The Outlaw invades Orlando!

[New Era Outlaw]

Yup. The family's heading there for the holidays, so, starting from tomorrow, I'll be on vacation in the Sunshine State.

As can be expected, I'll be visiting places like Universal Studios (a must-see on the vacationer's schedule), Disneyland, and, most likely, Sea World. I think this time around, though, I'll be sitting out some of the coasters and taking it easy for a change (however, I'll still take a spin on Space Mountain and Revenge of the Mummy....those were awesome, and the latter was what inspired this character. You never know, I might have a few new ideas when I return.

Also, going to do a bit of shopping over there.
First things first, I'm going to try to secure Guitar Hero 2 for myself. It's waaaay to expensive down here (about $850 TT, or $142 US), whereas in Orlando, it's only about half the price. Also, I'm in dire need of a new cowboy hat (my old one's dusty and banged up badly), so I'm taking a spin by Shepler's as well. As you can see, they have a sale, and I'm planning on taking full advantage of it. The Eagle Ring looks pretty awesome, too....and for $40, it's not too shabby (and it'll come in pretty handy when I want to punch somebody's lights ou- AHEM.)

I'm also looking for some stock to host my upcoming Duelist Kingdom Championships 2007 tournament, and Orlando's been pretty much the best place to get them. I'm going to have a dirt-cheap shopping spree....IN AMERICA! I figure I can get a whole lot of prizes for about $200 or so. I'm really looking forward to making this the best tournament...ever.

For those of you curious....no, I'm not going to try to get a PS3 or a Wii this Christmas. For one thing, my brother's already trying to secure a Wii for himself, so it won't make any sense for me to get one, also. Secondly, I'm not going to kill myself out to buy a PS3. Too expensive right now, and you never know what problems may come out a few months down the line with this first batch. (Sony has had that reputation, after all.) I'd much rather wait until later in 2007, where hopefully another batch at a more affordable price comes along. Right now, not a whole lot of incentive to buy any next gen console, right now.


Also, the family might head to Medieval Times for dinner. Very entertaining show, I must say. Sizzler's is where we usually head, though, because all-you-can-eat buffets = win.


I'm pretty sure that, above all else, we'd be avoiding Cypress Gardens like the plague. Unless it's the first place you EVER visit in Orlando, I don't recommend you spend $35 to go there. The trips to places like Universal Studios and Disneyworld will overshadow that by FAR. As is, Cypress Gardens is more like a mini-amusement park.

By the way, Kraken (Sea World) owns ALL.

Well, see you in 2 weeks, folks.
By 4am tomorrow, I'm out until next year.
Have a Happy Holidays and a awesome New Year, people!

[Arcmanov]

Now THAT is a vacation.  Enjoy it.

[Crixx_Creww]

omigod!! guitar hero 2!!! i wannnnnnnnnnntttttttt

[Crixx_Creww]

oh and be safe dude. Happy new year and merry christmas

[Qloxx]

Lucky Bastard . Have a good one

[Red Paradox]

Blotoye!...
bring me back a PS3....
LOL kidding.....Feliz Navidad sta'

[EmpireKing]

crixxman iz a double posta

have fun NEO

[New Era Outlaw]

So, now. It appears that I'm back.
Sorry I couldn't get to you guys a bit sooner, but DAMN, that jetlag was KILLING me. That, and the fact that I had this loooong, drawn out story for you about what I saw and did in Orlando, only to accidentally hit the wrong keys and close down the window. Recipe for frustration? Yuup.


So, I suppose this is the part where I tell you guys about all the sights I saw, all the stuff I did, and all of the things and various knick-knacks I managed to nab while I was up in Orlando.

Well, the trip didn't exactly start off so good. As soon as we touched the ground, my stepmother got a nasty case of the stomach flu. It was so bad, the bathroom sink ended up getting clogged. And as soon as she got better, my dad got ill. And soon after he got better, my brother got ill. This continued for a good few days, so that seriously put a damper on what we had planned for the first few days we stayed there. Fortunately, nothing in terms of gut-wrenching illness happened to me, so I guess I managed to make it out okay.


Hey, remember when Orlando used to be called 'The Sunshine State'? Yeeah. Right now, I want to put on a pair of reliable, steel-tipped Wolverines and swiftly kick the moron who came up with that square in his NUTS, and I'll kick him so hard, his grandkids would be holding their balls and screaming loud enough for aliens on Mars to hear.


It RAINED.
The weather was pretty bad.
But, you know, it wasn't the rain that bothered me as much as the sheerly unreliable weathermen on the Weather Channel who would somehow always tell us the exact opposite of what to expect that day. Dear God. When we got word that the day would be good, we got thoroughly SOAKED. And when they finally tell us that it's going to rain, and we come with our heavy jackets and hats, guess what?

The freaking sun baked us like weenies.
Congratulations, Weather Channel. You've earned the "Most Absolutely Unreliable Weather Service in the history of Forever" award. I mean.....just how many weathermen can predict the weather absolutely wrong every single day we checked? Geez.


So, long story short, "Sunshine State" my ASS.


But, you know. It wasn't all bad.
Sickness and the second coming of the great Deluge aside, we managed to make the most out of our holiday.
For starters, we went to the theme parks. The first one we attended was Sea World.

THE SIGHTS

Unfortunately, though, it was one of those days where rain was falling, so any outdoor activities were definitely out, which ruled out Kraken, a.k.a. one of the most awesome roller coasters in the park. (sob). We took in several of the shows instead, namely, Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island (The Clown Pirate rules. FACT.), the Nautilus Theatre (Female Asian Contortionists? Sign me up!) and Wild Arctic, which was one of those flight simulators that took you through the North Pole. After Wild Arctic, though, we pretty much bolted because of the God-awful weather (with NO thanks to the incredibly incompetent weathermen), but we came back and saw Shamu. People, if you ever go to see "Believe" with Shamu, go see it at night. You won't be sorry.


Next, we went to Universal Studios. I swear, if you must go anywhere, anywhere at all in Orlando, go HERE.
We took in the usual sights, taking in the likes of Shrek 4-D, Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast, Men in Black Alien Attack and, last but not least, Revenge of the Mummy- the Ride, the best roller coaster in Orlando, in my opinion.
We also took in the Horror Make Up Show. That show is absolutely hilarious....especially when that guy who sounds like Beetlejuice takes the stage. He really knew the key to being funny, and really made that show a blast...even if that volunteer was being an uncooperative moron. Seriously, I felt like tossing a brick at her. Still, a must-see if you go here.

By the way, does anybody even know why E.T. Adventure still exists? Neither do I.


Our next stop was Islands of Adventure.
I decided to sit out the heavier rides, so.....Hulk and Dueling Dragons....I am so sorry. Maybe next time. No, no. It wasn't you. It's me. You were awesome coasters and I'll never forget you.


......ANYWAY.
I still managed to take in Spiderman and the 8th Voyage of Sinbad. I wanted to take in Dudley Do-Right's log Ride in Toon Lagoon, but those water sprayers turned me off. I definitely wasn't going to endure walking through a theme park soaking wet, not after what happened at Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges. HEELL NO.
I rode Jurassic Park River Adventure. Definitely a good way to pass the time. Due to the long lines, though, we couldn't go see Poseidon's Fury, which was a shame because it's a very decent attraction deep rooted in mythology and special effects.


Our next stop was Disneyy MGM Studios, which thoroughly sucked because of a)the weather and b)the extremely long lines. I tell you, not even Methuselah would last in those lines. I wouldn't even be surprised if people went insane and started eating each other just to sustain themselves long enough to get their 3 minute thrill.

With that said, we couldn't see Tower of Terror or Aerosmith (ARGH!).
What we did take in, however, was Star Tours, the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Muppet-Vision 3-D (Muppets are cool. ADMIT IT.) and 'Sounds Dangerous' starring Drew Carey. With the rain beating down on us, Fantasmic was definitely out of the question. Not that I really minded, because Fantasmic is both cool to look at and terribly campy. It makes me wonder how Minnie could even tolerate that helium soaked voicebox belonging to Mickey, to be honest.

Magic Kingdom was next on our tour. Unfortunately, guess what....it RAINED, it RAINED and....oh yeah. It RAINED. As such, all outdoor activities were definitely out, so goodbye Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain.
We took in Pirates of the Caribbean, which was recently upgraded to include Jack Sparrow. As such, the ride's now more popular that it ever has been, because, let's face it. Jack Sparrow is...a....BOSS. I just wished they could've given him a lot more than 3 cameos, though. You can also see Davy Jones and Barbossa, if you observe a bit. Still, the ride wasn't bad, and a whole lot better with Jack included.


After that, we took in the Country Bears.
And after the Country Bears, I nearly went insane.
Can anybody tell me WHY this attraction still exists?
The songs are irritating, the jokes are outdated and unfunny, and if I hear that stupid cub go 'Peep Peep' one MORE TIME, SO HELP ME I'LL.....


(ahem)
Long story short, don't see it. You'll demand the five minutes of your life back, with the utmost futility.

After that, we took in the likes of Stitch's Great Escape and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. The first one I enjoyed (well, maybe except for the part where he belches in your face), while the other....I had fun with, but can't help but feel is ultimately trumped by Men In Black overall. Space Mountain....was a lost cause. Lines were like a BAZILLION people long. It was almost as if they were selling Wiis in there. Jesus.


On our last day, we went back to Universal Studios, because it was simply that awesome.
You never get tired of there, believe you me.
From personal experience, though, I can tell you that while both that and Disney have their charms about it, Universal will always strike out as the one having more of an edge to it.


THE GOODS


Yes, yes. The best part of any trip to the States....the STUFF.
I came there with a few things in mind, but ended up finding things that I've searched for YEARS for.
Awesome? You BET. Here's the breakdown of what I nabbed up in Orlando:


PS2 GAMES:

- Guitar Hero 2 (Now I can rock and ROCK hardcore. YES.)
- Bully (If it allows you to terrorize kids in a ninja costume, the laws of awesome dictate that it wins.)
- Capcom Classics Collection 2 (Strider and Captain Commando made me get this game. I SWEAR!)

PSP GAMES:

- Gradius Collection (Like HELL I was going to pass this up.)
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (See comment above)

DVD and PC GAMES:

- Here, I decided to get some things to boost up my Rugrats collection. I even found a DVD with the episode where I make a guest appearance (namely, the All Grown Up episode "It's Karma, Dude!")

....no, I'm NOT making that up. And yes, I'm a Rugrats fan.

...what?

All in all, I managed to nab 3 PC games and 7 DVDs. One of those PC games has Sudoku on it. Don't ask me why I took it. It was part of the deal, okay? LEAVE ME ALONE!!

*tosses pillow*


- Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament Merchandise. Nope. Not going to spoil it for you here. You can wait until the announcement and game day comes before you guys know what that is. So...NYAH.


I also picked up some souvenirs from the theme parks. Here's the breakdown:

- 1 Sea World 'Shark Encounter' dog tag;
- 1 MIB Alien T-Shirt, 1 MIB 'Noisy Cricket' badge, and 1 'Hostile Alien' badge;
- 1 Toon Lagoon T-Shirt
- 1 'Return of the Mummy' keychain;
- 1 'Islands of Adventure' shuriken- well no, I lie. It's another pin, but it's sharp and shaped like a shuriken.

I picked up a PS2 for my little brother as well, and I'm going to give him some of my older games.

However, I haven't told you the best thing we got there as yet.
A certain something MANY people told us we'd NEVER get up there, not for the life of us.
That's right folks. We got a WII.



What's even more amusing is the story behind it.
We spend days on end looking for this console.
Every time, we would get some story about how people were lining up since 4 in the morning for one, and they only got one with the delivery shipment, blah, blah, blah.

On the very last day in Orlando, we happened to walk in a Wal-Mart, not even focusing on the Wii.
When lo and behold, what should we see in the display case?

YUS.
Apparently, the clerk forgot he had in stock, and hence, didn't announce it.
So, we picked one up, as well as Call of Duty 3 and Zelda: Twilight Princess, and that, as they say, was that.


THE VERDICT?

Well, the weather sucked, the illness was definitely biting wind, and jetlag definitely sends some people mad, but, overall, I got my stuff and my cheap thrills, so I'm pretty cool with that. I won't be travelling anytime soon, though....one can only take 3 hours in a plane for so long. I'm just glad that my feet are planted on the ground again, and I can resume life as usual.

Well, that's it.
See you around, folks.

[Crixx_Creww]

sweet!

rugrats rules forever and ever


does florida have the superman ride?
id kill to go on that...>.> but then again id kill for a lot less things

[New Era Outlaw]

that superman ride you talking bout, is it in six flags?

Indeed it is.