Day 442: Magical Express

Disney World! Yes, that's right, I WENT HOME FOR A FEW DAYS!

So let's talk for a second about a little of what I did. The next few blog posts will be all about my adventures, and I'll have a post in a couple weeks once I have all the vlogs done as well. Each one will explore a little bit of what I did on my five day trip home...just as I usually do with my Disney vacations. It's what I did in July, and it's what I'm going to do now.

Our first day was spent with a lot of travel, and then a bunch of time at Magic Kingdom. But before we got there, we had to take Magical Express. Now, I'm most certainly more of a rental car person myself. I think it's way easier to go from place to place, and it just gives you much more freedom. But, since my dad wasn't with us, it meant lots of buses for us, and I guess that Magical Express is pretty awesome...except for when you're waiting for it to take you back to the airport. That is like the worst thing ever.

But I did really enjoy the video they had on the bus right to and from the airport. It's hard though because whenever I get there I like want to cry, and whenever I leave I DO cry, so it's like "sunglasses on so no one can see my eyes." The video was beautiful, especially on the way there. It highlights everything Disney World has to offer, and it's absolutely beautiful. It just reminds you of why you love Disney so much.

And that's something I really needed on this trip. I needed to remember how much I love Disney and everything that goes along with it, because the past few months I've really felt like I've lost track of it. It's come and gone with the trials and tribulations that go along with this ridiculous band trip...and I have to thank my friends for being there during the past couple weeks, and especially for taking care of stuff back here in Wisconsin when I was home in Florida. It means a lot to me.

Here's a few pictures from my first day at Disney!

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on March 25 due to Midterms and Travel).

Day 250: Work Hard, Play Hard

So, it has officially been over 12 hours since my band director told us that we're going to Disney World, and I'm starting to wonder if it's bad that I'm still crying. I just can't believe that this is actually happening. I am so proud of the band for helping me make this dream come true. It certainly wouldn't be happening without each and every one of them.

But as I was laying in bed this morning and listening to the confirmation recording for what is probably the 20th time, something occurred to me. Once and a while, when I'm having a bad day or am just missing Disney, I'll go and watch videos of families surprising their kids with a trip to Disney. I've talked about it before, and about how I can't wait to have that experience with my kids. I've always thought, for many years, that I would never have the opportunity to have a surprise like that. I go to Disney all the time, so my family announcing it is more of a "finally you picked a date for us to leave." But standing at that game last night, I feel like a video camera could have been there filming us for one of those commercials. I had no idea that was coming, and it was the happiest moment of my life. Obviously it is if I'm still like crying.

I have no clue how my band director came up with that brilliant way of telling us, but I am so glad that's how he decided to do it. There could not be a more magical and meaningful way for us to find out that we got accepted to march at Walt Disney World. Not a better way to tell me that my dream is actually coming true, the one that I, in all respects, thought would never ever happen. So I just want to thank him for that!

And you know what's even funnier? A few weeks ago I opened a fortune cookie, and you know what the fortune was? "Your fondest dream will come true within the next year." Looks like those things don't lie after all. That or you really can wish upon a star and your dream will come true. Whatever it was that made this possible, what made all the hard work we put in pay off, I want to thank that.

All I know is that I really hope someone has footage or pictures of that moment (I know someone does!). And that all the hard work that I put in, that WE put in, is finally paying off. As our director (and the recording from Disney) say, Work Hard, Play Hard. And now we get to do both at Walt Disney World.

Honestly though, I really do feel like we could be in this commercial, only instead it would be for Disney Performing Arts. I never ever thought I would get to have an experience like that, but I'm so glad that I did.  

For #Frumpstagram today the prompt was "Palm Trees," and if I'm being completely honest, I don't have a lot of pictures of palm trees. Probably because there really aren't a ton of them, but I did eventually manage to find a picture of one! It did take some looking though! 

And here's today's Disney History: 1994: Disney theme parks welcome their 1 billionth guest - Mary Smith from Illinois! After walking through the main gate of Walt Disney World, she is awarded a lifetime pass for her and her family and a cross-country flight to Disneyland. 

Have a magical day!