Lantern Fest 2018

What’s Up everybody?

OH MAN! has it been a cold week for us out here in Utah.  I know that it fall but it has felt more like winter.  In fact while I’m sitting here writing this post, I’m staring at our snow capped mountains.  Adventure doesn’t hibernate during the winter though.  No, it just heads south for warmer weather.  Just kidding.  Believe me, we’ve had plenty of winter adventures and I’m sure that we will add a few more to that list this year.

Ever since we moved back, our lives have been pretty hectic.  Whether it was unpacking, catching up with friends or just trying to get re-familiar with the area.  Needless to say, our weekends have been busy.  We have been looking forward to having a nice relaxing adventure that would take little to no effort.  That is what we found, for the most part but I’ll get to that later.  Before we left Chicago, Erin had found out that there would be a lantern festival coming and she really wanted to go.  Unfortunately we moved before we had the chance to go.  Luckily she found out that Utah was going to have one.  We packed up the car and headed out to Tooele for the 2018 Lantern Fest.

Tooele……Well, the Utah Motorsports Park, where the event was being held, is about 35 miles from Salt Lake City.  When we first arrived we were a little confused.  For as large of a event that Lantern Fest was supposed to be, there was nobody to be seen.  We drove around the facility thinking that maybe we missed the entrance.  We finally found some one that worked there and he informed us that it had been postponed do to high winds.  Understandably, I was irritated that they didn’t send us an email or something that would have informed us that it had been postponed.

Frustrated, I thanked the guy and we went on our way.  It wasn’t until we were on our way home that we received a texted say that the date had changed.  I guess they were have issues with their system or something.  What a waste of a day, if we would have been notified earlier we could have planned something much better.  I guess its dinner and a movie for us.  We saw Small Foot by the way.  It was a cute, fun movie.  I think it was worth seeing.

Fast forward two weeks and we are back at it again.  Packed up our car and headed back out to Tooele.  This time when we got there, everything looked right.  The parking lots were full of cars, there was people waiting in lines, and tents had been set up.  Luckily for us, we purchased our tickets online so we could skip the line and head right in.  We made our way to the tent that had our care packages.  Inside of them was one lantern, a marker to decorate and a s’more kit.  With our kits in hand , all we had left was to find a place to sit and enjoy.

Now I will have to say this.  If you have a large group you should probably get there early so that you can all sit together at a fire pit.  The fire pits are not assigned and there is only so many of them.  We arrived a little later in the day and ended up sharing a pit with a few strangers.  It turned out that Gabe, Alanna, Sarah, and Hasam ( sorry if I misspelled it) were very friendly and we quickly meshed with them.  Come to find out, none of us had been to Lantern Fest before.  We would be losing our Lantern Fest virginity together.  How exciting!   I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of being stuck with people that I don’t know but it was really fun to talk with them and to here their stories.

Around 8 o’clock, we got the OK to light up our lanterns.  You know the scene from Tangled were they let the lanterns go and they float into the air and fly away.  That is what it looked like.  Well for some of us.  I will admit that I pictured it like this.  We would light the lanterns and they would graceful lift out of our hands and float away.  That didn’t happen for us.  Instead.  As we were waiting for the lanterns to fill up with hot air, a wind gust came through and flung them away from us.  Like fools we chased after them with the hope that we would get a chance to get them into the air.  It didn’t happen for us but for many they went without a hitch.  We learned some valuable lesson for next time we go.

I have always associated lantern festivals with Asian culture and traditions.  For good reasons too.  The Chinese have been doing it since the Western Han Dynasty dating back to 206 BCE.  Better known as the Spring Festival, it was held on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar (February / March) to celebrate the New Year.  The lanterns would be plain or simply decorated.  Nothing too flashy, unless you were of Nobility and you could afford to have a more ornate one.  The releasing of the lanterns had different meanings for everyone, but for many it was to symbolize the letting go of the past self to make way for the new self.

For us modern day celebrators, our lanterns were simple and plain.  Made out of biodegradable materials because we are more environmentally friendly than our friends from the past.  We all took a moment to decorate our lanterns with the marker that was provided.  As with the past, everyone had their own reason to release the lanterns.  Some wrote messages of hope and inspiration.  Others for love and lets face it some because they could.  For us, it was to celebrate the ending of one chapter of our book of life and starting a new one.

My message was a simple one.  To those who came before and to those who come after.  Let the adventure continue.  I stand by these words.  It took many to get us to where we are today.  For those that come after us, they will live our legacy and continue to move forward to build their own.

I hope that you get a chance to attend Lantern Fest.  We had an amazing time and met some great people.

Until next time.  Thanks for stopping by.

Josh

This is the Place Heritage Park

What’s up everybody?

Well we have finally settled into our new digs and you know what that means.  IT’S ADVENTURE TIME!  Thats right, we finally feel like we can get out and start exploring once again.  To honor our new found freedom we are starting a new series call the Tour of Utah.  In this series we are going to take you to the places that make Utah unique.  To kick off this series we are going to the place that started it all.  This is the Place Heritage Park.

Over the winter of 1885-86, hostilities towards the LDS people, in the town of Nauvoo Illinois, had reached its breaking point.  Thousands of them were forced to flee their homes.  Only taking with them what they could carry in a oxcart or wagon.  Leaving everything else behind.  Ferrying across the mighty Mississippi River would begin their 1300 mile trek across the plains to their final destination, the Salt Lake Valley.  With difficult terrain and unpredictable weather, it to them a year and then some.  I have driven from Chicago to Salt Lake, which is about the same in milage.  It took us two and a half days in a U-haul and that was enough for me.  I can imagine how trying it was to do it in a oxcart or walking for that matter.

After they enter the Salt Lake Valley Brigham Young, the President of the LDS Church ant the time, stated “This is the right place.  Drive on!”.  With these words Utah began to grow and prosper.  To honor this, in 1912 a humble white cross was erected to signify the spot.  The cross would soon be replaced by a white monolith, which can still be found there today.

The landscape has changed since its humbling beginnings.  A new and much grander monument has been built.  The new monument towers into the air.  It not only depicts the LDS pioneer but Native Americans, fur trappers, Spanish explorers and many others that helped to build and expand the West.

There are plenty of other statures built around the grounds.  Each one has its own story telling you about the migration West.  There is one that is very near and dear to my heart.  Its a statue that is dedicated to people that travelled to Utah by handcarts.  This is special to me because my family was part of these handcart companies.  My family boarded a ship in England and set sail across the seas.  Once they landed in the U.S. they joined up with the Willie - Martin Handcart Company and made their way West.  The company suffered many loses on the journey to the Salt Lake Valley but they will be forever remembered by those that gaze upon the statue.

There is still more to see then just the Monument and statues.  After paying your entrance fee, you are granted access to the Heritage Park.  Once you pass underneath the Eagle Gate, you are teleported back in time when Salt Lake was in its infancy.  The Heritage Park is modeled after the Downtown area of Salt Lake City.  The building have been moved from their original location and rebuilt at the Park.  Not all the building are from the Valley but come from all over the state.

A good portion of building are open for you to explore.  I would suggest stopping by the Blacksmith Shop, Deseret News Print Shop or the Dinwoodey Cabinet and Chair shop.  Each have friendly people ready to demonstrate their craft.  Be sure to ask them question for the are very knowledgable and eager to answer them.

There are plenty of interactive areas in the Park.  For some furry friendship, head over to the Petting Corral.  Here you can get up close to all kinds of barn yard animals.  They have recently had a baby goat named Ghost, since he is all white.  He is very curious about his surrounding and what is happening within his pen.

Tucked up in the back of the park is The Treasure House and Native American Village.  The Native American Village is composed of two hogan built in the Navajo tradition, a male and a female.  They are set upon the red rocks of Southern Utah.  Just up aways from the hogans sits a teepee.  The teepee is actually a auditorium that visitors can see different demonstrations.  The day that we were there, they were doing a show that talked about the different Native Tribes of Utah and some of their traditions.  Incase you were wondering there are five Tribes in Utah: Paiute, Shoshone, Goshute, Ute, and Navajo.  We had the opportunity to see several dances and the meaning behind them.  I found it very interesting and informative.  If you have the chance you should check it out.

The Treasure House is a fun little place to play around.  It is mostly designed for the little ones but the big kids can have some fun to.  Inside the House is a shop with a small mining display.  You can purchase a geo and crack it open yourself.  Outside is where the fun really is.  Underneath the House is a pit where you can dig for gemstones.  Unfortunately, there is no rubies or sapphires but it is still fun digging in the dirt trying to find something of interest.  If digging in the dirt doesn’t fit your fancy, step over to the river and pan for gold.  You are guaranteed to find some Fool’s Gold.  Pyrite that is.  At least you can learn the techniques that the old miners used to use for panning, so you can go out and search for real gold on your own.

This is the right place.  These simple words have become a mantra for so many that have come to live in the state of Utah.  With the beautiful mountains in the North to the red rocks in the South, Utah is truly the right place.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time.

Josh

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A Day at the Natural History Museum of Utah

What’s up everybody?

Well, we had a little impromptu adventure this week.  I should say that I had one, since Erin had to work and wasn’t able to join me.  To be honest, she didn’t even know that I had went.  I guess that I should have told her but like I said it was an impromptu adventure and I didn’t even know that I was going.  I had some time off of work and had nothing better to do and I had recently heard a radio advertisement for the Natural History Museum of Utah.  I hadn’t been there in a very long time, so I jumped in the car and was on my way.

The Natural History Museum of Utah is housed in the Rio Tinto Center on, or just off of, the University of Utah Campus.  301 Wakara Way Salt Lake City Utah, 84108 if you want the exact address.  If you are familiar with the area it is right next door to Red Butte Garden.

The History Museum first opened in 1969.  At that time it was housed in the George Thomas Building located on the U of U campus.  If my memory serves me correctly, I believe it was off of Presidents Circle.  Like I said, it has been awhile since I was there.  The idea behind the museum was to consolidate the artifacts that had been placed throughout the University.  Over the years the collection has grown.  It now contain over 1.6 million artifacts.

In 2011 the Museum moved to the state-of-the-art Rio Tinto Center.  I will have to tell you, it is a really cool building.  I’m not big on architecture, but its quite a site to behold.  The building is made to blend in with the surrounding hills.  It is easily recognizable by its 42,000 square foot copper roof.  The intricate pattern of horizontal bar of varying sizes are made resemble the layered rock formation that are found throughout Utah.  The copper is mined from Utah’s very own Kennecott Copper Mine.

I Don’t know about you, but for me when I think about history I think about human history.  I often forget about the natural side of history that makes up our planet.  Humans are only a small part of the picture. We have made an impact but there is so much more to our planet than just us.  Natural History Museums give us a chance to get more in-depth than what we are used to.

The NHMU has plenty of permanent exhibits to explore but they also have an area that is dedicated to rotating exhibits.  At the that I was there, they had an exhibition on animal movement.  If you think of it, animals are incredible and highly adapted to the world around them.  In this exhibit we get to look at muscle and bone structure and how its adaptation help animal in their daily routines of survival.  I found the display about birds wings fascinating.  I’ve never really took the time to look closely at them.  Even though they seem like they would all be built the same way, they are actually all very different in the way they work.  I wish I could explain it a little better than I am but oh well.  Unfortunately this exhibition is no long there.  It was in it last week while I was there.  I’m sure that it has been replaced by something that is just as interesting.

Maybe its the kid in me, but my favorite part of the whole museum was the Past Worlds exhibit.  It also happens to be the first exhibit that you encounter as you enter the museum.  I will admit that I did spend the majority of my time here.  Past Worlds is filled with dinosaur fossils found through out Utah and the surrounding areas.

Most of the fossils came from the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, located in central Utah.  The Quarry itself is surrounded by mystery.  It has the densest concentration of Jurassic animal fossils ever to be found in one place.  Most of them came from the fearsome Allosaurus.  There are currently three major hypothesis on what caused this high density, but nobody really knows the truth of what happened.

At the end of this exhibit is a display that shows the waterline of Lake Bonneville.  You may or may not have heard of Lake Bonneville, it is a ancient lake that used to cover a large portion of Utah.  It was over a thousand feet deep and stretched high in to the mountains.  It lasted until about 15,000 years ago when the lake finally broke through to the Snake River and drained a large portion of it.  Changing temperatures would eventually dry up the remnants of the lake.  All that remains of the ancient lake is: the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, and Sevier Lake.  The shorelines can still be seen in the mountain surrounding the city.  Its hard to believe that the Salt Lake Valley used to be covered by a thousand feet of water.

I don’t want give away all the secrets of the museum.  There is still plenty for you to explore if you choose to visit the Natural History Museum of Utah.  I had a lot of fun learning about the history of what is now Utah and I hope you will to.

Thanks for stopping by.  Until next.

Josh

Epcot

What’s up everyone?

Well we have finally reach the last stop in our Disney World adventure and of course thats Epcot.  I will have to admit that I really wasn’t looking forward to going here.  The first time that we were there I was a little disappointed with it.  In fact, we ended up leaving the park early and spending the rest of the day hanging out at our hotel.  A shame really, that we didn’t give it the chance that it deserved.  This time around it became one of my favorite stops.  I think the problem, the first time, was that we had burned ourselves out at the other parks.  We didn’t know what to expect, since we had never been there.  Plus, it was in August.  It was hot and humid.  We just went too hard for too long and wore ourselves out.

Epcot feels different than the other parks.  Even though Epcot has some intense rides, as a whole the park has a very laid back and an easy going feel to it.  It is only divided into two areas: Future World and the World Showcase.

Once you enter the main gate, you are greeted by the giant golfball, better known as Spaceship Earth.  As you approach Spaceship Earth, you enter into Leave a Legacy Plaza.  This is actually a pretty cool area.  In the Plaza you will find several megaliths ranging in sizes.  If you look closely at them, you will discover names and images of park guest from around the world.  The Leave a Legacy program was started in the fall 1999 during Disney’s Millennium Celebration.  They wanted guest to have “the opportunity to leave a little piece of themselves at one of their favorite places”. (disneyworld.com)  Unfortunately, they shut the program down in 2007.

Lets face it, if someone mentions Epcot your mind immediately pictures Spaceship Earth.  It has become the symbol of the park and it would influence the tone of the rest of the park for years to come.  The ride takes you on an adventure throughs mans evolution of communication.  Starting from the earliest cave paintings to the moon landing and beyond.  It is a easy going ride, narrated by the one and only Judi Dench.  Once you exit the ride, you enter into Project Tomorrow: Inventing the Wonders of the Future.  Project Tomorrow is an interactive area for the young and old.  Games and exhibits are awaiting for you to discover what the future can hold.

My favorite ride in the Epcot is the Test Track.  It has had a whole new make over since the last time we were there.  Before you get on the ride, you are given a chance to design a car to test.  Throughout the ride your car is used to calculate its performance in the different tests.  Each test earns you point towards the total outcome of your cars performance.  Over all the cars we designed faired pretty well.  Mostly above average but nowhere near the days top performers but thats ok.

The ride itself goes through a series of tests that you would find on an actual car test track.  Brake check, skid control and so on.  The best part is when the car goes outside.  It speeds up to about 65 mile per hour and throws you into a corner before slowing down for the exit.

Mission: Space is based on authentic NASA astronaut training.  On this ride you experience what it would feel like to fly in a shuttle.  Four people can ride at a time.  Each person is assigned a crew position to operate the shuttle efficiently.  Each crew member will have a specific task that they will need to perform throughout the mission to return back to Earth safely.  There are two levels of intensity that you can choose from before getting on the ride.  Green which is easier of the two and Orange which is really intense, from what I hear.  We had just ate and we weren’t sure if our stomachs could take too much, so we chose Green.  Maybe next time we’ll do the Orange one.  Either way it was really fun.

There are a lot of other cool rides within the park but I do have to mention Journey Into Imagination With Figment.  On this ride you take a tour of the Imagination Institute.  You encounter Figment, a purple dragon.  He takes over the tour of the institute and madness ensues.  It was a fun little ride.  Nothing too spectacular in my opinion, but thats not what made it special to me.  It was the only ride in the park that my nephew really wanted to ride.  We was wait very patiently to get his chance to ride it.  It was starting to get later in the day and I didn’t want him to miss out.  I did what any other responsible Uncle would do, I kidnapped him and took him to the ride.  We have been living in different states for a long time now, so we don’t get to see or do as much with each as we used to.  Being able to hangout just the two of us was special to me and I hope it was for him as well.

There is more to Epcot than just the rides.  As I mentioned before Epcot is divided into two areas and the second one is the World Showcase.  The World Showcase is a loop around one of the many lakes that can be found throughout the Disney World Resorts.  As you traverse the loop you will be transported to different countries.  Eleven of them to be exact:  Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the American Adventure (United States), Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and our neighbors to the North Canada.  Each of these eleven areas are designed to mimic the architecture and culture of the actual country it represents.  You can virtually travel the world in the matter of a day.  If only it was that easy.

There are only two rides in the World Showcase:  Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros and Frozen Ever after.  Gran Fiesta can be found in Mexico.  It is a gentle boat ride that take you through the sites of Mexico.  Frozen Ever After is found in Norway.  As you can probably guess, it is based on the movie Frozen.  I would say skip the rides and see the many live performance and shows that are put on.  We saw a drum battle in Japan and it was amazing.  I would have liked to seen the Chinese acrobats.  I have heard that it is an awesome show.  Maybe next time.

Lets face it,  you’re not in the Showcase for the rides.  You are there to experience other cultures that you may never actually be able to go to.  The World Showcase is a foodies paradise.  All types of food can be found here.  Candies, drinks, pastries, meals and even fancy restaurants.  If you can think of it, you can find it.  I know we had our share, and probably the next person share.  I’m pretty sure we sample something from every country and over did it in France.  Dang them and their fancy deserts!

Like most Disney Parks, Epcot has a firework show when the sun goes down, IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.  In my opinion, this is not the most spectacular show of the parks but it cool none the less.  It takes place in the lake surrounded by the World Showcase.  In fact, it uses the buildings from the Showcase as part of the show.  Boats shoot off fireworks and jets of water as the travel around the lake.  They use the smoke from the fireworks to create a laser show.  All this is happening while a lighted globe of the Earth spins in the center.

This is our last stop in our Disney World adventure.  We had a lot of fun and can’t wait to go back.  I can’t say that it will be anytime soon but we’ll get there again.

Thank you for join us.  Until next time.

Josh and Erin

Saying Goodbye to Chicagoland

What is up everybody?

I know that it has been awhile since you heard from us here at the Adventure Diaries.  I have to apologize about that, but there is a good reason for it.  We have packed our bags and left Chicagoland and headed west back to our home state of Utah.  Believe me this was not a easy thing for us to do.  

Early in June we started to feel that it was time to head back.  I don’t want to say that we were homesick.  We have lived in Chicagoland for nearly three years and had never felt this way before.  Erin and I had a heart to heart talk and tried to figure out if it was even feasible for use to make the move.  A lot of variable had to fall into place.  I really don’t now how it happened but everything fell into place perfectly.  With all the sign point us home, all that was left was to pack up and hit the road.

In case you were wonder Chicago to Salt Lake City is 1399 miles, which equates to about 21 hours of drive time.  Its doable in 2 days.  At least that is what we were planning on but the old U-haul had other plans for us.  On the first day we ended up blowing a tire and had to wait for roadside assistance to come and change it.  This set us back a little.  The biggest issue that we had was with the gas pedal.  No matter how hard I pushed on it, I could not get it to go any faster than 65.  I don’t know if you have ever had to drive across country but after awhile you just want to get to where your going.  Especially when you’re driving through Nebraska.  Sorry Nebraska I’m sure you have a lot of good qualities about you, but you are the worst to drive through.  It is very flat and all the scenery looks the same.  Fields!  One day maybe I’ll get a chance to explore the Nebraska in-depth and not just I-80.

But our little drive west is not what this post about.

I have never been a fan of big cities.  I do not do well with large groups of people and big cities are nothing but large groups of people.  Needless to say, when we first started talking about moving to Chicago I was a little hesitant.  Really I’m still not sure how Erin convinced me to do it.  

To be honest, I’m still not that fond of Chicago but i will have to admit that it was probably one of the best things for us at the time.  It definitely forced me to get out of my comfort zone and experience things that I normally wouldn’t have done.

It was hard to pack up and leave our families but it taught us to be more independent.  We really grew to depend on each other which also caused us to grow a lot closer to each other.  I like to think of myself as someone that doesn’t have a problem with being alone.  Lets face it, humans, by nature, are a social animal and they need that sense of community.  I suppose that I’m no different.  I will miss the little community that we created while we were there.  We had met a lot of good people and many friendship were formed.  I would like to stay in touch with them as much as possible.  I guess that is what Facebook is for.  I will miss them.

Besides gangster, Chicago is known as a first class food destination.  I would like to say that I had a chance to partake of it all, but I’m a bit of a picky eater which put a limit on what I would eat.  From what I chose to eat though it was fantastic.  Being near the heart of dairy country, ice cream and frozen custard shops created treats that were creamy and beyond words of how good they were.  It seemed like we were constantly heading to Andy’s Custard to get a snack or two.

I might ruffle a few feathers with this statement, but in my humble opinion I feel Chicago has the best pizza.  This is not a Chicago Style verses New York Style debate.  I have not had a true New York style pizza yet, so I can’t make a fair judgement in that case.  I enjoyed eating deep dish, but truthfully I would chose a regular pizza over it.  We had eaten at many pizzerias and they were all delicious.  Its hard to explain what made them so good.  Really hard to beat.

So heres to you Chicagoland.  We had some good times and crazy adventures.  I would like to say that you will be missed but, lets be honest, I wont miss you that much.  I will miss the friends that we made along the way.  You will always be part of our story but your chapter has come to an end.  With one chapter ending a new one is about to begin.  We here at the Adventure Diaries are excited to share new adventures from our home state of Utah.  It might be a little hit and miss for the next few weeks until we get settled.

Until next time.  Thanks for stopping by.

Josh

Hollywood Studios

Lights.  Camera.  Action!  We are exploring Hollywood….Studios that is.  Thats right we are continuing our Disney World adventure.

Lets face it, who hasn’t grown up watching Disney movies or T.V. shows.  I know I did and I would bet that most of you would say the same thing.  Disney has been making feature length movies since 1937, when they released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Walt was creating animated shorts long before that.  I’m going to date myself here but I can remember popping in an old VHS tape into the VCR and watching some Chip and Dale cartoons.  Funny enough, I recently came across these same old cartoons on Youtube and enjoyed watching them now as much as I did as a kid.

In essence that is what Hollywood Studios focuses on.  The movie side of the Disney.  In doing this, the rides and attractions are more show based than that of their other parks.  Not to say that they don’t have any thrills rides because they do have some really good ones.  All Disney properties are on display: Disney Animation, Marvel, and Star Wars.

I will get this out of the way, since it one of the biggest question that we get when people hear that we had went to Disney World.  Did you make it to Toy Story Land?  Unfortunately, the answer to this question is no.  We were a month too early for the opening.  We had hoped that there would be a soft opening while we were there, but nothing.  It gives us an excuse to go back.

Like the other parks, Hollywood Studios is divide into section: Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard,  Animation Courtyard, Echo Lake, Commissary Lane, Grand Avenue, Pixar Place, Toy Story Land and eventually when it open in 2019 Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge.

Hollywood Boulevard is the main street that leads you into the park from the main gate.  It is filled with shops and eateries much like Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom.  One really cool thing that they do here, especially if you are a Star Wars fan, is the March of the First Order.  Several times a day Hollywood Boulevard falls under control of the First Order as the march from the main gate to the main stage near the Animation Courtyard.  Lead by Captain Phasma, the First Order Stormtrooper vigilantly search for Resistance scum.

Sunset Boulevard is were we spent most of our time while we were there.  At the end of Sunset you will find two of the iconic thrill rides, Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror.

As you make your way through the Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster, you meet up with rock legends Aerosmith, a younger version of them anyway.  They are in the middle of a recording session when they realize that they are late for their concert.  They invite the group to join them at the concert.  The call a super stretch limo for you to follow them.  This is not your average limo.  No, this is a high speed thrill ride.  The coaster races you through the streets of L.A all while you listen to the tunes of Aerosmith.  Unlike the actual roads in L.A., there are twist, turns, and drops.  Oh yeah!  Its all in the dark so you can’t see whats coming up.  This is my favorite ride in the park.  As I mention, it does slingshot you to high speed in a matter of a few seconds and is extremely fun.  Just use caution if you have neck or back issues cause it might just aggravate them.

On a dark and stormy night The Hollywood Hotel was in for the shock of its life.  Literally, as it was struck by lightning sending a family and their bell hop to the other side when their elevator plummeted back to the bottom floor.  This is the premise of the Tower of Terror ride.  You board an elevator that transports you to the Twilight Zone.  Once there you see strange things and encounter the ghosts of the poor victims of the accident.  You travel a short distance down a hallway.  Be wary, for when the doors open you will experience free fall.  For the elevator gives way and drops you.  Slowing down long enough to shoot you back up and stops just long enough for you to catch your breath before dropping you again.

Echo Lake is kind of the center of the park.  Here you will find Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.  The first time that we came to Disney World I was disappointed that they did not have the Indiana Jones Ride like the one in Disneyland.  Instead they have a Epic Stunt Spectacular show.  This show demonstrates some of the stunts that they used while in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark.  

I will suggest stopping by the 50’s Prime Time Cafe.  It is locate not far from Indiana Jones.  It is a little pricy but the food is well worth it.  Don’t expect to be treat politely if you misbehave.  The waiter and staff will scold you as if we were back in the 50s.  No elbows on the table and definitely don’t be caught playing with your toys (cellphones).  It is all in fun so don’t be offended.

Grand Avenue is tuck into one of the corners of the park but here you can find a fun little show to watch.  Muppet Vision 3D is, like the title suggest, a 3D movie experience.  The cast of Muppets take you on a behind the scene tour of the Muppet Show.  As you would expect craziness ensues.

Also found in this area is Star Tours.  On this ride you travel to a galaxy far far away as you explore the worlds of Star Wars.  The idea is that you are a traveler aboard a shuttle that is harboring a spy that the Empire or First Order is looking for.  As you flee your pursuers you jump to various planets and have different experience at each one.

Outside of Star Tour you will find Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple.  Sorry friends but this one is for the kid.  Throughout the day children get the chance to experience what its like to become a Jedi.  Under the tutelage of a Jedi Master they will face many trials and eventually come face to face with forces of the Dark Side.

Oh Pixar Place, we were not friends.  As I mention before Toy Story Land was not opened yet.  Which was a bummer but what can you do.  In this area is were we made a big mistake.  One of the ride in Hollywood Studios that always has a huge wait time is Toy Story Mania!  We decided to tempt fate and wait in the line.  Heres were the mistake was made.  Do to the construction of Toy Story Land, they had to redirect the line.  I might be exaggerating a bit but I would say about 90% of the ride was outside in direct sunlight.  They did attempt to create shade by putting up umbrellas along the path.  Lets face it, it really didn’t help that much.  Hopefully now that Toy Story Land is open they have improved the line conditions.  Other than the line, the ride itself is a fun interactive ride were you compete with other people in your car to score points.  I hate to say I didn’t do as well as I would have like but thats ok I still had fun and thats all that matters.

There is a cool little museum in the Animation Courtyard.  Walt Disney Presents is a journey through Walt’s life as a struggling animator to the powerhouse that Disney is today.  Inside you will find displays about Disney and the animation process.  I found it cool to see some of the old machine that were used to animate.  Definitely worth the time to check it out.

I had mention that we spent most of our time in Sunset Boulevard, but there was one thing that I neglected to talk about for it only happens once a night and that is Fantasmic!.  Fantasmic! is a live action, laser, and pyrotechnic show.  The Wizard Apprentice Mickey takes you on a journey through the catalogue of Disney films.  Almost everyone makes an appearance during the show.  Even the dragon form of Maleficent.  If you have the time I would highly recommend seeing it.  Get there early though for it fills up quickly.  There are some other night show that Hollywood Studios does but we were not able to catch them.

Hollywood Studios is a little more low-key than the other Parks.  We had a lot of fun while we were there and had a lot more experiences than what I talked about.  I hope you get a chance to explore it yourselves.

Our last stop will be Epcot.  We’ll see you there.  Until next time.

Thanks for stopping by.

Josh