Living Off Of Suitcases

After our amazing time aboard the Disney Cruise, our party hopped on a shuttle to Disney World Resort. It has been my dream to visit Disney World for as long as I could remember. So when my mom booked the trip and told me we were going to visit Disney World, I just screamed at the top of my lungs.  I was super stoked to go, and visit the Happiest Place on Earth.

We only had 3 days to visit all four parks, and on our first day, we arrived at our resort at 11 AM. We were really short on time. In order to visit and experience all the theme parks, we decided to visit 2-3 of them per day. Our day would start at 6 AM, and end at midnight. It was really exhausting going to different parks, and catching the buses to get there, but it was worth it.

Team Disney!

I love how everything has to be Mickey Mouse

On our first day, we went to Animal Kingdom. It was a little rainy and cold so there weren't as much people there. It was also off-season for Disney World, so wait times were 5-15 minutes long. I never
stood in line for more than 10 minutes! We went on a really good day.




It was lunch time when we came in, so my mom decided to have lunch while I checked out some rides around Dinoland USA. I rode this ride called Dinosaur, which runs on something similar to Indiana Jones at Disneyland. The only difference is that the central theme was escaping the meteor shower that hit the dinosaurs in the end of the cretaceous period. The ride was cool, and the special effects were mind-blowing. My mom rode it with me for the second time, and she absolutely LOVED it.





After Dinoland, the older kids and I went on Expedition Everest. Knowing Disney, most of its rides are "Disney-fied," and are geared towards families and kids. I was expecting a little roller coaster similar to California Screamin' or Space Mountain. I never expected Expedition Everest to be super thrilling. It was my favorite ride in Animal Kingdom and I just had to ride it three times.

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Before we headed off to EPCOT, we rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris. It is like going to the zoo, and taking a tram tour around Animal Kingdom's private safari. There were a lot of animals to be seen walking around. There was even a giraffe that walked to our tram. It was cool.

The real Lacoste. hahahaha!

It's Nala!

At about 5 PM, half of our group went home while 8 of us went to EPCOT Center for some more night time fun. EPCOT was my favorite park at Disney World. The technology behind the rides was just mind-blowing. It was like walking into the future. My favorite among them would have to be Test Track. Guests would be able to make their own cars, and then compete against other riders to see which car is the most efficient. Our car got last place, simply because we just made it pink. It was so much fun.





One of my other favorite rides was the Nemo ride. It was really interactive compared to the one we have at Disneyland. The vehicle was similar to the Doom Buggy on the Haunted Mansion Ride, and it featured many robotic fish that was very life-like.  It was so colorful and happy. It's great for kids, teens and adults. 








To cap off the day, we watched "IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth" at the EPCOT lake. It was this fireworks display that mainly talked about the Earth. The pyrotechnics were breath-taking. In the end, this gigantic globe came up and shot up fireworks all around the lake. It was marvelous.


Stick around. There's more adventure coming.

The highlight of my cruise, besides the ice cream service and the characters, was definitely visiting Castaway Cay.

Nassau was gorgeous, mind you, but Castaway Cay took my breath away. Castaway Cay is Disney's private island, and is an exclusive port of call for the Disney Cruise line. It features 3 beautiful beaches and lots of fun activities for all ages.


. The central theme for this island was a shipwreck, and Disney did a fantastic job of decking out the place with lost treasures and old pirate ships. The details were very keen and precise. It was like walking into a pirate storybook. I was in awe with their work.

Not to mention, there were a lot of characters available for photo-ops!

When we arrived at the island, my mom and I decided to go snorkeling. I was expecting them to take us to this high-sea, coral reef area with loads of fish but they just took us to this enclosed area, just a couple steps away from the family beach. In my head, I thought this wouldn't be a fun experience. Boy, was I was wrong.

Because underwater selfies are cool.

Disney filled the entire area with statues and shipwreck things. You had to swim around the place in order to find those artifacts. They had even had a statue of Mickey and Minnie Mouse buried with the "ship." There are were also a lot of  schools of fish swimming around the area and it was such a neat experience to see them.

It's Mickey!!

I honestly felt like a mermaid in this photo

Besides snorkeling, Castaway Cay also has this huge water slide in the middle of the sea. The drop is over 10 feet long, and the water is over 6 feet deep. It was very thrilling and the plunge made me scream like a girl at a Bieber concert. It was scary at first, but it was so much fun.




After a long day of pure relaxation, we had to go back to our ship. If only time stood still. I'd love to go back to that paradise and stay there for as long as I could.

How I miss this picturesque view!

My friend Vince and I went back for a second round of snorkeling.

Stick around. There's more adventure to come!

Our first port of call on the cruise was at Nassau, Bahamas. Nassau is actually the largest city in The Bahamas. It is located in the island of New Providence and it is the capital of the country. It is surrounded by gorgeous white beaches and clear water. 

We took a hop-on hop-off tour around Nassau. Our tour guide took us around the island and gave us informative historical background about the city. He showed us the different residential areas; from the ghetto to the richer areas. Nassau is no different than the United States or any other country, in general. Many people think Nassau and its inhabitants are isolated from the world. It is, in fact, highly urbanized and industrialized. There are many good businesses around and it was very cool to go  see them. 

 One of the living staples of Bahamians are conch shells. Yes, conch shells; the Magic Conch Shells Spongebob and Patrick refer to when they got lost in the woods with Squidward. Not only are conch shells edible and good with almost all delicacies, it is used in construction, structuring of roads and they use it as a male enhancer. (If you know what I mean. haahaha) 

Conch shells are herbivores and feed mainly on algae. They act like snails and tend to run away when seen by fish. Bahamians tie rocks on their shell to prevent them from getting away. Conch is the Bahamas's main dish and it is served like fritters or in salads.We were lucky enough to have a great tour guide who treated us to his favorite Conch fritters. Honestly, the conch didn't look appetizing at first, but it is absolutely delicious. It's spicy, but salty at the same time. It's very tasty.

(Oh, if only mom knew how to cook it!)

As part of our island tour, our tour guide took us to many of Nassau's historical places. Nassau is very rich in history, having been colonized by England for a long time. We weren't able to go down for most of them, but one place we saw was The Queen's Staircase. This staircase features 65 steps hand-carved by slaves in the 18th century, and is 102 feet down. They built this so that the King may escape in case Napoleon tries to invade Nassau. When Napoleon never came, they named this in honor of Queen Victoria of England for abolishing slavery in the Bahamas and for her 65 years in reign.

Ever since taking AP European History, I've grown fond of seeing places that have been influenced by events in Europe. I was thrilled to hear stories about England and the Bahamas. It was like an out-of-classroom experience.

Queen Victoria's Staircase

Sitting atop of Bennett's Hill was Fort Fincastle. It's really close by from The Queen's Staircase. It features old cannons that Lord Dunmore, Bahamas' governor in 1793, built to protect the island from foreign invaders. We didn't have time to go in, but they had a lot of historic weapons, and hiding areas for the army.





After our historical tour, we quickly stopped by hotel Atlantis. It was a really large hotel, with several water parks and yacht clubs for people to enjoy.

Atlantis from a distance

Stick around. There's more adventure to come.