Orlando, Florida #1

Welcome to the happiest place on Earth! (No, not where you’re sitting right now, even though it is the happiest valley.) I’m talking about Disney World, of course.

Now I know that some wouldn’t consider Disney to be the most glamorous destination for a travel blog, but it is definitely one of my favorite places and has been a part of some of my best vacations. I am so obsessed with everything about Disney: the characters, the movies, the food; so naturally, I love the park the most.

I have been there twice: once when I was in elementary school with my parents, sister, best friend, and other family friends and again for my senior class trip. Since the latter was more recent, I have a lot more memories from it.

In April 2017, my classmates and I traveled to Orlando to visit Disney and some of the other amazing attractions the Sunshine State has to offer. With only three-and-a-half days, the trip’s itinerary was filled with back-to-back activities; many, many, many bus and shuttle rides; and over 60 students and chaperones to make it that much more hectic. While all of that made it very exhausting, it was an amazing time with all of my classmates and one of the most fun memories I have from high school.

Day 1:

It started at 12:00 am at my high school, where I boarded the bus for a 3-hour trek to the Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. Even though it was still before the sunrise, I was up and awake because it was the first time I had seen or even driven through the capital.

Upon arrival, I faced an extremely long journey at the airport with the 60-plus people in my group. After a couple hours though, we were finally on our flight to Orlando! When we landed, we were picked up by a Disney Shuttle for another hour ride to our hotel: Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort. From the second we stepped on the bus, we were surrounded by Disney. As soon as we got there, we were free to go to whatever Disney Park we wanted.

My friends and I decided to spend the remainder of the day at Epcot. Within minutes of entering the park, I fell in love with it. There is a huge, round lake surrounded by many different “countries”, each with buildings, landscaping, vendors, and food native to that particular country.

First stop: London. After making a quick phone call and spotting Peter Pan, some of my friends picked up some fish and chips. Next: Paris. With the Eiffel Tower in the distance, the canals below, and Beauty and the Beast in the center, this area was perfect for pictures. Then, we ate lunch in Colonial America because we weren’t feeling adventurous with our food choices, and checked out the Moroccan village’s clothing shops before heading to Japan, China, and a few others.

For dinner, we traveled to the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Disney Wilderness Lodge, where the servers are supposed to yell, throw the straws at the tables, and are rude to the customers.

Day 2:

Another early morning, we ate breakfast and jumped on the bus, heading to Cocoa Beach. Cramming the ultimate beach day into a few short hours, we played ultimate frisbee (diving in the sand and all), swam in the FREEZING ocean, tanned, and even got McDonald’s*.

* I highly recommend eating chicken nuggets on the beach.

Afterwards, we went to Grad Bash at Universal Studios Orlando. Grad Bash is an exclusive event where the park is open from 7 PM to 2 AM strictly for seniors. Jason Derulo was even there to perform. Although I hadn’t watched Harry Potter at the time of the trip, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was by-far the best in the park. After riding Escape from Gringotts (my favorite ride of all time), we checked out Ollivander’s Wand Shop and got ice-cream and butter beer in Diagon Alley, eventually making it to Hogsmeade. The Transformers ride was an extremely close second for the best.

… With two more days of Orlando adventures to share, check out my blog next week to read Orlando, Florida #2!