After what felt like the longest September of my life, it was finally mid-October. Midterm season was upon students at BU and stress levels were at all-time highs, but my morale would not be broken – I was looking forward to my mini stress-free Disney vacation!
This semester has been one for the books. It has been amazing in many ways but stress inducing in many others. The atmosphere has been a weird one here at BU. A bunch of my friends are planning on studying abroad, there’s pressure to do everything we possibly can before we leave, and there’s people staying here who we will miss. It’s just been an odd semester full of emotions and work. And truth be told, I needed a break.
What better place to go for a break than the happiest place on Earth: Disney World?
I asked myself that question and decided the answer for me was that there isn’t a better place to go. So, I got on the phone with my best friend and planned a trip to Disney.
I will admit, I got lucky, my best friend is currently in the Disney College Program down in Florida, and her mother was visiting the same weekend, so certain things that should’ve made the weekend expensive – i.e. the hotel room and the park tickets – were not of concern. But, nonetheless, I would pay a million dollars to experience that weekend again.
It was all set – I would be flying out of Boston very early Saturday morning and fly back early Tuesday morning, I’d meet up with my friend Saturday night after she got out of work and we would have a mere 48 hours to cover all of Disney World. I was on a mission and I would succeed against all odds.
The day finally came around where I got to leave all the stress of college behind and I couldn’t have been happier. I love Boston, don’t get me wrong, but after a few grueling months of essay writing and test taking, I needed a break.
When I landed in Orlando, I could not have been any happier to be hit with a wall of humidity and 90 degree weather. After meeting up with my friend’s mom, we went to meet my friend and then the best part of the weekend happened… I got to hug my best friend who I had been separated from since early August. The world was complete again – Delanie and Rebecca were back in action!
Adrenaline was kicking in and the excitement melted away all the stressors I had before getting on the plane. We left Becca shortly after so she could go to work and we could visit Disney Springs. Saturday night was fun, but Sunday was when the real action began.
Photo Credit: Delanie Fico
We woke up super early Sunday morning in order to get to the parks and enjoy every possible minute we could in them. Our first stop was Animal Kingdom. In order to wake up we decided Everest would be our first ride and trust me, I wish I could wake up every day and go on Everest to kick myself into high gear. We wound up on that ride a few more times during the day when we needed a boost and caffeine just wasn’t cutting it. We, of course, went on the dinosaur ride since it is my favorite ride in all of Disney. We ate a BUNCH of Mickey Pretzels (the Pretzels were the second best thing of the weekend after being with my best friend again). We finished up in Animal Kingdom by visiting Pandora, which I had never seen before. We got a fast pass for Flights of Passage which was an experience unlike any other. I remember describing it as “the calmest 5 minutes of my life.”
Afterwards, Becca’s mom surprised us with tickets to Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party for that night. Walking into Magic Kingdom my mind flooded with childhood memories and I instantly become 11 years old again. The lines were shorter than normal since it was a ticketed event and we got to go on all the rides we wanted to! Pro tip for the rollercoasters: always try and sit in the backrow for the best experience! A plus to the party was that Space Mountain was PITCH BLACK – that experience alone was worth going down for Halloween. We wound up getting back to the hotel extra late since MK closed at midnight for the event and we passed out shortly after showering.
Photo Credit: Delanie Fico
The next day we were all super tired but our adrenaline was still kicking and it was another early morning. We started and ended the day in Hollywood Studios with a quick trip back to MK in the middle. Hollywood Studios was fun during the day but I highly recommend going at night – the Toy Story area was INSANE all lit up and the Slinky Dog ride was 10x better at night. My favorite part of Hollywood Studios was obviously the newest part (and possibly the third best thing of the weekend) Galaxy’s Edge! Galaxy’s Edge was AMAZING and I even got to meet a STORMTROOPER! Pro tip: The Blue Milk is definitely worth trying and Chewbacca is taller than you think. The new firework show in Hollywood Studio’s was sick! It was Star Wars themed, using projections, lasers, fireworks, and fire.
Overall, the weekend did exactly what I needed to. It let me destress and not think about anything except Disney for a whole weekend. The food, the merchandise, the rides, the happy faces on workers – it really is the happiest place on earth.
Need a break from stress? Go big or go home – go to Disneyworld!
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