BLIZZARD BEACH
Link to this week's column at
USAToday.com/travel:
USA Today.com Column
Due to the large influx of new subscribers to
this Update each week, I’ve decided to leave the
following note in place indefinitely. When the
situation changes, I will update it.
NOTE FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS: When I first started
this newsletter, my purpose was to answer
questions from the traveling public. However,
when usatoday.com took over that function, it
left me with nothing to write about as I did not
want to duplicate my “Ask The Captain” column
here. Instead, I started writing about life as a
pilot. At the time of this writing, there is a
legal situation which has developed which
prohibits me from writing about current flying,
so instead I’m writing about other events in my
life. I am prohibited from discussing “the
situation” but if you stay tuned, I expect some
developments in the next few months and will
share what I legally and ethically can with my
readers. If you’re just joining us now, you can
see all my previous Weekly Updates at my blog:
www.fromthecockpit.com/Blogg.
Before I dive in, so to speak, be sure to check
out the newest photos in my Photo Gallery.
There are several new animal shots in the Animals
and Fish Gallery, courtesy of my cousin Dr.
Michael Braunstein, an award-winning
photographer. There is a new photo of Al The Web
Guy and Coco, our Pomeranian in the At Home
album, a couple shots of yesterday’s TV
interview in the Speaking Events/Awards/Books
album, and a photo of my friend Captain Lim, who
flies for a major Asian airline. Many of my
readers know Captain Lim through his own site
www.askcaptainlim.com .
I also finally got around to posting a couple of
scenic views at the La Quinta Resort in Palm
Springs where I recently gave a talk to the
American Hospital Association. The most efficient
way to view all the newest photos is to go to
www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery, then click on
Last Uploads. You’ll need to click on the
individual photos to read the captions.
Yesterday morning was TV interview day out at
Denver Airport. Al The Web Guy and I moved out
to the country a few years ago which is nice, but
it’s a long drive to get anywhere, including the
airport, about an hour and a half away.
This interview was for a large local station, WB
2, which is doing a “Face Your Fears” feature all
week. I discussed fear of flying and had the
chance to tell the TV audience about my course
“Flying Fearless--Ground School for Passengers,”
available at www.flyingfearless.com. Al The Web
Guy and I wanted to post the interview, but
unfortunately the station wouldn’t grant us
permission.
For no reason I can think of, I’m really
comfortable doing public speaking and being on TV
comes even easier, so it went well and I knew the
host from an interview I did with the same
station a year ago. My 3 ½ minutes of air time
felt like about 45 seconds, and even though I
talk faster than an air traffic controller during
rush hour at Chicago O’Hare, it went by much too
quickly.
Al The Web Guy suggested to me that I not “waste”
the long drive and go enjoy myself afterward
since I would be very close to the two things I
enjoy most: a big swimming pool and an ice rink.
Each facility is located on a different closed
military base, but they’re within a few miles of
each other and not that far from the airport.
The pool is located in what looks like just
another military barracks and the ice rink is one
of two in a huge revamped airplane hangar.
When my interview was done, I hustled out to the
parking garage at DIA where I’ve never parked
before, got turned around and very lost on the
way to my car, eventually found it and headed for
the pool. It’s not a fancy pool, but it’s quiet
and I was one of only three swimmers there.
As I was hurtling down the slide, one of those
big, hard plastic tubes that get you going really
fast, an image popped into my head of another
slide I experienced years ago in Orlando. It’s
funny, but whenever a friend or family member
goes to Walt Disney World, I always start to say
I’ve never been there, but I actually did go
there on an Orlando layover when I was flying the
Airbus. I didn’t see Epcot or any of the other
more popular venues. I headed straight for the
water park. Before I started laying over in
Orlando, I didn’t realize Disney World even had a
water park.
Our Orlando hotel, located not far from Disney
World, had this magnificent 79 foot slide made to
look like a giant Python. You climbed up a wide,
cement staircase to the slide’s entrance, level
with the third storey of the hotel. I had never
been to a water park and never been on anything
larger than a backyard pool slide, so this was
quite a ride by comparison, taking over 4 seconds
to get down in a whoosh of water. I couldn’t get
enough of it. Here’s a photo. You can see the
landing at the left where you get into the slide,
but what you can’t see is how the slide curves
steeply, goes almost straight down and loops
under itself:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuffledog/16006613
The Orlando layovers were pleasant in length,
around fifteen hours or so, but not long enough
to get to Disney World. One day, though, our
schedule was changed for some reason and we had
over thirty hours there. In the rooms there was
one station on TV devoted to Disney World and
when I saw the part about Blizzard Beach, I had
to go. The Disney premise was that a freak
winter snow storm melted a ski resort. They had
the tallest water slide in the country. WHAT WAS
I THINKING?
It’s called the Summit Plummet, it’s 120 feet
high and sliders reach speeds of 55 mph. There’s
a sign at the top that warns heart patients that
maybe this isn’t such a good idea for them. No
kidding. I was having a few second thoughts
myself but, nevertheless, if you’ll forgive the
expression, I took the plunge. It was so steep I
literally thought I was going to fall right off
the mountain.
Needless to say, I did not fall off the mountain.
I’m still here, lived to tell the tale, and
gladly stuck to the hotel pool slide after that.
I always go down the slide at the military pool,
usually in between two sets of laps, but I
haven’t thought about Blizzard Beach for a long
time. It brought a smile just as I plopped into
the water.
I finished my laps, traded my swimsuit, cap and
goggles for skates and gloves and headed for the
ice rink, which was also pleasantly deserted, but
I all I could keep thinking about was my day at
Blizzard Beach. By the way, here’s a link to
Disney’s Blizzard Beach site so you can see for
yourself.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/parkLanding?id=BBLandingPage&bhcp=1
“The World At My Feet” and “Flights of Whimsy”
marketing test was a success and is now a
permanent offer in our Gift Ideas area at
fromthecockpit.com. Just $25 for both books,
shipped anywhere in the world for free for a
savings of $12.85.
Click here:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Gift_Ideas.html
And with that,
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap'n Meryl
USAToday.com/travel:
USA Today.com Column
Due to the large influx of new subscribers to
this Update each week, I’ve decided to leave the
following note in place indefinitely. When the
situation changes, I will update it.
NOTE FOR NEW SUBSCRIBERS: When I first started
this newsletter, my purpose was to answer
questions from the traveling public. However,
when usatoday.com took over that function, it
left me with nothing to write about as I did not
want to duplicate my “Ask The Captain” column
here. Instead, I started writing about life as a
pilot. At the time of this writing, there is a
legal situation which has developed which
prohibits me from writing about current flying,
so instead I’m writing about other events in my
life. I am prohibited from discussing “the
situation” but if you stay tuned, I expect some
developments in the next few months and will
share what I legally and ethically can with my
readers. If you’re just joining us now, you can
see all my previous Weekly Updates at my blog:
www.fromthecockpit.com/Blogg.
Before I dive in, so to speak, be sure to check
out the newest photos in my Photo Gallery.
There are several new animal shots in the Animals
and Fish Gallery, courtesy of my cousin Dr.
Michael Braunstein, an award-winning
photographer. There is a new photo of Al The Web
Guy and Coco, our Pomeranian in the At Home
album, a couple shots of yesterday’s TV
interview in the Speaking Events/Awards/Books
album, and a photo of my friend Captain Lim, who
flies for a major Asian airline. Many of my
readers know Captain Lim through his own site
www.askcaptainlim.com .
I also finally got around to posting a couple of
scenic views at the La Quinta Resort in Palm
Springs where I recently gave a talk to the
American Hospital Association. The most efficient
way to view all the newest photos is to go to
www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery, then click on
Last Uploads. You’ll need to click on the
individual photos to read the captions.
Yesterday morning was TV interview day out at
Denver Airport. Al The Web Guy and I moved out
to the country a few years ago which is nice, but
it’s a long drive to get anywhere, including the
airport, about an hour and a half away.
This interview was for a large local station, WB
2, which is doing a “Face Your Fears” feature all
week. I discussed fear of flying and had the
chance to tell the TV audience about my course
“Flying Fearless--Ground School for Passengers,”
available at www.flyingfearless.com. Al The Web
Guy and I wanted to post the interview, but
unfortunately the station wouldn’t grant us
permission.
For no reason I can think of, I’m really
comfortable doing public speaking and being on TV
comes even easier, so it went well and I knew the
host from an interview I did with the same
station a year ago. My 3 ½ minutes of air time
felt like about 45 seconds, and even though I
talk faster than an air traffic controller during
rush hour at Chicago O’Hare, it went by much too
quickly.
Al The Web Guy suggested to me that I not “waste”
the long drive and go enjoy myself afterward
since I would be very close to the two things I
enjoy most: a big swimming pool and an ice rink.
Each facility is located on a different closed
military base, but they’re within a few miles of
each other and not that far from the airport.
The pool is located in what looks like just
another military barracks and the ice rink is one
of two in a huge revamped airplane hangar.
When my interview was done, I hustled out to the
parking garage at DIA where I’ve never parked
before, got turned around and very lost on the
way to my car, eventually found it and headed for
the pool. It’s not a fancy pool, but it’s quiet
and I was one of only three swimmers there.
As I was hurtling down the slide, one of those
big, hard plastic tubes that get you going really
fast, an image popped into my head of another
slide I experienced years ago in Orlando. It’s
funny, but whenever a friend or family member
goes to Walt Disney World, I always start to say
I’ve never been there, but I actually did go
there on an Orlando layover when I was flying the
Airbus. I didn’t see Epcot or any of the other
more popular venues. I headed straight for the
water park. Before I started laying over in
Orlando, I didn’t realize Disney World even had a
water park.
Our Orlando hotel, located not far from Disney
World, had this magnificent 79 foot slide made to
look like a giant Python. You climbed up a wide,
cement staircase to the slide’s entrance, level
with the third storey of the hotel. I had never
been to a water park and never been on anything
larger than a backyard pool slide, so this was
quite a ride by comparison, taking over 4 seconds
to get down in a whoosh of water. I couldn’t get
enough of it. Here’s a photo. You can see the
landing at the left where you get into the slide,
but what you can’t see is how the slide curves
steeply, goes almost straight down and loops
under itself:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shuffledog/16006613
The Orlando layovers were pleasant in length,
around fifteen hours or so, but not long enough
to get to Disney World. One day, though, our
schedule was changed for some reason and we had
over thirty hours there. In the rooms there was
one station on TV devoted to Disney World and
when I saw the part about Blizzard Beach, I had
to go. The Disney premise was that a freak
winter snow storm melted a ski resort. They had
the tallest water slide in the country. WHAT WAS
I THINKING?
It’s called the Summit Plummet, it’s 120 feet
high and sliders reach speeds of 55 mph. There’s
a sign at the top that warns heart patients that
maybe this isn’t such a good idea for them. No
kidding. I was having a few second thoughts
myself but, nevertheless, if you’ll forgive the
expression, I took the plunge. It was so steep I
literally thought I was going to fall right off
the mountain.
Needless to say, I did not fall off the mountain.
I’m still here, lived to tell the tale, and
gladly stuck to the hotel pool slide after that.
I always go down the slide at the military pool,
usually in between two sets of laps, but I
haven’t thought about Blizzard Beach for a long
time. It brought a smile just as I plopped into
the water.
I finished my laps, traded my swimsuit, cap and
goggles for skates and gloves and headed for the
ice rink, which was also pleasantly deserted, but
I all I could keep thinking about was my day at
Blizzard Beach. By the way, here’s a link to
Disney’s Blizzard Beach site so you can see for
yourself.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/parkLanding?id=BBLandingPage&bhcp=1
“The World At My Feet” and “Flights of Whimsy”
marketing test was a success and is now a
permanent offer in our Gift Ideas area at
fromthecockpit.com. Just $25 for both books,
shipped anywhere in the world for free for a
savings of $12.85.
Click here:
http://www.fromthecockpit.com/Gift_Ideas.html
And with that,
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap'n Meryl
1 Comments:
Hi, and thanks for sharing your very cleanly-written thoughts. It's a shame that your employer would do anything to inhibit your first amendment rights, especially as your blog seems to me to be quite gentle and positive. It's also a shame that United brass and shareholders have decided to put the people who make them money, last. I have read of the cutting of salaries and destruction of pensions of United employees with horror. It is with even more shame and horror that I read about the bonuses for major shareholders, vice presidents and other upper management staff, while the futures of those who actually have anything to do with customers and airplanes are squandered. Anyone who really cares about the mission of the company, is willing to sacrifice. It's very plain, who matters at United. What is not plain, is how sustainable the top-heavy policy is. I find the whole situation appalling, unfair, shameful and callous. As a government contractor working overseas, I am stuck with United's contract with the US government for transport of civilians. Otherwise, I would have nothing to do with them, out of sheer conscience.
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