The Magic of Disney World

Mira Hennon '25  ~  October 2024

The senior class of 2025 at Nardin Academy returned from a successful trip to Disney World on Friday, October 18. This annual tradition for the seniors has been happening since 2002. Students arrived at the Buffalo Airport bright and early at 5am on Monday, October 14 to depart for Orlando, Florida. Mrs. Snyder, Mr. Ladowski, Mrs. Wachter, and Mrs. Robertson came as the teacher chaperones for the week. Mrs. Snyder has been on at least 5 senior trips to Disney during her time at Nardin, and thoroughly enjoys it. “My favorite part is seeing the class come together and bringing everyone closer as they work towards celebrating graduation.” The 5-day trip gives students the opportunity to explore all of the Disney parks, as well as shopping in Disney Springs, and bond with their classmates before leaving Nardin in the spring. 

After landing Monday morning, the seniors headed straight to Epcot for the remainder of the day. They got to experience the cultures of recreated miniature countries around the world, tasting a variety of foods and viewing all kinds of different architecture. Later that night, the class gathered to watch a colorful 15 minute firework show. When asked why Epcot was her favorite park, senior Delilah Winker reflected, “I really liked the Guardians of the Galaxy ride. The food was pretty tasty, and it was fun. It felt like you were going around the whole wide world in just a 2-mile stretch… I went there every single day!” The next day, students traveled to Magic Kingdom, the quintessential location of the Disney Parks. The seniors explored the many rides before meeting together for a class picture at 1pm in front of Cinderella’s Castle. Just before the meeting, senior Eleny Aman ran into celebrity John Stamos as he was exiting the park: “Meeting John Stamos was surreal! Disney was such an amazing trip, and being with all my friends made it even better.” On Wednesday, the day began in Hollywood Studios, with the group getting special early access to the park to ride the Millenium Falcon, and then eat breakfast together as a class. In Hollywood Studios lies the thrilling Tower of Terror ride, standing at just under 200 ft tall, and themed areas to visit such as Toy Story Land and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Thursday morning, everyone started the day in the beautiful Animal Kingdom park, which is best known for the Tree of Life, standing at 145 ft in the center of the park to represent and honor the unity of all animals. The park features popular rides and experiences such as the fast and steep roller coaster Expedition Everest and the Avatar Flight of Passage 3D adventure. The trip came to a close on Friday, as everyone packed their bags and headed to Disney Springs for some end-of-trip retail therapy before the plane ride home. 

The trip had beautiful sunshine and warm weather all week, which is quite rare for the rainy weather Florida can have during the fall. A few seniors even got to celebrate their birthdays in Disney, one of them being Greta Golembiewski, who turned 18 on the trip. “Spending my 18th birthday in Disney made for the best day of my life,” she said. “My favorite place with my favorite people, with no worries in the world.” Not everyone believes in magic, but the class of 2025 certainly got to experience it during one of the most meaningful weeks a senior has at Nardin.