Terror with Tara

Okay y'all. Today was such an amazing day, and even though it is late, I HAD to get home so I could write it down before crashing in bed!


My friend Tara, who is also in the same sorority as me from back home, is here in Orlando for an internship with a hotel. She got to Orlando today, and after I finished up my last day at DU (sad face), I texted her immediately to find out what her plans were for tonight. I knew I wanted to go to Hollywood Studios, to ya know get acquainted with the location I am going to be working, but I was going to be content with just getting dinner or something like that. Well, she texted me when she was leaving the mall--

And at this point I'm going to rant for a moment. SO at freaking 230pm today, I drove to the mall because I needed to go to the Nike outlet to get some stuff and I drove around the mall for like an hour and a half looking for a parking space. The mall put traffic cops at each entrance telling people there is no where to park. AN HOUR AND A HALF and guess what? I NEVER FOUND A PARKING SPOT. I hate Orlando--

Anyways, so after Tara and her parents left the mall (they were smarter than I was and parked across the street before it filled up), she came and picked me up and I got to go to the Pop Century Resort, where I also found out another EIU acquaintance, Marissa, is working on her CP too! Small World! Well, we stopped by the hotel, dropped Tara's parents off and then her and I went to Hollywood Studios!

OH MY GAWSH GUYS--Can I just tell you how unfreakingbelievable that place is? I was so in awe. The first thing I did (because I also got my Main Gate pass today) was buy a magic band. Isn't she pretty?! Ugh, I'm obsessed and of course I'd get Ariel because, well, it's me :) I also got my first Alex and Ani bracelet. I'm currently obsessed with it too. So then we went and rode my first Disney World thrill ride: Tower of Terror. It was so awesome. I got to sit in front and my picture turned out horrible and I screamed and had so much fun on it! We actually went on it twice, once while it was still light out and once when it had gotten dark. So awesome both times! Like I had butterflies in my stomach the whole time and was laughing so hard because of how much fun it was. If you haven't done Tower--do it!

We also went on Rockin' Roller Coaster--guess what?! We sat in the front for that ride too, and it was PHENOMENAL. Like, I haven't been on many indoor coasters because Six Flags is 99% outside. All of their coasters are outside (at least in STL), and an indoor coaster can be so much more intense. Especially since we were at the front, it looks as though you are going to hit the props because they are so close. But it was really so much fun. I laughed and screamed and woooooo'd the whole time with my hands not up because they couldn't move :)

After we rode those rides, we realized we were hungry so we got this hotdog with mac and cheese and bacon bits on it. Can I just tell you that I don't think I've had much better than that? I mean c'mob! A hot dog, with mac n cheese, AND BACON BITS?! Like, a death-trap filled heaven all on a bun. It was glorious and extremely difficult to eat. Tip: Use a fork.

We grabbed our hotdog and headed for our fast pass to...FANTASMIC! We ate as we waited, and then we power-walked to get a good seat. We got GREAT seats in the Mickey section towards the middle--even though we were almost to the top, we still got some water spray because of the wind :)

So let's just talk about Fantasmic...first off, its FANTASTIC. Yes, I clichéd here, but you have to. I mean, it's Disney....but really, there were so many amazing things. I had my phone turned off so of course, I do not have any pictures for you, but I did that on purpose. It's important for me to experience Disney as I would have when I was a child--without my phone and without recording every possible section. I wanted to be fully immersed in what is happening, and I was lucky enough to be able to do that. No distractions. No cameras. It was just me and the show--I laughed and jumped and worried. I mean, I'm 22 years old; of course I know Mickey wins in the end, but that doesn't mean Disney can't still build suspense! Gosh, just watching the projections on the water was so awesome, and seeing the Mickey ears sync up with the colors was so cool. Disney really out did themselves with that. There was even fire...ON THE WATER...Like what?! So cool.


I just, ugh. I know that even if I don't have the absolute time of my life each time I'm working, that I'll love getting to go to the parks and experience Disney my way. Without anyone telling me or rushing me. My next stop will be in Hollywood Studios at the animation gallery so I can meet Hero and Baymax :)

Wish me luck, and have a magical day :)