Over winter break, I had the opportunity to take my first trip to the happiest place on Earth during the most festive time of year.

Growing up in Florida, it’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit due to the constant hot weather. However, while in Disney, I felt a completely different experience. While it wasn’t snowing like a typical Christmas day, everywhere you walked you were greeted with the holiday atmosphere, from the Christmas trees to festive music and decorations.

I stayed at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds where my family and I had our own log cabin. Instead of driving from place to place, we had golf carts as our means of transportation. Throughout the camp, RVs from many places across the U.S. were parked and decorated with Christmas lights and decorations which added to the festive atmosphere that I loved so much; and everywhere, people greeted you with a ‘happy holidays’ message.

Considering I have never been to Disney, going to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios made me feel like a little kid again. With my Minnie ears headband and my ‘first visit’ button, it surely made me feel special. I also got a special button because I was celebrating my graduation, and when I got in line to ride the Seven Dwarf Mine Train, Donald Duck was walking past and pointed to my button and started clapping his hands to congratulate me.

During my trip, I got to meet my favorite Disney princesses, Moana and Belle, which made this whole trip a whole lot better than I expected. They fully portrayed the character just like they were in the movies and made me feel like they were right out of the film with their accents and body language. Most of all, the holiday parades with all of Disney’s characters brought Christmas into full swing. They were dressed up in the holiday attire along with a bunch of festive music. Along with this, I would have to say a memorable moment was watching a live performance of Beauty and the Beast in the front row. The music and the performance were outstanding, making the whole experience just a bit better.

My first trip to Disney was truly something that I won’t forget. It made me appreciate my childhood a little more, especially since college is right around the corner. If there’s anything that I would do again, it would be this as it was the best Christmas I had in a long time.

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