March 15, 2020
I began this emotional rollercoaster of a day with my roommate Hannah. We woke up early and got ready for our last day in the parks. We packed our bags and I made sure to put a full box of tissues in my bag because I knew there would be many tears shed throughout the day. We had a grand plan that started off at Magic Kingdom. We took the cast bus over and then once we were inside we made sure to get our celebration pins of the best two months of our lives. We were able to meet several characters such as Fairy Godmother, Cinderella, Tiana, Elena, and Shaker. We only stayed at Magic Kingdom for a few hours but every cast member tried to add a little bit of extra magic to our day. Every character we met was extremely kind to us, the cast members who worked at Starbucks gave us our drinks for free (yes, I cried when they did), and we were able to go through the fastpass line for rides. I tried my best to stay focussed on the present moment throughout the day and not dwell on the fact that it was my last day.
After Magic Kingdom, we took a bus over to Animal Kingdom. At Animal Kingdom, we met up with our friend Abby and later on with our other roommate Katie. We were able to go say goodbye to my home area, DinoLand U.S.A., I had a nice but sad time. It was definitely hard. We got to ride DINOSAUR and then went over to Flight of Passage. One of the hardest parts of saying goodbye to Animal Kingdom was saying goodbye to Mickey and Minnie at the Adventurers Outpost, I cried... a lot. Afterwards I pulled myself together and we continued on our journey to Hollywood Studios.
For the past few months, cast members were blocked out of Hollywood Studios since there were so many new and popular attractions. The only time during my DCP that I was allowed into Studios was for my cast preview of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. However, since the college program was being cut short unexpectedly, we were allowed in for the day. My friends and I were super excited about this fun surprise. I was able to meet the characters Sulley and Darth Vader. My friend Abby and I were able to get onto Rise of the Resistance. The ride actually broke down while we were waiting in line and after about ten to fifteen minutes the cast members came around with complimentary snacks. We waited for almost a hour before the ride was running again. As a first time rider, it was well worth it! The ride was long, exciting, and told an interactive thrilling story. Before the ride I started to not feel well and I realized that I had not been taking care of myself in the means of hydration and nutrition. After we finished Rise of the Resistance, we were supposed to go to Epcot but we decided to go home and refresh.
Unfortunately, we did not make it to Epcot. We all really needed to take a break. My health is very important to me and I am glad that I was able to nurse myself back to health. Once we all were hydrated, fed, and refreshed we headed back to Magic Kingdom to catch the last Happily Ever After show.
Cast members had their own viewing area that they took over in a grassy patch to watch Happily Ever After together. There were hundreds of us. We sang, laughed, and cried together. I was passing out tissues to friends of friends and complete strangers. It was a very emotional show. After the fireworks we went to catch a ride on the Jungle Cruise. Our skipper was a DCP cast member. It was her last ride and when we pulled up to the dock at the end of the ride, she started to cry. She was not alone, half of our boat was DCP cast members. The other half of the boat were regular guests and they were confused to say the least. I do not think that the guests and the general public understood how many cast members are a part of the college program and the international program. There were thousands of us who were sent home and had our dreams end too quickly.
Before we left we took lots of group photos, cried some more, and finally said goodbye to the place that made our dreams come true. On our way home back to Vista Way, we took the monorail and asked the cast members if we could ride in the front. Unfortunately, they said no because they do not do that anymore but they did let us snap some pictures in the driver's seat.
Overall, I am so glad that I was able to my spend the last day in the parks. At the time, we were very unaware about how dangerous and serious COVID-19 was (especially in Florida). I am deeply sorry for all of those who have had loved ones taken too soon by this disease. Since coming back home from Disney, I have taken the pandemic very seriously and wear a mask and practice safety measures everyday. I look forward to the day when we do not have to fear this global disease and can resume participating in normal daily activities. Until that day, I urge everyone to take precautions and stay safe.
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