Ziplining.

Yesterday was a heck of a day. And honestly a complete 180 from the day before.

First of all, going from sitting an oncologist’s office to all of a sudden, this…

That's my "holy crap" face. FYI.

…is all sorts of absurd.

In a good way, of course. (A very very good way). Just very weird.

It took me a little while to decompress. (I mean really, how do you switch gears from that?)

I pretty much got back from the appointment, packed up and drove out to meet the other 20 bloggers for the DisneyGlobalEvent, which was a tour of some cool adventurey stuff in Kissimmee followed by the Chimpanzee premiere & red carpet event with an interview with Jane Goodall (!!!!!!!!!), which has been the part I have been looking forward to the most.

When I first got here, I had some wine (no picture) and then a little time in the hot tub (also no picture – you’re welcome) which is in the house where we’re staying. Then I had some solid (uninterrupted by panic), sleep. Which alone was magical.

So anyways, the day went like this.

Up early and bus to Florida Eco Safaris.

Where they have about a zillion adventures to choose from including a 2 hour ziplining safari, riding a bike above the tree canopies, to horseback & jeep tours. I was all about this “Panther Pounce” thing, which was walking off this building in the sky. I thought jumping might be symbolic in some way.

It reminds me of Swiss Family Robinson.

The Panther Pounce is one of the four new adventures that just opened along with the “Rattlesnake,” which is (simply put) crazy talk, but in order for me to do the Panther Pounce, most of us had to do the Rattlesnake. So before I give you that little piece of crazy video of me going off that Rattlesnake platform, I’ll back up and show you around a little bit.

We took this (really bouncy) little bus through the dirt roads and fields to the ziplining. It had superbly comfortable leather seats so it was a very cushiony bouncing.

Not that it matters, but it is worth noting, I enjoy leather comfort.

Some of the vastness. All untouched.

You can see the Panther Pounce in the distance in this one. That don’t look so bad.

What’s cool about this place is that it is a nature preserve that they are very careful to, well, preserve while still allowing people to be a part of the natural habitats and wildlife. We saw horses, cows and usually there are alligators under the ziplining but on this day we didn’t see them (later on we ate them though, does that count?)

We had to get on our harnesses and helmets.

And I was excited because I was eager to DO SOMETHING CRAZY!

Nevermind my pit stain.

Because I have never felt a fear in my life like I had in the past week. And absolutely nothing could compare to that.

That is, until of course I got up there.

Me and Lolli.

And that big tall wooden tower 70 feet up was swaying in the breeze like it could go over at any moment. (I’m being dramatic, it can’t.)

It was a little scary up there.

Doesn't it remind you of Gorillas in the Mist? Just saying.

So the Rattlesnake I was talking about is more than a zipline, it’s a “zipline roller coaster.” It goes up and it goes down all very unexpectedly and you’re flapping in the breeze the whole way.

Here’s Crystal doing it.

See what I mean? Crazytalk. You get momentum and then go flying all over the place.

I must have stood on that platform for a good 5 minutes before I decided I could go. I knew from videotaping someone else that it was only a 1 minute 53 second ride but it don’t feel like that. It felt like much, much longer.

Here is some of me taking off. (It is very short video).

You didn’t miss anything, I screamed the whole way. My throat still hurts. Sorry the video was so short, I don’t know what happened.

I was actually pretty scared throughout this ride and I’m an upside down roller coaster person. When it ended, my legs were shaking uncontrollably. It was a wild ride and it scared me to death. And at that moment, I decided that on this particular day, there was no longer a need for me to purposely look fear in the face.

I had had enough.

So I bailed on the Panther Pounce, which was just a straight down jump from 70 feet up. I’ll be ok without that today. But most of the rest of our group did it and loved it. It’s true that the theme of the day, like Caryn said yesterday, was “not to over think it. Sometimes you just have to let go.” 

I couldn’t have put it better.

So I didn’t do the Panther Pounce, but I did however, do the longest zipline that they had!

Staring out from the platform.

Which was a blast, actually!

Starting out is always the hardest part, getting the nerve to step off that platform, but as soon as I let go, it felt blissful.

I closed my eyes and felt the wind on my face. I breathed deeply and I felt very thankful to be in that moment, zipping along through the trees.

I thanked God for peace.

I had time to do all that, I wasn’t going that fast.

In fact, I had a little trouble building back momentum after the halfway point and about 20 feet from the end I slowed to a complete stop before I got to the platform. And got stuck.

Stuck.

So there I was dangling.

More stuck. At least I had my camera.

I tried to scoot and get some momentum (I looked ridiculous flailing around in my harness) so I squiggled around for a bit but nothing would work, I just got some, ahem, uncomfortable chafing, and so the zipline lady had to come bring me a rope and fish me back to the platform.

The platform where my friends were waiting.

And then we had a nice long walk back through the Florida wilderness.

Emily and Sara

This was a side of Florida I hadn’t seen before and I’ve lived here for most of my life. It’s totally off the beaten path from the typical “Disney vacation” but just minutes from Orlando. So totally worth it to bring the husband back for an adventure day. They also do summer camps and team building and I totally see why; I feel like I’m closer to the other bloggers I went through this craziness with.

By the way, here’s a better understanding of the crazy Rattlesnake, you gotta watch it.

But honestly, the whole experience was invigorating, adrenaline-rushing and honestly the most perfect timing for me. I needed this. All of it.

Part of the group.

Isn’t that just the most beautiful sky?

So heavenly.

After the ziplining we went on an airboat tour with Boggy Creek Airboat Rides where the theme was alligators. I have another post for that, but it will have to wait for now.

Off to the actual premiere today (Jane Goodall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And hey also, when we got here, Disney decided to pair up with all the sponsors of the trip to offer a reader giveaway, a dream vacation which includes all of this that we did, plus a 7 night stay at Global Resort Homes and actually much more. So um, enter here, mkay?

It’s seriously an incredible giveaway and it ends when our weekend ends and I want one of you to win it! Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Disclosure: Expenses for this trip are paid by Disney. However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

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