Disneyworld

This Christmas me and my host siblings received a strange gift, each of us got a few pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When we put them together and turned it upside down there was a message, DISNEYWORLD SPRING BREAK. 

3/19/23

We were really excited because they weren't there for quite a while and I haven't been there at all! Time passed by quickly as it always has on my exchange and bam! it is already spring. We decided to drive there and after packing all of our stuff we embarked on our journey. We left late and drove all through the night. The total time it took us was around 13 hours so of course it was a very difficult drive, however after getting there in the afternoon we were very excited to see the resort we stayed in. It was beautiful, there was a pool with a jacuzzi right by it, plenty of restaurants and a gorgeous lake. We went to sleep early so we would be ready for the next day. After waking up around 7 a.m. we walked to the shuttle bus that took us to the first of the many parks - Magic Kingdom. This one is probably the most famous since most tourists usually begin there. It also looks like it, right after they opened it there was already a huge queque forming in front of one of the popular rides. We decided to go somewhere else and go there later with a lightning lane ticket. I must say I enjoyed just walking in the park, it really felt like you were transported to a different world, to a fairy tale. I can't begin to imagine how children must feel because it all looked very real :).

We spent the whole day in the park, most of it was honestly waiting in line but that is what disney is nowadays. We got to see the show, rode almost every ride in there. One of my favorite ones was the Pirates of the Caribbean. The architects mastered the art of the animated dolls there so from time to time I thought it was a real human actor. I also really enjoyed a rollercoaster called "Space Mountain" it was a thrilling experience, imagine a rollercoaster but in complete darkness where you have no idea where the next sharp turn is going to be.

We stayed there until the firework show that started at 9 p.m. they played music from their cartoons and projected them onto the famous castle that looked just magnificent in the light of the fireworks. After that we headed to the bus again that took us back to the resort where we had dinner and fell asleep rather quickly from fatigue.

3/20/23

The next park we decided to visit was Hollywood studios, this time we weren't alone but with the Vaught family. This day it was much better weather, it was sunny and warm. The main ride in this park is "the Tower of terror" it was amazing. Imagine being in an elevator that suddenly drops multiple floors only to bring you all the way up and drop you again. I just love adrenaline and this was the good stuff. This park had a huge section dedicated to Star Wars. I recently watched the prequel trilogy so I had some idea what all was going on but I had all the information I needed, because my host family loves Star Wars. It was incredible how well this part of the park was designed, there was a huge identical copy of Millennium Falcon and the rides there were incredibly detailed. It was an experience like no other. You were in a car that brought you through different sceneries all while getting shot at and dodging obstacles in your way. It was just amazing it is hard to explain how well made it is. Another ride just a few hundred meters from this one closed you in a ship and after a few minutes we arrived at a spaceship, I couldn't figure out how they transported us it was just unbeliavable you truly felt like you were in space on a spaceship. They also had live actors there so the experience was that much better.

All in all this park was very good, we enjoyed multiple fast-paced rides and a bunch of "experience' rides. I got surprised many times and realized I had no idea how they pulled some stuff off. 

3/21/23

On this day we went to Animal Kingdom. Just like in the previous park they had one section dedicated to a movie series, this time Avatar. It was gorgeous. Disney parks have genius design. You don't see anything but once you peek around a corner a whole world opens up in front of you. There were floating mountains and the vegetation from the movies. We recently went to see the second film so it was all fresh in our memory. My favorite ride there was an experience ride. We were strapped to the "back" of banshee which is the flying animal in the movies. In front of you there was a huge screen, you also had 3D glasses. This whole experience was 4D though, there were parts where you were flying through waterfalls and above water and you could literally feel water splashing on you. It was amazing even though you weren't moving at all you felt like you were flying through clouds on the back of a banshee, they even made it so that the seat you were sitting on was "breathing" so you could feel the animal beneath you on your thighs.

Experience alone was to just walk through this section and admire the beauty. The park was huge though so we set out to explore the next part, we went on a safari ride where we saw giraffes, elephants, zebras, crocodiles, hippos, rhino and even a lion. It was very fun. Later in the day we went to the biggest rollercoaster in all of the parks - Snow Mountain, where you are on an expedition to the peak of Mount Everest, however your rail gets torn up by Bigfoot, it was amazing. For a big part of the ride you ride backwards and it is very fast. At the very end you can see Bigfoot himself for a split second when you're riding through a dark cave with flashing lights.

Animal Kindgdom was very pleasant, it was super hot so all the woods there and nature helped you keep your sanity.

3/22/23

On the last day at the resort we went to EPCOT. This park's theme are the worlds countries, space etc. This time the Vaught family joined us once again. We were all really tired since during the previous few days we walked close to a 100k steps and stood in lines all day but nevertheless we were able to enjoy the architecture and cuisine of this park. Of course we went to a lot of rides with my favorite being "The Guardians of the Galaxy". It was a rollercoaster in "space" but on top of that your seat was moving 360 degrees to the sides too. It was an amazing ride with even better music playing in the background. We walked around the big lake that is in the middle of the park and travelled through all the countries they have there. I remember that

there was Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, USA, UK, France, Italy and so on. After lunch me, my host brother and Sam got on the bus and went back to the hotel to relax by the pool and in the jacuzzi. Later in the day we went back to see the closing light and fireworks show. It was very beautiful.

3/23/23

On this day we left Orlando and moved more east to an area called Merritt Island. We enjoyed the Floridian beach and relaxed after an exhausting trip. It was very pleasant. We played some football on the beach, swam in the big waves and I walked around the area and saw some beautiful sea life. I walked to the very end of this long pier and saw the whole beach stretching out in front of me.

3/24/23

This was our last day in Florida. We went to Kennedy's space center to see a SpaceX rocket launch. It was in the morning so we got there early. It was a cool experience the rocket was quite far away therefore we couldn't hear the blast until after a few seconds. It ended up being successful and right after that we headed to the museum. The most interesting thing there was a Moon rock, I mean an actual Moon rock that we could touch. Other then that there were some rocketships that have never made it into an orbit and a lot of souvenirs. 

I must say that Disney's rides are amazingly designed. Not only the ride itself but the place where you wait in line is always decorated according to the theme of the ride. So that itself is cool. I enjoyed it very much since I love adrenaline rides. 

Thank you Neall & Becca

Ondrej