After graduation, a friend of mine invited me to a mini getaway to the Happiest Place on Earth.
I decided the best time to go would be after my licensure exam review in mid-May, and after I helped with some wedding planning/festivities. I packed
my things up one morning and took off -
alone - to Orlando.
The night I got in, we ate dinner and caught up before calling it an early night. After all, we had to get to the Magic Kingdom in the morning.
(Note - While I can't remember what we did each specific night, I know we went to the resorts to grab a drink after dinner a few nights, other nights we went out to eat, and the few days I was stranded - more on that later - we made dinner and watched romance movies, Murder She Wrote, or Sex and the City)
Since the last time I was at Disney World, SO MUCH has changed! From the rides to the fact that you can schedule your fast pass time online, I was just so surprised.
We arrived around 10:30 AM for our first scheduled ride of the day - Space Mountain.
After being thrown around in the dark for a bit, we reemerged to ride Carousel of Progress and see Monster's Inc, Laugh Floor.
After grabbing a
delicious frozen raspberry lemonade, we hopped in line for Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid. Such a cute ride!
After the Little Mermaid, we wandered around Fantasyland for a little bit before getting in line for the Haunted Mansion. Due to people trying to take pictures and standing up during the ride, we got trapped in the middle of the ride a few times, but overall I love Haunted Mansion. Such awesome effects! Plus I learned some behind the scenes info, which made it even more cool!
Lunch was around 1:30PM at Liberty Tree Tavern, where all I can say is
yum yum yum. After we ate, we looked around the Christmas Shoppe and then grabbed a prime spot for the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Though I was sweating like crazy for almost half an hour, it was well worth it!
Once the parade ended, we rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, watched some of Dream Along with Mickey at Cinderella's Castle and lastly for our day, we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
The next day, I visited my friend at work and got a little tour - a behind the scenes if you will - of where all of the magic happens (don't worry I won't ruin it for you)!!
The following day, we went to Disney's Animal Kingdom. (YAY ANIMALS!)
First up, we went on the Kilimanjaro Safari where I got to see all of my favorite animals.
After the safari, we had lunch at Pizzaffari and then went to watch Festival of the Lion King. My friend was worried I wouldn't like it since I've seen Lion King on Broadway, but it was absolutely adorable and the singing was
amazing.
We then made our way over to Expedition Everest.
Y'all.
Let me just tell you how much I
did not want to go on this ride. Yes, I'll admit it - I
hate roller coasters but after all was said and done, it was a ton of fun!
That night we went out to watch Bob at Port Orleans Riverside and I can tell why he's a staple there - the guy is funny... especially the more you drink. I
definitely advise you to go see him if you're in Disney on a Friday or Saturday night.
The day I was supposed to leave, I was about 55 miles away from my friend's house when my car broke down. Thankfully, she came to pick me up and my car was brought to a dealership in Orlando.
The next morning when I got a phone call saying that my key wouldn't go into the ignition, and since this wasn't an issue for me when I last saw my car, I decided to pop up at the dealership and see what was really going on.
Unfortunately, my car had been broken into during the night.
There is so much that I am thankful for, despite all that happened, but it really made for a frustrating few days and I struggled to understand what God had in store for me.
Overall, I had an
awesome post grad vacation and I am so thankful for my friends and their hospitality. I knew I had overstayed my welcome (albeit not my fault), they never complained once or made me feel like I was unwelcome.
Can't wait to see what else this summer has in store for me!
