Grad Trip 2006. Destination: Walt Disney World Florida

I was a TA for one of my third year professors this past semester. Before I completed the last of my duties and collected that beautiful pay cheque (TA-ing is the best job I have ever had since I was an anonymous marker, shielded from questions from the firing squad, and it paid me a fabulous hourly wage) the issue of graduation trips came up in passing conversation. I told him that I was going to Disney World. He looked at me incredulously and replied, “You’re going to Disney World?! People go to Cuba to get drunk and have random sex and you’re going to Disney World?!”

Most people go backpacking across Europe when they finish school as a last hurrah before they are forced to own up to the responsibilities that come along with adulthood (i.e. working full-time and moving out of the room that you have had reserved for you at Hotel Mom & Dad for the past twenty odd years). Others do indeed make the trip to Cuba or other tropical locales to experience things and then never speak of them upon their return. But I’m not most people. I’m still very much a kid. A naïve kid who has an adequate combination of book and street smarts but lives in a bubble for the most part.

Personally I don’t know what can beat a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. I’m all about and for being happy…after all, who isn’t?! You can also travel the world in a day at Epcot and don’t need to put up with seedy hostels. And it doesn’t hurt that the trip is affordable, costing just over $1000 (not including food and souvenirs) for six nights. I’m going to be a poor law student next year, eating the same bowl noodles and microwave dinners for eight months, in order to be able to make payment on rent and tuition, so going overseas was beyond my price range. I also like my amenities so I don’t know how well I’d do backpacking. Hopefully one day I’ll have enough in my back account to experience Europe firsthand, in style. In the meantime, hitting up the pavilions at Epcot will do just fine.

I haven’t been to Disney World, which to clarify is in Orlando, Florida, in 12 years. The last time I went I was even more naïve and idealistic and I traveled in the company of my mother (which was nice because I didn’t have to worry about paying for anything). As much as I love my mother, going on vacation with friends is a lot of fun. I’ve mentioned in a previous entry about the headache that was planning this vacation but in the end it was worth the headache. I had a great time and honestly, two months later am still suffering from withdrawal. Can I go back, please?

Anyways, after such a long intro, here’s a “brief” synopsis of Adeline’s Grad Trip 2006, Destination: Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

Day 1 – Monday, April 24th, 2006.

The big day has finally arrived. I’ve been talking to my buddy Jason, a Disney World regular, about this trip for weeks and the anticipation has been building. I’ve gone through the links that he’s sent and done some research. I have promised him that my thrill seeking self will go on the Tower of Terror, even if it’s the only “thrill” ride that I go on.

Much like those commercials that Disney runs, I was too excited to sleep. Actually, it was a combination of excitement and anxiety (for fear of not waking up on time and encountering difficulties going through customs on only my birth certificate and driver’s license). So I was up bright and early and my mom drove to Steph’s house to pick up both her and Jackie (my traveling buddies for this particular trip). Canada Customs tells you to arrive at the airport three hours before your flight is scheduled to depart and I wanted to minimize the time my mom had to be stuck in rush-hour traffic back from the airport so we left bright and early and got there really early. As if a sign of good things to come when we arrive at the Westjet counter to check-in, Jackie is approached by the check-in attendant. It turns out that they were high school friends *starts to sing It’s A Small World After All* and through this connection, we scored prime seats on the plane with ample leg room. Yay us!

The flight itself was pleasantly uneventful. I called for dibs on the window seat and let me tell you the view is simply amazing. It’s a whole other perspective and seemingly, a whole other world. I’m still nervous when I fly though. There’s something to be said about the security that one feels when they’re on solid ground. With no in-flight movie, I kept myself entertained with satellite television and the spectacular view of the clouds and the southern United States outside my window. Let the picture taking commence. This was taken somewhere over Georgia. You can start to see the beaches and I knew that warmer weather was fast approaching.



Needless to say, I wasn’t very well prepared for how hot it would be in Orlando when we landed. With our impeccable timing, we caught a heat wave and man was it hot, especially for late April! It’s okay, sweat is a good thing, burns calories. By the time we got settled at the Pop Century Hotel (the cheapest Disney resort) and refueled with some grub it was already 3:30pm. With half the day gone already, we decided to head to MGM Studios seeing as that was the park with Extended Magic Hours (3 extra hours that the park is open to resort guests) that day. Looks like I’d have to make good on my promise to Jason on day one…I wasn’t ready for that yet. I needed to work my way up to it and had hoped to put off MGM until day three. Oh well, there’s no time like the present, as they say.

We indulged our photo-happy selves as soon as we arrived on our way to amassing a rather large photo tally at the end of the six days with Jackie having taken 5 rolls of film while Steph and I took around 450 digital photos each. We missed the shows (e.g., Indiana Jones) since we got to the park so late but we went for drawing lessons where we learned to draw Donald (they turned out pretty well), saw the Muppet 3D movie, went on the StarWars simulator ride…and oh yeah, went on the Tower of Terror among other things.

I actually really needed to go to the bathroom right around the time that we approached the Tower of Terror but never ended up going. Thankfully everything was fine. It was only a 15 minute wait to get on the ride so we headed on in. In my head, I was thinking of ways to get out of this. When I went 12 years ago, I looked at the Tower and said to my mom, “there’s no way that I’m going on that” and I didn’t. But we must all conquer our fears right so I had to be brave. Besides, I promised. We met a very nice family from Oshawa who were ahead of us in line. It’s funny because we later learned that they stayed at our hotel and we bumped into them again on the morning of day two as well. I had my Canada t-shirt from the Olympics in Athens so they asked if we were Canadian. Actually, I was a walking Canadian billboard pretty much every day with my Federal government issued baseball cap shading me from the sun. They had been on the ride before and gave us a few insights about what we would be encountering when we got there. We’d be falling 13 stories in an elevator that much I knew and quivered at the thought of. But I did it. I didn’t back out. I actually went on. It was an adrenaline rush; let’s just say that. Knowing what I know now about the ride, I don’t know if I could bring myself to go on it again but I’m glad I did it, at least once. The thing is that you know you’re going to be plummeting 13 stories so when you get to the top and get the chance to pause and peer out at a view of the park you’re anticipating the drop. I clutched the handles on my seat for dear life and then it happen. They dropped us. I thought that was it. But no, we went all the way back up only to drop again and this happened for another 2 or 3 times. I was just willing it to end. The only thoughts in my mind at the time were, “when is this ever going to end?” and “will this ever end?” When it finally did, I let out a big sigh of relief and was perhaps more thankful to be on solid ground then when we landed earlier that day. They take pictures of you as well while you’re on the ride, and then try to sell it to you for $20+. We ended up not purchasing our picture but I was in the front row and I can tell you that I had a look of utter panic on my face and you could see my tonsils, my mouth was open so wide. Meanwhile, you could see Jackie and Steph laughing (LAUGHING!!!) in the picture. Grr.

We returned back to the hotel, grabbed a late dinner and I flipped through the channels to find ESPN, ESPN News, ESPN2 and the WB. I was in heaven. I was bunking with Jackie that night and among the three of us we didn’t sleep a wink all that night. It’s always hard to sleep in a foreign bed your first night and that, among other things, led us to be three very tired people the next day.

Day 2 – Tuesday, April 25th, 2006.

What’s a little lack of sleep when the next stop on your tour of Disney World is the Magic Kingdom? Sure, none of us was overly energetic since getting up before noon is pretty much an anomaly when you’re not in school or going to work but you’re at Walt Friggin’ Disney World! Everything is larger than life and buzzing with energy and enthusiasm and you can’t help but become energized at that. Who needs caffeine? LOL.

It didn’t take us all that long to find our main man…or should we say, our main mouse. A trip to his house yielded to his discovery in the judges’ tent area where I guess Mickey grades pumpkins and other crops. So there you go. On Day 2, even if we didn’t see any other characters for the rest of the trip, we could go home happy because we got a picture with Mickey!



Now, the buzz that being at the Magic Kingdom gives you isn’t quite enough for your poor tired legs so after going on a bunch of rides, taking pictures of things that I’d like to buy but frankly don’t need and am not willing to overpay for, staying for Cinderellabration (a new musical number about how Cinderella became a princess) and the daily character parade, we hopped on the monorail out of there to give our legs a much needed reprieve.

On my first trip to Disney World I stayed at the top-of-the-line Grand Floridian resort. This time I went in the opposite direction but I took this opportunity to introduce Steph and Jackie to the monorail system and we stopped off at the Floridian to check out the grounds. It’s gorgeous there after all, that’s something that hasn’t changed.

We each had one restaurant option for the duration of the trip. Mine was easy and as soon as I heard of its existence, I knew that that was my pick. So we were off to the ESPN Club on the Boardwalk for dinner that evening. It’s quite a trek to get out there. We ended up taking the boat out to the Boardwalk. As we were approaching the restaurant, there it was. A giant sized billboard of JJ Redick decorating the side of the restaurant. I knew there was a reason I loved ESPN. But seriously, not only did they have a JJ billboard, they also have each and every sports game that evening playing somewhere within the restaurant. The area where we sat had something like 16 TVs put together to form one GIANT TV that broadcasted an NBA playoff game with a hockey and baseball game on the side. Oh yeah, the food there is good and affordable. The ESPN Club is heaven on Earth for a sports fan and it’s only appropriate that it’s located in the Happiest Place on Earth. If it was up to me, I would have gone there for dinner most nights and I can see why Jason and his family go there every night for dinner.



Day 3 – Wednesday, April 26th, 2006.

Yet another scorcher. We spent this day at the Animal Kingdom, the newest of the four theme parks inside Walt Disney World. It’s also home to the newest ride at Disney – Everest. But I saw that incline and I had no inclination of going on it. But I encouraged Jackie and Steph to take it for a spin. I was more than happy to sit and wait. However, we were all turned off by the wait time for that ride – 70 minutes. So off we went. We did wait 40 minutes in the sweltering heat for the Kilimanjaro Safari where we saw a lion, elephants, giraffes, hippos, alligators and other animals that a) I do not remember and b) can’t identify by name. To cool off we went on the Kali River Rapids. It’s guaranteed to get you wet. Thankfully for us, we weren’t the people who got absolutely soaked from head to toe. Poor girl should have known better than to wear all white when going on a water ride. But I did get sufficiently soaked. To dry off and rest our legs, we bought a delicious lemon-ice drink that came with an adorable and sturdy Pluto straw-spoon (great souvenir!) and sat down at some tables. Now, Walt Disney World has millions of visitors each year and it was packed at the park when we were there so it’s unlikely for people to meet unless they have pre-arranged something. So it was funny when we saw Khalida and Judy (friends from Schulich who left 2 days after we did) at the park. Talk about good timing.

Oh yeah, we also watched a performance of the Lion King, saw a 4D Bug’s Life movie and caught up with Winnie the Pooh and friends for some pictures.

When I booked this trip in March I didn’t think much of the fact that I would be missing some of my regularly scheduled television programming. For instance, my time at ESPN prevented me from seeing Gilmore Girls. However, in light of the fact that for the first time in my life I actually had the ability to see One Tree Hill when it aired, I made it abundantly clear that my Wednesday night plans revolved around being my hotel room in time for the show at 8pm. I didn’t require company but at the end of yet another long and extremely hot day in the sun all three of us settled down in our room for pizza and One Tree Hill. Back to that timing thing, Judy and Khalida paid us a visit in our hotel room during my episode so I missed a sufficient amount of it. Enough to vex me some at least. In the end, Steph joined Judy and Khalida for an evening at Pleasure Island that may or may not have included drinking and clubbing-type activities. Meanwhile, Jackie and I bonded over some television and a game between the Heat and the Cavaliers.

It’s funny because before we left I was worried about whether or not I would have anything to talk about with Jackie. I didn’t know her outside of class where she normally was very quiet and reserved. But it turns out that we’re both basketball fans (her on the NBA side and me on the NCAA side) and we both watch way too much television. So we chatted up a storm over the course of the trip and have become really good friends. We had lots in the way of bonding time over those six days and because we were bunk mates for the entire trip.

Day 4 – Thursday, April 27th, 2006.

Our first (and in the case of Jackie and me, only) foray outside of Disney grounds took place on day four as we traveled to nearby Universal Studios. Since I’m not much of a thrill ride person and because the others aren’t either, we went to the Movie side of the park. On the whole, I would say that Disney tops Universal any day but we did go on a bunch of simulator rides, one of which – Back to the Future – made me and Jackie really ill. Man that was a bumpy ride. We weren’t sure where Steph had disappeared to at the time but Jackie and I got our picture taken with SpongeBob SquarePants and all three of us got a picture taken together with 3 of the characters from Madagascar.





Jackie exercised her dining option that day with a late lunch at NBA City (see, Jackie is totally my kind of gal!). Maybe it was because I was super hungry but those burgers were absolutely delicious and the fact that we got to see some NBA highlight reel actions/moves and watch a rerun of the previous night’s game didn’t hurt either.

As we went through the park rather quickly, we were back home in time for the OC and other 9pm programming. I don’t remember where Steph went off to with Judy and Khalida but Jackie and I had another night in and we watched the fireworks display at Epcot from our hotel balcony.

Day 5 – Friday, April 28th, 2006.

By Friday we had hit up three of the four Disney theme parks with only Epcot to go so that was our destination for day five. Epcot had been my favourite park twelve years ago and it still holds this title today. Epcot is a massive park with both rides and pavilions representing countries from around the world. We woke up a little late that day and decided to head over and go on a tour of the world before we hit the rides figuring that there would be fewer people at the park later in the day and that since Epcot had Extra Magic Hours that day we’d just go on the rides after the park closed to non-resort guests. This turned out to be a little bit of a mistake but we’ll into that in more detail a little later.

Where else can you say that you went around the world in a day? Not even a day actually, more like 6 hours. I got to experience some of the highlights of some popular tourist destinations and without jet lag or expensive flights. LOL. I know it’s not the same but it’s not bad either. I seriously don’t think that I’d do very well backpacking around Europe. I’m a homebody. I love my television, my Internet and my amenities. Hell, I’m in Florida and I’m missing my bed at home and I’d only been gone five days so you can only imagine how bad it’d get if I went on an extended trip. By the way, seeing as how it was really hot that day as well the cold water from the water fountain in front of where else, Canada was absolutely blissful.



After we finished our tour of the world, we hit up some rides. We lined up for Test Track, a ride that is supposed to simulate the testing of cars at General Motors testing facilities and that also includes racing around a steeply-banked loop at speeds approaching 65mph. The thing is that I wanted it to go FASTER. I loved the ride. It was easily among my top three rides. However, our thought that there would be fewer people on the rides in the evening was incorrect. We had to wait 40 minutes to get on this ride. By the time we were done it was time for the fireworks and the closing of the park for regular patrons. The fireworks were amazing and well orchestrated with musical score. But I’ve always been easily impressed by stuff like this especially considering that my parents used to take me driving around the neighbourhood staring at the light displays at Christmas time and I would always have my mouth wide open in utter and complete awe. We quickly hurried off to get on Soarin right after the fireworks ended. When we first went to try to get on Soarin the estimated wait time was 110 minutes!!! That’s ridiculous. This time around we encountered a wait time of 40 minutes. We had no choice and I wasn’t leaving Florida until I had been on this ride so we were going to stick it out. And it was well worth the wait. I have heard nothing but good things about Soarin and my dentist has told me on numerous occasions that it’s the best ride at Disney. She’s right. It’s an amazing ride and I wish I had the opportunity to go on it a few more times but our timing wasn’t the greatest since Disney was packed for all of the days we were there. Anyways, on Soarin you are gliding 40 feet in the air as you soar above breathtaking views of California. To end off the evening we went to engage in some Turtle Talk with Crush from Finding Nemo. Dude, it was totally bogus. LOL.

Somewhere along the way, amidst all the rides and our worldly travels (and a very late afternoon lunch) we didn’t get a chance to eat dinner. The dining area at the Pop Century closes at midnight and we got off the bus back to our resort at 11:58pm upon which the three of us made a mad dash for some food before it closed up. Thankfully we just made it in time to the one eatery that was still open. Man, we cut it close.

Day 6 – Saturday, April 29th, 2006.

It was our very last day at Disney World as our plan would be leaving at 7am on Sunday. We had been to all the parks so today would be a “free day” spent going to things that we missed on previous occasions or to go on rides that we enjoyed for a second time. Steph had had it with the theme parks and opted to go out for a day of outlet mall shopping with Judy and Khalida. In other words, she kind of ditched Jackie and I. But that’s fine. To each their own. Jackie and I decided to go back and see some shows at MGM, like Indiana Jones, and go back to Epcot to pick up souvenirs and go on Test Track and Soarin again. We had plans to meet up with Steph, Judy and Khalida later that evening at Downtown Disney for dinner. After all, Steph had still yet to exercise her dining option and today was our last night.

Everything seemed to work out for Jackie and I that day. If we were going on an elevator, the doors seemed to open for us. When we went to catch the bus for MGM, the bus was waiting for us at the dock in front of our hotel and there just happened to be two seats remaining. It was really one of those days. It seemed like nothing could go wrong. It was super.

We caught Indiana Jones at MGM and went to see this Drew Carey thing as well. You know, it’s almost as though with every video presentation at Disney, you get sprayed in the audience. You come to expect it and this time we got hosed with water. LOL. Beware I tell you. After that we took some pictures and said goodbye to MGM.



There was a Garden Expo going on at Epcot and I still hadn’t gotten my mom anything yet as a souvenir and seeing as how she loves gardening I wanted to pick something up for her there. There was a rock that I had eyed that said Welcome and had a picture of Mickey on it. We actually discovered a whole Garden Expo store that we hadn’t seen the day before and there we discovered not only the welcome rock but also the limited edition stamps that the US postal office had issued to celebrate one of the Disney anniversaries. On a side note, doesn’t it seem like there is always a celebration at Disney, every year? Anyways, we left to go on the rides before making these purchases because the rock was heavy and I didn’t feel like lugging it around all day.

And since the day was going so well for us it was only natural that Test Track would feel faster than it did the night before. I could go on that ride all day! As for Soarin, the wait time for the ride was 70 minutes and while the ride was great, I just didn’t feel like waiting for that long to go on it again so went on Living with the Land instead which was a boat ride that took us on a tour of the Disney greenhouses and very cool crops being grown without soil. After that we went for a quick tour around the aquarium and then it was back to the Garden Expo to pick up the rock and the collectable stamps before heading back to the hotel.

On our way out of the Garden Expo I spotted a sign that said that the Disney characters would be there posing for pictures until 5pm. It was 4:35 at that point and I figured, why not? We went in and found Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Chip and Dale and Geppetto and got some great photos out of it. I’m so glad that we made the decision to go in and grab some last minute pictures.







After that it was back to the hotel to drop off our stuff, and then head out to Downtown Disney for dinner. We eventually went to Wolfgang Puck Express and that became Steph’s dining choice by default. It was a delicious meal that was very affordable as well. I would definitely recommend it to those of you the next time you’re at Disney World. Of course, the patio could use some better lighting since I’m not sure if I ate any flies/bugs along with my delicious chicken dinner.

Day 7 – Sunday, April 30th, 2006.

Packing for our return to Toronto was interesting. My mother’s Welcome rock took up exactly half of my suitcase so it was a challenge to get all my clothes and other items back into the limited space remaining. But I managed just fine. It took me a while though and many tries. The Magical Express that Disney provides to transport us from the hotel to the airport was scheduled to arrive at 4:15am to pick us up and I didn’t finish packing until 1am and frankly, didn’t sleep more than one hour that day.

Even though I was homesick and couldn’t wait to get into my own bed because I had feared hitting or rolling onto Jackie in my sleep all week, it was bittersweet to leave Orlando. I had a great time and left with many memories and pictures. It was exactly what I needed – a vacation from reality. In the real world I have responsibilities, bills to pay, marks to earn. At Disney World the only responsibility I had was to have fun and to enjoy myself. It’s the Happiest Place on Earth for a reason. Bye Disney, I’ll miss you.



When I landed in Toronto, everything looked so foreign. In the six days that I had been away, I seemingly forgot what my house, my room, my neighbourhood looked like. Everything seemed so dull and so un-Disney like. Disney really is a world of its own. Everything is brighter, bigger, and bolder there so it was an adjustment upon my initial return. Another thing that sucked was the fact that I started work the very next day so there was no transition period for me to get back into reality. But like I said, two months later I’m still suffering from Disney withdrawal. I want to go back so badly. Someone take me!!!

So that’s the whole trip wrap-up. Very “brief” don’t you think? LOL. Orlando has to be one of my favourite places in the world. It’s home to Mickey Mouse…and oh yeah, JJ Redick ;) I hope to go back soon. You can never have too much Disney magic in your life.