{Soarin' Over California!♪}

New LJ specifically for me to post my graphics and fan fictions-

http://natparkergirl08.livejournal.com/

That way they can all be in one place and not all thrown on here.

So I was searching for scholarships to put towards USM..... and this link on FastWebs caught my eye..... Disney College Program.

You guys know I'm OBSESSED with Disney. The movies, the merchandise, and..... the parks especially. The only reason I really miss Tampa is because WDW was just an hour away. I adore "the happiest place on earth" more than any other location on the face of the planet.

Anywoo, I found the perfect outlet for money for USM- an internship at Disney World in Orlando the summer before I go to uni. You work at a park or resort in operations, merchandise, food service, etc., and get a nice sum of money in exchange for your services, money to be used at..... uni. Disney provides housing and you use the WDW buses (Lord I'm very familiar with those!!!)

I am so applying....... can you imagine, being at WDW for a whole SUMMER??? I would be so happy!!!!!! Making money in my favorite locale ever..... I would love to work at Epcot or Coronado Springs. Though running the Tower of Terror would so totally rock!!!!!!!!!!!! *lol* No.... I want to run Soarin'. Perfect.

I just got so excited I had to share. So you guys know where I'll be come summer 2010. 

I never have time to update anymore......

Damn. Life kinda sucks.

I still have barely scratched the surface of the Disney trip, but blame a little "friend" named pneumonia that came to visit me two weeks ago. Thanks to that, I landed in the hospital for a week and am STILL on antibiotics!!!!

Note though- I am going back to Disney World for Christmas though! December 23-28. I told my mom I didn't want a traditional Christmas this year, so we're foregoing gifts and a tree and heading down there. THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!

Add please!! But via PM I shall explain adding you on Myspace-

http://www.myspace.com/henrythomasgirl18

http://www.facebook.com/srch.php?hs=33573983&hr=2008&nm=corey+lyn


And AAAHHHH!!!!!! I'm friends with Katee again!!! So excited!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuDwOSsZe3E  Hope that works..... it's the Soarin' video!!!

Day two of my vacation was spent at the lovely, beautiful, awesome Epcot park!!! Duh, obviously this one is my favorite of WDW's four themed lands, so of course I'm gonna gush about it!!! Sunday morning we got up and went over there, arriving by 8:30AM- as WDW resort guests, we got to be there an hour ahead of the general public!! Quite advantageous! The bus was packed though, so I ended up standing, but it was nice to chat with the bus driver and listen to the stats about the theme parks he fired off for us passengers on the 13-minute ride over to Epcot. 

Gah, but Disney totally irks me with that bag-checking shit they pull at the gates... it's quite slow. Sometimes a guard thoroughly searches your bag (story behind that later) and then sometimes they don't even look at it!!  I prefer the latter myself. Then of course the whole ticket-tag thumb-scanning thing with the tickets to ensure you're not using a stolen ticket, blah blah blah, but at last... FINALLY!!!! I got into my earthly heaven!!!

My dad left immediately to go get Fastpass tickets for Soarin' (OMG the best effin' ride EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so my mom, sister, brother, and I got in line (well, more like walked on) Spaceship Earth. It's illegal to come to Epcot and not immediately jump on that ride!! It's a wonderful journey through the history of communication, narrated by Dame Judy Dench (who knew?? I just found that out last night!)! It starts off in the days of the cavemen, then gradually progresses to the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Phonecians. Next come the Middle Ages and monks, Jewish and Arab scholars, and others who revived learning after Rome's fall; the Renaissance (with a lovely scene dipicting Michelangelo painting the Sistene Chapel!!); the post-Cival War Industrial Revolution; the Age of Invention and Information (telegraph, telephone, movie projector, etc.); the moon landing of 1969; the computer age and Steve Jobs inventing the Apple PC... finally, we "return" to Earth through a field of E.T.-like stars and get to create our own future via postcard (categories home, health, leisure, and work). I emailed mine to myself and shall eventually post it. :)

Soarin' Fastpass tickets instructerd us to return at 11:20 AM, so we headed for The Land pavilion to ride LIving With the Land while we waited. This ride tells of nature's importance in our everyday lives and ends with a tour of Disney's private horticultural and agricultural research labs (the Mickey pumpkins are must-sees!!). A pleasant ride, a great way to cool down and rest the feet.

Ahhh.... 11:20AM finally arrived, and, Fastpass ticket in hand, I proceeded on to the greatest ride anyone in theme park history has ever dreamed up. Soarin' is simple- you sit in a hang-glider resembling chair, strap in, and then the chairs are raised up and out 45 feet into a giant IMAX dome screen. Aerial views of various California landscapes- the Golden Gate Bridge, Redwood Creek, Napa Valley, Monterey Bay, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Palm Springs, Camarillo, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego, Malibu, L.A., and Disneyland- are prjected on the screen, and the subtle vehicular movements amazingly simulate flight!! The scent machines used (evergreens, oranges, sagebrush, ocean spray, etc.) authenticate the experience further. The Jerry Goldsmith piece accompanying the ride will take your breath away!! Haha, I'll just post that YouTube vid ASAP.... it'll help.

Shit, this is long... I better shut up. I've barely tapped the surface of day two!! But my fingers grow weary.... I'll finish tonight.

So I guess I shall segue back into telling about my vacation... I'm trying to dedicate an entry to each respective day, so it can be better broken down. I know reading about the trip down there will be far from interesting, but what the hell, I'm gonna put it in here anyway.

So we left last Saturday (the 31st) at like midnight... it's amazing what kind of world is out there when everyone is asleep. It's just so still and dark that it almost casts a bewitching spell of sorts. I wanted to sleep but really couldn't... so I got on AIM on the Razr and talked to Ari and Trent for a few minutes as we headed down Highway 59 towards Hattiesburg. I finally went on to sleep after we passed through Mobile, Alabama, and didn't wake up again till Tallahassee, upon which I had to get up if I expected to eat breakfast at that really nice Chick-Fil-A they have there. So yeah... after that I kinda slept on and off till around ten-ish, when it came time to get off I-10 and onto I-75, which leads not only to Orlando (via toll road, UGH!) but Tampa, my former place of residency.  

We got down to Orlando at exactly 3PM, right when we could check into our cabin at Fort Wilderness Resort. Let me say this, there is no excitement quite like the one felt while traveling on the final toll road (forgot the name...) and looking out the left window and seeing bits of Disney coming into view- the Contemporary Resort, Cinderella's Castle, the lovely Epcot geodesic sphere, and the Tower of Terror over at Hollywood Studios. Needless to say, I was just beside myself with excitement!! Disney World is truly my favorite place in the UNIVERSE, and it had been 10 years since my last big vacation down there (we went for the day occasionally while living in Tampa, but that wasn't the same).

Fort Wilderness Resort... well, let's put it thia way... the cabin was lovely, very spacious and roomy, but the transportation wasn't exactly up-to-par. Too much walking involved... but I'll get into that later when I talk about the different parks. Basically we unpacked and then wandered around the resort for awhile, exploring and seeing what all was there to do.

So ends day one...

....to detail the Disney World trip. Seriously. I have so freakin' much stuff to say. I mean, duh, I was there a week!!!! Let's do this first-

TOP TEN BEST RIDES ACCORDING TO ME

1. Soarin' (Epcot)- OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You cannot DIE without riding this!!!!!! It simulates a hang-glider flight over California set to a gorgeous Jerry Goldsmith score. The sensation of flight is so real!!!! The ride always makes me cry at the redwoods scene.... duh, I think about E.T.!!! The first time I rode (November 2005- it had just opened 6 months prior), my dad and I waited almost 90 minutes to ride (at like 9 at night!)- it was worth the wait though!!!!!! I've ridden at least seven times. I have the Goldsmith piece as well.... extraordinary!!!!

2. Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (Animal KIngdom): Another OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This one is a roller coaster that goes frontwards, backwards (in the dark!!!), and drops 80 feet STRAIGHT DOWN!!! The Audio-Animatronics Yeti is pretty cool too!!!! My dad and I did Fastpass, rode it, then immediately got back on!!!! It goes 50 MPH- holy crap!! I didn't KNOW that!!! And I chickened out of the Rock 'N Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios that goes 57 MPH??? Hmmm....

3. Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Hollywood Studios- formerly MGM Studios till this January)- WOW!!!! I rode this one two times in a row as well.... the 13-story drop might seem daunting, but OMG!!! It's effin' AMAZING!!!! It goes so fast down that 157 feet that you're weightless (I was floating during the second trip, though I was restrained- I lifted my feet up off the floor). I rode hands in the air the second time- LOL!!!!!

4. Splash Mountain (Magic Kingdom)- Hmmm... let's see.... this trip made the ride count of this one rise to around 8- haha!!! The 50 foot plunge is amazing.... hint, though- look down as you're falling. It makes it so much smoother!

5. Dinosaur (Animal Kingdom)- Another one I rode twice in a row.... Wallace Langham was the narrator (Hodges of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation!!) which was what was so awesome to me (people during the preshow kept hollering "HEY!! THAT'S HODGES!!!!")! The ride was a little herky-jerky, but oh well.... reminded me of Jurassic Park.

6. Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom)- Haha, a raft ride with a warning- YOU WILL GET WET, EVEN SOAKED!!! Guess what?? I GOT SOAKED!!!! LOL!!! Just like I wanted!

7. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom)- Rather tame roller coaster (25 MPH- yeah...) but still fun. My little brother loved it. I rode it 3 times..... it was very smooth, really. Very good for younger kids wanting a more exciting ride (say, those about 7 or older).

8. Spaceship Earth (Epcot)- This ride doesn't have much to it, but the Audio-Animatronics figures and the scenery is lovely. It's inside the big Epcot globe thing. Basically, the ride details the history of communication from the cavemen till now. At the end of the ride, you can even create your own "future" and send it via email postcard.

9. The Haunted Mansion (Magic Kingdom)- The renovation last year left this a little, uh.... creepy, really. The attic scene is almost disturbing, if you ponder it somewhat (in which the phantom bride informs us of the fact that she decapitated all five of her husbands). The ballroom and cemetary scenes make up for it, though. Let's see.... total, I've been on this one prolly 10 times.

10.Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (Magic Kingdom)- This one was so adorable!!! It was like being inside a Buzz Lightyear videogame (and yes, Zurg was the one to be fought). Shoot the Zs with a laser gun and gain points. My highest score???? 64,300!!!!!!


Ok then.... DO NOT leave Disney World without riding these!!!!

So I'm on my way home. I always hate leaving Orlando. I love Florida- I miss it down here, I really do. I wish I still lived over in Tampa, but don't tell my mom that. I'm writing this on my phone, so I might not be able to detail much now. More later.

Writing this on my phone... from Disney World! We're about to go eat and then head to Epcot- that means Soarin'! Plus we're doing Illuminations tonight. So yesterday I rode Tower of Terror two times in a row and LOVED every second of it! Well enough for now.

Writing this on my phone... from Disney World! We're about to go eat and then head to Epcot- that means Soarin'! Plus we're doing Illuminations tonight. So yesterday I rode Tower of Terror two times in a row and LOVED every second of it! Well enough for now.

What can I say?? Nothing really has happened today. My sister and I went shopping- that's it. I got two pairs of shoes, a DVD (When Harry Met Sally- my mom wanted it so I surprised her), a book (The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova), a thank-you card for Miss Marthene, and a ring. Big, I know.... not.

Kara is doing better. She had surgery today to remove the bullet... so she's fine. I'm so relieved!!! I have been worried for 24 hours straight!! I mean, I barely slept! I hope she'll be able to walk again, but that possibility is pretty slim. I just hope everything is ok.

Wednesday..... the middle of the week. Hmmm.... I leave Friday. Thank God.

So I got home today from work, got on Facebook, and looked at Jake's status- it said "Be praying for Kara." Well, ok....

I asked my sister, "What's wrong with Kara McFarland?" "I don't know," she said, so I returned to listening to my iPod. Five seconds later, I got a text from Lisa saying that Kara had been shot!! She said that her cousin Jonathan, who was dating Kara, did it! Lisa was fit to be tied, naturally. Lance then called and told me that Kara and Jonathan got into a fight because they broke up; he grabbed a gun and shot her in the thigh. The bullet entered at an angle, shattered her pelvic bone, and is apparently lodged there. She's probably going to die!!!!!!! Lance said if she survives, she'll never walk again! Oh, God....

She needs all the thoughts and prayers she can get! Please!!!!!!!

I really have no clue what to say right now.... this IS the first entry. I'm still figuring things out here. Hopefully Eliza will get my FB message ASAP and help me out a little bit. :) I like to write- no, LOVE to write- so I should have plenty of things to say before long....