The most magical Spring Break on Earth
Disney, obviously
Spring Break. For many college students, it is a week filled with over-priced mixed drinks, shots on shots, partying with your closest 500 equally drunk friends on some sunny beach, and not remembering half of the trip.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a nightmare…not a vacation.
When my friends and I began planning out our senior year Spring Break getaway, we were set on not falling into stereotype. We wanted a vacation that we would remember years from now when we would all be busting our tails in our respective career fields with too little vacation time. We wanted a vacation that would be enjoyable, not too crazy expensive (sorry not sorry Class of 2016 Punta Canta trip), give us much needed sunlight, and satisfy everyone in our small group. So after many hours of research, number crunching, bargain hunting, and tossing out potential Spring Break spots, we made a decision and booked our flights.
We were Florida bound! I know what you may be thinking. Isn’t Florida one of the states hosting many of the stereotypical college Spring Breakers? After ranting about it, why would you throw yourself in the middle of it? At ease friend. I am not that contradictory.
We were off to Orlando, Florida, home of Walt Disney World—The Most Magical Place on Earth.
Disney World? Isn’t that geared towards families with small children and whimsical honeymooners?
Perhaps…but it was perfect for us, a generation which grew up watching the best of Disney. You know what I mean. Remember watching Cinderella, Snow White, Mulan, Heracles, Aladdin, and Pocahontas? Remember how you would sing along with Simba, Elsa, Rapunzel, Belle, and Ariel? I’m getting nostalgic just thinking about it.
So yeah, we opted to go to Disney and re-live our childhood instead of getting drunk on a plane, beach, hotel, or other common place to get sh-wasted.
Due to the expenses of such a trip, we could only selected two of the four parks. The Magic Kingdom was a no-brainer. After much deliberation, we decided that the second park would be Epcot. After figuring out the logistics, we were ready to see the world that Walt Disney made by drawing a mouse.
From the moment that we stepped off of the monorail, I was overwhelmed by the magic. We watched as the Disney cast sang “Good Morning” and all of the Princesses greeted the crowd. When we stepped inside of the gates, my breath was taken away. Down the beautifully decorated Main Street loomed Cinderella’s Castle. It seemed to shine in the morning sun. I felt a huge smile creep across my face. It was beautiful.
During the course of the day, we hit all of the rides that we wanted. We skipped a few such as ‘Dumbo the Flying Elephant’ since they were geared towards smaller children and the lines were far too long all day. Rides such as ‘Big Thunder Mountain’, ‘Splash Mountain’, “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’, and my favorite ‘Space Mountain’ were excellent for our group of 21 year olds. They had the right mix of thrill and magic that kept up our rush of excitement.
Of course we also went on the creepily awesome ‘Haunted Mansion’, the catchy ‘it’s a small world’, nauseatingly fun ‘Mad Tea Party’, the soaring ‘Peter Pan’s Flight’, and (my other personal favorite) the swashbuckling ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. These more slow-moving rides allowed us to relive the magic of our favorite Disney films and marvel at the technology that the park utilized.
Finally, we saw a handful of fantastic shows that truly rounded out our day. From the very educational ‘Hall of Presidents’ to the funnily fantastic 4D ‘Mickey’s Philharmagic’ and ‘Stitch’s Great Escape,’ we were engaged and shared many hearty laughs. However the day would not be complete without the best shows in the park… ‘Celebrate the Magic’, a show that involves amazing projections on Cinderella’s Castle, and of course ‘Wishes’, the gloriously magical firework show with a beautiful message, magnificent effects, and Tinker Bell zip-lining over the crowd.
I remember standing there in the crowd, next to some of my closest friends here at Notre Dame holding back tears as I watched my childhood explode into color before my eyes. My heart joined the chorus of hearts around me as a perfect day came to a perfect close. As the last fireworks exploded, I wished I could be a kid again.
The perfect end — wishes!
I definitely made the right choice for Spring Break.