This was such a wonderful trip! I’m writing this before my flight home, so I’m still riding the hype! Project Magic Kingdom Hearts plus a spontaneous trip to Animal Kingdom and then video games! Squee!
Day 1/4
I maybe got two hours of sleep on this day before I had to wake up for my super early flight. It went very smoothly and I landed in Orlando on time and then Casey picked me up and we drove back to her house! We spent the rest of the day chilling, playing some Pandemic, working on articles, and then we took a walk because the weather was so beautiful that evening.
Day 2/4
This morning was the release day for the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening so Casey and I picked up our copies at GameStop!
Today was the big day for Project Magic Kingdom Hearts, a massive gathering of Kingdom Hearts fans at Disney’s Magic Kingdom during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party! I got to be a special guest for the event and help out with the project! I cosplayed as Namine. We had giveaways, sea salt ice cream lollipops, and we had a picture frame to sign to commemorate the event.
Then we had two photo sessions! One was at the carousel and the other at Cinderella’s castle. We had so many amazing cosplays!
The rest of the night was spent riding ride and just spending time together, though we did get to see the Boo to You Parade and the amazing light/firework show on the Cinderella castle hosted by Jack Skellington! The show was so amazing it was unreal!
Day 3/4
Today we had a spontaneous trip to Animal Kingdom! Scotty, a friend of Casey’s, is a castmember and invited us to go to the park for free on Thursday and we accepted! This was the best theme park experience I’ve ever had.
When we arrived we saw the beautiful Tree of Life on Discovery Island along with a giant anteater, spoonbills, and other birds!
Next, we headed to Pandora! Which was the part I was the most excited for! Oh my gosh, guys. Best theme park ever! It was so immersive and since Scotty works in that part of Disney, he was our personal tour guide and told us about all of the secrets like that this park is supposed to be set 70 years after the movie and Ewya has allowed humans to breathe on the planet now via the Flaska Reclinata that cleans the air. The park was so detailed and everything felt so real. It was so cool to just lose yourself into the world and pretend like you’re really there. We also managed to catch the tail end of a show about the Pandora utility suit. 😀
We ate at the Satu’li Canteen and had a delicious lunch while listening to Na’vi music and sitting under handwoven Na’vi hammocks. So cool!
Then we got in line for the Flight of Passage which normally has a two-hour wait, but thanks to blessed timing a couple let us come with them for their fast pass so we got on the ride right away! Oh my gosh, guys. This is was the most beautiful ride I’ve ridden. It fulfilled all of my dreams of flying dragons, griffins, and banshees. You felt like you were truly flying. You could feel wind and mist on your face and even the banshee breathing underneath you. It was so gorgeous that Casey and I were in joyful tears afterward. Best. Ride. EVER! Afterward, I got a bunch of fun souvenirs including Na’vi ears and tail, which I proceeded to wear all day at the park, cause why not?
Then we saw the Tree of Life lit up! So pretty! Overall, it was an absolutely amazing trip!
Day 4/4
Today we went out to eat at Third Culture Kitchen which is one of our favorite local restaurants and we spent the day relaxing and playing Pandemic, Smash Bros., and Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time.
This was such a refreshing trip and just what I needed! I made so many memories that I’ll treasure forever. ^ ^
