Our bus pulled into the station and proceeded to unload its commuters. Star Wars music blared from inside the park, as Storm Troopers guarded the roof with guns in hand. The first table that we arrived at was the bag checking station. It was a long rectangular building with little oval tables per every three feet. Standing at each table were Disney Guards.
My dad took my backpack and camera bag in hand and proceeded up to the table. “Come on Chelsea, we don’t have to go through there,” my mom explained as she led my brother Nathaniel and I towards the main check in. There was another building like the bag station, but instead of there being tables; there were gates and small machines standing next to them. Standing behind each machine was another Disney Guard. My mom gave my brother and I our tickets into the park, which resembled credit cards, and asked us to lineup. I went first. “Please insert your ticket into the slot, and place your finger here in this light,” requested the woman behind the gate. At first I didn’t do it right. She instructed me again, and finally I got the okay to go through the gate.

“Welcome!” greeted Disney employees and they passed out maps of the park. There were vendors everywhere selling fans, candy, pins, and lots and lots of food. Next to the entrance of the park were shops filled with many different kinds of things like beautifully crafted statues, dishes and paintings. Thousands of little children ran EVERYWHERE like fanatical squirrels in a nut factory. They were pulling on shelves and eating almost everything in sight. As I let everything sink in I gradually trickled back into reality.


“So what do you want to do first?” asked my dad, as he looked at the map in his hands. I pondered the thought for a while before I finally decided, “What about ‘The Great Movie Ride’?’ He folded up the map, tucked it in his pocket, and we continued on our way. As we weaved through the many buildings we searched for our destination. I just couldn’t get over where I was. It was spectacular in so many ways! The smells were different, like a mix of candy and a warm summer day. The colors were breathtaking and oh so bright, like I had just stepped into a movie film. The whole park was like one big giant movie set! I turned my head and there sitting on a trolley was Mary Poppins singing with Burt. In the middle of the street were directors and movie photographers taking pictures. Even Mike and Sully from ‘Monsters Inc.’ were taking pictures with little kids.

As we walked up to the entrance of The Great Movie Ride, we could hear old movies playing. Inside we lined up in a giant black room and waited patiently as the line leisurely moved forward. On two giant screens in front of the room, they played nineteen-twenties to nineteen fifties commercials. “Dad when are we going to actually ride the ride?” I asked with a discouraged voice.

“Chelsea do you know who that is?” asked my mom as she pointed ahead of us. I focused my eyes on the screen as it played a movie scene. “Is it Doris Day?” I asked, trying to remember the many great movie actors that I had watched on T.C.M. She smiled in approval as she glanced from me to the screen and back again. “You know which movie it is?” she asked as she contemplated the thought in her mind, not sure if she had known the movie either. I had to admit for a woman born in the early seventies she was an expert at classic movies, for a ten year old girl, so was I. I could name off many famous actors and movies too. I would watch thousands of movies with Gene Kelley, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Shirley Temple, Lucille Ball, and many others just for fun.

The line moved closer as the carts loaded and unloaded their passengers. We neared the entrance when a man in a red suit approached us. “How many passengers maim,” he asked as he overlooked the awaiting line of people behind us. My mom held up four fingers. He nodded at us and smiled “Gate twelve,” he answered as we proceeded through the double doors ahead. Inside were giant carts that were about ten feet wide that resembled church pews. We lined up on a patch on the floor that read ‘12’. As the cart pulled up I noticed all of the people aboard the ‘Happy Express’. Many of which were either parents of children who had been struck by Mr. Sandman, or love struck teens hiding from their parents. I smiled down at an expecting mother bouncing her crying four year old on her knee while feeding cheerios to the hyperactive two year old next to her. Not because I was being polite, but because I was sympathetic for her. She smiled back as the doors slid open and her along with the others unloaded the cart.

I followed behind her to take her seat as our gate opened and the tour guide ordered us to slide ALL the way to the left. Once we a piled on to the mobile pew, a woman dressed in an African like outfit introduced herself. She looked to be about twenty. She had her hair pulled back into a low ponytail, and a microphone in her left hand. “Good morning everyone! My name is Stacy and I am going to be your tour guide for today. Now there are a few safety precautions that we must cover before we journey through this screen to the world of lights, camera and action. Now please keep all hands, feet, and objects inside the vehicle at ALL times. If you get motion sickness please signal one of us, and we will point you to an exit, oh and one more thing absolutely NO flash photography please.”
She grasped a small grey lever attached to the top of a box in her hand, and jerked it forward. Unexpectedly the cart started to roll into the hallway in front of us; I could hear music and see many sparkling lights dance before my eyes on a blue backdrop. All around us were many houses that seemed to go on forever as they faded into the darkness. Up on one of the roof was Burt cleaning a chimney, and dancing along with Mary Poppins as she floated along on her umbrella.

It was utterly astonishing that these weren’t just figures playing on a screen; they were ‘real people’ dancing and singing before my eyes. I was awestruck by the fact that Disney Imaginers could create such realistic looking robots. We passed through many different movies such as The Wizard of Oz, Tarzan, Singing in the Rain, Alien, and many more.
After about ten minutes the ride was over. The cart stopped, the doors opened, and out the double doors we went.

As we stepped out we found that it had begun to rain.
Mom: “Honey, we are getting soaked!”
Dad: “I’m looking, I’m looking!”
Mom: “Well look faster!”
Me: “Hurry up I’m going to melt!”
Nathanial: “Hopefully…”

I tried to ignore my brother’s rude comments, and continued to search for a nearby ride, so that we could escape the pouring rain. Finally, I noticed a fountain in the middle of the cobblestone path we were walking on. It was of a concrete statue of Miss Piggy posing as the statue of Liberty. Water squirted out of her torch as she spun around. I slowly walked over to her and started to unhurriedly observe the statue. Inside the clear cobalt water were thousands of tiny pennies, each holding a wish. I have no idea why I did this, but I plunged my hand into the sparkling water, and pulled out an oxidized penny. Quickly I tucked it inside my pocket and walked back to my transfixed family.
Later on we rode many other rides at Hollywood Studios. We returned to the hotel to unpack, eat dinner, and cool off in the pool. I stepped off the bus as we arrived back at our hotel, and realized that my surrounding were much more beautiful that before. Lively music filled the night air, as street performers danced and sang. The illuminations lit up the sky as lizards came out to play with bare feet. It was amazing!
As we walked to our room my brother and I recalled our day. "What was your favorite ride?” I asked as I messed up his hair with my hand. He smiled up at me, “I don’t know. What was your favorite ride?” “Well mine was Rockin’ Roller Coaster.” His eyes lit up at the fact that I had just mentioned a roller coaster. He was fully aware of how much roller coasters scared me, but what he didn’t know was that I LOVED them. “I guess my favorite was the Star Tours.” “That’s one of my favorites too. I loved the fact that it really moved! It was as if you were on a real spaceship.” He grinned from ear to ear, “Yeah! It was really fun!” and with that he dodged down the lane to our hotel room door, anxious to go swimming. As dad inserted his key into the glowing green slot on the door, he pulled the handle down and it unlocked with a click.
Our room was amazing! Inside our carpet was in a hard wooded pattern. Our beds were giant pirate ships, and our sheets were wood printed also. It was beautiful! Our showers were granite and had carvings in each of a pirate ship such as the Black Pearl, or the Queens Anne’s Revenge. Our dressers were cargo crates and our fridge was inside a wooden barrel.
“Come on guys, we need to get our luggage out of the car,” said mom as she picked up her car keys. Now I had to admit, we were a high class family, so when we walked out to the parking lot and unlocked our black Camaro I was a little embarrassed. After all, all the vehicles around us were mini vans. As mom pressed the unlock button, the green trunk of our car popped open. Dad pulled out our suitcases, closed the truck and proceeded back to our hotel room.
We were walking back when mom decided that we should go back to the park to ride a few more rides and watch Fantasmic. Dad said that we would eat super later, so we dropped our cases off at the room, grabbed our back packs and cameras, and walked back to the bus. The park wasn’t scheduled to close until midnight so we had plenty of time to splurge at the park. The bus ride was calm and cool as the air blew through the back two vents behind my seat. The atmosphere was pleasurable. The small children had fallen asleep for a short nap. Disney music played over our heads. I glanced up at the billboards above my head. Many of which were advertisements for parks, shops and movies.
One specific board caught my eye. It was a poster for Disney World. In the distance Cinderella’s castle was floating on clouds as many blue, red, and purple Mickey balloons floated in the wind. Written across the poster in the famous Disney font were the words, “A dream is a wish your heart makes.” I had seen the sign millions of times before, but for some reason tonight it stuck out to me. Over the intercom came the words, “Welcome to Hollywood Studios, have a magical day!” I picked up my bag and camera and headed for the exit. As usual I passed through the bag check, and the many other gates that lead into the park. The sun was setting now and it was giving the park an eerie glow. The giant fantasmic hat was no longer a bright blue and yellow. It was now a sick green and sad faded orange color. The shops were lit up with many things and treats. The candies glowed with colors that a rainbow couldn’t even fathom.

I stepped into one of the many ‘Goofy Candy Co.’ shops and purchased a lollipop the size of my head. I tucked it into my colossal Disney bag and followed my mother out the doors of the shop and towards a ride. Up ahead in the distance I spotted a HUGE tower that looked to be at least thirteen stories tall.
I was awestruck by how my own mother, the woman who HATED anything that had to do with the supernatural, and roller coasters, had chosen to ride a haunted hotel tower. The giant building in front of me expanded in size as we walked toward it. Time seemed to pass slowly as we approached the entrance gate of the ride. I loved roller coasters, but this one looked menacing!
I followed the line as it led into the lobby of a rundown hotel. Everything was covered in cobwebs. We continued through the many corridors as we arrived in front of two elevators that looked to be located in the basement. We all went to the second elevator. I seized my mother’s hand in mine as I stepped into the tiny space. All four of us sat down in the first row, which was right in front of a metal door.
Instead of there being regular seat belts that went over our heads, there was one tiny strap that went over our stomachs like in a car. I slowly pulled the small gray strap over my abdomen, and locked it in place. Once I heard it click into place and lock up I pulled on a little yellow strap to make sure that the belt was tightly in place. “Is everyone’s seat belt in correctly?” asked the ride manager as she scanned the rows calmly. Everyone nodded in unison as we patiently waited for her to leave, and for the ride to start.
She smiled and strolled out of the tiny place, and shut the small gate behind her. The elevator slowly moved up and rotated to the right as it stopped in front of a small screen. I watched in awe as it explained that a little girl, a couple, and a bell hop died in the exact elevator that we were riding in. Once the story was done playing the space around us went black and we slowly inched ahead. In the distance I could see thousands of tiny lights that reminded me of stars. It was as if I was really in the Twilight Zone, or thousands of light-years away.
Finally the ride slowly rose up to what seemed to be seven or eight stories high and then it…
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Down.
And I couldn’t find anything to hold onto, so I grabbed on to EVERYTHING, holding onto anything I could find. The ride rose…
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
Up.
To what seemed to be the very top floor. The doors opened so I could see outside while I dropped. I could hear the chains clinking as the held us in thin air.
My heart pounded a thousand times in my chest as I looked down at the park bellow me. Suddenly I heard click, click and looked down. My seat belt had come undone. I grabbed it with my trembling hand and frantically shoved it back in to the lock hoping that it would snap back in. For some reason it wouldn’t go back into the lock. Tears rolled down my eyes as I looked around for help. I had to admit, I was panicking! This was supposed to be the happiest place on earth, but not for me. I glanced around at the people around me. Even my own family had no idea what was happening to me, or what was going to happen to me, and we
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Dropped.
Looking out, the metal doors opened farther and I soared out of my seat. I didn’t even scream, because for once in my life I could soar…