Kaley McKenzie

The Unforgettable Trip to Universal

            It was four in the morning and the sun was just slightly beginning to rise. My mom helped me grab my suitcase from the back of the car. I put on my backpack while carrying my pillow and blanket as we rolled my suitcase down to the buses, which looked like monstrosities against the dark sky. I find the lists and see that I am on bus one. I take my suitcase over to the group of other ones and say thank you to the parents loading them onto the bus. Everyone is meeting in the band room to go over the plan for the day. I walk in and take my seat. We’re all still half asleep, slumped over like zombies for it being so early. Mr. Hammond, our band director, calls roll and tells everyone to make sure they get everything.

            “I’m excited!” he says, “This is gonna be a fun trip!”

We all get up and head out for the buses. My mom is waiting outside the band room.

            “I just wanted to say I love you and I’m gonna miss you,” she says.

            “I love you too and I’ll miss you too,” I say back.

            “Have fun, be safe and call me and let me know how you’re doing.”

            “Okay I will.”

I give her a big hug and walk out to the buses. I get on my bus and sit in the seat right next to my best friend.

“I’m so excited!” I say.

“Me too!” She says.

The bus starts up and off we go. It’s an eight hour drive from Alabama to Universal Studios. It’s not too long especially when your best friend is with you, it feels even shorter. We stop and eat, then arrive at the Boardwalk. It’s insane, there are so many gift shops and lights and statues made of Legos.  Everyone’s all excited. We walk around, hang out, and watch people perform little skits. We walk into the candy shop and it smells like heaven. It’s warm and candy is everywhere. From giant gumballs, to chocolate turtles and gummy worms, to slushies and fudge. It’s time to leave so we load the buses and head back to the resort. We get to the resort and it is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s called Disney’s Pop Central Resort and each different set of buildings are named after a Disney character and have a big statue of that character. The buildings were bright colors of purple and blue, they had a pool and a food court. We were in the building Tramp, from Lady and the Tramp. We all get off the buses and find our luggage. I find mine and begin to roll it down the sidewalk. Me, my friend Taylor, her mom, and our friend Sara head to our building. We get to the stairs and see that our room is located on the third floor.

            “C’mon girls if I can get myself up there y’all can too” Mrs. Patty says

We all laugh and begin to lug our stuff up the stairs. We keep laughing at each other which almost makes us lose grip of our suitcases. We finally make it up the stairs. We unpack and get ready for our big day the next day. We wake up the next morning and head to Universal Studios. We get these wristbands with the Mickey Mouse symbol on them that act as our tickets. Our first stop is Jurassic World. We all sit down in the ride which looks like a log and we begin to float through the water. It takes us up and down and right at the end a giant T- Rex roars in our face and water sprays us with water. We get off the ride and head to other roller coasters. One of my favorites was The Hulk. It slowly starts and then out of nowhere takes off. My stomach drops and my hair flies everywhere. Everyone screams in terror because of the unexpected turn. It loops around and then it’s finished. We get off and go see more of the park. We head over to the Harry Potter World. It’s amazing. There are magnificent buildings, some with snow on the roofs. There’s a train to take us back to the other parks but before we go we get Butterbeer. It has such a sweet taste, a rich butterscotch flavor. We hit a few more rollercoasters and head back to Main Street for the firework show. It was beautiful. There were so many colors. After the show we head back to the buses. I had an amazing time at Universal. I got to spend time with some of my closest friends and become closer with people I didn’t know as well. After moving I realized how important those people and the time we spent together was. They were always important to me but when you’re not around them as much as you used to be you realize how important they are. The trip was amazing while we were there and I was so thankful I was able to go but it felt like it was a new adventure with some of my best friends. I know now that even just being with my friends I won’t take a minute for granted. Every time I think back to it puts a smile on my face. That was a trip I’ll never forget.