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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Kid at Heart

Seeing Disney World for the first time at age 20 definitely brought out the kid in me. It truly is where dreams come true. The combination of the gorgeous weather, the fun attractions, and all the happy people around us made the trip a very joyous one. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to visit Disney World, but it was amazing and I didn't want to leave!

The trip got off to a rocky start right away because of the multiple delays at the airport before take off. First, the planes were switched, so we had to wait for the new crew to arrive. Then, we get all the way out to the runway and they decide they need to check something out on the plane. So we go all the way back to the gate, where the pilot tells us there is going to be a 30 minute repair for the nose of the plane. Good thing they checked! I was a bit flustered because even though Tuesday was our travel day, it was also our day to go to Epcot, so this was just eating away at our time at the park. After all that, it didn't even matter because we checked in at the hotel and realized that the shuttle to Epcot only came at 2 different times, and the second time was in 10 minutes. I guess you can say we got a lucky break. From then on, everything went smoothly.

Epcot is the more adult-friendly park, but I still felt just as excited and giddy as a child. The first thing we did was eat a delicious lunch because Brody and I were both about to keel over from hunger. Then, we went on a space simulator ride where you get strapped in with a screen in front of you that makes it look like you're in space. We had to use the controls to steer the ship, dodge meteors, and land safely. Since the seats moved around and we had just eaten lunch, we were both feeling pretty nauseous. Luckily there aren't too many rides at Epcot, so our stomachs settled down.

I loved the next attraction, which was The Seas with Nemo and Friends. There was an aquarium with every kind of sea animal you can imagine. We even got to see feeding time in the huge fish tank. They had an interactive show with Crush the turtle from Finding Nemo where he was on the screen, yet he talked to the crowd and answered questions. So the audience members got to have an actual conversation with the movie character!

The other section of Epcot is the world showcase where there is a realistic village or section of different countries. You get to see what the architecture and culture is like. It feels like you're really there because the buildings are real, they play music of that country, and even the employees in the shops are from the country! There are various gift shops and restaurants in each town where you can experience what that country makes and the food they eat. We wanted to eat in Italy, but they were completely booked and were reservation only. Imagine that; reservations for dinner at an amusement park! So we ended up eating in France and it was totally worth it. The restaurant was very fancy and the food was delicious.

A day at Epcot ends with a spectacular fireworks, laser, and fire show, which completely blew my mind. At that point, I still couldn't believe I was in Disney World viewing this amazing show. It was surreal. Day 2 was Magic Kingdom where you really get to be a kid. We took the ferry over to the park with the view of the castle in the distance. The first thing you see when you walk through the gates is Main Street, which is like a real town. The buildings were quaint and pretty, the streets were bustling with people, and there were even dancers performing for the crowd. It was so magical that I actually wanted to live there!

The first sight of Cinderella's castle up close was absolutely breath-taking. I have always seen it in pictures, but being right in front of it made the magic come alive. This must be what the princesses in Disney movies feel like :) And the magic never faded away. The rest of the day consisted of the merry-go-round, go-karts, a rollercoaster, a visit with my friend who now works for Disney, and much more.

The rollercoaster was called Space Mountain and it was terrifying yet a blast. It's in complete darkness, but there are stars in the ceiling, so it really feels like you're in space. I was in the front seat, and you know when you can't see, but you can feel something close? That's how I felt because I could sense the tracks and other objects very close to me, which explains the terrifying part of the ride. After that is when we met up with my friend Krystal, which was nice because I haven't seen her since she started working there and it's been about a year. Hearing about it made me want to work there too. It seems like a dream come true.

We also rode the train that goes in a circle around the park. It was cool to get a view of everything that we hadn't seen yet. We rode on Splash Mountain where, once again, I got the front seat. But luckily I ducked when we went down the 50 foot drop, so I didn't get too soaked. Another neat attraction was Tom Sawyer Island where we rode on a raft across the river to the island and you get to explore all of the trails, tunnels, and caves. There was even a rickety bridge that bobbed in the water when you walked on it. In a different part of the park, there was an actual tree house up in the branches and when you were at the top, you had an amazing view of the park.

A lot of the rides at Disney World consist of riding slowly in a cart or boat through a building that was transformed to look like a haunted mansion or different countries of the world or scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. I enjoyed seeing all of the special effects and scenery, especially in the Haunted Mansion where they used holograms to portray ghosts that looked so realistic. These kinds of rides transport you to a completely different world.

To conclude my long description, I had so much fun and I wish I could stay in Disney World forever. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I want to share my many, many, many pictures with everyone so you can get a visual of what I experienced. Click here for my Google+ web album. And here is an embarrassing video of Brody making music with his hands in one of the kiddie attractions :)

2 comments:

izza said...

Hey! Thanks for sharing your video! Disneyland is an incredible amusement park. The rides and decorations are all based on the wonderful Disney characters we have all grown to love.Celebrating Walt Disney Christmas is very memorable too.

Unknown said...

It is amazing and truly magical :) I would love to see Disney World at Christmastime!