Maybe it was the cotton candy that had me running around Pixar World at ten o’clock at night, giggling as I swung around in the toy story ride. Maybe I just wanted to forget for a little while. Isn’t that what spring break is for? To escape from the pressures of college, even if it’s just for four days.

During Spring Break 2017 I did more than escape from my responsibilities as a college student, I escaped from my responsibilities as an adult. My mother would have never let me get ice cream every night, buy a mickey on a stick, get cotton candy or balloons, and more when I was a kid going to Disney World.

That changed this year when I went with friends. We decided to do everything our parents never let us do, and surrounded by princesses and walking toys, I suddenly became a kid again.

I managed to separate myself from the real world, and immerse myself into the world of Disney. The first day of our trip we traveled around the world in eight and a half hours. Visiting the amazing cultures of countries from Japan to Mexico, Canada to Italy. We ate and drank in every country and appreciated the cultures we were learning and benefiting from.

As a child, I may not have appreciated the impact of Epcot as a park that globalizes, culturalized and educates people. Older now, I could see how amazing Epcot is and how much it can teach us. I learned even more about how we are a huge part of our world and our environment. Living with the Land reinforced my understanding of how important it is to do just that, live with the land, and understand the implications we have upon it.

It is our duty to protect the land and sea we are so much apart of. Not only that, but Epcot emphasizes the importance of appreciating other cultures, not appropriating them, but appreciating them.

The next day we entered a less reflective world, yet far more immersive and escapist, Magic Kingdom. It was there, I think, that the cotton candy really kicked in. We went on all the rides I remember from my childhood. I think one of the most amazing things about Magic Kingdom, is how unapologetically nostalgic it is.

No matter how many years it has been since you were in Disney, you can always go back and find everything just the way it was. Sure, there are always new rides and new gear to buy, however, mostly all of things you remember from your childhood are still there.

People from all around the world find themselves at Disney World, hoping to go to MGM and get the same experience on Tower of Terror that they did as a kid. Same with Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Rock N’ Roller Coaster.

I had a magical day in Magic Kingdom, and still got to be sprinkled with pixie dust at my older age.

I will always love Disney World, and hope to take my kids there when I get to be that age, and I’m sure when the time comes, I will love every ride just as I did when I was a kid.

Now as I return to school, I look back on my time in Disney and think about how grateful I am that I was able to do that. I managed to record every second of the trip, every ride, every reaction, and it is all precious.

I can’t wait to watch my kids walk through main street up to the castle gates in awe as I did all those years ago, and as I did just a few days ago. Walt Disney World…..really is a place where dreams come true.