Bright and early, nearly 300 senior students packed into a fleet of coach buses and made their way to an unforgettable night at Universal Studios in Orlando, April 19.
Along the way, students filled the road time with iSpy games, movies and much-needed gossip updates. Once they arrived at Disney Springs around noon, students were given the freedom to have lunch wherever they pleased and shop at stores such as the three-story Coca-Cola Store. “I love going to huge stores like the Coke store because they have literally everything you could imagine,” senior Carla Del Rio said. Others chose to check out Disney’s pin traders and the M&M store.
Around 3 p.m., students arrived at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The rest of the afternoon, evening and early morning, students rode roller coasters, drank plenty of Harry Potter butterbeer and danced at mini DJ-sets. “Grad Bash was probably my favorite part of high school,” senior Malcolm Owusu said. “Getting to see old friends from middle school and laugh the night away on thrilling rides with my closest friends was the perfect way to close out the year.”
The students finally left the parks at 2 a.m. and arrived back at school around 6 a.m.
Seniors Caroline Christie and Simran Gill picked up some gelato and ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor at Universal. “We thought a sweet treat would go well with the long walks through the park,” Christie said. (Photo/Caroline Christie)
Seniors Daniela Zaghlul Schillaci, Raphael Perez and Arvin Nafisi rode “Velocicoaster,” a thrilling roller coaster at the Universal Studios park which reaches a top speed of 70 mph. “Although the ride was super fun, I’m not going to lie, I was pretty scared the whole time,” Schillaci said. (Photo/Universal Studios Orlando)
Seniors Rachel Kludy, Nirja Patel, Shrika Kantipudi and Jessica Zighelboim snapped a picture moments before boarding the “Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride.” The ride takes passengers on a roller coaster ride accompanied by 3D effects while the film franchise’s protagonists Harry, Hermoine and Ron face off villains. (Photo/Rachel Kludy)
Seniors Sophie Simon, Esther Oyetunji, Kennedy Hack-Juman and Annika Rui Chen gathered all of their essentials before boarding the bus: blankets, water and books. (Photo/Esther Oyetunji)
