In the early morning hours of June 2, the Class of 2021 departed the high school eager to travel to Disney World for their class trip. Upon arrival in Florida, the class traveled directly to Epcot. Given freedom to split into our own groups, we explored the many “countries” the park has to offer, including France, Italy, Morocco, the UK, Canada, Germany, Norway, China, Mexico, Japan, and the USA. Each country had a multitude of food and shops featuring all things Disney and throughout the park were many well-known rides such as Test Track and Spaceship Earth, inside the iconic Epcot Ball. 

The next day, we were able to explore the park of our choice based on whichever park we had reserved ahead of time. We were woken up by the chaperones at 7:30 am. Some were woken up by Ms. Schweitzer singing Disney tunes which you could usually hear from your room even if she wasn’t the chaperone waking your room up. My group visited Hollywood Studios, home to thrilling rides like Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. Other popular attractions include Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, both located in the new Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. As far as Covid regulations go, masks were not required in the parks for vaccinated guests unless inside a shop or on rides. 

Unlike in Disney, masks were not required anywhere in Universal for vaccinated guests. On the third day of the trip, the entire class went to Universal, which features three different parks: Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay, a waterpark. A popular attraction in Universal is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter where a fan-favorite ride, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, is located. The park also features Marvel Super Hero Island, which features popular rides like the Incredible Hulk Coaster and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and Seuss Landing which is an area modeled after the works of Dr. Seuss. Towards the end of the day, the class got poured on and people sprinted back to the meeting area to board the buses back to the hotel. After sitting through a bus ride that seemed like it took forever in soaked clothes, many students went to Disney Springs to shop and eat or swam in the hotel pool upon returning from Universal.

Every student on the trip was able to park hop almost every day, excluding the days spent at Universal and Animal Kingdom. Essentially this just means we could start off at one park and go to another after 2 pm. During my group’s visit to Magic Kingdom on Saturday to see the famous castle, we enjoyed favorite rides like Splash Mountain and It’s a Small World and we also took probably 100 pictures. Seeing Main Street and the castle lit up at night was probably one of the best parts of the trip. 

On the final day of the trip, the entire class went to Animal Kingdom until about 3 pm when we met to board the buses back to the airport. After just about the entire class rushed to the hotel cafeteria to get Mickey-shaped waffles for breakfast, the class took buses from the hotel to Animal Kingdom to make the most of their last day in Disney. Many people went on the safari and other popular rides like Expedition Everest as well as Avatar Flight of Passage, a newer and extremely popular 3D simulator ride. Despite being absolutely exhausted, sunburnt, and probably dehydrated by the end of the trip, an amazing time was had by all, and in a year unlike any other, we were all grateful for a little Disney magic.