In my 13 years of school, I've never looked forward to a spring break more than this year. When I started high school, I knew I'd be taking a trip to Disneyland with the band and ever since then I looked forward to my senior year just for this trip. I came prepared with my camera but realized that I only took a total of two pictures the whole time I was in California. I'm pretty disappointed to say the least. I guess I'll just describe the trip in as much detail as possible.
I woke up at 3:30 (yes, in the morning) on Saturday and got ready to leave by 5:00. My mom and I picked up Isaac from his house and we went to the school where we got on the buses and were on our way to the airport. For as early as it was, I was wide awake and ready to get to California. Our flight was the first one at 8:30 AM so we got through security quickly and got to ride the train to our gate where we sat for about 15 minutes before boarding. The time on the other side of the plane ride was not as easy. We sat in the Orange County Airport for five hours before the other flight arrived and when the buses got to the airport to bring us to our hotel, there were only two of them. The third one went to LAX which happens to be hours away, so a smaller group of students (including me) had to stay back for an extra hour waiting for one of the buses to come back. We got to the hotel where Isaac was standing outside waiting for me but I still had to change my clothes so I went as fast as I could without looking at the weather and got dressed in shorts. Later that night, I got caught in the rain. Saturday evening was the worst of all the days. I was cold, tired, and sick from the plane ride and I really just didn't want to do anything. Isaac and I rode a few rides, Space Mountain was one of them, and then ended up back at the hotel by 9 PM. We felt really lame for coming back so early, but two of my roomies came back 30 minutes after me so I felt a little better.
We didn't get to sleep in very late on Sunday morning either, so I was up by 6 AM and we left our hotel by 7:15 because we had to be in line at Disneyland by 7:45 for our performance. We performed at the Gardens Plaza Stage at 9:25 AM. I didn't think it was going to be that cool, but I was amazed at the amount of people that showed up to watch us play. We played a Disney medley in the middle of Disneyland and it was truly magical. I loved every second of it. After our performance, we had a couple hours of free time in the park. The weather was getting warmer so I wasn't too excited to march in the parade later that day. In full uniform, we marched down Main Street of Disneyland and even though my feet were killing me and I sweating like a pig, I had a lot of fun and I would probably do it again if I got the chance. I can only imagine how many bad pictures of me are floating around now, though... After the parade we had more free time until an 8 PM check-in. Isaac and I rode more rides including Indiana Jones and then we went over to California Adventure (first time for both of us) and went on Ariel's Undersea Adventures (cutest ride of all time) and California Screamin'. That roller coaster is the best one I've ever been on and I would ride it over and over if I could. We got back to the hotel fairly early again this night because of how bad my feet hurt. All that walking was ridiculous.
On Monday I was really excited because my boyfriend was going to be in Disneyland that day too so I knew I'd get to see him. We also didn't have to be anywhere until noon so sleeping in a little bit was great. Isaac wanted to be at the park early anyway for some reason so we got there at around 9 and went on more rides until noon where we had to go backstage to the recording studio. This thing was legit with headphones and everything. We got to play music from popular Disney movies including Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, and the Emperor's New Groove. The piece from Lion King actually made me emotional watching it back with the scene from the movie. The workshop was definitely my favorite part of the trip and I'm so thankful I got to be a part of that experience. After the workshop, we got more free time until the 5 and 8 check-ins. I spent this time hanging out with Mike and his family and I loved it. After 8 PM, all of us, including Mike, went to California Adventure to ride Screamin' California again. We also did the virtual Soaring over California thing which I was pleasantly surprised by, and we used our fast pass for the Tower of Terror. That ride was a must-do, and I loved it.
By Tuesday I was ready to go home and be able to sleep in my bed again. I knew I'd be leaving the sunny skies for rain in the Pacific Northwest but looking out the plane window on the way home made me realize how much I love Washington. It's really beautiful here and I'll probably never move away. California is nice to visit every so often, but there's only so much Disneyland a person can handle. I'm very thankful to my parents for paying my way to Disneyland this spring break and I am proud to be a part of the Puyallup High School band because if I wasn't, I wouldn't have been able to experience this life changing trip.
