My application for my food count is not working, so I will update this section tomorrow.
As another way of exercise and fun in the Florida sun, my friend joined me on an adventure of a lifetime at Disney's Blizzard Beach. The theme of the park is that a blizzard swept the area and left a ski resort behind. It really is a fun place to visit and to tackle amazing slides. Yesterday was my first day back since my trip when I was a little girl, so a lot of things looked identical or familiar.
All photos borrowed from Google
Ladies & Gents: I'd like to introduce you to the tallest water slide in the world. How tall is it exactly? How does THIRTEEN stories sound? I still can't believe I went on it! On our way to the slide and during the intense waiting period I was hyperventilating, a few tears fell, and my heart was beating out of my chest. There were many times I wanted to chicken out and run back down, too. Kids as old as Jen's daughter went down it, so I tried to keep that as my motivation to go. My friend went before me and then I sat down; waiting for the perfect moment to go. A couple behind me told me seconds before my turn that I have nothing to worry about; that there are only "a few injuries from Summit Plummet a year." Well... I don't think that was a smart thing to tell someone who was so petrified! haha! I'd like to point out that he was definitely kidding just to psych me out. I slowly inched my further down and then stopped; I couldn't go through with it and wanted to stand up and get out of there. Jen was waiting for me and motioning for me to do it and gave in. I successfully accomplished that barrier and had a blast while doing so! Peer pressure can be a good thing sometimes, folks! haha!
(And here are some more pictures from the slide)
The view from the top of Summit Plummet is absolutely fantastic. You see all four theme parks and Downtown Disney from the top.
The drop alone is 90-feet and lasts for about 3-5 seconds. Definitely an attraction you do not want to miss for all you thrill seekers!
After conquering my fear of free falling and extreme heights, we went on a family raft ride called Teamboat Springs! You sit in a raft that fits 4 to 6 people as you slide your way down a melted slope. Be sure to hang on otherwise you'll fall and will be in for a treat! haha!
Slush Gusher is another fun slide and it's located right next to Summit Plummet. It's not quite as tall as it's neighbor, but it's pretty high nonetheless. There are three drops total to keep your heart racing. I think I was going pretty fast because my rear came off the the slide a little bit, haha. It was a rush and just as fun as Summit Plummet.
After finishing the green slope (Summit Plummet, Teamboat Springs, and Crush Gusher), we went over to the purple slope to knock off the three slides from our to-do-list. The slides on this slope were a ton of fun, too!
If you want to race some friends or family members, Snow Stormers or Toboggan Racers are the slides made just for you! For Snow Stormers, you will slide your way down twists and turns before ending in a pool of water. It was a lot of fun, and a bit scary... haha! I almost fell off my mat a few times, so that would've been bad news had the next rider launched from the top.
Right next to Snow Stormers is a fun slide that fits up to eight people. You will grab the same mat you used for Snow Stormers and will be directed to your spot by a Cast Member. You will get on your mat and wait for the signal to push yourself off to try to be the first one to reach the finish line. This attraction was a lot of fun and I remember wanting to do this when I was a kid. I never got the chance when my parents brought me on my first trip, so I'm really glad I got to do it yesterday. Once I reached the very end, the water was much deeper than what I was expecting and I inhaled a lot of water through my nose and mouth. I inhaled so much that I was having what my friend thought was an asthma attack -- I don't have asthma. I literally could not breathe and was turning purple. I laugh about it now because you'd think I'd have my mouth closed... but I was not expecting to go that far; nor did I expect the water to be so deep at the end. Despite that incident, I had a blast on it and think everyone should ride it!
Downhill Double Dipper is fun slide to race a friend or family member, too. You grab an individual inner-tube and get launched by a Cast Member down a fast hill. You start off enclosed and end in a pool of water. This one was a blast and fun for all ages!
So, we finished all of the slides on the green and purple slopes, right? What is there to finish now? Runoff Rapids!!! My stomach was in knots because of the memory I had from RR when I was a child. When my father started getting off the inner tube, I fell backwards with my legs bobbing in the water. I didn't know how to swim when I was that age, so that incident was very scary for me. All I remember is my father picking me up from the water as fast as he could and my mother screaming on the steps. Oh! And there was a lifeguard who jumped in to help save me. That ordeal made me have a phobia of water for years. I didn't want to get into the water after that until I taught myself to swim. I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't a little apprehensive because I most certainly was. It was fun to go on it after so many years, though. You can either go down individually or with a second person (it has three water slides total). Jen and I agreed to go on it individually, so we went down the fully enclosed slide. It was so much fun because it was pitch black, so you couldn't tell where you were going.
After spending 2.5 hours in the park, we finished all the slides before the rain clouds started making their way over. The only two things we didn't get to do were the lazy river and a mini wave pool. We took this ski lift pictured below twice, but walked the rest of the day to the slides. Each slope had around 117-137 steps total, so we definitely worked our rears, cores, and legs. We even worked our arms by carrying a few inner tubs along the way. I have a feeling I will be sore for awhile and the pain is worth the results. We walked those stairs a good ten times, at least... major calorie burn, folks!
-B
