So who else has a job that rewards you with a trip to Disney?! I wish everyone sent their employees on a fun vacation once a year, although that’s not really ever the case. But I have such great bosses and work for such an amazing company — super thankful I got to go to Disney with them!!
You might be wondering how I earned this trip. Well, I work for American All Star! It’s a dance company specializing in summer camps and competitions for various elementary, middle, and high schools across the country. Every year we hold our National Championship there! I’m currently rounding out my 3rd year working for them, and I’m loving it! I’m actually moving soon, and it’s making me sad I’m about to work (probably) my last summer. This was my first time getting invited to work Nationals!
We flew out at night on Thursday, got to the hotel around midnight, and went to sleep. Friday was our free day! So we wanted to make sure we were up in time to get to Hollywood Studios before it opened. Toy Story Land and Star Wars recently opened, so we knew it would be popular and hard to get on the rides (even harder because there weren’t fast passes available!). We got there and were put on boarding group 38, when the people next to us were in the hundreds! So we were feeling pretty lucky. While we waited in line to ride slinky dog, we ate at Woody’s Lunch Box — get the breakfast bowl, it’s to die for! I’m also not really a roller coaster fan, but after some convincing, I got on slinky dog, and it was so fun! We only waited an hour since we were there so early, but I HIGHLY recommend it. Afterwards, we roamed around Star Wars until our time to get on Rise of the Resistance came. We went through the ENTIRE line, even did part of the ride, and then it broke down!! It was so irritating because we waited all that time, but we did end up going back later in the day and getting to complete the whole thing.
It was a blessing we were gifted park hopper passes because we were able to hit 3 parks on Friday! After riding Toy Story Mania and finally getting through Rise of the Resistance, we headed to Magic Kingdom. We ate at Pinocchino’s and rode Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. After that, we hit the monorail to get to Epcot, aka where my favorite ride is — test track!! As I waited in the single rider line, a man came walking by asking who wanted a free fast pass, and my hand shot up! So thanks to him, I got to ride it twice before the park closed!
The next day was competition! It’s one of my favorite parts of my job because you get to see so many teams and watch the dances they’ve been working so hard on. It was held in a convention center inside Epcot, which was pretty cool. After the competition was complete, Mickey even came up on stage to help award the National Championship Awards! Once we finished up, we got to go back to the parks!! I grabbed a marg from Mexico before heading back to Magic Kingdom to watch the fireworks at the castle. Casey’s Corner hit the spot after that! I also got to ride Buzz Lightyear and went on the people mover before calling it a night.
Sunday was our last day, so while the girls I came on the trip with went to Animal Kingdom, I went BACK to Magic Kingdom (can you tell that’s my favorite?). I only went for an hour but rode the Little Mermaid and It’s a Small World. Afterwards, I headed to Animal Kingdom to meet up with my friends. They were still in line for Flight of Passage, so I got another marg in Pandora! Which was also the most delicious drink ever. I walked around the park, visited the Tree of Life, and then rode Dinosaur. By then, it was time for us to head back to our hotel and catch our Magical Express back to the airport.
It was a short trip, but it was definitely very fun!! I’m very thankful I was able to go, and I think I’m well-versed on all things Disney at this point. That was my 5th time in the last 5 years! But I had also never been before, so don’t be too mad at me haha! I mentioned that I was moving, and I think that place might end up being in Florida, so who knows. I might end up going to Disney a lot more in the future!
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