Welcome to Florida! First off, we arrived at school bright and early at 6 am to get on our flight at the Philadelphia airport. Since we got there extremely early, we were able to get some breakfast (Starbucks and Chick-Fil-A were the hotspots of the morning) and relax a bit before boarding the plane. The plane ride was around two and a half hours and was not rocky whatsoever, even including a gourmet pretzel pack. The blazing hot sun welcomed us as we stepped foot into the world of Orlando. As we waited for the various vans, we were able to get closer as a community due to our shared excitement about our trip and also of course our common complaints about the heat. We were able to get quickly settled in our townhouses though, which were extremely comfortable and convenient, and immediately headed to Medieval Times for a night of old fashioned chaos and joy.
Medieval Times was the perfect way for us to get settled into the Floridian atmosphere. Upon entering the gates, we were each given a blue crown of our own, accompanied by personal VIP passes. We sat in the blue section as we were entertained by The Queen of the Royal Court, The Royal Falconer, Master of Horse, and most notably, the six knights competing for the title ‘Defender of the Throne.’ We watched in awe as the knights on horseback competed in games against one another, partook in sword fights, and had their horses do tricks. In the end, the yellow knight won the competition, though we were all rooting for the blue knight. While watching the show, we feasted on tomato bisque, garlic bread, roasted chicken, corn, and roasted potatoes. And yes, we used our hands to eat – just as they ate in the Middle Ages!
After we left Medieval Times, we took a quick pit stop at Wawa to stock up on food for the week and drove home looking at the gorgeous Florida sunset. Once we reached the hotel, we were given a bit of downtime to relax and spend some time with each other as a group, and then it was time for bed. We’re so excited for what Orlando has in store (no pun intended) for us tomorrow!