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- DAY 2: DECEMBER 18, 2011 -
We got off at Boston at 7:27 am, and by the time we reached it, we missed our connecting flight which already took off at 7:10 am. This fuss forced Elda and me to rush all the way to Jetblue counter, which was located at the other end of the airport. We were soon informed that our next flight to Orlando was actually BOARDING NOW, and even more, the gate was located at near the gate where we just got off earlier, which was at another end of the airport.
Ta-dum-ta-dum, we were running like two lunatic amateur travelers along the hallway of Boston airport. Thank God we made it on time. It was 8:00 am and we barely ate anything for over 10 hours (we did get good snacks on the flight to Boston, but what I mean is, we haven't had a meal rich enough to store some energy). Elda managed to help herself with a bar of chocolate while boarding the next flight, Jetblue Flight 955 straight to Orlando.
We're finally here!!!
Finally....after some long, butt-burning flights, we made our way to Floridaaaaa
Orlando, here we are!
But Elda and I knew our time for having fun wasn't there yet. We've got things to settle and that's specifically regarding our baggages. Yes, our baggages somewhat went missing (not to mention Elda and I got separated while we were getting into the monorail to the arrival hall. Elda got on first but before I did, the monorail door closed and I needed to wait for the next one. The awkward moment was when everyone there seemed to be staring at my dumbfounded face #funnymoment).
Once we got to Jetblue office, it turned out that several other passengers from the previous flight from San Francisco (same flight with us) encountered similar issues. After taking some time to track our baggages, the staff informed us all that the baggages were still somehow stuck in Boston and would soon be sent to the passenger's residences. Elda quickly gave away our hotel address for the sending convenience.
After getting to our booked shuttle, we went to the hotel, which was located right across the Walt Disney World complex in Kissimmee area. On the way to our hotel, we were given glimpses of the complex while sending some passengers to the hotels located inside the complex. We first thought our hotel would be located inside the complex (even when I saw the Hollywood Tower Hotel building scraping up in the distance, I thought it was our hotel! Excuse my drained energy due to the long flight).
Worldgate Resort was our hotel. Though it was considerably small, at least it was convenient! It might not be as grand or luxurious as a five-star hotel (cos it wasn't). But for us students traveling in the US, the place was adequate, reasonable by price, and at least, the most important thing of all, it was clean.
Master Yoda on our room key!
After checking in to the room 505, Elda and I asked for some recommendation on nearby restaurants and transportation. Before leaving for lunch, we asked the front desk to kindly book us a cab to go to Titanic: The Experience (our first attraction in Orlando, sort of our appetizer before the Disneyland), since public transportation was a bit troublesome.
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It was 2:15 pm and please note that we haven't had any proper, heavy meal for almost 18 hours. Elda and I quickly took off to find the most promising restaurant close to the hotel. We stumbled upon Denny's and helped ourselves with soups and cheese fries. Feels good to finally munch on some HEAVY delicacies!
Elda and I went back to the hotel just in time the cab reached the lobby, at around 3:30 am. Half an hour later, we were already at the parking lot of Titanic: The Experience at International Drive. The place turned out to be smaller than what I thought, as the building was shared with stores along the row. But what certainly distinguished the Titanic place along with the other stores were the huge Titanic decoration on the entrance's wall.
As we got in, Elda handed the online ticket she already booked to the cashier, who we noticed to be wearing old clothes, perhaps referring to those dating back to the early twentieth century. The ticket was then exchanged with a sophisticated-looking 'boarding pass', as if we were really about to get on the ship herself.
We were told to wait for a few minutes for more visitors to come. When it was time, the cashier guided us in. It turned out that he was the tour guide for the day. What even makes it mesmerizing is, he did some kind of role play during the tour, like revealing his other side, a completely different version of him: a cheerful, Scottish-accented guy whose persona matches the tour guide's costume (he basically wore an early twentieth century working class outfit complete with a beanie cap). Aside from being a tour guide, he pretty much also acted like the story teller of the ship. I couldn't wait to see what he got to say.
Btw, the cashier we met earlier and the tour guide were the same people
All aboard!
The fascinating telegram room
The awkward moment when this reminds you of a specific scene from a movie
Chilling in Verandah Cafe! Best used by 1st class passengers
The tour guide said that we were exclusive enough to catch a glimpse of 1st class most luxurious suite. It was said that there were only two suites like the one depicted above in the ship. The owner must be hella RICH.
And the best of the whole main exhibit goes to...
Wait for it...
The Grand staircase
Can't help but to have the Titanic theme song ringing in my head and imagine Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet standing on top of staircase while entering this room. This part is actually the highlight of the entire exhibit
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Things got very emotional when we reached the latter part of the exhibition, where we stepped into a room that resembled the exterior deck overlooking the sea. The night was sound and we all could see stars scattered in the jet black sky hovering the sea. The eerie, cold temperature of the room sent goosebumps, and my feeling was confirmed: the tour guide recounted that it was the night the Titanic sank. The tour guide/Scottish guy narrated how the situation was like that night, as if he really was on the ship at that very moment.
At the end of the main exhibit hall, we found ourselves in a relatively small room with thousands of names written on the wall all over the place. The tour guide amazingly said goodbye to his alter ego, the friendly Scottish-accented guy who has guided the tour all along - and returned to his normal, subtle voice. His upbringing's transition absolutely blew my mind. At that moment was immediately convinced that he must have been in a theatre school or something. Anyway, the tour guide mentioned that his alter ego, the Scottish guy, never left the ship or in short (the Scottish guy the tour guide just role played was obviously fictional)
To close the tour, the tour guide kindly asked us to find the name on the wall in the room that matches the name on each of our boarding pass given in the beginning of the tour. We were to identify whether the person whose name we had on the boarding pass survived or not. The name of those who survived were written bold, and those who didn't were...un-bold. I thought it'd be really hard considering there were LOTS of names on the wall.
But I quickly found the name matching with the name on boarding pass, and she apparently survived the incident.
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Anyway, the room led to a small gallery at the end of the entire exhibition, and the gallery was dedicated to Titanic movie (yes, that famous movie who cleaned up the Oscars back in the 1998 by James Cameron). The hall basically contained of attributes and items from the movie set.
And last but not least...
Holy cow, Leonardo di Caprio's real Jack costume!! #spazzing
Holy cow, Leonardo di Caprio's real Jack costume!! #spazzing
After the tour came to an end, Elda and I hung around the gift shop for around half an hour while waiting for the same cab to pick us up.
Once we got back to the hotel, we thought of having dinner at the Downtown Disney, which we thought would be a walking distance from the hotel. But apparently, it's further than seen on the map and requires a shuttle to go there, while shuttle service at that time was no longer available. So we decided to have dinner at Sizzler, who was located a block away from the hotel (remember the receptionist lady informing us about some good restaurants along the hotel rows earlier?)
Sizzlin' Sirloin Steak for dindin!
Right after the fulfilling dinner, we dropped by at McD on the way back to the hotel to buy burgers for breakfast tomorrow. Then approximately at 11.43 pm, we went to bed, as we needed to save some energy for tomorrow because....
Magic Kingdom awaited!!!!!
-Verandah cafe pictures are credit to Elda-
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