Living Off Of Suitcases: Disney World: Singing at Hollywood Studios

Disney World: Singing at Hollywood Studios

Friday, March 7, 2014 7:19 PM Posted by Unknown

Continuing on to my Disney World Adventure, is my experience at

Disney's Hollywood Studios.

On our second day, my mom and I woke up very early and headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We swiftly ate breakfast and arrived just before the park opened.When we arrived, the streets were practically empty. It was a perfect opportunity to take as much photos as we possibly could before it got too crowded.

Morning mirror shot with mom photobombing in the background!

While we were walking to check out some rides, an announcement came over the P.A. and said that Disney was holding an audition for their American Idol Experience. It's a show that is exactly like the real American Idol. They hold auditions and choose 15 guests to sing at one of the showtimes, and the audience gets to vote who they will put through to the "finale."

As soon as my mom heard the announcement, she dragged me over to the Audition Center and convinced me to try out. At first, I was a little hesitant because I was very unprepared. In the end, my mom was able to persuade me to audition.

I did not want any photos.

The process was long. I had to audition twice before I got to perform. On my first audition, I got to choose my song and I had to sing it acapella. I didn't have a lot of time to choose it, because as soon as we entered the building, we were led to a room with the casting director. I chose to sing "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, since it was always a crowd-pleaser.

The Casting Director, Mark, kept writing and nodding as I sang. After singing a verse and the chorus, he told me that I made it to the next round.

They led us to this small hallway and handed me a list of songs to choose from. I had to pick two songs to sing to the producers. They also handed us an iPod to practice my songs with the backing tracks. I ended up singing Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" and "This is Me" by Demi Lovato.

After a short practice with the songs, it was finally my turn to audition for the producers. They were extremely nice; they cracked jokes, and asked questions to help me feel at ease. They handed me the microphone, and played the song. As soon as I heard the melody, I felt more confident and got into it.

After singing, they told me that I was going to perform at their 1: 15 show. We were supposed to come back at around 11:45 for hair, make-up and vocal coaching. My mom absolutely freaked out and got all excited, even though this wasn't the real American Idol.

We had a lot of time to kill before coming back so we went on rides. My favorite was Aerosmith's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. It starts off with Steven Tyler doing his well-known Rock and Roll scream, and then it shoots you at 60 mph. It was the BEST. RIDE. EVER.

After doing our rounds of rides, we had to go back to the studio to prepare for the show. I was the first performer so I had to go do voice coaching first. The voice coach taught me my blockings on stage, and polished my song.

After voice coaching, I did hair and makeup. The lady wanted my overall look to feel natural, and insisted that I leave my hair down. After a quick touch-up, I was ready to go.

We did a short sound-check on stage, and then it was showtime. The host came out and talked to us backstage, while the audience was being seated. As soon as the lights turned down, she went out on stage and introduced me. I walked on stage and saw a full house. It was honestly a nerve-wrecking experience.

But after a while, I felt less nervous. It felt empowering to be performing on stage.The crowd was cheering and clapping. It was so surreal and I felt happy.

In the end, I got 2nd place overall. This was the best experience ever. I was able to get through it with confidence. I also made friends with my competitors. Truly, this was one of my proudest moments.