Orlando- PM

by Heidi

Planet Hollywood

Carla and Stephanie arrived in Kissimmee Friday night after a long trip from Gainesville which included car trouble and time spent at the garage. Once they arrived, four hours later then expected, we changed and began our trek into the night. The evening's events began with VIP seating at Planet Hollywood, courtesy of the local Hilton. You guys are great! We all ordered burgers and fries and those of us who were of age, drank "Terminators." I cannot even remember how many liquors were in that drink. An elderly lady on the Planet Hollywood payroll took pictures of each table with the intent of selling them photo-keychains for $10, and of course we fell for it. We are such suckers. While we were waiting for our keychains to be ready, we window-shopped at the Pleasure Island club stores and Virgin Records. As we were looking through mounds of cds at Virgin, Steph received a phone call from her friend, jhon (spelled correctly) and he wanted to meet up with us later that night. So, as plans were being made by Steph and her friend, a supposed security guard approached me about two females (one of which I knew unfortunately from high school) about possible shoplifting acts. We left immediately since we knew nothing.

We were to meet Steph's friends at Pointe Orlando for the foam party atsome club which turned out to cost roughly $20 per hour. Parking not included. A mess. We decided to pass on this and bummed around the place for an hour waiting for those boys to show up. Then we took matters into our own hands and decided to see "All About the Benjamins" which is a really great movie. After that, it was around 2 am and time for bed. We had an early start the next morning so that we could make the most of our day.

For us, the main goal for Saturday night was BEADS, BEADS, BEADS. I had been to Mardi Gras at Universal Studios a few years back and was ecstatic to go again. This year's parade theme was America. There were many floats, costumes and the like, that depicted different time periods throughout American history, along with some of the traditional Mardi Gras floats, such as the Gator deemed the Mardi Animal. We have the souvenir shot glass to prove it.

Give Me Some Beads...Mistah!

We found a spot along the parade route about 2 hours before the parade started. We wanted to make sure we were in a prime spot to catch as many beads as we could. There was even talk of relocating during the parade's route. Once the parade began things started to get crazy. Since we were in the front people were trying to get in front of us the entire time. A father was near us, hoarding all the beads for his obnoxious children. We stood our ground and did not let them through. The parade was great, all the floats were full of color. Some of the "bead throwers" on the floats were somewhat slow to throw the beads. We were getting angry, but the three of us managed to get a decent amount of beads. After the parade, the concert for that evening began. That night the featured band was Lynard Skynard. We found a place to stand but it was hard to see the band. There were a lot of die hard Lynard Skynard fans that night that had waited all day just to see them perform.

We watched the concert for about 30 minutes and then we moved on to CityWalk. Our admission tickets to the park included cover at any of the bars and clubs. So we made sure to take advantage of that. Stephanie and I started with "Hurricanes" from Pat O'Briens. I would have to say that drink is well worth it's price especially since we got a bonus glass. We walked around CityWalk for a little while and we decided to eat at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. While we waited for our table we looked at the various kiosks selling beads and the like. One place was trying to sell the same beads for more money. Where do they get off!

Christian...'nough Said

Meanwhile, "back at the ranch" our table was ready. We were seated right in front of the live Jimmy Buffet cover band. We ended up meeting a guy there. We saw him from across the room making a fool of himself as he attempted to dance his way on to the stage. He desired the opportunity to sing a couple songs with the band. He ended up giving them a generous tip and they of course let him sing two Jimmy Buffet songs. He did a really good job. He did forget some the lyrics because he was nervous and drunk. It was entertaining to say the least. He ended up sitting with us for a little while and bought us a round of drinks. He also went to the Margaritaville shop and bought the three of us a small souvenir along with the hat he wore for his debut. He was a really nice (and flirtatious) guy. He made the night even more interesting and the gifts were a bonus.

We left Margaritaville and continued to walk through CityWalk looking for our next destination. We found ourselves entering Motown Club carrying our multitude of bags and goodies. We were not dressed for the occassion but that was ok. We didn't care. There were people of all ages gettin' down to the old school jams. When we first arrived it was nothing but oldies but as the night progressed they played more Hip-Hop. That night we saw many talented dancers and some that were not. We went home after having been at that park for a solid 16 hours. Time for bed.