Having experienced Disneyland with my family when I was much younger, I've always longed to experience the amazing Disneyworld as well. My dream finally came true this summer when my two close friends and I made it a reality. Although the trip started out as somewhat of a joke, we eventually decided that yes, we really did want to go! April, Desera and I worked our hearts out all summer at a local restaurant earning and saving up money to pay our way to Florida. We flew there and back and spent four days visiting the six different theme parks Disneyworld had to offer.
Honestly, it's been nearly a year since this trip, and I can't remember all of the dirty details. In order to have some sort of keepsake, I'll upload a few of my favorite pictures and post some of the most interesting things that happened during our stay in Florida.
After hearing about the new ride called "Expedition Everest" at the Animal Kingdom park, the three of us girls were dying to ride it... and we did. Three times. The first time was absolutely hilarious. It's a thrilling roller coaster that follows a "big foot" theme of some sorts. Upon riding it for the first time, we discovered that the ride goes backwards (after pulling up to what looks like broken tracks) and nearly runs into a life-sized big foot replica. Scary! After our third time riding it, we still could've gone again.
Another interesting ride at Animal Kingdom was "Dinosaurs." Lemme tell ya... I thought this ride was going to be a cute little ride that moved slowly. Definitely not. I sat down in our off-roading vehicle to go on to be extremely freaked out. These dinos looked way too real! All of the special effects (air blowing, dinosaurs moving, the jeep rocking) were seriously scary. Of course I was laughing hysterically the whole time, but if I ever go on it again, I'm sitting on the other side of the car! The side I sat on was the side that all of the dinosaurs jumped out on!
While still at Animal Kingdom, we decided to take a break and go on a kiddy-type ride. To our surprise, the three of us were chosen as a "Disney Family" for the ride; we were moved to the front of the line and had the privilege of riding twice in a row! It was cute.
At one of the water parks, the three of us got on a group raft ride and were accompanied by two young teenage boys. It was just a little bit awkward, but when one of the boys "fell" out of the raft halfway through the ride it was a lot-a-bit hilarious. Keep in mind that this was a rafting ride that was set in a plastic open tube with water running down it. We couldn't figure out if he threw himself out of the raft or actually fell out... or if he was trying to impress us or was just naturally an idiot (I'm sure it was the latter of those two), but I'm sure it was painful.
When at Magic Kingdom, we spent an hour watching the Beauty and the Beast musical, since it was a favorite for all of us. We sat down with our giant turkey legs and thoroughly enjoyed the show (and the shade). Before the show began, four men went onstage to supposedly adjust the mics. All of the sudden, they began to sing as a quartet rather than the regular "testing... one... two... three." It was so awesome! They even pulled up a couple from the crowd who was on their honeymoon and sang "When You Wish Upon A Star," my parent's wedding dance song.
We spent one of our evenings at Downtown Disney, a tourist hot-spot that offered places for dining, shopping, and more. After waiting forever at Planet Hollywood, we finally sat down at a table and treated ourselves. We called it a night and decided to take three seats on the Disney Bus back to the hotel. It was a bit crowded to say the least. We started talking to a little girl standing near us about what she bought, as she had a shopping bag in her hand. She began to reply but her mother, standing next to her, snapped at her to hold on so she wouldn't fall over when the bus started. Rather than asking one of us to give up our seat, she made side comments to herself about how inconsiderate teenagers are these days to adults who have children without a seat. April confronted the woman about it and proceeded to stand up in the back, leaving her seat empty. Rather than telling her child to sit in the seat, she put her shopping bags in April's now empty seat. Seriously?! Later we figured out that her husband was sitting in a seat... shouldn't it have been his responsibility to make his family comfortable? What a way to end a mostly wonderful night.
To end on a lighter experience, on our final morning, April and I woke up super early to go swimming in the pool downstairs. It was way too much fun and we woke Desera up when we came back so that we could all start packing (while jamming out to "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance, of course) to go home.
This trip was absolutely amazing. I couldn't have asked for better people to spend it with. After working so hard all summer to save up money to make our way there, it was so incredibly worth it. I'm so glad I waited until I was eighteen to go to Disneyworld for the first time - this way, I could remember every single detail... the rides, the laughs, the frowns, the jokes, everything. I'll always remember it and I would go back in a heartbeat.
Pictures:
