What Happens In Orlando… Goes On HawkTalk Pt.1

This week was Spring Break for Wagner College, and two of my friends and I came to Orlando... by bus. Our trip did not begin with the right foot at all. The moment we saw the bus station we knew it would not be a great ride. The station was located in a very sketchy area of Canal Street and the people who were going on the ride with us were not exactly very appealing people. The bus ride was 19 hours long, or so we thought. According to the bus driver we would only have a stop every four hours, but we stopped on a very irregular basis. We were supposed to arrive in Orlando at 1 p.m. and we got there at 3 p.m.

After our very uncomfortable and long bus ride, we were not that close to our hotel. We got a taxi to our hotel and ended up paying more that we thought we would. But once we got to our hotel everything turned around. I had no idea we would be staying at the Westgate Vacation Villas, and I was shocked at how amazing the hotel was. We got one of the best rooms available and with a view of all of Orlando, which included a firework show on the distant horizon. It finally began to feel like we were on vacation.

We began our Spring Break with Island Of Adventure. It was the first time going there for my two friends, and I was excited for them. Once we got there, we suddenly became 2-year olds. Our journey began at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter; going back to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts was magical. I remember the first time I went there, I cried — all those years of reading and watching the Harry Potter movies. I felt a dream had been fulfilled. While we waited in line for the attractions, we treated ourselves to a Butterbeer, which is the traditional Harry Potter drink, and we even got our Butterbeer mustaches! It was a phenomenal experience.

Since it was the first time for my friends, I was very careful not to mention on what rides you would get soaked. Even though it is clear which are the wet rides, they did not think they would get that wet... they were wrong! We spent the rest of the day drenched, and now I have a cold thanks to that, but it was worth it.

Our next stop was the Marvel Superhero Island, and we made sure to ride all rides twice. When we went on the Spiderman ride, we were placed in the Staten Island row, which we thought was so ironic — we just cannot get away from New York. We saved the best for last, The Hulk ride! It really is one of the most unexpected and thrilling rides I have ever been on. At the end of the day we still had some time left so we decided to ride the Harry Potter attraction one more time while having a Butterbeer in line. I think I will never get enough of that magical drink.

Check back next week to find out how the rest of our Spring Break was...