On March 4th through the 7th, the Padua Dance Team went to Orlando, Florida to compete at “Contest of Champions” Dance competition. They were all very excited to be traveling all the way down to Florida for the first time to compete in such a big opportunity like this. The girls prepared very well for their competition by dancing for 2 hours or more everyday Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday leading up to the trip. The team’s Coach, Tori Simpson, and team manager, Brianna Williams, went with them on this exciting journey as well as 15 of the girls.

On Friday March 4th, the team landed in Florida at approximately 10 in the morning and they quickly traveled to the “Port Orleans: French Quarter” where they would be staying. At this point the weather was already very nice. It was about 77 degrees and it stayed this temperature throughout the entire trip. They all got settled in and then immediately went to “Magic Kingdom.” The girls had a blast. Freshmen Alyssa Hildick said, “The happiest place on earth made me forget about all of the stress from school and I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and the only thing I had to worry about was making memories and spending time with my team.”

On the second day of their trip, the whole team got up bright and early and headed straight to “Disney’s Hollywood Studios” at about 9 in the morning. They spent the whole day here before they had to go back to their hotel and get ready for the competition at 9 pm. At this point their adrenaline was so high and they were thrilled to be dancing at a place like Disney. The team performed extremely well and they scored a 259 out of 300 which was considered a “Superior” score,  the highest award you can receive. As a result, the team got a plaque for the school.

Sunday March 6th, was a full free day for the girls. The team once again got up, and already at the parks right when Epcot opened. Epcot is where the whole team had breakfast in “Norway” with the Disney Princesses. They met Belle, Snow White, Ariel, Aurora, and Cinderella. At Epcot they rode rides such as “Fast Track” and “Mission: Space.” “The Epcot scenery was absolutely stunning” said Senior Melanie Monzo. She also said, “The weather was so nice that when the sun hit the water in the pond in the middle of the park the right way it was utterly breathtaking. There was so many chances to get nice backgrounds for pictures because it was so pretty. By far it was the prettiest park.”

March 7th was sadly the dance team’s last day spent in Disney and it wasn’t even a full day. The bus to take the team to the airport arrived at their hotel at 11:40 in the morning. On the flight back, there were many tears and a lot of frowns. Once they were back in Philly, they gathered up their luggage from baggage claim and went their separate ways and that was ending the Disney trip for them.

The girls cherished every moment they could together. They took lots of pictures, laughed every second of the way, and couldn’t stop smiling. Freshmen Maddison Lennon said, “I didn’t feel one moment where I was upset, mad, or annoyed with anyone. It was overall a safe, successful, and fun trip. I wish I could be there right now, I miss it so much because it truly is the happiest place on earth and that’s all that has to be said.”