Walt Disney World: Truly the Happiest Place on Earth
A lot of people refer to Walt Disney World in Florida as “the happiest place on Earth,” and for me, that’s pretty true.
My family and I have gone to Disney World more times than I can count. One of the main reasons we’ve been able to go so much is because my mom is a Disney Vacation Club member, so she receives rewards points and special perks for going on Disney vacations. We’ve been on a few other Disney-related vacations, such as Adventures by Disney tours and Disney cruises, but I think Disney World is the one we’ve been to the most. Ever since I was young, my family and I have referred to it as our “home away from home.”
Overall, Disney World is just one of the friendliest and most beautiful environments I’ve ever been in. It’s full of beautiful theme parks and top of the line hotels. It has some of the best theme park rides and shows. The characters you can meet, the music you hear, and even the buildings around you (such as the famous full-sized Cinderella castle) make you feel like you’re living a Disney movie. And the most heartwarming thing of all: whether you’re walking around a park, shopping at Disney Springs (Disney World’s shopping district), or just relaxing by the pool at your hotel, almost everyone there from staff members to guests have smiles on their faces.
My memories of Disney World begin from when I was very young. Some of them are from so long ago that they’re not very clear, but from what my parents have told me, those particular memories just consisted of me acting as any young kid would at Disney: getting incredibly excited over meeting characters like Mickey and Minnie Mouse. As I got older, though, while I still enjoyed meeting-and-greeting with characters to get photos and autographs, I also began to enjoy a lot of the rides. Some of my favorite rides at Disney World are Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Test Track, and Expedition Everest. Furthermore, the Disney Parks put on a breathtaking fireworks show every night; this actually brings back unpleasant memories from my childhood, because I was afraid of fireworks at the time, but I began to really enjoy them as I got older. I also enjoy a lot of the shows, both 3-D and live; some of my favorites are the Indiana Jones live show and the Festival of the Lion King.
Some of the best memories I’ve made from Disney World are ones I’ve made with the people closest to me. I remember we went twice with my mom’s extended family; we rented a two-story room at our hotel both times. We would all go to the park together, and do almost everything as a group. I remember going on Splash Mountain with them once; we had so many people in our party that we all made up one boat.
I’ve also gone to Disney for two school trips. This was actually for marching band. For those who aren’t aware, Disney lets performing groups and athletic groups from high schools around the country participate in events there, so they allowed us to perform there twice. The first was with my marching band in 9th grade; we got to serve as our own parade during the day, and it was an incredible experience. The second was in 11th grade; this was a much larger-scale trip, as we were with six other high schools from my area, making up a band of over 200 people; we had been preparing for this for months, and weren’t sure if we would pull it off, but it turned out fantastic in the end. During this trip, the schools’ choruses also got to perform. I think these two trips stand out as a couple of my best Disney World experiences, because I had the chance to perform at one of the best tourist attractions, and I got to enjoy a vacation with some of my best friends.
Every time I visit, Disney World changes: they are constantly adding and getting rid of attractions and hotels, and even implementing new ways of interacting with transportation and technology. But no matter how much Disney World changes, the memories it’s provided me and the happiness it brings me never will.
