando Airport!

I had left Valdosta around 4pm to have time enough to drop off two friends halfway in Gainesville, and to eat, get lost, and park.. (I didn't get lost!)

So I had been going for a while and had plenty of time to get excited about finally seeing someone from home again :-) 

After reunion hugs and picking up luggage we headed towards our hotel (motel).

We quickly checked in and then went to grab a late bite to eat before going straight back to bed to be well rested and ready for the next two busy days in DISNEY!

Fint besøg!

Det er vist meget heldigt at jeg ikke skal gå hele vejen på de næste par ture jeg har planlagt.. 

I eftermiddag tager jeg afsted, og jeg kommer først hjem igen om lige over to uger! 

I mellemtiden besøger jeg: Orlando, Daytona Beach, Savannah, Boston, New York, og Pelham (en lille by tæt på Valdosta). 

På mit første stop får jeg endda fint besøg! Thit og Angus - min søster og svoger - kommer nemlig hele vejen fra Frankrig for at besøge mig! De skal også besøge en masse andre venner, og skal således flyve rundt i næsten alle hjørner af USA. 

Vi skal i Disney i weekenden, og så tager vi en enkelt dag i Daytona Beach hvor der kan hygges på stranden og opleves lidt amerikansk "Spring-Break-fever" :-) 

Derefter fortsætter de sydpå for at besøge en ven i Miami - jeg rejser nordpå til Savannah. 

På tirsdag er det nemlig St. Patricks Day, og Savannah har den uofficielt 2. største fejring i hele landet. Den største holdes i New York. 

Man forventer omkring 4-500.000 mennesker rejser til Savannah under festlighederne. Havde helligdagen ramt en fredag, lørdag eller søndag, havde man regnet med op mod en million! 

Efter ca. et døgn i Savannah kører jeg igen sydpå til Jacksonville for at flyve til Boston. 

I Boston mødes jeg med Freja og Johan, som jeg tidligere har været i Washington DC med. Vi skal være i Boston i 1-2 dage, og herefter tager Freja og jeg bussen til New York, hvor vi tilbringer ca. 5 dage. 

Efter New York vender jeg for en kort stund tilbage til Valdosta, dog kun for at omarrangere min baggage til en GRSP weekend i Pelham, som bliver slutningen på min spring break. 

I USA tager de fleste unge mennesker til stranden for at holde spring break. Populære steder som Panama City Beach og Daytona Beach bliver fyldt med college studerende, som gerne fester hele ugen - tænk Sunny Beach i Bulgarien ;-) 

Jeg glæder mig enormt meget til at se Thit og Angus igen - det er næsten ikke til at forstå at det er over 7 måneder siden jeg så dem sidst, og at jeg har været HER i 7 måneder! Tiden går stærkt!

Jeg glæder mig også enormt meget til at begynde min lille rejse, som jeg startede med at planlægge helt tilbage omkring jul. 

Vil prøve at opdatere lidt på bloggen undervejs, men når der rejses skal der jo opleves, så jeg lover ikke noget :-) 

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I think it's a very good thing that I won't be walking the entire way on the next couple of trips I'm going on..

This afternoon I will be leaving and I won't come back until just over two weeks from now!

Meanwhile I'll be visiting: Orlando, Daytona Beach, Savannah, Boston, New York and Pelham (a small town close to Valdosta). 

On my first stop I will even be getting visitors! Thit and Angus - my sister and brother-in-law - will be coming all the way from France to visit me! They will also be visiting a lot of other friends and will therefore be flying almost all over the US during their short stay here.

We will spend the weekend in Disney and then go on to Daytona Beach, relax on the beach and get some of that American Spring-Break-fever!

After this they'll head south to visit a friend in Miami, and I'll be heading north to Savannah. 

Tuesday is St. Patricks Day, and Savannah has the unofficial 2nd largest celebration of the country. The biggest one is in New York. 

They are expecting around 4-500,000 people in Savannah during the festivities. Had the holiday been on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, they would expect up to a million visitors!

After almost 24 hours in Savannah I'll head south again to Jacksonville where I'll jump on a plane to Boston.

In Boston I'll meet with Johan and Freja who I've been to Washington DC with earlier. We'll spend 1-2 days in Boston, before Freja and I will take the bus to New York where we'll spend 5 days. 

After New York I'll return for a brief stay in Valdosta only to repack my suitcase for a GRSP weekend in Pelham, which will be the end of my spring break. 

Here in the states, most young people go to the beach for spring break. Popular places are Panama City Beach and Daytona Beach, which fill up with college students who typically spend the week partying.. - For the Europeans out there: think Sunny Beach in Bulgaria ;-)

I am looking SO much forward to seeing Thit and Angus again - it's hard to believe that it's been more than 7 months since I last saw them, and that I have been HERE for 7 months! Time is passing so quickly!

I am also looking so much forward to beginning my trip , which I started planning already around Christmas. 

I will try to update the blog along the way, but when traveling you must experience, so I make no promises :-)

19/12-14: Bye bye Orlando!

Slutningen på mit lille Disney/Universal/Orlando-eventyr blev rundet af med et besøg i "Disney Downtown" - en hyggelig lille turistfælde som dog ikke kræver nogen billet at besøge..

Derudover har jeg lavet en lille kompilation af alle de mange fine juletræer som jeg stødte på i løbet af ugen - og disse er altså kun fra Disney og Universal og ikke alle de andre der var rundt omkring. 

Bemærk gerne det sidste juletræ som er pyntet med forskellige dyr - det var naturligvis at finde ude foran Animal Kingdom. 

Disney-oplevelsen er en hård omgang! Men uden tvivl det hele værd!

Et par gode råd som kan gøre oplevelsen mere behagelig og måske lidt billigere:

1.

Medbring madpakke (folk kigger lidt underligt på dig når du finder den frem, men måske mest fordi de er jaloux over selv at have betalt minimum 15$ for hvert eneste måltid)

2.

Tag gode sko på (du kommer til at gå en masse!)

3.

Planlæg din tur (brug deres apps til at tjekke ventetider, så du minimerer tiden i kø)

4.

Brug "single-rider" køen (for det meste ender man i en vogn lige efter hinanden, men sparer 20 minutter i kø)

Til sidst skal det siges at jeg er enormt glad for at Dean og Marlene inviterede mig med på denne tur - det har virkelig været en fantastisk god mulighed og måde at få oplevesen på!

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The finale to my Disney/Universal/Orlando-adventure was finished with a trip to "Downtown Disney" - a cute little tourist trap where you don't have to buy a ticket to get in ;-)

I have also made a compilation of pictures of some of all the Christmas trees I've seen during the week - these are all from Disney/Universal and does not include all the other ones. 

Take a closer look at the very last one decorated with animals - this was of course outside Animal Kingdom. 

The Disney experience is tough! But without a doubt worth it!

A bit of advice to make the trip a bit more comfortable and perhaps a bit cheaper:

1.

Bring your own food and snacks (people look at you funny when you take it out, but probably just because they are jealous from paying a minimum of 15$ for each of their meals)

2.

Wear comfortable shoes (you will walk A LOT!)

3.

Plan your trip (use the park apps to check the waiting times for the rides and avoid spending time in line)

4.

Use the single-rider line (most of the time you'll end up riding right behind your friends, but you'll save 20 minutes of waiting)

Finally I have to say that I am very thankful for Dean and Marlene inviting me on this trip - it has been a great opportunity and way to get this experience!

18/12-14: More of that Disney Magic

Beautiful palm tree Christmas decor

Chip & Chap / Chip & Dale!

Find Indiana Jones!

The most terrifying ride in Hollywood Studios - and no, I did NOT ride it... 

The Magic EPCOT golf ball

Efter en lille pause fra parkerne og en tur i endnu et shoppingcenter, var vi klar til mere DISNEY!

Vi havde to parker tilbage på programmet: Hollywood Studios som fokuserer meget på Disney-film og shows, og EPCOT som er den internationale, videnskabelige park.

Efter Universal var vi ved at være godt trætte af forlystelser, så det var godt med nogle parker hvor der var rigtig meget andet at se. 

I Hollywood Studios havde de en masse shows - f.eks. Indiana Jones som var mega fedt!

I EPCOT havde de deres verdens udstilling som havde forskellige lande repræsenteret med en lille landsby f.eks. Mexico, Marokko, Norge, Tyskland, Frankrig, Italien, Kina. - De fedeste lande at se for mig var naturligvis alle dem som jeg rent faktisk ikke har været i, så jeg synes særligt Mexico og Marokko var ret nice :-) 

Vi sluttede i EPCOT da de har ry for at have et helt fantastisk afslutningshow - og det var virkelig fantastisk! 

Derudover havde EPCOT nogle - ifølge mig - ret fede forlystelser. Især deres "test track" synes jeg altså var virkelig sjov :-) - Jeg har vist altid været en lille smule fartgal...

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After a small break from the parks and a trip to another mall with the girls, we were ready for even more DISNEY!

We had two more parks left on our program: Hollywood Studios, which focuses on Disney movies and shows, and EPCOT with their world exhibit and focus on science and history.

After Universal we were getting kind of tired of riding stuff, so these parks were great because there was so much more to do and see than just the rides. 

In Hollywood Studios they had a bunch of cool shows - like Indiana Jones, which was awesome!

In EPCOT they had the world exhibit with small villages representing different countries like Mexico, Morocco, Norway; Germany, France, Italy and China. - The coolest ones were of course those I haven't actually visited, so I really liked Mexico and Morocco :-)

We finished the day in EPCOT cause they are known for having an amazing nighttime show - and the show was amazing!

EPCOT also has some - according to me - really cool rides. I especially liked their "Test track" that I thought was really fun! - I guess I always liked driving really fast cars... 

16/12-14: Feeling the Fame @ Universal

All the famous people

Macy's Christmas Parade

Tirsdag var Universal-dag, og eftersom vi havde valgt kun at købe én dags adgang, startede vi tidligt for at kunne nå så meget som muligt.

En tidlig start betød også at vi næsten havde parken for os selv, særligt sammenlignet med Disney som var absolut propfyldt - der var f.eks. kun 10-15 minutters ventetid på forlystelserne modsat Disney's 35-45 minutter :-) 

Det bedste ved Universal var helt klart Springfield - har altid været glad for Simpsons så det var fedt at se alle de forskellige figurer og steder, og tage en masse billeder! 

Deres Harry Potter univers var også rimeligt fedt! For at få den fulde oplevelse skal man købe billet til begge Universal parker, og det havde vi ikke gjort, så vi måtte nøjes med en tur forbi Harry Potter's "hjem", den lilla bus og et besøg i "Diagonal Alley". 

Der var masse af hyggelige små steder at udforske, og parken var nem at finde rundt i.

Forlystelserne var for det meste gode, men også på sin vis ensformige. 

90% af forlystelserne er inde i et kæmpe stort lagerlokale af en slags, hvor man så enten sidder i en "bevægelsessimulator" eller kører på en rutschebane - og så er der ellers fuld skrue på special effects!

Selvom det er utroligt fascinerende hvordan de kan få det til at føles som om man flyver over Springfield, så kan man altså hurtigt blive rimeligt forvirret, svimmel og fuldstændig miste forbindelsen til jorden efter en tur i en af de der bevægelsessimulatorer! :-P

Universal er et fedt sted, men især hvis man er vild med forlystelserne, da det er nødvendigt at tage dem for at få den fulde oplevelse. 

Da det var juletid var der selvfølgelig også Macy's juleoptog, som skabte en masse god stemning i de små gader :-)

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Tuesday was Universal day - and since we had decided to only buy a one-day ticket, we started early to make the most of it. 

Starting early also meant that we almost had the park to ourselves, especially compared to Disney, which was more like packed! For instance we had 10-15 minute wait at the rides in Universal compared to 35-45 in Disney :-)

The best part about Universal was definitely Springfield - I have always loved The Simpsons, so it was cool to see all the characters and places, and take a lot of pictures!

The Harry Potter universe was pretty cool too! To get the full experience though you need to buy a ticket to both parks, and since we didn't do that we could 'only' visit Harry Potter's door, see the purple bus, and visit 'Diagonal Alley'. 

There are a lot of cute places to visit, and the park was really easy to figure out. 

The rides are mostly good, but also kind of uniform. 

90% of the rides are within some kind of big storage hall looking thing, and you are either in a motion simulator or on a rollercoaster - and then they have massively turned up the special effects!

Even though it is pretty fascinating they way they make you feel like you are flying over Springfield, it is easy to feel confused, dizzy and completely loose you sense of reality after a ride on one of those motion simulators! :-P

Universal is a cool place, especially if you like the rides since it is necessary to ride them to get the full experience. 

Since it was Christmas time they also had the Macy's Christmas parade, which created a really good atmosphere in the small streets :-)