ZzZzz... The 2015 Central Florida Fair

Remember when this fair was amazing? And it was worth going to? Remember when the midway was massive? Yeah, all things of the past I guess. Year after year it seems the midway gets smaller and less and less rides show up. Its odd that Wade can make an amazing midway at the State Fair but when they show up in Orlando its almost garbage now.

It was $1 ride day, so we opted for 10 tickets each, rather than a $20 wristband, based off what we saw on the midway we felt it was the better option. 

Anyways... photos and stuff.

Bring a can of food, get in for $1
CORN!
Uh, animal photos?

Like.. this Sheep

And this duck!

Nibbles!!

Another duck :D

Guinea Pig

:D Kangaroo 

Moo?!

Unamused Camel

Ankole!

And... a Sea Lion about to have snackums

Little model of the fair...
If only half the rides were actually here..

<3 DUCK cookies!!!

Oh man, and PIG RACES!
(Twice in a week for me)

And... because its a fair, GIGANTIC FRIED CHEESE LOG!
(with ranch to dip it in)

Woo, ride photos.

Midway overview from the Ferris Wheel

Five guys trying to fix the log flume...

CHEESE WHEEL

Opa, wait no, I mean... Mighty Mouse Coaster

It was running better today than it was a few weeks ago at State Fair. And we were also able to unbalance our car this time.

Meh, photo of my Flickr project.

Oh hey, Fighter was here
We took it for a lap since we skipped it at State

Same for the Enterprise

And it seemed to be running better than at State as well.

Rock Star was new for 2015, also at State, but I skipped it there
(rode it here)

Pirate, we skipped it... but have ridden it in the past
and I'm glad its still touring.

Typhoon was new (I think) we didn't ride it... but it looked nice
I was kinda bummed HIT-IN-2000 failed to show up.

Music Express (Quasar) was here!
And while it ran a semi-long and fast program, it still failed to vary the motion
(I looked at the control panel after riding, its got 3 programs listed, it was running "1", I wonder how the others are)

Fire Ball!
It's funny how 10 years ago I'd do anything to ride it... and now I skip it most of the time in favor of 'new' things.

The "Observation Tower" showed up as well.. but was testing for a good part of the night.

Kiddie Coaster #1 - Never tried to ride

Kiddie Coaster #2 - :| ridden in the past.

Zamp kiddie drop tower was here... but uh, not ready for riders.

They also had a helicopter tour again. We didn't ride it this time but have twice before in the past.

  Observation Tower did end up opening later in the night, so we took it for a ride.

Nighttime overview of the midway

YAY, THE ZIPPER
(story time)
So I have my little pouch thing I keep my phone in when at fairs or parks or whatever... It also holds some extra batteries and my keys... I typically shove Jeff's phone in it as well... We get on the Zipper and Jeff mentions how his phone is pinned by the lap bar in his pocket (he failed to give it to me before getting on) the ride starts to cycle and all is well and good.. until suddenly I see this large black object flying at my face... Smashing my nose and lip. GD, OUCH. What the hell was that? At first, I thought it was my camera until I realized it was still in my hand. I grab whatever it was with my free hand (as the ride is still cycling and flipping us all around) and look to my amazement... its Jeff's stupid-ass-iPhone. So as were still cycling, I'm screaming at him and using some uh, bad words about my feelings toward his phone...being sure to let him know it had smashed me in the face.. and I've since banned him from riding the Zipper with me again.

Fighter, now at night?
Wade should take it off the road for a season and do a full refurbishment on the ride. Its getting pretty beat up and for what was a star attraction is pretty forgettable now.

In the end, I did end up riding FireBall <3
(because even if its not new anymore, its still a lot of fun)

Centrifuge, still looking all new and awesome at night with its LED package.

Mega Drop failed to ever open :(
(luckily I had ridden it twice at the State Fair a week earlier)

Rock Star was having issues where it would run just fine... cycle 2 or 3 times with riders... and suddenly go down again.

  I wasn't gonna ride it but because Jeff had sat out FireBall we had an extra ticket.
People were loosing their mind on it.. I was pretty amused
(Although I wish Rainbow had come instead and had really put on a show)

Spider was here too.
It was here the first few times I visited the Central Florida Fair... but over the last few its been missing. Glad to see its returned.
(and obviously, it was ridden)

And for some reason... the ARM Vertigo had none of its lights on, but its crown.
It looked just terrible. How can ride that's barely 3 years old be in such poor shape already!

But we still rode it...
Its kind of our tradition at Central Florida (and State Fair) to ride the Swing Tower ride last.
Woo?
Hopefuls the 2016 fair will restore my faith in this once mighty fair.

Random stuff from Twitter
Mighty Mouse Coaster - Photo
Pig Races - Photo
Music Express // Quasar (via Vine) - Video
Truth - Tweet

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort / Hilton Head, SC

Over a year in the making... But damn, we made it!

So... back in 2013 Mariah asked if I would wanna go up to Hilton Head because they were offering half-off rates for Cast. I said I'd go... but we were never able to get time off to lineup with discounted dates and such. Over a year passes and we all kinda forget about the resort. Flash-forward to July 2014. My mom tells me they have thousands of RCI points that are gonna be use-or-lose by March 2015 and if there was anything I'd be able to book so they wouldn't go to waste.... Suddenly Hilton Head popped back into my head. Not being that hopeful to find availability that would be realistic for us to use I checked... There were 2 weeks in total.. both with just a single unit still free. The first happened to be the week before Christmas (14) and, well, there was no way Disney was gonna give us that time off..... But there was also the first week of February... hmm. After verifying with my mom I was good to use the points, I just went ahead and booked the room.... and then I went about asking 'Hey... would you still wanna go up to Hilton Head?' ...'yeah? well, uh, you'd better put in for the first week of February off.....' sweet. Well, then I get this phone call from my mom asking why I had booked a 3 room hotel that sleeps 9 people... ha, but I explained it was the only unit left! The room was booked for the entire week, although we had planned just going Wednesday-Saturday and spending a day sightseeing in Savannah. I had taken off Tuesday as well, that way I wouldn't get scheduled at Disney until 3.45 in the morning and have to turn around and drive 5 hours to South Carolina that same morning.... After telling Mariah that, she suggested we leave Tuesday afternoon, therefore giving us an extra day to play around with. (becoming our day trip up to Charleston) Chelsea and her husband were gonna join us but it turned out Chris was gonna be unable to go... but the three of us still made the trek and it was worth the (minimal) effort.  

I've done these posts kinda out of order just to keep each location in its own post

Charleston day - Click

Savannah day - Click

This post is half the resort itself and the remaining, things around the island.

Woo, so after months of "ooooh, its almost time for Hilton Head!!!" we packed up my car and hit the road. The drive from Orlando to Hilton Head Island is just under 5 hours and we had no real traffic outside of Downtown Orlando. Once checking into the hotel we went out to Mellow Mushroom and also hit a Whole Foods-like store for food. I left my camera in the car so it wasn't documented.. but the MM pizza was yummy.
Ok, woo

Woo! Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort!
(BECAUSE WERE DVC!)

The resort itself is on its own island on Hilton Head Island in Shelter Cove Harbour.

The main building and check in.
Live Oak Lodge

With its fresh baked cookies <3

And a few Mickey touches....

Guest areas in the lodge

Another not-so-hidden Mickey

Shadows house...
Mmhm... I got my ass up and outside at 9am for the Shadow Meet-n-Greet (when it was in the 30's) and failed to find this dog. We never got to see her in the end... :(

Uh, some Flower & Garden leftovers?

!!!
How fitting, we were in the DUCK building

Complete with a duck themed "air-mail"-box

Neat luggage carts (that may have been ridden)

The 'living' room of our amazing room!
(taken before it was absolutely destroyed for the week)

The full kitchen area

The dining room table / booth
(that I was in love with)

The secondary bedroom with its own full bath.

Master room, spa tub!
(that was definitely used!)

Master bed room!

One of the very few 'Disney' touches in the room
This was semi-hidden on a bench next to the laundry room in the hall.
(There was also a W.D. carving)

Random photo of.. uh.. me?
I loved the over sized seat... that was also a pull-out twin sized bed!

Rocking chairs and picnic table on our porch

And the amazing view we had!
I was so glad we were on the 'backside' of the resort, not in a room facing the other resorts in the area.

Beanbag-toss, shuffleboard, and the fire-pit
(Although campfire night got rained out)

The walk way around the marina side of the resort.

Another one of the few Hidden Mickey's found here.

The fishing pier out over Broad Creek (tidal marsh)

The boardwalk.
(that was completely replaced mid-visit! haha)

Little playground area.

One of the little beach areas at the resort.

The empty pool area... maybe the low 40's isn't pool weather?

It may have only been 43*s out... but the pool was open.
and, well, the CM turned the slide on just for us.
Chelsea and I both went down it 5 or 6 times
(before I quickly...ran...to the hot tub)
((while Mariah, in her winter coat, called us idiots from the side)) 
And yeah, we were the only riders on it all day <3

The Big Dipper slide... now at night!

The fishing pier at night. It was so peaceful out there at night...
well...until...

That stupid-ass heron that gave me a heart attack!
As I'm walking back to the hotel... this big ass bird swoops in overhead and caws at me... making me almost mess myself.

Ha, the fitness center...
...as if we used that.

The resort shuttle bus that takes you to the beach house, among other places on the island.

Mr. Pelican out for a swim

A whole bunch of Cormorant hanging out on the seawall

Chillin' in the hammock!

Having gone to a redbox location the night before... we found out DVD's could be rented for free from the gift shop! (D'oh!)
 (...I picked The Emperor's New Groove)

(and if you noticed a complete lack of other people in these photos.. for a resort that at booking only had a single unit available.... it turned out almost half of the buildings at the resort were being completely refurbished and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves! In fact, only on our last day, as we checked out, did we see more than say, 5 people on property!)

Onto the Beach House!
Because the resort itself is located on the river side of Hilton Head Island, it has no real beach access. To make up for that, located about a mile from the main resort is Disney's Beach House in Palmetto Dunes. You can walk/bike/drive there... or take the shuttle bus.

Parking at the Beach House was kinda... odd. My car the only one in the entire parking lot.

Entrance is granted via your room key from both the parking lot and the beach itself.

Empty pool area at the Beach House.

The beach on the Atlantic Ocean, from the pool deck

Boardwalk to the beach :D

Sand dunes, the beach, and the ocean!

Mariah being more concerned with her phone than her Hello Kitty kite

My amazing Pterodactyl kite!
(Chelsea had a kite too, uh, with Cinderella on it)

Uh... my southern most South Carolina beach?

And for the rest of Hilton Head Island, non-Disney stuffs

Our 'Explore Hilton Head' day took us to the far end of the of the island to Harbour Town Marina in the Sea Pines Resort tourist area. But because it was off season most of the shops were closed and the few that were open were closing as we got there (around 5pm)

The 90 foot tall Harbour Town Light

That has a gift shop and museum inside, and is also climbable.

View from the top of the lighthouse.

Harbour Town Golf Links golf course

Oh hey, the light itself.

And a kitty! :D

Sun setting over the harbour

Oh... Those people... and, uh, the sunset?

Boating pier and nautical flags.
After leaving the Lighthouse area, we headed over to Braddock Point on South Beach

Home of the famous Salty Dog Cafe in Marina Village.
Almost everyday at work I see someone with Salty Dog shirt on... So I was determined to visit it once going to Hilton Head. I didn't even care if it was gonna be good or not.. I just wanted to go to the damn place. (it was good)

Annddd I introduced the girls to the amazingness that is..
Pimento Cheese Dip <3

And we got to meet Chadwick the cat! :D
This cat lives at the marina and even goes inside the shops!

And, uh, for some reason they also had a bunch of Macaw's?
We also visited a few other gift shop and tack areas, but again, due to it being the off season.. a lot of things were closed up for winter or just closed really early, some of the shops closed as early as 4.
I'd love to come back again maybe in the early fall to get a better idea of what its like. Reading about the island on Wiki I was amazed to see how much the population of the island increases in the summer time. It goes from around 37,000 people to over 275,000!

...And because its South Carolina....

You have to stop at stores selling massive amounts of fireworks.
(that's also a gas station....)

OH MAN!
And on the way back to Orlando, we made a quick stop in Sanford, FL where the SMAC Food Truck was setup for an event! (mmmmm)

Bonus Twitter Stuffs!
 Hotel tour (via Vine) - Video
View from our room (with Raccoon) - Photo
 Pier at the Resort - Photo

Flying my Pterodactyl kite (via Vine) - Video

Sunset from the lighthouse - Photo

Chadwick the Cat - Photo

Mmmm, SMAC - Photo

Woo