Day 1: Great flight, and a fun stop at fun spot - Only a week after graduating middle school, and giving a speech at graduation, my mom and I packed our bags and headed for the theme park promise land...central Florida. The trip out was great, as my grandparents had surprised us with first class tickets for the approximately 5.5 hour flight, and we had a really nice meal mid flight. San Diego international airport is very small, and kind of infuriating at times, but we were there at o dark thirty, so it was somewhat dead. Flying into Orlando is quite possibly my favorite plane experience as you fly right over I drive, SeaWorld, and universal. It really got me hyped up flying right over Mako, velocicoaster, and Icon park. Also, the views of SWSD flying out of San Diego are great for anyone who cares.
After grabbing our luggage, and getting a decent rental car that I believe was a Hyundia.We heading for our first hotel, Universals endless summer. After paying the obscene bill for two days universal tickets, and two day Express for me, we headed up to our room. It was very spacious, with two queen beds, and a nice aesthetic. It was also overlooking the pool, as well as Volcano bay, and what was left of Icon Park.
Now being honest, this is when things start getting weird, but far from all hell breaking loose like it would on day 2....spoiler alert. We decided to hit Fun Spot Orlando that night since it is about 5 minutes from the hotel, and we weren't too tired. Anyone that's been to Florida knows about how bad the toll roads are, and we only messed it up once heading to fun spot. It ended up costing around 30 dollars to actually go about 3 miles out of the way. WE actually got to fun spot right as it got dark.
My first ride of the trip was White Lightning. I walked right on to the back row, and had a great time. It was my first true GCI, so I was actually quite shocked by how strong the airtime was. Also had some fun laterals, and is a great night ride. In total, I got 14 rides on WL that night, including a marathon of about 10 rides later that night. After hitting Wl, I decided to get the two other credits at the park. This is when it got really weird.
The kiddie credit was up next. The ride op was very nice, but it was somewhat embarrassing, since there where only two little kids on it with me. I think I got 3 laps around on the kiddie credit. Decent credit, but not worth doing again. It seemed a little more janky than some others. As I got off the train, the ride op very politely said exit to your left on the same side you get in from. I as well as one of the kids did this, but not the second little kid. He hopped over a metal bar, and off the side of the train. Lucky for him, it was only about a 3 foot fall, but still scary. This kids mom absolutely WENT OFF on the ride op. I legit though she was about to start swinging. The ride op then hopped over the track, and got the kid. He had me stand there just in case the kid lost his footing crossing the track, and he was fine. He looked a little bit schoked, but not injured. The ride op then explained to the kids mom what happened. I stood there, and helped vouch for the ride op, since he was super nice about the whole thing, and did everything he was supposed to. The mom seemed to calm down, so I thanked the ride op, and moved on to the final credit, freedom flyer.
Freedom Flyer is a shockingly fun Vekoma family suspended coaster. Had a nice layout stretching over the pathways of the park, but some very poor operations. After this, I got my marathon on White Lightning and headed out. At the time White Lightning was in my top ten since I only had about 40 credits at the time. It currently sits at #24 in my rankings out of 125. Overall, the park had a nice vibe, and according to my mom, some comfortable benches. We drove back to the hotel and rested up for Universal the next day. Little did we know that it would both make and break not only our trip, but also body parts. Yes, somehow a ride fixed some nerve pain my mom had...then all hell broke loose in the Endless Summer dropoff area.
