what?!! we missed the fireworks?

on the way to EK

spongebob's the Ride was soooo funnyy and we enjoyed the 5-minute show (yep, it was just short)... our voices were the only ones echoing in the theater.

funny spongebob

so, we went out of Rialto with smiles on our faces...well, not for long..

so, knowing that EK had set grand fireworks display by 9 pm, we asked the guard where we can see it..and he was surprised..

you sure you were not able to see the fireworks? it just ended just now.

WHATTT??!! we missed the fireworks?

huhuhu...:(:(:(

Now, we know why we were the only ones in the theater.. we looked back at Rialto and there were so many people again - lots of kids falling in line waiting for the show to start.

well, we consoled ourselves - fireworks, we can always see.. but having the theater to ourselves? :) not always.. so, in the end, it was okay..

what?!

hnm...the first thing i noticed when we entered Rialto, was where are the people?

we were the only ones in the theater. naturaly, we were soo happyy..we have the theater to ourselves, wOw - we can run up and down and no one would notice - we can take as many pictures as we can, as long as we want (well, not until the movie starts).

where are the people? where are the kids?

special screening? ")

After doing some shopping, er, rather, pretending to be shopping (just for the pics) hahaha.. it wa Spongebob time in Rialto theater..

Of course, we have to complete this childlike fantasy and we can't miss the Rialto..

Spongebob ")

i love Rialto

we had some rides, dinner, some pics - so what's next? Shopping!

little wizards

souvenir shops

bunny, anyone?

wannabe singers? EK can help produce your album with PopNoggins, hehe.

create your album now

it was funny to see EK guests dancing to the tune of 'Girls, Just Wanna Have FUn' showing only their human heads and having a cartoon body.

artists on the making ")

we very much wanted to test our driving skills in the track but it would cost us again another 250 pesos, so we decided to just hang around the area for a while and satisfied ourselves by just looking at the those who can afford to do hit the tracks LOL.

"

wanna drive?

we were very hungry already so we decided to eat first - i needed rice asap. While eating, a live band was also performing in the dining area.

hungry

and thirsty

you can ride a tricycle to EK from Sta. Rosa proper

it was eve already and we decided to try the Swan boat at the Swan lake. First thing i noticed that we were required to wear a vest.

What?

Oppss. sorry, I wasn't able to read the rest of the notice - only for certain children. haha.. Gari and I hd fun guessing how many centimeters we are.

only for little children

there were so many kids waiting - we felt like we were too old for this, but hey, we want to enjoy the lake too..

one small girl was wearing a lifevest much, much bigger than herself and she was crying and told her mom she doesn't want to wear the vest, and can mom please take it off? i admired how the lady handled the kid tho.

It ws our turn finally and we were soo happy paddling to nowhere in particular. We were just laughing and laughing. Ah, such fun!

swan lake

daytime

this is one of the best shots ever taken in my camera so far.. thanks Gari ")

i love the moon - my PENultimate dream destination is to be able to walk on the moon and to look at our beautiful planet earth from outer space. Well, who knows? LOL

the wheel and the moon

After the wheel ride, we grabbed some pizza.. we heard annoucements re: a dive show so naturally we squeezed through the crowd for a better view.

It was the Oliver's Water Show from Switzerland. they have 6 divers in all (2 were women) who were professional acrobat divers from Canada, Europe and Belarus (where's that?).

The show was awesome and funny at the same time - the divers were just amazing.

perfect dive

on fire

The highlight of the show was the HIGH DIVE (from 85 feet and with a speed of 100 km per hour -wOw. It was breathtaking.

at 85 feet

with the high diver himself

meeting the wizard

after the Anchor's away - my hair was flying all over, haha.. But it was fun - worth my hysteria, haha..

The next stop was the giant ferris wheel - the wheel of fate, so it was called. Gari was again very excited to ride and he dragged me there.

giant ferris wheel

I was having second thoughts. I had a bad experience in a ferris wheel and in an octopus ride back in high school. I almost fell down. I don't want to relive the memory. It was at that moment that I realize I had a phobia for ferris wheels.

Should i or shouldn't I? That is the question ")

Gari seems disappointed that I was not so enthusiastic about the ride, but then, the best way to conquer fear is to face fear itself.. So, reluctantly, I conceded..

The first thing I noticed about it was that it was not child-friendly, no safety belts or anything - my fear doubled.. What if I slide? What if I fell down?

ferris wheel buddies ")

Oh, come on Yhen, it's just a ferris wheel. Slowly, the wheel went up then stopped.. My mind was just blank.

On the second turn, I began to relax and took notice of my surroundings. Wow, the view was nice ..

on top of the world ")

with Gari

i am not actually a ride lover - but  i am eternally curious about everything so, I just needed to try the EK rides. After all, how can we exercise our wrist power? hahaha.

Gari was so excited about the Anchor's Away, you know like a pirates' boat just hanging around there.. Well, i said, that looks easy enough and the boat looks kind of friendly :) So, excitedly, we chose the best seat (in the back LOL).

anchor's away (sorry, the photo looks really away, hehe)

So, we were there waiting for other people to climb aboard. At first, we were all smiles. We even asked one of the EK gals to take a photo.

before the sail ")

Then, we were moving.

what EK can offer

The boat swayed and swayed and swayed - up, up and down, down... My, how I wanted jump there and then..

At last, i found the secret to fighting my fears (hysteria, actually).. the secret? throw your hands up the air and shout at the top of your lungs --haha.. never mind what others are thinking. This is human survival.. I have to survive this one. LOL.

The back and fro swaying it seems were tooo looonggg (maybe because there weren't many EK guests around yet waiting for their turn).. so it was a loonngg sway for us.

And, surprisingly, I learned to love it and enjoyed it.. Whew, that was one unforgetabble one for me..This may sound silly, but tis true.. If only I can balance my curiosity and my stomach turning, haha.. Hmm.. i wonder what skydiving feels like? LOL

mixed feelings ")

what's good about EK or any theme park for that matter (with Disney being the most famous) is that they bringy joy to the child in us - no matter how old we are (well.. am not yet that old, haha..)

so, not minding our age, we explored the kiddy rides, kiddy trails, kiddy slides, hehe.. and had so much fun.. well, i guess that's what parks are for, right? for people, especially children, to enjoy and have fun. So, we did.

peek-a-boo

kid's hanging bridge

i love the balloons

the moment we we're in, guess where i first went into? :) yep, yep - the restrooms LOL

anyway, we didn't right away hit the rides - we just took our time, savored the scenes and the people.. i love to hear the shrieks of glee from the children..ah, parks are paradise for the little ones

you know this one - no need to label, hehe

i love life

yes, we're in.. and we have the EK wrist power - haha.. we can ride all we want as long as we have that wrist power :)

wrist power

After some photos with the wizard and the EK entrance, I dragged Gari to the ticket booth - we need to get inside fast. We paid P500 each inclusive of all rides.

EK rates

what EK offers

at last, after an hour or so in the bus (am not sure - i fell asleep on the way), we arrived in Sta. Rosa proper. We then rode a tricycle to the Enchanted Kingdom. Haha, we were enjoying our trip so far. Gari calls it the 'jologs' style - more fun, much freer.

And then , finally - we arrived at EK. Yehey, it was not yet evening - no sunset yet.. I can still see how EK looks in the day (otherwise, Gari???...LOL)

we're here

meeting the EK wizard ")

finally...

finally, by 3 pm, Gari arrived and after reading the book (which I can very well relate to) for an hour, I almost forgot we were going to EK.. so, we proceeded to Glorietta where Gari was sure a shuttle to EK was parked BUT we weren't able to find it.. Oh my, how to get there? Time's running and I don't want to miss a thing.  (i know it's a song - thanks Aerosmith)

we asked around and we were directed to the van terminal.. we went there and waited for the van to be full.. and waited... and waited...

vans going to Balibago, Laguna

well, we have waited enough.. it's already 4 o'clock and it's still us in the van - Gari and 3 others.. We need another 12 passengers before it will finally get moving. Ah, I can't wait anymore - I have to go. 'We need to go.' 

camera-shy Gari 

so, we opted for the bus which is going to Sta. Rosa and boy, was the line long - there were many people waiting for the bus even on a Sunday. So we squeezed through, run towards the first one we can see going to Laguna and climbed the bus right away and grabbed a seat. Whew - what a race.. We were finally moving to EK!

EK prices

Am back in Manila again and as agreed with Gari when he was in Mindanao - he'll accompany me there - yehey!

It wouldn't be fun if I'll go to a theme park alone - imagine that. Gari thought the idea is hilarious, you know like talking to any person who happens to be beside me and tell whoever the person is "ang saya no?" (meaning 'it's fun eh?')  hahaha.. I would really look pitiful. OR imagine me riding the big ferris wheel or paddling the swan boat ALONE. Ugg - pitiful me.

So, thankfully, Gari (who had been to the park 3x already) took pity on me and said okay, i'll take you there. Well, he has to, he said, after all the kindness we show him when he was in Davao. LOL

So, we agreed to meet by 2pm at Landmark. While waiting (he has to drop by Robinsons for a while), I lazed around Powerbooks, took a book to read and seated myself comfortably, in guess where? - the children's section reading a very funnyyy book of a 'dysfunctional woman' haha.