Spring Break! (Part Two)

Last post I started to retell my trip to Disneyland, but I only got through the first day. There is so much that happened in such a short period of time that I don’t know how to shorten my story without leaving out leaving out a lot of details, but I’ll try my best.

PCD REPRESENT! Pardon my face

That Saturday was one of the busiest days of my life. The PCD dancers had to be at the Disneyland hotel at about 10:00 for the rehearsal and pictures. We, along with five or six other studios, ran the dance many times before pictures. The Dance the Magic workers told us that we had some of the best energy and we were all together. I think the fact that we went from an elevation of 7,000 feet to sea level in a matter of a day help a lot. We were also able to practice in a street by the studio, when it wasn’t snowing. After that, all sixty-one of us filed into a small room to take pictures. It took a pretty long time to get it all done because there was so many of us, but it was still fun. We were given t-shirts, Disneyland Performing Arts Mickey ears, and VIP dancer lanyards. Needless to say, we looked like total tourists.

Lucie and I then went back to the hotel room to eat lunch and rest up for the parade that afternoon. After touching up our makeup and hair, we made our way over to the studio meet place at Smallworld. Lu and I met up with Val, Sami, Sophie, and Quinn in the line to get in to Disneyland, but we were running a little late. We ended up running through the entire park to get to Smallworld. We made it just as we were about to leave to go backstage. After changing into our costumes, we had to wait in the hot California heat until the Dance the Magic employees told us where to go. They explained to us that because our energy was so amazing and they wanted the parade to start and finish strong, PCD will be the last studio in the parade. Then, they lead the entire parade to the other side of the park. Being in the back, I was able to see how massive this really was. Six hundred dancers from all over the US and from Australia and Japan all came to Disneyland to dance together. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I had the amazing opportunity to be apart of. 

From right: Lucie, Val, Sami, and I in front
 of Sleeping Beauty's castle

The parade, itself, was a blur. As soon as we stepped out on to the street, the energy level in the park skyrocketed. Everyone was cheering and clapping to Hairspray’s “You Can’t Stop The Beat”. The afternoon heat suddenly didn’t matter anymore as I began to dance. One thought just kept circling through my head, “Your dancing at Disneyland! People dream about this and you are actually doing it!” In the crowds of people lining the streets, I could see little girls and boys staring up at me and the other dancers in the parade. The expressions on their faces reminded my of my own face years ago when I watched people dance for the first time. 

After the short twenty minutes, we all walked back to the dressing rooms and change back in to street clothes. The next day we performed a couple dances at the Dance the Magic showcase. We were then free from our crazy dance schedules to just enjoy Disneyland. I finally got over my fear of rollercoasters and finally rode California Screamin’. Lucie and I stayed at the park with Val and Sami, while my family went to a hockey game. We rode a couple rides then ate dinner. Sami had to go, but Val, Lu, and I stayed out longer. We got in line for Space Mountain, which broke down for a while, but we still got to ride it. My family and Lucie spent two days in Santa Monica, then we all went home. All in all, it was an amazing Spring Break that I’ll never forget because what’s cooler than being able to tell your grandkids that you danced at the Happiest Place on Earth?

~Rachael