Day 15: Titanic, CSI and Home

It was our final day. We were being picked up at 13:45 from the hotel so after a relaxed morning and trying to stuff everything into our suitcases we checked out of the hotel.

We went over the road to the World Cafe and had breakfast, just like we had done on our first day in Orlando and afterwards, headed back to the CSI exhibit. When we got there, surprise! School group! We were advised to return in about an hour if we wanted things to be quieter for our visit, so we decided to pop next door to the Titanic exhibit.

Inside they’ve lots of facts and artifacts on the Titanic and her sister ship the Olympic – most artifacts are replicas which is a shame but the room recreations that you can walk through are quite good. The exhibit ends with a big block of ice and the latest underwater recording of the Titanic which is quite spooky viewing. As with everything, you can exit through the gift shop which features a number of tacky gifts, some Titanic crockery and distasteful t-shirts that rather ruin the experience.

We then went back to CSI and mentioned this was our honeymoon so they let us do the other two cases for the price of one! Result. With experience under our belt we knew what to look for and solved both cases with no errors. Top detectives! By the time it was over, it was 13:15 so we decided to head back to the hotel and bid farewell to our honeymoon.

As we’d done all fortnight, we waited for the transfer pickup. Then we were stuck in a packed shuttle bus with the annoying child we’d kept seeing every day. Ugh. At the airport, my bag was 1kg over the weight limit! But the Virgin clerk let it through. Debora’s was 3kg less – how that happened I’ll never know! šŸ˜‰

Whilst waiting (again) at the airport for the clock to tick to boarding time, none other than WWE Diva in training Eva Marie walked right past us. We couldn’t really believe it, another Diva met on this trip!

The flight was bumpy, but we had a whole row to ourselves which was sort of comfortable. Both of us were unable to sleep – despite giving it a go. When we finally got back and had our breakfast at the airport with the classy clientele of London Gatwick – the guy on the phone next to me whilst I was ordering was telling the person on the other line how he was arrested last night and spent the night in jail at Watford for breaking his parole. It’s good to be home.

The train to Flitwick was rammed, literally, jam packed! Apparently another train was cancelled so everyone was throwing themselves on this train. It was odd to see men standing so close to one another that they could feel their breath on their cheeks. Thankfully, things thinned out at St. Pancras so we could sit and enjoy the rest of the journey back. When we finally made it to Mum’s, I found that my padlock had been cut open and my bag inspected – buggers. Mum had bought us some essential shopping – superb move – and we made the final, long drive back home. To wet and raining Worcester. The honeymoon, was sadly over.

We’ve had an amazing time, lots of memories, lots of waiting too but everything has been worth it. As reality beckons we must return. Time to book us another trip – soon!

Day 13: Final Disney Day

Up early to race to Epcot and be one of the first people on Soarin’. When we got there, it was still showing as a 20 minute wait, crazy. The ride was a bit of an anti-climax after all the build up, the fact we could see the edge of the screen and people’s feet above us took away from the immersion but it was still kinda fun.

We then bought some more souvenirs and another t-shirt for Neil (hope they all fit in the luggage!) before heading around the World Showcase only to find it closed. We managed to get to France however and enjoy a pain aux chocolate in the boulangerie. What is good about the World Showcase is they employ people from each of those countries, however Debora wasn’t impressed by my constant French accent impersonations.

After this we headed to the Magic Kingdom to try and get on Space Mountain but once again, it was heaving. We spent 35 minutes queuing for Buzz Lightyear’s Star Command and whilst waiting for it to be fixed after a breakdown, I googled for the fast pass tickets at Disney. It turns out every park ticket comes with 3 free daily fast passes. Typical.

Once we’d saved the galaxy with Buzz we enquired about the Fast Pass, but as we had to leave at 6 (which later turned out to be 6:45) we couldn’t get Fast Pass tickets until after this time. They managed to get us onto Space Mountain at 4pm so whilst we had lunch we browsed other attractions we could visit on the rather spiffy Disney App. We were able to get Fast Pass access to the Haunted Mansion which was lots of fun…but it broke down whilst we were on it!

Then it was Space Mountain but Debora and I were split on the two cars so our ride photo doesn’t show us together. Space Mountain also broke down whilst we were queuing for it and when riding it, it really doesn’t feel safe. Everything looks so incredibly close to you that it could take off your limbs or head if you’re a little big too big for the car.

Finally it was back to Epcot for our pickup, but we were too early! So we went back into Epcot for another go on Spaceship Earth and a quick walk around a bit of the World Showcase. Once we got back to the hotel, hungry, we decided to order a Chili’s to go…when we picked it up the bag was huge! Nice little feast of a Margarita flatbread and veggie fajitas, topped off with a brownie with ice cream. Giving us a nice early night ready for our last day tomorrow. šŸ™

Day 11: Premium Outlets, Mini Golf and Mardi Gras

After yesterday’s late night, we were both surprised to find we slept in until around nine am! We woke up leisurely and dropped down to Ihop for breakfast. It was rammed in there but we weren’t waiting long for some strawberry and banana pancakes and a garden omelette. Debora couldn’t finish her iced coffee so we asked for it to go and the server gave her a whole new one at no extra charge.

We then walked down I-Drive looking for the Florida Mall but must have taken the wrong turn somewhere so backtracked our way to the nearest I-Ride stop. When we finally got to the shops, they were a little too pretentious for our liking. We’re not brand name or label people, so instead of shopping at Tommy Hilfiger or Lacoste, we spent most of our time in the Disney store. All these are “outlet” shops, which means they’re trying to get rid of damaged, defaced and old stock. There were ranges from 2012 in there and this really defective Animal from The Muppets.

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Bored of shopping, we headed back to the hotel for a quick refresh before heading down to Universal Studios again. We booked our usual cab but it didn’t turn up, so I went into the hotel to ask them to call the company. They said “we have our own car company and you can hop in one just outside”, so we did. This was a ‘Town and Country’ cab, it didn’t have a meter inside so whilst we’ve been paying around $6 in every usual cab, this guy decided to charge us $10 when we got to the destination. Although, he asked us how much we were going to give him, when I said six, he then told us it was ten. Why the hell ask then?

First of all we booked our Sunday. Tickets to Godzilla in 3D IMAX and a meal at a posh restaurant. Then we went into Universal and ate at Krusty Burger, both opting for the Garden Burger which we were told (or warned) was vegetarian…yeah, we know. Inside the Simpsons food hall there are Simpsons clips playing on a loop, not long enough of a loop. We heard the same clips about five times!

We watched the Horror Make Up Show which could have featured more horror make up than just jokes and video clips before heading back out and going on the haunted mini golf course. Both Debora and I got hole in ones in this ghostly themed course which featured ghouls spitting water at you on one course.

Finally, we went back into Universal to watch their Mardi Gras parade, lots of floats and people on stilts throwing beads into the crowd. People went mental for those beads. We were able to get a couple but I nearly lost my sunglasses in the process! When we got back to the hotel we popped out for a twisty treat – soft ice cream – and then waited at the crossing for about five minutes before finally getting to bed.

Day 9: Sea World & Universal

Last Thursday was our first full day in Orlando and we visited Sea World. One week later, we did the same. The last time ‘Journey To Atlantis’ was closed whilst we were queuing and this time it was down for maintenance. Another sign this was not the ride for us. We then were going to go on the Manta Ray ride but a pending thunder storm saw them close the attraction. Typical.

We watched the Shamu show again, from a safer distance this time, which was still just as good. Then we went to the Arctic section and saw some Beluga whales and then a really shabby and sad looking polar bear. He kept pacing the same route over and over, it was really sad to watch. We then saw the walrus who again looked really sad and was swimming in the same pattern. Not nice.

Then we went to the ‘Pets Ahoy’ which featured cats, dogs and other farm yard animals performing tricks. This was really fun and all the animals used in the show are rescue animals – hurrah! After, we got to pet the puppies which is always good.

Having spent a long time waiting and driving down to Sea World we took the I-Trolley back up to the hotel in the middle of the afternoon. Halfway through the journey, the driver had to change shifts so we were stuck in the bus station for ten minutes waiting for them to sort the next driver out.

After a recharge we went down to Islands of Adventure. It was due to close in an hour so we thought the lines would be quiet. It had just rained too and we were able to get on the Harry Potter and Spider-Man rides again with no wait times. I’m really loving Universal. We then hopped over to Universal Studios as the heavens opened and drenched us. We joined the queue for Despicable Me, a thirty minute wait but it dried us off. This ride was really violent, it bumped and shook you around in the car vigorously and I’m not sure it’s really suitable for little ones. Both Debora and I came off with sore necks.

We then walked around the park again as dusk settled, Universal by night really is beautiful. We went straight onto the Transformers ride again and saw a photo op with Optimus Prime. This isn’t a man in a silly costume, it’s an actual robot. Impressive! But the most important photo stop of the day was still to come. I think I might Gosling/Culkin this for years to come.

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Then it was straight onto The Simpsons again, this time we were front row and it was a much better experience. Although it still needs some extra’s like a splash of water and some smells. We then picked up some Lard Lad Donuts and marvelled at the food court. It’s not just Krusty Burger but Luigi’s Pizza, Moes, a Lisa’s Healthy stop, Frying Dutchman and BumbleBee Man’s Tacos. Excellent.

We skipped by the Men In Black ride and pined a little over the Diagon Alley attraction that’s behind the fences. Finally bought some merch and headed back to the hotel. Tomorrow is Star Wars Friday and we need our rest!

Day 7: Ripley’s & Sleuths

With a busy day planned for tomorrow, a tiresome day yesterday and tickets booked for a dinner show tonight, we decided to keep it slow today and take a trip up and down International Drive.

Firstly, we had breakfast at Dunkin’ Donuts where I had a 100% fresh orange juice with my vege-egg sandwich, Debora claimed this was probably the only thing we’d had so far that didn’t contain anything artificial. We then went to the CSI Experience where we put on our detective hats and solved a crime. This was good fun but there are three cases and if you can’t do them all in one day, you have to pay full price for each.

We thenĀ stopped by Wonderworks, standing out by looking like the building is upside down. Neither of us knew exactly what this was so we were disappointed to learn upon arrival it was a rope course. We decided to skip it and headed back up to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum. Lots of strange artifacts inside and it ends with a disco tunnel that will make you lose your bearings – just thinking about it now makes me feel woozy.

Stopping for some lunch at the Uno bar and grill, what I thought would be a light snack of vegetables and pasta turned out to be a mammoth task as it was practically a whole bag of pasta in this bowl. We walked off our lunch on the way back to the hotel where we dusted down and dressed for a dinner show at Sleuths.

This meal was pre-booked as we do like a mystery and we arrived in ample time and so tried to have a drink in the bar. Sadly, we didn’t bring Debora’s ID with her so she was refused service on an alcoholic beverage. We were then ushered into the theater where a stage show takes place, ending in a murder. Over dinner it is up to your table to figure out who did it. We had quite a good table, everyone was pleasant although they all nominated me to be the talker and ask the questions. I’d already been picked on several times by the cast – it didn’t help I was sitting front row center I guess.

When the show was over, both Debora and I had correctly identified the murderer and the suspect so got to pick out a lucky chip from a pot to claim a prize. I got a white chip and a little tin badge, Debora got the red chip, the grand prize, a magnifying glass!

It was a fun night and I’d recommend this if you’re after some dinner theater. We’ve now been here a week and there is still so much to do! I’m just glad there’s a bank holiday waiting for us when we get back, we’ll need a lot of time to recover!

Day 6: Kennedy Space Center

Originally we wanted to go to the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday as there was a rocket launch planned – but we were unable to get tickets for that date. Fortunately, we were told that the proposed launch was delayed so we didn’t miss anything it seems.

It was quite a drive out to KSC, we were kept entertained on the bus by a documentary about the space shuttle narrated by William Shatner and our driver, Mike, who tried a little too hard to be funny.

When we got to the KSC we were shepherded into the Atlantis museum where we watched a short film which opened up into the museum, the first thing you see is the actual shuttle Atlantis. It was quite spectacular. The photographs we took don’t really do it justice, it’s a huge beast, suspended 23 foot off the floor and at an angle of 43.21 degrees.

After visiting the other sights and interactive exhibits – one of which told Debora she could have a career at NASA thanks to her great result in detaching a solar panel. We then went on the “most realistic” launch simulator which really wasn’t. The ride at Epcot was more entertaining – remember we only went on the timid version! The KSC sim just turns you 90 degrees and shakes a bit. If that’s realistic, I could be an astronaut.

Then we took a 40 minute bus tour of the launch pads and into another exhibit that was about the Apollo missions. Here we had a lunch of an egg mayo roll – way overpriced! Then we touched a bit of the moon and headed back to the main center where we watched a 3D IMAX movie about the hubble telescope narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The 3D effects weren’t very good and the sound was terrible.

After a trip to the gift shop it was time for a the excruciatingly long bus ride home. When we finally arrived we went for dinner at Chilli’s where Debora had a black bean burger and warm cookie and I had a four cheese enchilada and molten cinnamon cake. Feeling sick and stuffed, we came back to the hotel where I’m writing this whilst watching WWE Raw (I even watched Total Divas last night too). It’s rather odd seeing these in “real time”.

 

Day 5: Islands of Adventure…and relax.

As part of our holiday package, we were given two early access to Harry Potter World at the Islands of Adventure. Annoyingly they are only valid for the first seven days of your holiday so we thought we better use one of them! It’s Mothers Day here in the US so we hoped the parks wouldn’t be as busy as they were yesterday – we were wrong. It was just as busy as it was yesterday by the afternoon – but the morning. Empty.

Being in the park an hour before opening meant we could get on practically everything within ten minutes. First it was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, this is the ride where you get to queue through Hogwarts and it’s mightily impressive. As there was no line we didn’t really get to experience how fun the queue could be – there were talking and moving paintings, the sorting hat, the goblet of fire, everything Potter. With wait times reaching over two hours in busy periods, at least you have something to keep you entertained.

We then trotted off to the former dueling dragons ride, now re-branded as the Dragon Challenge. Again straight on but after another really long walk through the queue area. After this fun rollercoaster we waited in line at Ollivanders where only thirty people at a time go inside the wand shop and an actor picks a child and puts on a little magic show. It could have been more fun for everyone but it was an entertaining little show and afterwards you get to find the wand for you. Debora is now the proud owner of a birch wand with a unicorn hair core.

Then it was butterbeer time! Debora loved it.

Mmm, frothy.

Mmm, frothy.

With the rest of the park now officially open, we made our way to the Marvel Super Hero Island where we rode the Spider-Man ride and gawked at all the amazing merch and statues. As a Spider-Fan, I think this is the best ride, but as far as the 3D simulators go, the Harry Potter one probably has it beat. As well as the simulation and 3D video screen journey, it includes anamatronics and the such, it had me yelping on more than one occasion – no wonder it’s such a popular ride.

We then foolishly decided to go on the Popeye River Rapids, it had just opened it’s doors so we were straight onto the ride, on our own. It hasn’t been so hot today and a storm is surely brewing, two things we didn’t take into consideration on these rapids that stated “You Will Get Wet” as opposed to the other water rides at Disney where it said “You May Get Wet”. The sign wasn’t accurate. We didn’t get wet. We got soaked.

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We tried to dry off, our clothes drenched through but then went on Dudley Do-Right Ripsaw Falls, a log flume with an 75-foot drop. Any drying off we had done was wasted as once more, we were drenched. When in Rome and all that, we then went on another water ride – Jurassic Park’s River Adventure. This was a gentle ride until the 84 foot drop where – you guessed it – we got drenched. The drop wasn’t bad, it was after when gallons of water are shot at you. We would spend the rest of the day squelching.

We wandered around some more shops and I managed to get my photo with Cyclops – I’ll have to go back to get the rest – before we went on the Hulk rollercoaster. This shoots you forward straight out of the station and into twists and turns, awesome fun with great views of the park. Not only did Debora pose for the photograph on this ride – with her eyes open! She also conquered the Hulk.

It was then nearing midday and we’d done all the major rides. We headed back towards Jurassic Park where we ate our first garden burger and fries – it was a good lunch in a country where if you’re a vegetarian who doesn’t want cheese pizza, you go hungry. It was then a trip back through The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which was rammed now. We stopped in the sweet shop and picked up some fudge and then decided to pop over to Universal Studios. This would have been easier if Diagon Alley was open!

The Despicable Me queue was still huge – we’re going to have to go back first thing or in the evening for this one it seems, but we saw the Terminator Experience and saved E.T.’s home planet. It was only around 2pm and we were shattered so decided to head back to the hotel. We got out of the wet clothes and recharged our batteries before heading next door to Pizza Hut for dinner. Finally, an early night can be had and just in time too, for tomorrow we’re up early again to catch a coach to the Kennedy Space Center.

Yesterday, I was wearing my Wayne Stock t-shirt which got two comments from strangers. Today, I wore my Harry Potter shirt, which I got sent in the TeeFury lucky dip, this had four comments on how awesome it was. I win at t-shirts. Talking of which, I’ve seen some awesome ones I must own before we leave! We’re making a list of all the things we want to buy – one of those things that is on the list but sadly only a pipe dream are the replica statues of the Avengers. I was posing for photos with them all morning only for Debora to point out the sign that they were actually for sale! We asked the sales guy how much they went for…$6-7k each. If only…

Day 3: Universal & NXT

I’m writing this on the morning of Day 4, we’re both shattered so this will be brief until I can complete it later.

We started the day by grabbing a pancake at the Ihop. Debora had some banana brioche and I had the New York Strawberry Cheesecake pancakes. Very tasty stuff. Breakfast have been the most expensive meals we’ve had so far though!

We decided to go seeĀ Universal Studios in the daylight this time. Again, it’s boiling hot, highs of 33 today, but thankfully the rides are mostly inside. Despicable Me had a long wait time so we decided to leave it until later, the line was still long later so we will go back to it next time we’re there. We are going back as we both saw some merch we liked.

The first ride we went on was Transformers. This happened to be the best of the day. In the world of motion simulators with 3D effects, this was by far the one that outshone the others – I hope Spidey can live up to it! We then went to Twister – very dated but still enjoyable. On the Disaster movie ride I was selected to be part of the volunteers who got filmed and spliced into a movie later. Much fun.

Men In Black was next, another rather dated ride but fun nonetheless. Then we were finally in Springfield. The time wasn’t on our side but the line for The Simpsons was short so we stopped there but will have to visit all the themed shops again later, like Moe’s, the Kwick-E-Mart and Krusty Burger. The Simpsons ride replaced the Back to the Future ride but it’s using exactly the same premise/machine and I didn’t think it did it as welll.

We saw some of Diagon Alley behind fences, it looks great and its a shame it’s not open! As the day drew to a close we went on Shrek 4D – yet another 3D in a dbox chair movie. Again, it’s probably had its day in the sun.

Then it was a quick trip to the hotel where we hopped in our cab and off to the middle of nowhere for NXT. Despite the tickets saying we could pick up at 5.30 they didn’t open the doors until 6.30. There was then no water other than a fountain and this really was like wrestling in a bingo hall.

Our taxi driver assured us we had to pay him in full, for both the outbound and return journey. I asked him how we knew he’d come back since he’d now been paid for both trips, but he promised he’d be back.

What added to the disappointment was the fact there was only two rows of chairs. When booking the tickets online it sounded so tempting to be sat front row in the “golden circle”, in reality, you could still be sitting in the second row, have exactly the same view, you just had a seat. There were more seats in rows around the entrance and on the opposite side of the ring but still.

The arena got quite packed, standing room only in fact and even that was probably over capacity. We were treated to a meet and greet before the show, but I didn’t recognise many people, hopefully they’ll be stars one day. I’m sure the Big Bambino will be, he has the look and the gimmick to succeed. The two people I did recognise were divas – Bailey and none other than the Divas Champion Paige. What a treat. We spoke to her and she said she thought we had to be British, we were so pale!

Aiden English was at the show – but he didn’t sing and was in tag action against The Ascension. What should have been a squash match was actually really long and English got some great offence on the go. The highlight however had to be Adam Rose! He came out, said his catchphrase, threw out some t-shirts and then left again, but still, fun!

About half way through the show some fans, dressed as bunnies entered. Everyone had a good laugh at them until they started misbehaving and were eventually thrown out – not sure what for. Adam Rose would then tweet that he hates it when bunnies turn bad.

After the show we waited outside for our ride back. We waited and waited…Eventually even the wrestlers were leaving – after being accosted by the groupies which we were now looking like we were! I tried calling but my phone wouldn’t work so we had to go to the general public. On our third attempt, we found someone willing to help us out and call a cab, but Siri appeared to be misbehaving and finding nothing but Mexican firms. Just as she found a local one, our driver turned up. Half an hour late. Thank you to the mystery helper, but damnit, had this been a bad night.

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Day 2: Sea World and Universal

The day started off with Debora gettingĀ a bruise on the I-Trolly. Actually, the day started with us walking to try and find the Enclave Suites where our rep was waiting for us. She was called Lisa and sorted out our monetary issue with the hotel and said we won’t be charged anything extra. We then booked some Disney travel tickets, our trip to Kennedy Space Center and the I-Ride tickets. We topped this off with a breakfast of hash browns, beans and toast. I got to use my tip calculator and Debora impressed by drinking her entire apple juice!

It was then Debora got her bruise. After a long wait we finally got on the trolley which took forever to get down to Sea World.

We went straight to the Shamu show where we entered the “Soak Zone” as it was so damn hot. The show was great fun and boy, did we get soaked! There were lots of school groups around and they loved getting wet…the first time, and then the soak zone strangley cleared out.

Jumping for the crowd

Shamu Rocks!

We saw Manatees, Penguins, Flamingos and a whole host of other animals. We tried to ride ‘Journey to Atlantis’ but it broke down whilst we were queuing so we took that as an omen. We went on the Kraken which was awesome and queued in the blistering heat for the Antartic experience. It was so cold in there, it was a welcomed relief, although the ride was a trifle disappointing.

Tired and our feet aching, we decided to leave but had to run for the I-Ride. We got off a few stops from the hotel and had a pizza buffet at Cici’s Pizza. I won’t reccomened it. No margarita pizza’s and a poor vegetarian selection – one of which was cheese and pasta!?

But the dessert pizza’s were devine! There was a cinnamon apple pizza, cinnabuns and gooey brownies. We ate more pud than main. We walked back to the hotel, avoiding some lizards which freaked Debora out a little for fear she might tread on them! We took our bottomless cups from Cici’s as the water here in Orlando tastes a bit like rubber!

Then after relaxing for five minutes, we headed out to Universal Studios as it was the only night (according to their website) that the Cinematic Spectacular would be showing. I remembered how much I love Universal. We were a little confused about how to get thereĀ from the I-Trolley, which we actually couldn’t – but we made it, after anotherĀ dash to a bus!

The show was great, projections onto a wall of water and some fireworks – really invoked that scene from Inglorious Basterds where the face was projected onto the smoke. The wall of water was mind-boggling. How the heck do they do that? Water dropped in patterns to create images – I’ll upload a video of it soon.

On our exit we saw ROCKY HORROR is playing tomorrow and Saturday night at the Universal Cineplex. Debora agreed we could go but in Rocky fashion, it’s a midnight showing and we really don’t think we can do that. Sorry, we’ll watch when we get home.

Debora is still without a suitable hat but neither of us appear to have caught the sun – but we shall see what happens in the morning!

More will follow, but for now, bed.

 

Day 1: Arrival

 

After what seems like an eternity, Debora and I are finally on our honeymoon. This is coming at you from the Orlando International Palms Resort Hotel – or the Hotel of Some Disappointment.

Our room is rather large – which is good. Two double(ish) beds and the god-send that is air-conditioning – albeit a really loud unit. It’s like a triple room though as there are doors on either side connecting to other rooms. There is also no main light, but three lamps. Leaving it rather dark – probably hiding something.

But what has hurt the most so far isn’t the eight and a half hour flight, but checking in and being told there is an extra $150 charge for using the hotel facilities. They have said that there was a “communication issue” with Virgin upon this but some of us travellers have gathered together and refused to pay it. We are due to meet the rep in the morning to complain about this and I for one will be expecting Virgin to cover this cost.

Thanks to our “amazing” coach driver Jonathan Gomez, sorry we couldn’t tip you, but we had no change.

It’s SO DAMNED HOT! Even when the sun is behind clouds or setting. Christ.

We’ve been up far too long so heading to bed now. We had a little trip down I-Drive – it hasn’t changed since I was 12. Tomorrow we hope to get to Sea World. More to follow.

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