lplp: 2007

When I was sourcing for a holiday package, I shortlisted those which included admission to some theme parks. The main idea was - if all other segments of the package should somehow fail, we would at least be able to look forward to a good time at the theme parks, right?

As it turned out, we all ejoyed almost every part of the package which we finally picked. It also included admission to 2 of the various theme parks in Gold Coast - Movie World and Sea World.

~~~~~~~~~~

After our McDonald's dinner at about 7pm in the evening of our 'free day', we made our way back to the hotel and told the boys that we would have to sleep early and rest well because we would be going to the 1st of the 2 'Worlds' on our itinerary - Movie World - the next morning. So, the boys went to bed very soon after their showers.

Luckily, I was able to sleep that night. My backache was almost completely gone - weird, but I suspect all those 'dodging' and 'pushing around the obstacles' at Infinity in the afternoon probably helped stretch some muscles. :)

But alas, there was a 'new' problem that night - some time after I fell asleep, I felt both my lower arms hot and itchy.... and then it got painful! It wasn't exactly unbearable but it was bad enough to make me sit up and wonder why this was so.... then, it suddenly dawned upon me, perhaps it was sunburn?!

So I walked to the bathroom (where we had left the lights on) and saw to my shock - oh, no! Both arms were literally as red as lobster claws! Price for forgetting to put on sunblock at the beach the day earlier.... sigh....

The next morning, R and I were the 1st to get up. After we got the boys up, we washed up and proceeded to breakfast then returned to our room for our showers. Once we were done, we joined our tour group and set off in our coach at about 9:15am.

Actually, for a group tour, this was a rather leisurely schedule. Our previous experience with group tours was every day would be very hectic - almost always "rush here, rush there" type of super-exhausting arrangement. So we really appreciated the much more leisurely pace of things here in GC.

After a short half-hour coach ride, we arrived at the main entrance to the Movie World. Whilst waiting for our tour leader to collect our pre-booked tickets, the group members started tokeep themselves busy clicking away with their cameras. I took some pics, too. R applied sunblock for the children and himself. I quickly did the same, too, as I showed off my red lobster claws to R.

Once the gates opened, we collected our tickets and made our way into Movie World. A short briefing by our tour leader followed. The plan as suggested by her was that she would guide us to some attractions (mainly those with specific shows at scheduled showtimes) first and then after that, we would explore the other attractions at the park on our own. And so that was what we did.

The first attraction we headed for was the 4D Shrek Movie. We joined a long queue for the 1st show that morning. Whilst standing in the queue, we spotted Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird and Duffy Duck on the main street. WF and I took time off from the queue to pose for some pics with these cartoon characters. WY, who somehow was very grouchy at that time, declined to join us and so he and R remained in the line.

Just before WF and I re-joined R and WY, we also spotted Sylvester (who is WF's favourite amongst the Looney Tune characters) standing at a corner quietly. Everyone nearby had assumed that he was a static display until all of a sudden, Sylvester moved his arms and held an angmo girl posing next to him! Most of those nearby, including WF and myself, screamed in shock at this cheeky trick of Sylvester!!

Then, we returned to join R and WY in the queue which had, by then, started to move forward to collect the special 4D glasses being handed out by staff. The 4D Shrek Movie turned out to be excellent! The fun we had watching the movie whilst seated on the special motion-simulation chairs and being fitted with special 4D glasses more than made up for the 20+ minute wait in the queue outside the hall.

The special effects were so good and life-like, everyone was dodging the Dragon's fire-balls whilst 'bouncing' on our chairs as the horse-carriage went over uneven, rocky grounds! My personal favourite was when the Dragon suddenly sneezed and *YIKES!!* droplets of its 'sneeze' came splashing onto all of our faces! Hahahahaa, we all enjoyed this Movie tremendously!

The next attraction we proceeded to was the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster. This is a relatively new attraction in Movie World and is touted to be a roller coaster ride so exciting and spooky that will leave chills in your spine.... and it really was both exciting and scary! It left no chills in my spine though I got a mild headache after that ride!

Only WY and I went for the Scooby-Doo ride because WF had insisted that he did not want to join in for this one even though he meets the height requirement. No matter how much we tried to coax him or bribe him with promises of goodies and ice-cream later on, he just flatly refused to go in. So R brought him around to other attractions in the meantime.

Later on, after we had completed the Scooby-Doo ride, I figured out why WF had been so adamant not to take this ride. He had seen the video-clip on the web earlier when we were checking out what attractions there are at Movie World, and he must have seen that the ride was really quite scary. And as I told R and others back at home later on, WF turned out to be very right, afterall, about not wanting to take this ride because it would really have been too frightful and dangerous for him.

As WY and I boarded the 4-seater car, I kept reminding WY to make sure that he holds on to his bag and remain seated (as in, don't fall out of the car!) throughout the ride. For myself, I had to grip my haversack so tightly between my feet that they actually ached!

The ride started like any other 'normal' roller coaster ride, with some tracks running up and down alongside some ghoulish-theme walls and ornaments in the spooky castle. Then, suddenly, we approached a pair of axes swinging across our path from above our heads. The couple of Asian women sharing our spooky-car instinctively bent down their heads because the blades really looked like they were going to slice open our skulls! *click* (No prize for guessing it right: this was the photo-taking point!)

Then, soon after this, we were moved into some car-lift and because it was pitch-dark, we wouldn't see a thing. We could only feel our car being lifted upwards in the elevator... then when the elevator stopped, a door behind us suddenly opened and before we knew it, our car started to plunge backwards *Ahhh!!!!* and then it came to a sudden, abrupt stop!

The car then quickly span around 180 degrees (Oops! I thought we were going to be sliding backwards again!) and then paused momentarily again.... then from there, we went on to roller-coasting on some tracks which were arranged like a series of spiralling squares with rounded corners (at each corner, there was a great G-force as we went spinning 90-degrees)!.... It was quite scary because unlike regular outdoor roller-coasters, we couldn't see the tracks and so had no idea which way we were headed.... there were only spotlights here and there on the wall..... When the car finally came to a stop, everyone was panting like we had just been through some cyclone or something! *PANT* *PANT*

WY and I bought a Scooby-Doo mug for WF at the gift shop where we also picked up our souvenir photo. I also selected a t-shirt for WY, who was quite dazed by the ride....

(Later that day, our tour leader shared with us that someone from our group actually had her bag flung out of her spooky-car during her ride and the staff at the Scooby-Doo coaster had had to shut down the ride and switch on all the lights to retrieve the bag! Woah, it would have been a disaster if they couldn't recover that bag because it contained her travel documents etc!)

The next attraction we went to was called the Police Academy Stunt Show. We also had to queue to enter the gallery for this. WY and I proceeded into the gallery after a brief toilet break and we were soon joined by R and WF. R had to sit apart from us because there were not enough seats at our bench anymore.

While waiting for the show to start, we were entertained by a clown. His laughter-inducing antics were quite funny and the audience kept laughing and laughing. WY and WF spotted a popcorn seller making his rounds at the gallery. WF instantly asked if he could have some popcorns and so, I gave some cash to WY who more than gladly proceeded to get a cup of popcorns to share.

The Stunt Show was quite good. We didn't take many pics because the pace of the action was quite fast, but I recorded most parts of the show on video. WY, WF and I all agreed that the bomb-blasting, mushrooming fire-balls at a helicopter behind the main block (and hidden from view at first) and the high-speed, screeching police-car chases were fantastic and very thrilling!

By the time the Stunt Show ended, it was close to noon. But as all of us were not hungry, we decided to skip lunch and proceeded to check out the WB Kids' zone.

WY was beginning to get grouchy again at this point. Upon our persistent questioning, he finally said that his gum was aching badly. When I checked him, his gum looked very red and swollen. Then he said, "I think my molar is coming out, that's why." Then I remembered that at our most recent visit to the dentist, the dentist had noted that his molar looked like it was beginning to emerge and swollen gum at that site was expected.

So after only 3 rides at the Kids' zone, namely a super-short (maybe 30-seconds?) RoadRunner roller-coaster ride, a Sylvester-TweetyBird vertical ride (mirroring the BatWing SpaceShot) and a Yosemite Sam Railroad train ride, WY just rested. Later, a bottle of icy-cold Coke seemed to ease his discomfort a little.

In the meantime, WF went about (like a 'dua-pai-kia') in the Kids' zone, trying out various rides and enjoying himself thoroughly. He first went to a ride on Speedy Gonzales' Tijuana Taxis, followed by a Sylvester & TweetyBird-In-Cage Carousel ride (it was funny to see some Aunties in their 60's or 70's joining WF and a few other toddlers in this ride, which worked like the flying Dumbo ride in Disneyland except that riders here had to be contented sitting in a self-spinning bird-cage which would go up and down automatically!). Then there was a ride on a children's bump-cars attraction called Taz Hollywood Cars, which was rather brief.

Like WY, a bottle of Coke from the vending machine also did wonders to WF, who after a while, was also beginning to feel tired. So we all rested a while on some bench in the shade before taking a stroll towards the main street. On the way, we popped into a gift shop where I picked up some t-shirts for WY and WF. Using his budget, WY also decided to buy himself some souvenirs. He also selected 3 sets of metallic ornaments - one of Batman, another of Superman and another of Scooby-Doo, for WS, WP and himself.

After that, we went into a deli and picked up a sandwich (which tasted quite awful!) and then waited for the Movie Stars Parade to start. WY took a nap on a bench (I think he missed a substantial part of our fun in Movie World because of that gum-ache) while WF enjoyed his ice-cream cone with me as we sat on the curb waiting and waiting... R just sat on the bench with WY who was far, far away in d-r-e-a-m-l-a-n-d........

Sitting next to us was a Singaporean family (not from our tour group). The parents, who were about our age, had 2 young girls with them. Initially, they just sat by the road like everyone else and chatted happily amongst themselves. Very normal, nothing to 'complain' about them, right?.... But then, when the Parade started, it became a completely different story: the camera-wielding father kept instructing his daughters to stand beyond the barrier (thus blocking the view of many others including WF's and mine!) so that he could take pics of them in the foreground as the Movie World stars like Batman and Wonder Woman came onto the Parade!! And like typical incosiderate people, they kept at this even though ushers repeatedly requested the girls to sit down and keep within the permitted area!!!!!!

Woah lao! I almost lost my patience with that man but I held back shouting at him because I didn't want to embarrass the young girls or make them cry. Basically, the Parade is a very brief thing so I also didn't want to miss it by spending time arguing with such selfish and uncouth people.

Later, R said that it was 'fortunate' that I held back my tongue because after the Parade ended and when we were about to move off, the wife suddenly spoke to me and asked, "Were you in the same class as me in the Montessori course some years back?" I paused and thought, "Ha?! Who is this?!" She must have guessed my thoughts and so she removed her sunglasses and said "Hi."...... oh, it turned out that she was indeed one of my classmates in the Montessori course and we caught up a little before saying bye. What a small world this is, hor?

The Parade itself was ok. They started by getting this emcee who went around on a scooter-bike offering randomly ice-cream cones to the spectators. Then, some Superheroes made their appearance. They were followed by Looney Tune stars and other cartoon characters like Shrek and Princess Fiona. Unlike the Parade at Disneyland, all these Movie World Stars made a U-turn at the other end of the main street and so we could see them twice over! WF was most interested in the vehicles like Scooby-Doo's Mystery Van, Batman's Bat Mobil and the Looney Tune cars featuring the heads of Duffy Duck and Sylvester etc.

(Pics here were taken by R from his place at the bench. They are not necessarily arranged in the sequence of the characters' appearance. Note how the selfish father's daughters kept getting into some of our photos. I recorded most parts of the Parade on video.)

After the Parade ended, WF suggested that we try out the Bump-Cars at the Arcade area (that's where R had brought him to earlier in the morning when WY and I went on our Scooby-Doo ride). They boys had a few go's at the Bump-Cars station while R and I went once each (mainly to accompany WF because he isn't tall enough to step on the accelerators by himself yet). There were also some other game stalls at this area. We spent about half an hour there, 'donating' a total of about A$20 in exchange for some fun and laughter.

Although WF would have loved to stay on for an even longer time at the Arcade, we eventually persuaded him to go with us to check out the Wild West Falls Adventure Ride which from afar, looked like a ride we used to have in Haw Par Villa years ago. I offered to be the video-man while R brought WY (who had 'recovered' somehow and felt much better after that brief nap and the games at the Arcade) and WF to try this ride.

Later, when the ride ended (with a big splash in the waters!), WF told me in unmistakeable excitement as I changed him into a fresh, dry t-shirt, "Mama, I was so scared! My heart was so pain because it was beating so fast!...."

R and WY also changed out of their wet tops after this ride. Later, R explained that the ride at the Wild West Falls was quite unpredictable and although it had looked innocently straightforward from the outside, the ride within the 'mountains' was quite adventurous. At some point after ascending, the car actually plunged backwards into the waters, taking everyone by surprise....

After that, we headed towards the entrance leisurely to meet up with our tour group. On the way, we passed the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster and at my suggestion (erm, actually it was more 'insistence'), R went in to try the ride. WY, WF and I munched our lemon-cream cookies as we sat on a bench and waited for R to return.

When R came staggering back with a glassy-eyes look on his face, he said, "Woah, the G-force was so great! I think it gave me quite a bad headache!" WY and I laughed.

Hahhahaha, but it was a ride worth checking out, lah, especially since we gave the even more challenging rides like Lethal Weapon, Superman Escape, and Batwing Spaceshot, a miss altogether.

As we walked towards the main entrance, I told R that I am not likely to ever take these heart-throbbing rides. Too challenging for me, I would probably die of fright even before any of those plunges or slides or swings or swirls or twists etc. R also agreed that he is not likely to try these.

(Another parent amongst our group shared with us over dinner that evening that when her teenage sons rode on these more challenging rides, they were at times hung upside-down for a few seconds! And during those times, the coins and loose change from the boys' pockets came raining down! Hahaha... but they enjoyed the thrilling rides anyway.)

By this time, the park was generally very quiet - it was a wonder the crowd seemed to suddenly disappear.... Here are some pics we took of the sights as we moved towards our assembly point.

We were soon joined by other members of our tour group at the entrance. We boarded our coach promptly and amidst excited exchanges of which ride was good and which was scary etc, we headed back to our hotel for a brief rest before heading for another pseudo-Chinese dinner at a nearby restaurant.

This other restaurant, which was located on an upper floor at a building several streets away, was better in terms of decor, ambience and service. The food tasted better, too although it still was just pseudo-Chinese. For that dinner, we shared a table meant for 10 persons, with the family comprising a 40+ years old parents and 2 teenage boys (whose coins came raining down at the roller-coaster). So food was aplenty and everyone ate relatively heartily.

Hahahahha..... Oh yes! As we chatted over dinner, we discovered that this family actually stays in our same M estate! In fact, their block is just a stone's throw away from our previous 3-room block! What a coincidence, we all agreed..... so, it really is a small world, isn't it?!

After dinner, we made our way down to the street, only to be stopped by a passing mob of singing and cheering schoolies. Many of them actually high-fived us as they went by.

When the pavement was finally clear, R and I brought WY and WF for a stroll. At a shopping mall called Centro, we went into a supermarket called Coles and picked up some drinking water, some packets of macademia nuts and mixed nuts and 2 bars of Cadbury chocolate of flavours not available locally here - colleagues had told us that the Aussie version of Cadbury is very different from our local version and tastes much better than our local version, so it is a must-try. (We still don't know yet if this is true because we have yet to try the chocolates - maybe we'll share with everyone at home over the Christmas weekend. R's throat and WY's blocked nose should hopefully be ok by then.)

After the brief half-hour shopping at Coles, we headed back to our hotel for a good night's rest as we were scheduled to visit Sea World the next day.

lplp

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Priority??

Monday, December 24, 2007

Different Christmas Thoughts

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Gold Coast - Movie World

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