My turn to take a vacation!

I'm heading off to Orlando, Florida to go to Walt Disney World for a mini family reunion sort of thing. While we're down there, we're also going to take a short cruise to the Bahamas. Plus the Universal Studios theme park down there does some of the most elaborate walk through haunted house attractions for Halloween of any theme park in the country. This is the first time I've been down there during the Halloween season, so I'm really looking forward to seeing that. Should be fun.

I leave tomorrow morning and I'll be back on November 4th. I'll have my laptop with me and I'll have internet access while I'm there. I'll be checking email once a day or so, but I probably won't be as active as usual on the forum here for the most part. So if I seem unusually quiet for the next three weeks, it's not because I lost interest. It's because I'm running around the theme parks all day long! B)

When I get spare time I plan to work on my fan fiction and more content for the DB fan site.

Should be a good trip and the weather's looking pretty good so far. I can't wait to go!

Lucky. :P

Have a good trip! :)

HAVE NICE VACATIONS :D:D:D:D

Have a great time!

I'm also going to be gone until the 22nd as of tomorrow, so you all behave. :P

I'm about to begin the cruise portion of my trip. The cruise departs tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon and will return Sunday afternoon. I won't have internet access for those days, so if I seem really quiet, well that's why. :)

HAve good vacations

Umm, bon voyage? :P

I'm glad you're having yourself some fun. c:

Thanks everyone!

Have a fun time in your vacation, you deserve it. ;)

YAH! :D

I'm about to head out on another trip!

I don't usually take vacations this close together, but that's the way things happen to work out this time.

I'm leaving tomorrow for a week in Hawaii! This time I'll staying on the island of Maui (I've been to Kauai and the "big island" of Hawaii previously). Hiking and exploring the island will be the main activities of the day, along with some snorkeling and of course, a luau (or two :) ).

I should have internet access while I'm there, but I can't be absolutely sure. So if you don't hear from me for a week, well that's why. ;)

Aloha!

WOW!!!! I have always dreamt that my vacations were in Hawaii!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!
Have fun!!! and say HI to the Mosquitos!! :D

Hawaii is a great place to vacation. I've never known anyone who didn't like it there.

At the risk of boring people to death, I thought I'd post a couple of photos from my trip. I'd be interested in seeing photos when others take trips as well. Just skip this posting if you're not interested.

For this visit, I spent the entire week on the island of Maui which was my first time on that island. Hiking is big on my list when I travel. I'm probably the only person going to Hawaii that thinks to pack his hiking boots before packing his bathing suit. I particularly like getting away to those remote spots that 99.9% of the usual tourists never see. Sitting on the beach and doing nothing just isn't for me. With that in mind...

This is a hike a did on the dry and remote south east end of the Maui. This is the site of the most recent lava flow on the island which happened about 200 years ago. As you can see, the trail cuts across the flow. The trail follows the shoreline along an ancient path that used to connect villages.



For contrast, here's a hike I did on the wet north eastern side. This is in the Waianapanapa State Park (pronounced Why-Ah-Na-Pah-Na-Pah) near the isolated town of Hana. You can see the difference in the vegetation. Great shoreline hike with big waves crashing in and interesting little coves. This one has a black sand beach.



This is an unusual lava formation on the south western side of the island. They call it the Dragon's Teeth (so hopefully this posting is now on-topic for this forum :) ). It's very windy here and the wind and surf blowing inland caused the lava to curl back on itself while it was flowing.



This is a hike I did in the "up-country" part of the island which is at about 4000 feet above sea level. It's much cooler here and less tropical so the forest was more like on the mainland.



The last two days I hiked in the Haleakala National Park (pronounced Ha-Lay-Ah-Kah-La). This park encompasses the volcano on the eastern side of the island and it goes up to just over 10,000 feet above sea level.

This first shot is a view looking west during the drive up the mountain to the top. The mountain on the west was of course a volcano at one time as well. The Pacific plate slides westward, so that's the older side of the island. Maui itself is the second newest island in the Hawaiian chain. The resort I stayed at is on the shoreline on the left side of the photo.



This is me finishing up a hike on the northern end of the park. I'm at about 8000 feet here. The trail I'm on took me down to the valley floor you see below (which is where the lava was flowing once) and I'm on my way back out now.



This is another hike I did on the southern end of the volcano. This is the same valley as in the photo above, just on the other side. Each of those cones you see in the valley is a caldera that was actively spewing lava about 1000 years ago. This was like hiking on the surface of Mars. Way cool looking.



The trail I was on took me up to the rim of one of the calderas and that's where I stopped for lunch. It was a six mile hike to reach this point. I'm presently at about 9000 feet here so even though it's like 82F at the beach, the air temperature here is about 45F which is why I'm dressed warmly (and the wind is blowing). Fortunately, the sun is intense at his altitude, so that helped warm me up a bit. This doesn't fit most people's image of Hawaii but there are few places you can see things like this and the view was just stunning. I'm sitting up on the rim of one of those cones you see in the photo above.



Here's a view from the actual summit of the volcano. This is at 10,023 feet. It's cold and dry up there which is why not much grows there. The valley I was hiking in is to the right.



Finally, no trip to Hawaii would be complete without watching a sunset. This one is from the south western side of the island near the town of Lahaina (La-Hi-Na) looking towards the nearby island of Lanai.



Fun trip. I still have three more islands to visit in Hawaii, so I have an excuse to go back.

Mele Kalikimaka! (Merry Christmas)

Aloha.

I've gone to Hawii before, if only I could remember it. <_<

My parents took me there a couple times when I was a wee lad'. :P

Wow. It looks very pretty. :)

Yeah, it does.

Wow. Looks like you had a great time! :)

YAY

I'd like to visit Hawai :D:D:D:D:D:D

So would I, though it's highly unlikely.
Oh, well. Maybe after I win lotto and become rich.

Hawaii is definitely a great place to visit. The near perfect weather year round is almost too good to be true. Plus each island has a slightly different character. They all look different due to their different ages, and they vary from urban to rural.

Also, a visit to Hawaii doesn't have to be expensive. One thing you can do is rent a cabin in one of the state parks. I did that myself at the Waimea State Park (pronounced Why-May-Ah) on the island Kauai. The cabins are very rustic, but have all the basics: hot and cold running water, bathroom with shower, electricity, stove, oven, frig and basic pots, pans, utensils and so forth, though no TV and no phone. They're not much to look at, but they only cost US$20 a night.

If you ever go, try to visit at least two islands while you're there to see the differences. Kauai in particular is worth seeing. It's the oldest and therefore the most lush island. Movies like "South Pacific" and "Jurassic Park" were filmed there because of the landscape.

Great place to vacation if you like being outdoors.

And sounds a great place if you wish escape from the cold weather :D

hawaii sounds great. hope you had a good time in disney world. did you go on ALL the rides. My fav was dinosour and Rock'n'rollercoster. Hope you had a great time!!! :lol:

Yep, I've been on all the rides at Disney World. My favorites are the thrill rides like Mission Space, Tower of Terror, Dinosaur, Test Track, Star Tours and all the roller coasters. As you say, Dinosaur is particularly impressive. I also like attractions like Soarin', Mickey's PhilharMagic, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, Festival of the Lion King and so forth.

I can't wait until the new Expedition Everest roller coaster opens next year at the Animal Kingdom park. There's also supposed to be plans to eventually add a new section to the Animal Kingdom for mythological animals and it's to include a dragon themed thrill ride of some sort. Should be fun if they ever build it. :)

It is! Amazingly, it pretty much stays between 75 and 85F at the beaches year round. It's no wonder people settled there even though it's so remote. My guide book says Hawaii is the most isolated island chain in the world since it's 2500 miles to the nearest continent. It's amazing the Polynesians ever found the place. :)

WOOT!!!!!

That was my favorite when I wen't to Disney World.

Has anyone heard of the "Dualing Dragons" roller coster at Orlando Studios?

It's almost better than the Hulk!!

I took a picture of it on Google Earth.



There's two trains that zip and swerve at each other for the entire time, and at one part you almost clip feet with the other train. Both trains are decorated in scale patterns and at the front there's a dragon head.

You bet I have! I ridden it dozens and dozens of times. I prefer the Fire Dragon track over the Ice Dragon track (but just slightly, they're both good). The Hulk is an excellent coaster as well. Both Dueling Dragons and The Hulk were made by the same company: B&M of Switzerland. In general, they make great roller coasters.

The Islands of Adventure amusement park where Dueling Dragons is located also has the attraction that's consistently voted the best dark ride in the world. It's the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman and it consists of vehicles that are basically moving hydraulic motion platforms (similar to Dinosaur as Disney's Animal Kingdom) with the addition of large screen 3D CGI imagery seamlessly integrated into the scenery and sets throughout the ride. It's quite a ride and is the best of its kind.

By the way, you're talking to a certified roller coaster nut. I've ridden 363 different roller coaters around the world to date (and yes, I keep a list :) ). I'm a card carrying member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE, for short), which is a club for people who like roller coasters that has a world-wide membership of about 8000 currently. ACE runs a variety of conventions and gatherings throughout the year, both at the national level and regional events. Plus they've also organized group trips to both Europe and Japan. The conventions are typically held at amusements with all sorts of special events and exclusive ride time on the coasters. The big summer convention also has an elaborate banquet dinner.

Anyone seriously interested in roller coasters or amusement parks should check out the club (and despite the name, anyone can join :) ). Members not only get to go to events, but there's also a high quality newsletter and magazine they put out.

You can find out more about the club at:

www.aceonline.org

I did too, I did it like 14 times :D, I also perfer the fire dragon more.

LOL!!!!

My mom's the complete opposite, were they selling those keychains that said "Certified coaster chicken" when you were there? I bought my mom one of those, after I rode Dualing Dragons the fourteenth time. :P

There is a wooden roller coaster here in Maine called "Excalibur" Haven't gotten a chance to ride it but ive heard its great.

Heres a link to it Excalibur

I promise these are the last of the vacation photos. :) But these seem rather appropriate for this group and they're too cute not to post. ^_^

While I was visiting Disney World in Orlando, I took a day trip to go over to Tampa to visit the Busch Gardens theme park there which is another of my favorite parks. The big draw for me was their new roller coaster called Sheikra, which is the first US installation of the "diving machine" style roller coater. (The original is called Oblivion at Alton Towers in England, which I've also ridden.) They also have a kids area in the park called the Land of the Dragons. Here's a look at what it looks like:













Cute, aren't they.

Did you notice that all the dragons have a diamond shaped nub on their foreheads? A bone mark perhaps? :) Quite a coincidence, huh. B)

Aww, those dragons are so cute. I wants one.

Have a great rest-of-your holiday, Furox!

They are SOOOOOOO CUTEEEEE!!!!

Oh wow! You've been to Busch Gardens? I love that place! Did you ride all the coasters? I haven't ridden any Sheik-Ra yet, so what was it like?

I've actually been to both Busch Gardens theme parks, the one in Tampa, FL and the one in Williamsburg, VA. And I've ridden all the coasters at both parks (dozens and dozens of times ;) ). Sheikra is a great addition to their line-up of coasters. Like Oblivion at Alton Towers in England, the drop is completely vertical. Except Sheikra has two drops and the first one is much higher. The ride is longer, has more speed and there's a splash down at the end. Loads of fun! :D

Sounds like! :lol:

The best water ride I rode at Orlando Studios was the Jurasic Park one. :P

Ya' have to admit, that T-Rex scares the crap out of you. :D

I really want to ride Sheik-Ra, but I'd be a little nervous about a full vertical drop. Montu threw me threw the shoulder restraints once, and I have been worried about riding again ever since. (I hope that doesn't make me sound scared. I used to be the Montu fanatic of my family! I'd ride through four times in a row!) Now we don't go to Busch Gardens any more, we go to Cypress Gardens. Their coasters aren't as big or smooth as Busch, but for the amount of land they had, they did a great job. :)

You bet. That's one of the best water riders around. Another really good one is Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England.

The vertical drop is a bit different, but if you've ridden Montu, then you've experienced far greater G forces with all the inversions on that ride. The G's on Sheikra are actually milder.

Montu's a fun coaster, though I have a slight preference for its cousin Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

I haven't been to Cypress Gardens since they re-opened, but it's only my list for a future Florida visit. Busch Gardens is still worth visiting too, especially if you haven't been there for a while. Gwazi remains the best wooden coaster in Florida.

Gwazi is one of my favorites, too. If your looking for larger air times, then I don't really recommend Cypress Garden's coasters. They're more kiddie coasters than anything, and if you go on Swamp Thing, brace your head! It's a wonder I haven't walked away with a concussion yet! Triple Hurricane is pretty good, though its not a Gwazi II.

I haven't been to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Yet, at least. I'd like to go since the FL Busch Gardens has some really good coasters.

In Mexico we only have SixFlags *sights* and it only has 5 good coasters:

-Superman
-Batman the ride
-Kilahuea
-Medusa
-Boomerang

I've heard of Medusa and Superman, not the others. Probably because I don't pay much attention to the Six Flags ads.

my first ride on a really modern rollercoaster was the "Rock 'n Roll Rollercoaster" at MGM in Florida.

It just open the day we went on, although the 0-60 was a shock when it took off from the platform.